COMPANY OVERVIEW
Ascend Fundraising Solutions (FS), formerly Gaming Nation Inc., is a fast growing software technology company that is a market leader in data driven charitable fundraising solutions, including raffle and sports betting systems. With offices in New York, Toronto and the UK, we deliver our products to over 450 clients globally, including some of the most iconic brands across the sports landscape. Ascend’s flagship product, Ascend.5050 is the market place leader for on-site and on-line 5050 Raffle technology. Clients include partners across the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, MLS, NLL, CFL, & NCAA as well as NASCAR events, PGA tournaments and charitable organizations. Ascend FS also owns BD Sport, an in-stadium betting system in the UK that works with over 30 Soccer Clubs including EPL teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Daniel Lewis
CEO
Mr. Daniel Lewis is the Managing Partner of Orange Capital Ventures, a private equity fund that is the owner of Ascend FS. From 2005 to 2016, Daniel Lewis was Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner of Orange Capital, LLC, a New York based investment fund. Mr. Lewis served as a Director Trustee of InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust, the largest public hotel owner in Canada. He is on the board of Say Yes Buffalo, a non-profit seeking to strengthen the Western New York economy by investing in the education of Buffalo’s future workforce. Mr. Lewis received a B.S. from Cornell University in 1996.
Shivani Anand
GENERAL COUNSEL & CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT
Shivani Anand manages Gaming Nation’s legal matters in Canada and U.S. as well as the company’s regulatory compliance. Before joining GNI, Shivani provided due diligence services to clients of Deloitte.
Ken Cook
CRO
Ken Cook leads the Sales and Customer Success teams. He is responsible for his team to deliver outstanding results to our customers across our various fundraising solutions. Ken’s responsibilities include North American sales, customer success, and strategic partnerships. With a focus on the Professional, Collegiate, Retail and Charitable landscape. Ken has many years of experience as a CEO, CRO and COO with companies in the Sports Technology field most recently with Pointstreak and Blue Star Sports.
John Lee
CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR BD SPORT GROUP
John is the joint Managing Director of the UK arm of Ascend FS, helping run the BD Sport Group with its stadium betting, sports marketing and Fund Raising solutions.
BD Sport Group has specialized in the gambling sector for the least 15 years now and serves over 3m bets per season at UK Football / Soccer stadiums and has been instrumental in the activation of gambling deals at the clubs the Company works at.
Dan Libro
CPO
Dan Libro oversees the product and marketing teams at Ascend FS. That includes the implementation & integration of all products and services under the Ascend umberella. Dan also oversees the marketing and creative deparments. Dan has over 20 years experience working in Process/Operations, Sales/marketing and product development. Most recently, Dan was co-founder at Circle Media, a provider of data management & business intelligence solutions that enabled sports properties to manage & monetize their fan information.
Jason Little
VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Jason Little oversees all prospective, new and returning business development functions for Gaming Nation. This includes discovering and forming new business ventures, opportunities and strategical directions and for the company.
Blair McGibbon
CFO
Blair McGibbon is responsible for all aspects of the finance function including providing accurate and timely information, risk management and providing oversight to the CEO, board members and the Senior Management Team.
John Nestor
CTO
John Nestor leads the Technology and Operations teams. He is responsible for delivering a suite of software products and technologies to meet the needs of customers and the market. John’s responsibilities include technology strategy and execution, product management, vendor management, architecture, development, quality assurance, and support. He has many years experience as a CTO and has led technology teams with companies such as D+H, Numerix, and Algorithmics.
Tony Warwick
CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR BD SPORT GROUP
Tony is the Co Managing Director of BD Sport Group, The UK entity of Ascend FS, which runs platforms across Sports Sponsorship, In Stadium Betting and Lottery / Fund-raising projects.
BD Sport Group is the market leader in stadium activation particularly in representing gambling related brands with their sponsorships.
PRODUCTS
Ascend.5050
Ascend.5050 is a digital fundraising platform that allows our clients to run digital 50/50 Raffles both in venue and on line. The Ascend.5050 product takes the challenges out of running a traditional 50/50 Raffle by putting the power of digital into the hands of our users including selling tickets by custom tiers, easy and safe reconciliation tools and the ability to collect information on buyers both on-line and in venue. We work directly with clients to ensure success selling in their stadiums and arena and with the addition of the Ascend.5050’s on-line sales portal – teams now have the ability to extend outside of traditional venue sales for wider fan engagement and bigger pots. Ascend.5050 has assisted close to 500 organizations raise nearly $500,000,000.
Ascend.Raffle
The Ascend.Raffle product is the market leading raffle/sweepstakes platform to help foundations and charitable organizations raise money by raffling off one of a kind experiences and unique items. Unlike a traditional auction platform, the Ascend.Raffle platform extends the opportunity to generate revenue for our partners by giving every fan the opportunity and chance to win the experience or item. With clients like the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Buffalo Sabres and the Houston Texans already on board, the list of partners bringing these money can’t buy experiences is growing daily.
Ascend.DMS
Data is the life blood of any organization and with the Ascend.DMS (data management solution) product, our clients have the ability to securely manage their most important assets – their fan information. With Aggregation, Validation and Insights driven features, Ascend.DMS is the conduit to the clubs and their ability to truly monetize their data sets.