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The experience of LevelField's executive directors is complemented by the expertise of our independent board members.

Clay is the Managing Member of The Arbroath Companies in Houston, Texas with a primary focus on real estate and private equity investments in high growth markets across the US. Before co-founding Arbroath, Clay had a long career in commercial law and investment banking in Louisiana, where he devoted much of his time and resources as a civic leader to the betterment of the state. He is a past chair of numerous statewide service organizations and civic groups, and was awarded a Doctor of Letters from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in honor of his service to the endowment of academics. Clay received a Bachelor of Arts and a Juris Doctor from Louisiana State University, a Master of Laws in taxation from Southern Methodist University, and a Master of Business Administration from Tulane University.

Clay Allen

Currently Head of Sales and Trading at AmeriVet Securities, Carmine R. Urciuoli is an accomplished financial markets professional with over thirty-five years of experience across multiple products including investment grade, high yield, Latin American fixed income, derivatives and foreign exchange. In his previous role as Head of Global Markets NY at BBVA, he was credited with the creation, design and execution of BBVA’s Broker Dealer and Fixed Income platform. He held Managing Director roles at Cantor Fitzgerald, BNY Mellon, ABN AMRO Bank, Commerzbank Capital, and Bankers Trust. He has a proven track record for building and leading high performing teams within the He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 53, and 63.

Carmine R. Urciuoli

V. Gerard (Jerry) Comizio is a leading authority on financial services law, regulatory and policy issues, including those relating to transformative financial technologies. The Associate Director of the Business Law Program at American University’s Washington College of Law, Mr. Comizio is teaching financial services law, including one of the first courses taught in the U.S. on virtual currency law. For many years he practiced at major law firms where he chaired their banking practices. Prior to entering private practice, he was the deputy general counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Thrift Supervision, and senior attorney at the SEC. He is the author of International Banking Law, West Academic (2016), and Virtual Currency Law: The Emerging Legal and Regulatory Framework, Wolters Kluwer (2022). Mr. Comizio received his master’s degree in global policy from Johns Hopkins University (2020), LLM from the Georgetown University Law Center (1983), JD from the Pace University School of Law (1980), and BA from Fordham University (1977).

V. Gerard Comizio

Stephen Hollingshead is founder and CEO of ChangeInEx, a RegTech company working to bring property rights and financial inclusion to the unbanked through trust, transparency, and technology. Dr. Hollingshead previously served as an advisor on special economic zones to senior political and business leaders in Iraq and Mexico and was as a board member of MERSCorp Holdings through its turnaround and sale to ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. He served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 2006 to 2009 and was a Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in 1994 and 2014. He holds doctorate and master’s degrees from Marquette University and a bachelor’s from the University of Houston.

Stephen Hollingshead

Born in Canada, and raised by a single father, Grant worked three jobs to pay for his undergraduate degree. From those humble beginnings he traveled to the USA in 1990 with little more than ambition and a fellowship to NYU. His passionate work ethic was forged by the need to make things happen. As an entrepreneur, he started his first business at the age of 14, received a patent at 21, and when 29 took his first fintech startup public at an early stage on the AIM division of the London Stock Exchange. His other roles included Managing Director at global investment banks, CEO of a financial services software vendor, management consultant, and a floor trader on a New York futures exchange. Within his professional career, he lived in six cities, spanning three continents, and led sizable globally disbursed teams. Financial industry licenses and registrations included FINRA Series 24, 4, 7, and 66, and Commodity Pool Operator, Floor Broker and NFA member.

Gene A. Grant II

Former co-founder and Director of Operations of a startup company listed on the AIM division of the London Stock Exchange, Mr. Helmholz has worked within financial services and banking for 37 years. His early career included 15 years on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in Chicago as a currency broker and in foreign exchange arbitrage. After leaving the floor of the CME, Mr. Helmholz spent the next three years opening and managing various 24-hour FX trading desks servicing professional and private traders globally. After moving away from the FX arena, Mr. Helmholz leveraged his experience in financial markets/exchanges and worked as a Senior Consultant upgrading derivative technology, risk and trading operation software at global firms including Deutsche Bank, JPM Chase Bank, Citigroup London, Standard Chartered Bank SG, and ANZ. Mr. Helmholz studied Business Economics at Wheaton College and graduated with a BA from DePaul University.

Stephen Helmholz

With extensive experience over more than 35-years, Thomas Kicak is a highly respected compliance professional with experiences as a Chief Compliance Officer in retail and institutional broker-dealers, investment advisers, and registered swap dealers of super-regional, national, and global banks. He has successfully designed, created, and executed compliance programs to meet regulations from the CFTC, NFA, SEC, FINRA, OCC, and the FRB. He has proven ability to take complex regulatory rulemaking and reduce these requirements to discrete, actionable items. Most recently Director of US Securities and Derivatives Compliance at BBVA USA, he was previously Chief Compliance Officer for the Corporate and Investment Banking business of SunTrust Bank (now Truist), and a senior leader at Banc of America Securities (now Merrill Lynch). He holds an MBA from Cleveland State University

Tom Kicak

Board of Directors

Doing what no one has done before. Leading the Digital Asset industry forward to usher in the future of finance.

We will make finance

LevelField’s founders average over 30 years of experience within the highly regulated financial services industry. Headquartered in Houston, Texas.

With extensive experience over more than 35-years, Thomas Kicak is a highly respected compliance professional with experiences as a Chief Compliance Officer in retail and institutional broker-dealers, investment advisers, and registered swap dealers of super-regional, national, and global banks. He has successfully designed, created, and executed compliance programs to meet regulations from the CFTC, NFA, SEC, FINRA, OCC, and the FRB. He has proven ability to take complex regulatory rulemaking and reduce these requirements to discrete, actionable items. Most recently Director of US Securities and Derivatives Compliance at BBVA USA, he was previously Chief Compliance Officer for the Corporate and Investment Banking business of SunTrust Bank (now Truist), and a senior leader at Banc of America Securities (now Merrill Lynch). He holds an MBA from Cleveland State University. He also holds a FINRA series 4, 7, 8, 14, 24, 53, 63, and 79 registration as well as the NFA Swaps Proficiency Requirement.

Michael William Clayton has a 35-year career in capital markets technology spanning four continents and institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, AIG (where he turned around risk management technology after the 2008 credit crisis), ING, BBVA, and Standard Bank. He has managed large global teams both for custom software development and the integration of vendor packages for a variety of trading and risk management solutions. More than once he was called on to lead teams through difficult circumstances, overcoming substantial obstacles to deliver innovative systems. Despite holding senior roles, Michael maintains hands-on involvement in the technology and mathematics of cutting-edge finance. He holds a BA from Princeton University.

Michael Clayton

Tom is the Head of Capital Markets for Levelfield Financial. He has over 20 years of financial services experience in trading, institutional sales and investment banking. Tom founded Kane Capital Group (KCG) where he helps companies raise capital to start and grow their businesses. Prior to founding KCG, Tom was a Managing Director at KLR Group, a boutique energy investment bank in Houston, TX. At KLR, Tom served as Director of Institutional Sales and led institutional fundraising for the investment banking team. Prior to KLR, Tom led multiple quantitative trading teams in Chicago, IL at Infinium Capital Management and Goldenberg Hehmeyer & Co. Tom earned a B.S. in Finance from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a MBA from DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. He currently holds the Series 7, 24, 55, 63 and 79 securities licenses.

Thomas Kane

With over 30 years of experience working for Fortune 500 companies, her executive expertise directly contributed to year-over-year gains in the consumer goods industry. With experience in financial planning and strategic implementations, she spearheaded the successful national expansions for brick and mortar and website direct-to-consumer retail categories at Macy’s, Office Depot, and specialty retailers. Sandra earned her BA at Clark University.

Sandy Hoodwin

An early enthusiast in digital assets, Mr. Grant has closely followed the evolution of the digital marketplace from the wild west days through to the present. He has conducted analysis and research across the industry. A graduate of the University of Houston, during his final two years he worked full time in a client facing sales and teaching position. Routinely winning the monthly sales competitions, he exceled in customer satisfaction. Prior to joining LevelField he worked as a business process expert for the consolidation of two multinational firms after their legal merger.

Gene Grant III

Tamar brings a wealth of experience in financial analysis, reporting, and compliance across various industries extending from a software startup to well established service companies. She believes in a data-driven and integrated approach to finance and accounting. With a strong knowledge of US GAAP, and a solid understanding of complex financial and regulatory laws in multiple countries, she provides strategic support to drive the company towards success. A licensed CPA, Tamar also holds an MPA from Columbia University and BA from the University of Michigan.

Tamar Sanodze

Katherine Rupp has more than 20 years of diverse experience as marketing leader, with a concentration in the financial and professional services industries. She brings extensive skill sets in strategic marketing, digital acquisition, public relations and brand development to the table. Katherine has also developed marketing infrastructure for companies in a variety of industries and been a speaker for organizations such as MetLife, the U.S. Small Business Administration and CDCLI. She holds a BA from St. Joseph’s College New York.

Katherine Rupp

A digital asset investor and advocate since 2011, Trey was most recently Director of Digital Asset Strategy for Fertitta Entertainment Inc. Tasked with integrating bitcoin into the company’s different business lines and developing a corporate investment strategy, some of his accomplishments include delivering the first licensed Bentley, Bugatti, and Rolls-Royce dealerships to accept bitcoin for payment, the ability to accept bitcoin at over 500 Landry’s restaurants and hotels across the U.S., a partnership between the Houston Rockets and a digital asset firm, and a bitcoin savings plan option for Landry’s corporate employees. In 2012 he began his professional career at Landry’s, Inc. as a member of the employee relations team and completed his time in human resources working directly with the VP of HR on labor law compliance and special projects. Trey holds a BA in Psychology and an MS in Organizational Leadership from Mercyhurst University.

Trey Zeluff

Lisa Hough is Head of Business Development at LevelField Financial, Inc. and was previously Director of Client Solutions at Unchained Capital, Inc, a bitcoin-only financial services firm based in Austin, Texas. Lisa is a force evangelizing “bitcoin, not crypto” at global finance and energy conferences and consults with executives in energy, private equity, and leadership forums as they build an informed thesis on Bitcoin. “My passion is to dismantle familiar false narratives and connect all people to the Bitcoin network because bitcoin, the asset, is the only form of property that can be held by every human on earth, regardless of property rights.”  Her understanding of cross-market dynamics evolved during a decade in natural gas trading and risk management at energy trading organizations, including Vastar Resources, Enron Capital and Trade, and PG&E National Energy Group.  Lisa graduated from Miss Porter’s School and Southern Methodist University, where she received a BA in Biology.

Lisa Hough

Leadership Team

As soon as you accept other people’s money, one has a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard their assets.

LevelField is built on the principle that clients trusting our firm with their assets is a special relationship that must be honored and respected.

A Firm Worthy of Trust

LevelField was founded by banking executives with decades of global experience. We share a common vision that the future of money is digital and that banks will continue to be a trusted provider of financial services.