Meet the Judges: Mass Fintech Hub Pitch Battle at Stonehill College

Craig Colson Jr. 
Chief of Staff, Fidelity Private Shares

Craig Colson currently serves as a Chief of Staff at Fidelity Private Shares, a startup inside Fidelity Labs building software for private companies and their investors. At FPS, he works closely with the Managing Director on company strategy and its go-to-market approach. He also collaborates cross-functionally with other Fidelity business units on their roadmap priorities and alongside the product and engineering teams to launch new products. Before FPS, he was a venture investor at Converge and Connecticut Innovations, backing early-stage founders across software and fintech. Prior to that, he worked in corporate development at Taco Comfort Solutions, a global HVAC manufacturer. He is a graduate of Bryant University, and he enjoys seeing companies building in financial services and helping founders scale their businesses.

Ralph Dangelmaier 
Strategic Adviser, Payments Advisory

Ralph Dangelmaier is a Strategic Advisor with the Payments Advisory Team, where he works with companies across the global payments ecosystem to improve performance, increase revenue, and reduce cost and risk. As a former CEO and Board Member, he brings decades of hands-on experience working with thousands of banks, processors, and merchants across more than 60 countries. Ralph also served on the on the Board of Advisors at Stonehill College. Today, he advises leading investment firms on opportunities in payments, SaaS, and security—helping them identify and scale the next generation of industry leaders.

Ashley Nagle Eknaian
Chief Digital Officer, Eastern Bank

Ashley Nagle Eknaian is the Chief Digital Officer and Head of Eastern Labs at Eastern Bank. She is responsible for driving innovation and connecting Eastern Bank to the broader fintech ecosystem through experimentation, partnerships, and investments. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University and an MBA from Northeastern University. Ashley also serves on multiple boards, contributing her expertise, strategic insight, and innovative mindset.

Ryan Gatti
SVP, Head of Innovation, Citizens Bank

Ryan Gatti is Senior VP, Innovation & Corporate Strategy at Citizens, driving strategic initiatives and innovation within the financial sector. His background demonstrates a focus on identifying emerging technologies and fostering business growth. Ryan's experience also includes roles at Visa, where he focused on expanding Visa's emerging market strategy and financial inclusion mission.

Jagathi Gururajan
Board Chair, FintechWomen
Managing Director, Novus Lauras 

Jagathi is a global executive, strategic operator and advisor with over two decades of experience across technology, governance and large-scale transformation. She has held senior leadership roles at Thomson Reuters, PwC and venture-backed firms where she led global teams and scaled operations in highly regulated environments. Jagathi is the Board Chair at FintechWomen, an organization with a mission to ensure equity as financial services become increasingly digital.

John Valentine 
Senior Director, Industry Alliances, MassChallenge

John Valentine serves as Senior Director, Industry Alliances, at MassChallenge, where he focuses on building and scaling the fintech ecosystem by connecting high-growth startups with leading financial institutions. He drives strategic partnerships that accelerate innovation in areas such as payments, embedded finance, and AI-driven financial services, helping both startups and enterprise partners unlock new growth opportunities. Through his work, he plays a key role in fostering collaboration, advancing emerging technologies, and strengthening the broader fintech landscape. Earlier in his career, John was an early employee at fintech startup LevelUp, which was acquired by Grubhub for $390 million. He has since held senior leadership roles across digital health, AI, and consumer technology, including serving as Chief Growth Officer at Koa Health and General Manager at Capsule, where he led Boston operations during a period of rapid growth. Across every role, he is driven by a passion for solving complex problems, building meaningful partnerships, and creating lasting impact through innovation.