Hannah Fernandez
Hannah Fernandez is the Founder and CEO of ROI Business Funding, a Chicago-based company that helps entrepreneurs across the United States and Canada obtain alternative sources of funding. She advocates for small businesses who have limited access to capital and provides them with technical assistance and coaching to become fundable. Hannah is a graduate of the University of Chicago and has over a decade experience in sales, marketing, and management leadership. Hannah has been an advocate for women and minorities to gain positions of leadership and influence in business.
A strong believer in giving back to the community, Hannah is the Chair of the National Latino Education Institute (NLEI) Business Leadership Council. She is the former SCORE Chicago Vice-Chair of Diversity and is now the first woman First Vice-Chair at SCORE Chicago and the first woman successor ever to become Chair of SCORE Chicago. Hannah is the host of SCORE TV’s “Let’s Talk Business” show. She volunteers as a Chicago Public Schools science fair judge at the Museum of Science & Industry. She serves on the Advisory Collective Council for the Illinois State Comptroller and the City of Chicago Mayoral Business Council.
Hannah is a sought-after speaker at business events, including: “Unstoppable Confidence: Women in Leadership”; SCORE and the SBA’s “Show Me the Money” workshop; the Women Business Development Center’s “From Boss to LEADher Entrepreneurship Summit”; HispanicPro’s “Trailblazing Women That Lead”, and South Shore Chamber of Commerce “Access to Capital” workshop, to name a few. Hannah has appeared in WCIU-TV’s You & Me This Morning, ABC 7, WTTW 11, CAN-TV, WVON etc., and she has been featured in USA Today, CBS, The Daily Herald, Yahoo! News, and other publications.
Amir Khalil
As ROI Business Funding’s Chief Operating Officer, Amir oversees the firm’s general business strategy, develops new strategic partnerships and manages corporate development activities. Serving in various executive positions, Amir has 10+ years of achievements in corporate sales, investing, deal structuring and private equity experience. He brings a wide array of product management expertise and a keen understanding of developing strategic partnerships and fostering client relationships. Since joining ROI Business Funding, Amir has shaped the firm’s client-centric strategy. He provides business leadership to the development and execution of critical enterprise-wide capabilities required to realize ROI’s strategic priorities. Under his leadership, sales and marketing teams are executing clear, efficient priorities to help our clients get personalized service, make confident decisions, and benefit from ROI Business Funding’s expanded product line.
Before joining ROI Business Funding, Amir has served in various executive positions and led marketing, product, sales and customer service to bring double digit growth in revenue and new customer acquisition. Amir has a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Missouri State University. As soon as he started his career in sales, so impressive are his sales skills that he earned the honor of being named Pfizer Rookie of the Year. He continued to advance to various senior sales and marketing roles with increasing responsibilities in the medical device industry and pharmaceutical industry, where he consistently received national recognition year after year as Overall Sales Champion Honors for being in the Top 3 in the country in sales for Stryker Orthopedics. He has since held leadership roles in management, sales, marketing, strategy, analytics and operations. His success has been based on his ability to help grow his current accounts with the resources available and converting business in the current competitive market place. As a former college athlete, he is passionate about continuous self-improvement and enjoys the competitive aspect of sales, the thrill of the deal and winning as well as building businesses from the ground up. Amir believes that being an athlete with the rigorous training required in such a strenuous sport facilitated excellent work ethic, discipline, and perseverance. Serving as a role model, he strives to have a powerful impact in the lives of our youth and be a positive force to help them succeed. His greatest passion is to mentor kids to overcome challenges, show them what it takes to be successful in their personal, professional, and business goals, and plant the seed with our youth that lifelong learning is crucial. Amir’s personal and business influence, smart strategies, and no-nonsense approach to negotiation and investing has made him invaluable in the businesses he helps grow.
Christopher Moffatt
Christopher Moffatt is a computer programming expert in the aerospace and financial industries and has an innate curiosity not only of how things work, but also how to make them better and more efficient. As an experienced software developer with over 15 years experience in both engineering and software, Chris enjoys challenging roles that involve solving difficult problems. As a former NASA engineer, he spent 9 years working on the Space Shuttle Program. He was issued a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for an auditing system that monitors the health of a process which uses handheld devices to gather real time data. As the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Chris is responsible for ROI Business Funding’s technology, operations, data, and financial management, including accounting, financial planning, sales and performance analysis, treasury, tax, fund accounting, trading and settlement, and investor relations. Chris ensures the financial health of the organization, including responsibility for ensuring that ROI’s resources are effectively employed toward the achievement of the firm’s strategic plan. He manages the organization’s budget and financial operations, directs the preparation and submission of annual financial and budgetary reports, and coordinates the firm’s financial management activities with other departments. At ROI Business Funding, Chris believes in putting the clients’ interests first and seeks to deliver innovative technology to clients.
Prior to ROI Business Funding, Chris obtained and enhanced his leadership skills from being consistently chosen as the lead engineer on several projects. In addition, Chris held a variety of executive positions as Director of Development and Innovation and Chief Information Officer at WOW Memories, where he led the company’s Technology and Operations organization. In his role, Chris oversaw all of the company’s shared services for technology, operations, data, servicing, security and procurement. With his extensive background in technology and finance, Chris served as the Assistant Vice President at ABN AMRO Bank, a lead engineer at Boeing and NASA, and a consultant for reUrgency, a company that specializes in responsive web development, app development and search engine optimization. Chris has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Master of Science in Computer Science from Webster University. He is passionate about making the world a better, fairer place and providing equal access to quality education and has a natural propensity for business, science, photography, politics and innovation. A fun, intelligent, and creative individual, he likes to sing and dance. Chris enjoys playing and watching sports, spending time with his kids and friends, writing software, reading non-fiction, and exploring new places. He has served as a Chicago Public Schools science fair judge for the past 10 years and supports the Cabrini-Tutoring Program and Storytellers for Good.
Jasmin Fernandez
As the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Client Relations of ROI Business Funding, Jasmin Fernandez oversees strategic planning, market research, client insights, portfolio management, project management, and employee development initiatives. She is responsible for connecting with clients through all channels, including advertising, PR, the company website, direct marketing, and customer support as well as for managing our client-centric operations. This includes providing client analytics and marketing services in support of ROI’s revenue strategies and the planning and execution of large-scale strategic programs spanning multiple lines of business. As an entrepreneur herself, Jasmin understands the unique challenges and needs of small business owners, especially those that are women-owned, veteran-owned, and minority-owned enterprises. By continually looking for innovative ways to help our clients succeed and putting their needs first, Jasmin has enhanced how ROI Business Funding engages our clients with customized service, revenue growth, and innovation across our various channels.
Throughout her career, Jasmin has been heavily involved in networking and connecting with various small business owners and community leaders. As a single, divorced parent focused on personal and business development, Jasmin is truly an agent of transformational change. After her separation in August 2011, Jasmin has been determined to provide for her young children, Hannah and Daniel, as well as honor her personal growth and authentic self. At ROI Business Funding, Jasmin always strives to treat each and every client as dear, valued friends or family. Since Jasmin has always been such a giving and generous person, putting herself in her clients’ shoes and assessing their individual needs come naturally to her. Leading by example keeps her focused on the end goal to inspire and show others that owning a successful business can be a reality. In creating a lifestyle for herself and her children through entrepreneurship, she aims to take what she’s learned and pass it on to future entrepreneurs and leaders. She also wants her kids and others to believe in their own potential and greatness—that they have the power to create any life they can imagine. Jasmin seeks to use her talents to help others and inspire children from underprivileged backgrounds to attain their highest human potential. She is the recipient of the Top One Coaching Entrepreneur Award and the Mega Partnering Loyalty Award. Believing in paying it forward, she supports the Women Business Development Center, Storytellers for Good, and the Children’s Hospital. Jasmin has served as a Chicago Public Schools science fair judge for the past 17 years. She serves on the Board of Directors of Top One Coaching and Mega Partnering and as a Host Committee member for the WDBC’s Annual Entrepreneurial Women’s Conference. Jasmin has appeared in WCIU-TV’s You & Me This Morning and has been featured in many leading publications including CBS, Yahoo! News, and Chicago Parent.