Distinguished FinTech Industry Leader Santo Cannone Appointed Executive Director of Black Dragon Capital℠ Portfolio Company Ladonware ("Ladon")

MIAMI, Aug. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Black Dragon Capital℠ ("BDC", "Black Dragon℠"), a highperforming private equity firm founded and led by a diverse manager and team who have a track record of outstanding operating and investment success in growth sectors disrupted by digitization, announced today the appointment of Santo Cannone, a notable industry expert in financial technology as Executive Director of Black Dragon℠ portfolio company Ladonware.  He joins a group of proven operational executives reinforcing the firm's unique approach to investing.   

Santo Cannone has almost four decades of experience in the finance and technology industries, implementing product and go-to-market strategies for businesses ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies and will help bring Ladonware to the next level of growth in his new role as Executive Director of the Board.

"Santo Cannone has an incredible history of success in the Fintech industry and is one the most recognizable names in the sector. We worked closely together at Open Solutions building the DNA core system and making it a global platform. When we decided to build the next generation cloud native enterprise system, we couldn't think of a better fit for strategy, product knowledge and relationships than Santo. We are excited to have him onboard and we look forward to seeing him contribute to the team's success," said Louis Hernandez Jr., Founder, CEO of Black Dragon Capital℠, and owner of Ladon.

Cannone is currently a board member at United Solutions, one of the oldest and largest technology cooperatives serving credit unions throughout the United States. Cannone spearheaded the development of product and market strategies as the Chief Product Officer of Fiserv, which he joined through the acquisition of Open Solutions, where he was senior vice president of global sales. He is part of a powerful group of Fintech executives that now comprise the Ladon Board of Directors, focused on creating the next disruptive leader in FinTech solving the industry's most difficult issues.  The team will help guide the strategy and execution building on their trusted and successful track record.  Members of the Board now include: 

Louis Hernandez Jr., Chairman of the Board of Directors. Hernandez is a well-recognized FinTech veteran having been the Chairman and CEO of Open Solutions, where he helped create a global leader in FinTech and one of the most recognizable core products in the industry, DNA, and founder of Payveris, one of the fastest growing leaders in cloud native money movement payment platforms.  

Raju Shivdasani, Director. Shivdasani has over 40 years of executive-level experience running large technology companies and a recognized leader in Financial Technology.  He was most recently the CEO of Harland Financial and had executive roles at most major core providers in the world.

Rashid Desai, Director. Desai has extensive experience in developing business technology products and technology solutions. He led the digital transformation of BarcleyCard, as CTO, and was the Executive Vice President and CTO of Open Solutions, having architected and designed the award-winning DNA core product suite while working with Hernandez.

Richard K. Sussman, Director. Sussman has a solid track record of building businesses throughout a career that spans private equity, venture capital, Fortune 500, and media technology companies.  He is a partner at Black Dragon Capital.

Greg O'Brien, Director. O'Brien has over 40 years of high-tech experience, primarily in the banking and business software industries. He has served in executive assignments to the Directors of Avid Technology, Open Solutions, and CashEdge / Fiserv.  As a member of the executive team at Open Solutions, he led the hiring and expansion of the team, culture building and administration during much of Hernandez' tenure.  

Hernando Torres, President and CEO. Torres has 33 years of experience and extensive knowledge in banking and information technology. He also served as Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at Open Solutions. He was a key member of the executive team at Temenos, and at Open Solutions. working with Louis Hernandez Jr., Santo Cannone, Greg O'Brien, and Rashid Desai. 

With a history of working together, this group of proven executives are focused on helping the management team at Ladon build the next great cloud native core suite of products and in the process helping the financial technology industry address some of the most critical issues caused by the acceleration of digitization.  

"Community financial institutions badly needs new approaches to technology and partnerships.  I'm excited to join recognized industry veterans in delivering on Ladon's promise to be an exciting new approach to bank technology.  We believe it's critical that our industry to have solutions that are both modern and proven, delivered by a company that's truly committed to a successful partnership," said Santo Cannone, Executive Director of Ladon. 

"I've very honored and humbled to have such an incredible Board of Directors and am exciting to be working closely with Santo Cannone in his new role as Executive Director.  Our industry needs creative solutions in a rapidly changing landscape, and I can't think of a board of directors more equipped to guide us in our next phase of global expansion", said Hernando Torres, CEO of Ladon, "it's exciting!"

About Ladonware

Ladonware (Ladon) is a next generation cloud native suite of applications led by industry veterans who have built some of the most recognized brands in financial technology. The company uses cloud-based applications to connect consumers, their devices, and financial institutions seamlessly and securely by providing the most advanced cloud based as a service solution. They build trustbased relationships through high quality service, highly functional and permanently evolving software, fair and friendly contracts, and affordable pricing. They have over 160 financial institutions clients in 15 different countries throughout United Status and the Americas. 

Learn more at www.ladonware.com. 

About Black Dragon Capital℠

Black Dragon Capital℠ ("BDC") is a high-performing private equity firm founded and led by a diverse manager and team who have a track-record of outstanding operating and investment success. They make control investments in mid-market technology companies in growth sectors disrupted by digitization. They work closely with entrepreneurs to build market leading companies using their proprietary Black Dragon Toolkit℠. They have an enterprise value of current assets under management of approximately $800M USD. 

Learn more at www.blackdragoncap.com

SOURCE Black Dragon Capital

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