Leadership

Beginning with our very first deal in 2003, a China-based SPAC transaction, Chardan's leadership team has continued to maintain a global perspective. Expanding beyond our New York headquarters, the firm launched a complete 24-hour global trading platform through the addition of our Los Angeles office. We then added offices in Beijing and Sydney to connect emerging growth companies in those regions with capital from offshore investors seeking international exposure. In the process, we secured a position as the leading global investment bank serving the micro, small, and mid-cap markets. Experienced, knowledgeable, and diverse in their backgrounds, Chardan's leadership team is known for fostering a spirit of collaboration – with our clients, throughout our international offices, and through partnerships with our investment banking peers. Their unique approach has helped earn us a reputation as the firm companies depend on to close particularly complex and challenging deals. It also enables us to solve difficult challenges with creative solutions that consistently deliver value to both our corporate clients and their investors.

Name	Title
Kerry Propper	Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Kerry Propper is the Co-founder and CEO of Chardan Capital Markets. He drives the firm’s overall strategic direction and oversees its investment banking effort. Kerry serves on the Executive Board of Voices of Rwanda, a non-profit organization dedicated to filming and preserving the testimony of survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and spends his free time working to educate the public about genocide and related humanitarian concerns in conjunction with a variety of other NGO’s. Kerry began his investment career at Aegis Capital in 1997. In 1999, he started Windsor Capital Advisors, a full service brokerage firm, which he managed until 2003, when he set out to found Chardan Capital Markets. Kerry holds a BA in Economics and International Studies from Colby College.
Steven Urbach	Co-Founder and President
Steven Urbach is the Co-founder and President of Chardan Capital Markets. He is responsible for the firm’s finance operations and corporate administration. Steven began his investment career in 1997 as an Analyst in the textile and apparel industry at Chase Manhattan Bank. Steven served as an Independent Director of Origin Agritech Limited, a NASDAQ Global Select company. In 2000, he joined Windsor Capital Advisors, LLC, and served as a Senior Equity Trader and Market Maker in NASDAQ securities, until leaving to found Chardan Capital Markets in 2003. Steven holds a BS in Finance from Ithaca College.
Todd Gold	Managing Partner and Head Trader
Todd Gold manages the day-to-day activities of Chardan’s domestic trading desk and also oversees the global trading desk. Todd began his career in 1998 at Gruntal and Co., LLC, trading listed securities on the OTC market as part of the firm’s 19c-3 trading desk. There, he also served as a Research Analyst, publishing daily technical and fundamental research, and providing intra-day technical overviews to the firm’s institutional sales force. He rose to the position of Chief Technical Analyst before leaving Gruntal in 2001 to join the trading desk at Clairborne Capital Management, a multi-strategy hedge fund. In 2003, he moved to Multitrade Securities, where he launched and led the firm’s institutional execution effort. Todd joined Chardan Capital Markets in 2006 to implement the firm’s global equity and options trading platform. Todd holds a BA in International Relations, with a concentration in International Political Economy from University of Wisconsin. He has also studied at the Lorenzo de Medici School in Florence, Italy.
George Kaufman	Managing Director, Investment Banking
George Kauffman leads Chardan’s Investment Banking group. He has extensive experience with operating and development stage companies, particularly those in the Greater Asia and ASEAN regions. One of the firm’s original members, he has managed dozens of public and private transactions, with an aggregate value of over $1 billion. George has been active in the energy, alternative energy, infrastructure, media and biotechnology sectors. In addition to his role at Chardan, he is a Director of China Networks International Holdings, Ltd. (OTCBB: CNWHF), a publicly listed television advertising company in the People’s Republic of China. George began his investment career in 1999 as a trader at Windsor Capital Advisors, LLC, where he also served as Chief Technology Officer. Beginning in 2002, he independently advised eTrade on strategic initiatives within its electronic trading platform division. In 2004, he joined Chardan Capital Markets to establish the firm’s investment banking group. George holds a BA in Economics from the University of Vermont. He has an active charitable giving portfolio, with a focus on environmental causes.
William Morro	Managing Director, Investment Banking, Restructuring and Special Situations
William Morro leads Chardan Capital Markets’ Restructuring and Special Situations practice. As a senior banker, he also manages investment banking projects and client relationships across the full spectrum of the firm’s service offerings. William began his investment career in 1986 as a co-founder and principal of a private investment firm. In 1991, he joined Heller Financial, Inc., and from 1994 to 1996, served as President of its investment subsidiary, Heller Investments Inc. In 1996, he founded the U.S. Merchant Bank for the Bank of Montreal Group, a registered SBIC, serving as its President until 2001. From 2001 to 2010, he was a Partner at InterAmerican Group, an advisory and investment firm focused on cross-border transactions. William joined Chardan in 2010 to help expand the firm’s restructuring and special situations practice. In addition to his role at Chardan, William currently sits on the board of CNC Development Ltd., a U.S. listed public company serving the infrastructure development sector in China and over the course of his professional career has served as Chairman or lead director for more than 20 companies. William earned a BA from Dartmouth College in Chemistry and Engineering, and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He is active in supporting the Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation.
Joe Reda	Managing Director and Head of the Special Equities Group
Joe Reda manages the Special Equities Group (SEG) at Chardan Capital Markets. He leads the firm’s corporate finance efforts within the micro-cap space. Joe began his investment career in 1994, as a Broker in the Private Client Group at Oppenheimer. In 1996, he joined Legg Mason as an SVP in its Private Client Group. He returned to CIBC Oppenheimer in 1998, serving as an SVP in the Middle Markets Group until leaving to join C.E. Unterberg, Towbin in 2002. As Head of Unterberg’s Institutional Sales and Special Equities Group, Joe led a team that was responsible for over 65 PIPE transactions, and assisted with both post-deal activity and corporate client services. In 2008, he and several members of his team joined Chardan Capital Markets to expand the firm’s practice in the PIPEs space. An accomplished athlete, Joe played varsity football for the 1993 Ivy League Championship team at the University of Pennsylvania, while earning a BS in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.
Jonas Grossman	Managing Partner and Head of Capital Markets
Jonas Grossman oversees Chardan’s global capital markets activities across Asia, Australia and North America. He serves as the liaison between buy-side interests and corporate needs. and is responsible for deal origination, syndication, deal and non-deal road-shows, and secondary market sales and trading. Jonas began his investment career in 1999 as a trader making markets at Aegis Capital Corp. In 2000, he joined Windsor Capital Advisors, LLC, as a Senior Trader. He moved to Ramius Capital Group, LLC, a global multi-strategy hedge fund, as a VP and Head Trader, in 2001. In 2004, he joined Chardan Capital Markets as a Partner. Jonas is also an Independent Director for China Broadband. Jonas earned a BA in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. He has also studied at the London School of Economics.
Jay Srivatsa	Managing Director of Equity Research
Jay Srivatsa leads the Equity Research team at Chardan Capital Markets. As a Senior Research Analyst, he is also responsible for covering international technology and telecom sector stocks. Jay brings 18 years of technology experience to his role at Chardan. He began his career in 1991 at LSI Logic, where he served in a number of marketing and engineering roles in the semiconductor industry. He later transitioned into market research in 1999, serving as a semiconductor industry Analyst at Gartner. In 2004, Jay launched his career on Wall Street, joining Roth Capital as a Senior Research Analyst, where he initiated coverage on more than 20 companies and was ranked the #1 All Star Analyst in the Semiconductor Industry by Zacks Investment Research. In 2008, he joined EuroPacific Capital, where he established an equity research group that was responsible for coverage of 65 international (non-US exchange) listed companies. In 2009, Jay left EuroPacific to spearhead the Equity Research effort at Chardan Capital Markets. An authority on the technology sector, Jay is a frequent guest on Bloomberg TV. He holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Bangalore University, an MS in Management from Stanford University, an MBA from Santa Clara University, and an MS in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Matthew Weisbarth	Managing Director and Head of International Trading
Matthew Weisbarth runs Chardan Capital Markets’ international trading desk. He is also responsible for the overall business operations of the firm’s Los Angeles office. Matthew began his investment career in 1998 at Morgan Stanley, as a Financial Advisor in the firm’s Private Wealth Management group. In 2000, he moved to Paine Webber, where he served as an Associate Vice President in the Private Client Services group. From 2001 to 2005, Matthew traded equity/derivatives and fixed income at Exis Capital Management. He joined Froely Revy Alternative Investments in 2005, as a Vice President and Senior Arbitrage Trader. Matthew joined Chardan Capital Markets in 2008. Matthew earned a BA in International Relations at the University of Wisconsin. He has also completed the Technical Analysis I and Advanced Technical Analysis courses at the New York Institute of Finance.
Mark Xue	Managing Director and Group Head of China
Mark Xue (Xue Congyan) leads Chardan Capital Markets’ investment banking effort in China and Malaysia. Mark works closely with Chardan's US based investment bankers to bring financing to companies in these regions. He is also responsible for the overall business operations of the firm’s Beijing office. Mark began his investment career as an Associate at Beijing Chum Investment Corporation. He has extensive experience in deal structuring, pre-IPO fund raising, and APO transactions for privately held Chinese companies. He has been active in alternative energy, media, agriculture, and the consumer franchising sectors. He has led and managed multiple transactions, which merged privately held Chinese companies with SPACs. He joined the firm in 2007 shortly after the Origin Argritech Limited SPAC transaction. Mark holds an MA in International Finance from Leeds University and a BS in Computer Science, from Angeles University in Philippines.
Shai Gerson	Head of Institutional Sales
Shai Gerson leads the Institutional Sales team at Chardan Capital Markets. He oversees the firm’s sales force, coordinating efforts with the Research and Investment Banking teams, and ensuring that Chardan clients receive the consistent level of high-touch, customized service for which we are known. Shai began his investment career at Corsair Capital in 2001, serving as a Senior Analyst until 2006, when he left to join Maccabee Capital as a Portfolio Manager. He joined Chardan Capital Markets in 2008. Shai earned a BA in History from Yeshiva University. He sits on the Board of American Friends of Yeshivat Har Etzion, an elite post-high school program located outside of Jerusalem.