The Nessa Group Co-Founders and Managing Partners bring decades of cumulative experience in their respective fields.

James (Jim) R. Huerta

JimFounder and Managing Partner of The Nessa Group
Huerta.j@thenessagroup.com
LinkedIn Profile: James R. (Jim) Huerta

James R. (Jim) Huerta is a seasoned executive with senior and C-Suite management experience. He has held positions in a wide variety of industries including Intellectual Property, Entertainment, Strategic Business Consulting, Market Research, Mining, and Security & Commodity Trading and Trade Finance.

He has been recognized and accredited for the recovery of two publicly traded companies, one in the commodity trading industry and the other in the tech transfer/IP sector. James has held among numerous line positions during his career:

  • CEO – Research Company.
  • CFO – Firm creating markets and news in the Intellectual Property (IP) space.
  • COO – Publicly traded legacy technology transfer company.
  • Principal Managing Director – Consulting firm assisting major international banks in their commodity trading divisions.
  • Vice President/Controller – International Bank involved in Trade Finance and Commodity trading.
  • Director – System Administration – Fortune 100 Entertainment Company.
  • Board member in the private and public sectors.
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    Read More About James Huerta

    James’ strengths lay in his broad experience through executive roles in many industries. His market research together with his leadership skills provides the platform for his successes in senior management positions. In addition, his accomplishments have ranged from launching companies uniquely positioned for success to operating turn-around situations for investor groups.

    Over the last five years, James has provided assistance to the City of Stamford, CT for two administrations. He has held positions  as  Commissioner/Chair of the Economic Development Commission and Treasurer for the Urban Redevelopment Commission.  He is currently working with the City’s Office Policy and Management (OPM) Department where he evaluates, recommends and coordinates required procedures for city departments supported by Key Performance Indexes (KPIs).

    In addition, James has been a Board member with organizations focusing on Public/Private Partnership whose mission is to help design and implement Smart Cities. He is the Vice Chair of Prospanica an organization of 18,000 members focusing on youth training and career advancement. He has also served as an expert member of a United Nations (UN) under U4SSC: “The Impact of Sensing Technologies and IoT in Cities.”

    James has been an evaluator/mentor for the Green House program at Columbia University Graduate Business School. The program is supported by grants from the Lang Foundation, established by Eugene Lang whose company REFAC was a pioneer in the patent infringement space. It provides entrepreneurial training for students who want to start their own business upon graduation. James is also a mentor for entrepreneurs in organizations such as Prospanica and 1 Million Cups sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation.

    James served in the US Air Force Strategic Air Command, Logistics. He is of Cuban descent and is fluent in Spanish. He earned his BBA from Baruch College and his MBA from the University of New Haven. He and his family has been living in Stamford CT since 1970.


Justin Tripodi

J.Tripodi Bio Pic - Vintage

Managing Director-Advisory & Strategy Services
LinkedIn Profile: Justin Tripodi

Justin Tripodi is a startup advisor and strategist dedicated to helping business leaders succeed in today’s constantly evolving business world. Whether tackling complex business challenges, exploring market opportunities, or igniting a startup concept, Justin views strategic development as an iterative journey of comprehensive planning and agile execution. His perspective is molded from leadership experiences with Cantor Fitzgerald and Ruckus Marketing, where he displayed expertise in growing revenue, maximizing cost efficiencies, and leading cross-functional teams. Passionate about entrepreneurship, Justin founded J.Tripodi Strategic Designs in 2012 where he works closely with clients as a coach, designing and executing interdisciplinary strategies that are data-driven, innovative, and measurable for startups. Justin received both his MBA and B.S. in Management from Binghamton University. He is an advisor to Binghamton University and the students.


 Wil Jacques

WJDirector-Intellectual Property Consulting Services
LinkedIn Profile: Wil Jacques

Wil Jacques is a patent valuation and licensing expert with over 25 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, sales, strategic marketing, and technology licensing for government, industrial, and private sector organizations and clients. His practice focuses on assisting early-stage companies attract capital investments and out-licensing opportunities with larger more established market players including government, venture capital firms, and medium to large-size corporations. His specific services include patented technology valuation, market due diligence, business opportunity identification, and licensing negotiations with third parties as an agent of the patent and technology owner.

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    Wil also consults with universities and intellectual property marketing firms on the specific strategies for monetizing their patent assets. Representative transactions include the licensing of biotechnology and organic solar cell technologies for Florida A&M University, electrical transformer technology for University of Hartford, and wireless audio and electronic display technologies for Competitive Technologies. In addition, Wil has completed more than twenty-five patent valuation and market research studies for clients including Science & Technology, LLC, Competitive Technologies, and TAEUS International.


Anthony M. Verna III

Director-Brand Consultant
LinkedIn Profile: Anthony M. Verna III

Anthony M. Verna III has a strong focus on Trademark, Copyright, Domain Names, Entertainment, and Advertising law, Anthony can provide all Intellectual Property services a modern business of any size may need to market and promote itself better.  Anthony provides intellectual property counseling and services tailored to fit into a business’ comprehensive growth strategy. Anthony is a sought-after business speaker, including regular appearances at the World Board Gaming Championships, Lawline, the Business Marketing Association of New Jersey, and Columbian Lawyers Association. Anthony has a Bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University in Computer Science, showing great familiarity in the technology space, and his Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School.


 Scott Mautner

Corporate Legal Services
LinkedIn Profile: Scott Mautner

Scott Mautner’s practice focuses on providing general counsel outsource services to companies engaged in a variety of businesses, and representing clients in corporate and real estate transactions involving mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, private equity and venture capital financings, and general corporate and real estate matters.

Prior to founding MautnerLaw, Scott served as the General Counsel of four different technology, telecom and media companies over a period of approximately 13 years. In each role, Scott established the legal department, and was part of the executive management team. He was responsible for all aspects of legal operations, including corporate governance and policies; mergers and acquisitions, business development, vendor and other transactions; litigation; human resources matters; risk management; and regulatory compliance.

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    Read More About Scott Mautner

    Over the course of his General Counsel experience, among other things, Scott consummated transactions involving equity and debt financings, including closing an equity round of $45 million and restructuring debt in excess of $50 million; acquired a number of companies, including divisions of Global Crossing and Radianz; and successfully closed the sale of three of the companies for which he worked. Scott also worked for several law firms in New York City as part of their corporate and real estate departments, including Baer Marks & Upham and Mandel and Resnik. At those firms, he generally practiced mergers and acquisitions, securities law transactions, financings, real estate transactions and general corporate advice. Scott attended Boston University, School of Law, where he obtained his J.D., and the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Ross School of Business, where he obtained a BBA, with distinction, and concentrated in accounting. He is admitted to practice in both New York and Connecticut.