NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AST®,
a full-service, tech-enabled ownership data management and advisory
firm, today announced the launch of a new business to meet the varied
and complex needs of private companies. AST Private Company Solutions™
is developing innovative and next-generation technology, products and
services to support the entire lifecycle of a private company, including
when the next phase involves going public.

AST Private Company Solutions will introduce a robust offering for
various types of private companies, from venture-backed to private
equity-owned, including capitalization and waterfall tracking, employee
stock plan administration, and related transactional and liquidity
support. The company will be headquartered in Silicon Valley, one of the
U.S.’s primary epicenters for start-up activity, and will launch its
solution later this year.

“There are millions of private companies in North America and around the
world, and in this market environment, many are staying private longer.
Historically, they have had to work with multiple providers for the
critical services that keep their businesses running smoothly, but we
can give them the convenience and stability of an integrated, AST-backed
platform,” said Marty Flanigan, President and Chief Executive Officer of
AST.

He added, “AST already serves some 400 private companies, and we are
making a significant commitment to expanding in this space. We’re going
to do it right, and that includes bringing in leaders who have spent
their careers building solutions for the private market.”

AST has appointed Carine Schneider, FGE, to lead AST Private Company
Solutions as President. An experienced and well-connected entrepreneur
in the private company market and global compensation industry, she has
held positions including President of Nasdaq Private Market Equity
Solutions, CEO and Board Director at Certent, and Founder, CEO and Board
Director at Global Shares. She was formerly a Partner with PwC and Nua
Group and has held senior roles at Morgan Stanley and Towers Watson.
Schneider was also named one of the “100 Influential Women in Silicon
Valley” by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2017, among
other honors. In 1993 she founded the National Association of Stock Plan
Professionals (NASPP), in 1999 founded the Global Equity Organization
(GEO), and over the years has launched several other related industry
organizations.

“In my years of working with private companies, starting when I was part
of the IPO team at Oracle, I’ve observed an unmet need for the full
range of capabilities valued by these companies to be integrated in one
solution,” said Schneider. “I’m excited to seize the opportunity with
AST, which has already transformed other segments through a strategic
mix of technology and advisory. In AST Private Company Solutions, we are
building something truly special, using next-gen software to support
private companies and their investors, employees and advisors.”

Central to the buildout of AST Private Company Solutions’s innovative
software is Steve Madeira, who has joined as CTO. An expert
technologist, he was most recently CTO of SynchroNet and, before that,
Head of Product Operations at Nasdaq Private Market and Senior Vice
President at Certent. Earlier in his career, he held various senior
positions at Navio Systems, Inc., ePeople, Philips Electronics, Siemens
and IBM.

Madeira will be joined by Eric Kissler as Chief Architect. Kissler was
formerly Principal Architect with Certent and one of the company’s first
engineers.

About AST

AST was originally founded as a transfer agent over 45 years ago.
Through organic growth and strategic acquisitions, AST has pioneered a
new model of integrated ownership data management, advisory services and
financial technology in the industry. AST affiliates include AST Trust
Company (Canada), D.F. King & Co, Inc. and Donlin, Recano & Company, Inc.

Today, AST offers a full scope of ownership services that include
registry services, corporate proxy solicitation and advisory solutions,
employee plan services, information agent, mutual fund proxy
solicitation, shareholder identification and asset recovery offerings.
For more information, please visit www.astfinancial.com.

Contacts

Sara Walsh
AST
212-493-6945
[email protected]

Jade Faugno
Intermarket Communications
212-754-5425
[email protected]