Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Paul Riss, MBA, CPA, our Chief Executive Officer, has more than 30 years of experience buying, building, and selling businesses as the CEO of a publicly-traded company and as a CPA with Ernst & Young.
He is a board member of an equity-based funding portal and a member of FINRA. As the CEO of a Nasdaq-listed technology company, he was selected as a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award program for the Connecticut / Hudson Valley region. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with distinction from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and earned an MBA with distinction from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He won the James P. Kelly Award for distinguished public service by a member of the Westchester chapter of the New York State Society of Public Accountants. Mr. Riss, an accomplished musician, wrote and directed ten musical parodies to raise money for college scholarships.
Cesar Herrera, President of Fortune, has over 20 years of experience running his own real estate brokerage firm. As a licensed broker, Mr. Herrera is integral in the sales, development, and financing of countless multi-million dollar residential and commercial properties. Mr. Herrera has experience in multiple real estate levels, including bridge finance, ground development finance, hard money, and traditional conventional loans. He also has expertise in lender short sale, foreclosure, and forbearance negotiations.
Mr. Herrera is also an active member of the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors, taking advantage of both organizations’ courses and numerous certifications. He is also licensed with the California State Board of Licensed Contractors for both commercial and residential construction sales.
Charles Gryba P.Eng - His geology experience, mining methods, and advances to the mining industry make him a desired resource company executive. Today Mr. Gryba is acting as Strategic Advisor for Fortune Nickel and Gold Inc. He is instrumental in the geological, technical, and mining decision-making for the Company's Gowan and Beck Ottaway project.
David Beling P.E.- During the past 56 years, Mr. Beling examined, significantly reviewed, or was directly involved with 88 underground mines, 131 open-pit mines, and 164 process plants around the world. He also developed, enhanced, and obtained financing for several mining companies, mainly in the copper, gold, cobalt, nickel, and uranium sectors.
Prairie Fire Enterprises (Project Manager)
This Canadian consulting company consists of industry experienced professionals including an internationally experienced geologist and field corporate operations manager familiar with exploration and mining in Timmins. Prairie Fire specializes in green fields, project to mine-based exploration, project generation, project supervision, and coordination, design and execution of drilling programs, application and integration of geological - geophysical - geochemical sampling techniques, processing and interpretation of geological/drilling datasets, geological and resource modeling, and technical reporting.