PEER BOARD LEADERS
Leo Popik
Founder and CEO of Leading Peers
Leo is a servant leader with a passion for helping entrepreneurs achieve personal and professional goals within a supportive peer-to-peer environment. In 2020, he founded Leading Peers and became its CEO, with a vision of transforming the organization into the largest global CEO community for connection, collaboration, and growth.
Leo’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2003 when he co-founded Friendly Visit and became its CEO. Under his leadership, the company became the leading city-tour provider in Argentina. In 2008, he launched ESA Latin America. During his tenure as CEO, the company grew from a startup to over $1 million in monthly sales, operating as the region’s largest provider of destination management services for international corporate events. As an investor, Leo co-founded an agricultural business in 2004 that grew 20% annually until he exited the business in 2009.
In his 20s, Leo earned a M.A. Political Economy degree from Harvard University and worked in the modernization of the Argentinean government. He is the author of several books and articles on business, politics, economics, and personal growth.
Leo’s greatest calling in life is to be a husband and a dad, and he lives with his family in Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Jordan Anderson
Founder | CEO | Business Consultant
Throughout his 25-year career in the advertising and marketing communications field, Jordan’s entrepreneurial pursuits have included starting Jordan Anderson Advertising out of his basement in 1995, moving the ad agency to a NYC Soho location within a year, and growing annual sales to over $7 million. Jordan started ProductYou Career Services, LLP in 2003 to assist entrepreneurs, business owners, and professional service practitioners with their personal marketing and new business development strategies. Prior to starting his businesses, Jordan worked for two NYC ad agencies, in marketing, executive management, and sales training roles.
Deeply involved in marketing, mastermind, and business transformational groups, Jordan has been a career and marketing columnist, keynoter, and blogger. His work has been featured on the web, radio, TV, and print media. Jordan’s economics degree is from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Since relocating from New York City to the Miami area two years ago, Jordan has been very active in SCORE’s Miami-Dade chapter, providing mentoring, coaching, and workshop programs to CEOs, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and individuals in career transition. Born and bred in the Bronx, Jordan is married and the father of five boys. He is fanatical about comedy and Broadway musicals and vows to one day muster the courage to get up on stage.
Marco Carrizosa
Entrepreneur | CEO | Investor
Marco is a natural leader with a passion for entrepreneurship. In 2019, he founded Macarei with the vision of becoming a key player in the transformation of the Little River district in Miami, Florida.
Marco’s professional career began in Spain in 2001 when he launched his first tech/internet startup, and he has since been involved in various companies. Serving in different roles within small companies to large corporations has given Marco the knowledge and expertise to understand the different decision-making perspectives of every stakeholder.
Marco earned an economics degree from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and spent one year at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland where he earned a degree in international business. During his 30s, Marco graduated with an MBA from Hult International Business School in Boston, MA.
Marco enjoys spending time with his son and being outdoors, and he currently lives in Miami, Florida, which allows him to travel frequently to visit family and friends.
Cesar Castro
Founder | Managing Partner | Board Director
Cesar is a purpose-driven founder and board director with 20 years of experience as a successful senior corporate executive. He developed his career as President and CEO of Nokia Colombia, head of Nokia Mobile Phones for the Americas, and Director at Microsoft Latin America, among other senior executive positions. His purpose is to help people and companies realize their potential.
As Managing Partner at Escalate Group, he provides advice and solutions for business transformation, digital innovation, growth strategies, and Web3; he has unlocked digital value for dozens of customer organizations with great success. He is an active participant in the blockchain ecosystem and Co-Founder and Board Director at Fluid Chains, a company focused on making distributed ledger applications a reality.
Cesar is currently on the board of the Technology Network at YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), a member of the yWhales advisory board, peer board leader at Leading Peers, investor, and board member in several early-stage technology and blockchain businesses. He studied engineering at Pontifical Bolivarian University and completed his International Marketing Master's Degree at EAFIT University in Colombia. Since 2015, he has attended the YPO President's Program at Harvard Business School. Cesar is committed to lifelong learning and leadership development.
He is a frequent speaker on business transformation, blockchain business models, NFT tokenization, and Web3.
Marcelo Dadone
Founder | Managing Partner | Business Consultant
Throughout his 30 years of professional experience in international business and global operations, Marcelo has held various senior and executive positions with multinational and mid-size companies. He has worked in 10+ countries in Latin America and is the Managing Partner of D&W Business Consultants, a firm that assists CEOs and entrepreneurs in expanding their operations into the American market and positioning their companies in the US. By assessing the commercial and economic viability of investment projects, Marcelo provides strategic and financial advice to upper management and boards regarding the convenience of launching their companies in the local arena.
Marcelo earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba (FCE-UNC), Argentina, and an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, specializing in strategy and finance. He was awarded the Carroll GSOM Scholarship from Boston College and the IERAL-Mediterranean Foundation Scholarship.
As an active member of SCORE/SBA, Marcelo regularly conducts webinars and workshops about launching Latin American companies in the US.
He is passionate about sports and has a keen interest in international affairs and global trends, participating actively in several Latin American chambers of commerce to foster binational trade and businesses.
David Goodman
Founder | CEO | Managing Director
David has extensive experience serving as a third-generation business leader in his family-owned automotive, farming, and construction company. He has worked for the largest ad agencies in the world, supporting clients such as Pillsbury, Heinz, Keebler, Kimberly-Clark, Salada Tea, and Kraft, before running new product development for Beecham Cosmetics.
As a partner in the world’s largest commercial real estate company, David was responsible for 21 offices, 5,000 employees, and 40 million square feet of commercial real estate across multiple countries.
For the past 25 years, David served as a corporate enhancement executive, stepping in as CEO to help private equity, VCs and corporate owners of underperforming companies improve growth and profitability. He has also been involved with 33 fundraisings and two IPOs.
In addition to David’s third-party work, he built and owns Edenark Group, a 25-year-old company providing the world’s premier environmental sustainability certification program for SMEs. David owns two other organizations, A Better World Starts With Me and Best You Can Be, which address the people side of sustainability: workplace violence, depression, insomnia, stress, anxiety, focus, mental acuity, and pain. Finally, David co-owns Gym For The Brain, a high-altitude EWOT (exercise with oxygen therapy) facility.
Laurence Liebson
CEO | Board Member | Entrepreneur
Laurence is an experienced CEO, board member, and entrepreneur in the technology, B2B, and services industries. He was the co-founding CEO of three companies (one sold to an NYSE firm and two are NASDAQ-listed). His career spans leading firms, IPOs, M&As, numerous BOD memberships, and turnarounds in private and public companies with worldwide operations.
Laurence earned an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), completed graduate work at Harvard University (division engineering and applied physics); and received a BS in engineering from Northeastern University. His management experience as an entrepreneur and Fortune 500 executive is complemented by university-level teaching roles in entrepreneurship and strategy.
Laurence serves as an advisor/director/consultant to emerging growth and medium-sized companies. He lives with his wife in Boca Raton, Florida, and enjoys skiing, scuba diving, windsurfing, and racquetball.
Dr. Yuriy Shulhan
CEO | Board Director | Business Consultant
Dr. Yuriy Shulhan is a seasoned consultant with almost 30 years of global banking, microfinance, and economic development experience. He was the board chair of two small and medium-sized business-lending specialized banks, board member of seven non-bank small business lenders, CEO of four non-bank micro and small business lenders, and consultant to various banks, non-banks, and small business development projects.
Dr. Shulhan’s small and medium enterprise sector development methodological recommendations have been implemented by the Government of Ukraine, and his agency banking regulation has been adopted by the banking sector regulator of Tajikistan.
Prior to his banking career, Dr. Shulhan started and ran a small hotel business in Ukraine, which is still operational.
Dr. Shulhan holds an MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and a Ph.D. in Economics from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
James (Jim) Wagy
Managing Director | CEO | Business Consultant
Jim has 28+ years of experience in the financial services industry, where he served as CEO of four credit unions in South Florida and COO of the $700M-asset Tropical Financial Credit Union. Jim brings a wealth of financial knowledge to his career as a Commercial and Residential Real Estate Professional where he raises capital for large commercial projects.
Jim’s entire career is driven by transforming businesses and implementing growth plans in a way that is rarely matched. He takes pride in working personally with every client, understanding their needs, and helping them successfully achieve their goals. He knows well that the combination of real estate and finance is a relationship-based business built upon ongoing communication and complete trust.
Jim began his highly impressive educational background by laying the groundwork for the professional that he is today. He received a BS in Finance, an MBA, and a Certified Chief Executive (CCE) designation, and has studied Commercial and Consumer Lending, Total Quality Management, and advanced leadership at various universities.
He is active in his community as the Treasurer of his HOA, incoming President of the Weston Rotary Satellite Club, and Champion of the Reyna Autistic Boys Homes.
