About Us

The Rational Exponent Story

The Rational Exponent Story

AI is advancing at unprecedented levels, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the enterprise. From foundation models to development frameworks, retrieval technologies and guardrails, the pace of technical innovation has been faster than any wave of innovation since the dawn of the information age. This is a golden opportunity to re-invent the way banking is done.

While the technology sector is accelerating, a massive gap remains: how to turn the promise of revolutionary AI into real, reliable, trustworthy, and risk-aware value for the enterprise. Especially in regulated industries where trust, transparency, and accountability are non-negotiable. That’s the gap our founding team set out to bridge.

Despite headwinds the industry faces–scarcity of talent, computer hardware for training and inference, cost scaling, and a lack of standardized frameworks for risk management in both the enterprise and society,

Venture investments in technology and strategic enterprise investments are moving from experimentation to implementation, turning the promise of AI into an exciting new reality. They know that real AI transformation won’t be built on innovative technology alone. It will be built upon operational trust.

Founded by a team of bankers, technologists, business innovators, and successful entrepreneurs, we’ve experienced firsthand how innovation stalls without the right bridge between innovation and execution. Our team has a successful track record of turning breakthrough startup technologies into category-defining companies, transforming complex technical inventions into scalable business innovation and sustainable market leadership.

We created Rational Exponent to ensure AI doesn’t just inspire pie-in-the-sky business ideas; it drives transformative business outcomes. We’re focused on what matters most to business leaders, creating innovative solutions that are real, repeatable, and prudent for the industries that power the economy.

Rational Exponent Leadership Team

With decades of collective experience delivering enterprise-scale innovation, our leadership team is recognized for shaping and delivering the foremost transformative software solutions to global customers in financial services, banking, and other regulated industries — partnering with some of the world’s leading institutions.

Ryan Schoenfeld

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Ryan Schoenfeld is a seasoned financial services executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience at the intersection of banking, technology, and government sectors. He has built a distinguished career driving go-to-market strategies, scaling revenue growth, and positioning high-growth enterprises for strategic expansion and successful exits. Known for aligning customer success with enterprise delivery, Ryan has consistently transformed commercial operations into engines of sustainable value creation.

As Global Chief Revenue Officer at Virtual Clarity, he spearheaded rapid global expansion, leading the organization through a period of accelerated growth and positioning it for its successful acquisition by DXC Technology. Following the acquisition, Ryan assumed leadership of a broad, multinational portfolio, where he advanced strategic initiatives across complex, regulated environments. He holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Political Science and Computer Science, with a minor in Mathematics, from James Madison University—an academic foundation that complements his ability to bridge technical innovation with business strategy at scale.

Rens Troost

Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer

Rens Troost brings over three decades of experience as a seasoned technology leader and repeat founder with a proven track record of converting innovation into shareholder value. He co-founded Virtual Clarity and NAME.COM, guiding both companies to successful exits, and has held executive and leadership roles at Lehman Brothers, Moore Capital Management/IMS, UBS AG, and DXC Technology. Rens has served on public company boards listed on NASDAQ and TSE, including NAME, SMTP.COM, and Sharpspring. His career spans early-stage startups to global enterprises, with a consistent focus on pragmatic transformation and strategic business growth. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University.

Brian Glasser

Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer

Brian Glasser has more than three decades of experience in the financial services industry, leading operational strategy and scaling growth at multiple firms. He was instrumental in the success of Spring Lake Consulting, acquired by Mitchell Martin in 2017, and served as U.S. CEO at Virtual Clarity, which was acquired by DXC in 2019. At Rational Exponent, Brian oversees company operations and execution. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Lehigh University and an MBA in Finance and Statistics from NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Brian Bauer

Vice President, Artificial Intelligence Products

Brian Bauer brings over two decades of experience in business transformation and advanced technology innovation. As VP of Artificial Intelligence Products at Rational Exponent, he leads the company’s AI go-to-market strategies, enabling clients to generate meaningful business value through artificial intelligence. Brian has developed and patented technologies in NLP, sentiment analysis, and machine learning—frequently cited by companies such as Google, Microsoft, Sony, AT&T, and IBM. His career is defined by driving growth through innovation and delivering measurable results. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Middlebury College.

Ashley Cvrkel

Chief Revenue Officer

Ashley Cvrkel is the Chief Revenue Officer at Rational Exponent, where she leads the company’s go-to-market strategy, revenue growth, and strategic partnerships. With more than a decade of experience in enterprise sales, business development, and cloud-based technology solutions, Ashley has held leadership roles at The Clearing House, Thought Machine, DXC Technology, and Virtual Clarity. She is widely recognized for building high-performance teams and fostering long-term client relationships. Her work has helped modernize legacy systems, scale revenue, and deliver cutting-edge solutions to financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Ashley began her career in healthcare IT, providing her with a deep understanding of regulated industries and compliance frameworks. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management with a minor in General Business from Duquesne University. Ashley also serves on the board of the Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities.

Board Members

Boe Hartman

Board Member

Boe Hartman is a seasoned financial technology executive and global payments expert with over 30 years of experience in banking and technology. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Nomi Health, a company transforming healthcare payment and insurance systems. In this role, Mr. Hartman leverages his extensive banking leadership to modernize how healthcare is bought and paid for, applying fintech innovations to improve the health sector’s infrastructure. This unique blend of global banking and startup experience has established him as a leading authority in both financial services and healthcare payments.

Prior to co-founding Nomi Health, Mr. Hartman was a Partner and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he was a founding member of Marcus by Goldman. During his five years at Goldman, he guided the firm’s digital transformation initiatives – including the launch of the online consumer banking platform Marcus and a new credit card technology platform. Earlier, Mr. Hartman served as Chief Information Officer at Barclaycard, overseeing global technology operations responsible for billions of transactions across Barclaycard’s financial products. He also spent over 10 years at Capital One in senior IT and operations roles, driving innovations in banking infrastructure and customer services.

In addition to his executive roles, Mr. Hartman contributes his expertise on several boards of directors. He was elected to the Board of Directors of Appian (NASDAQ: APPN). He also serves on the boards of AI ventures including Valkyrie Andromeda Corporation and Rational Exponent, Inc, as well as advises multiple fintech start-ups.

Steve Peskin

Board Member

Steve Peskin brings deep experience of building and scaling enterprise technology ventures for the UK and US markets. Most recently, he founded and led Virtual Clarity, where as CEO he shaped an outcomes-driven approach to enterprise transformation and guided the business through its acquisition by DXC Technology in 2019, then helped embed that model across a global delivery portfolio. Before Virtual Clarity, Steve founded and ran Propero, an early VDI pioneer whose connection-broker technology was acquired by VMware in 2007 and became foundational to what is now VMware Horizon. Earlier in his career, he served as a principal at Pontis Consulting, advising organizations on technology strategy and operating model change. Steve is a determined and irreverent change-maker.

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