Author: John Concrane

High quality advantages when hiring interim CFO with Sam McQuade CFO: How Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) Work: The chief financial officer is a member of the C-suite, a term used to describe the most important executives in a company. Alongside the CFO, these roles include the chief executive officer (CEO), the chief operating officer (COO), and the chief information officer (CIO). Becoming a CFO requires a certain degree of experience in the industry. The majority of people who end up in this position have advanced degrees and certifications, such as a graduate degree in finance or economics, and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. It also helps to have a background in accounting, investment banking, or analysis.

In these early years of creating innovations in the corporate C-Suite, Sam McQuade nurtured and created a maverick approach to new finance operations for Stryker as it broke through to the lucrative emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)). While approaching the markets in the growing economies of Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Romania, Sam McQuade was recognizing the need for Interim and Fractional CFO’s for the avalanche of incubators and startup companies in these underdeveloped economies that were on the cusp of being integrated into modern International Finance systems and markets. See extra info on Sam McQuade CFO.

With technological advances disrupting job descriptions, the organization will have its share of fear and resistance. Given the close collaboration between finance and information technology, the CFO is in a unique position to anticipate the future needs of organization and help mentor people with their reskilling into other growth areas. What else do you think CFOs can be doing now to adapt to the future? I’d be very grateful if you provide your comments and share your thoughts. Thank you!

The CFO helps select skilled staff for the finance team and works with departments to allocate budget for human capital management. CFOs put complex data — current, past and predicted financial results — in perspective and help the CEO make sound financial decisions: Should we introduce this new product or service? Can we afford to on-shore our supply chain? What are the tax implications of our employees working from anywhere?

Friends With Benefits is a decentralized social network. It allows users to connect with each other and share content. It allows the users to collaborate and create new content. Users may connect with individuals who share their interests in other cities through city-specific hubs. The more FWB tokens a user has, the more opportunities to meet and interact with others develop. This is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that uses the power of the blockchain to adjudicate disputes. Kleros is a DAO because it is powered by smart contracts. The Kleros token (PNK) is used to incentive jurors to vote on disputes. When someone wants to submit a dispute to Kleros, they first have to deposit some PNK. If the jury rules in favor of the person who submitted the dispute, then they get their PNK back. If the jury rules against them, then they lose their PNK. Kleros can be used to adjudicate any kind of dispute. It has been used to adjudicate disputes in online markets, freelance platforms, and even in the sharing economy.

What Does a Fractional CFO do for a Company? Fractional CFOs most commonly partner with companies to help overcome financial challenges, achieve growth, optimize strategy, implement systems, raise capital, or navigate an audit or transaction. Overcoming Specific Challenges: Fractional CFOs are often brought into an organization when there are financial challenges that the company’s existing team does not have either the skills or manpower to overcome. In many cases, a company does not have an in-house CFO. In some cases, however, the company may have an existing CFO, and the fractional CFO acts as a partner or advisor or helps lead separate projects such as raising capital or navigating an audit.

Are you looking to expand your business overseas? Our experts are able to help you at any stage. We will first start by understanding your vision and global tax and cash strategy. Once aligned, we will help execute the financial, legal, compliance and talent solution activities to build your entity and team.

A DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that is run by smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. It is an organization or company that is not centrally controlled by any one person or entity. Rather, it is governed by code that is written into the smart contracts. This code can be modified or updated by anyone who has access to the DAO’s GitHub repository. To put this into perspective, imagine a traditional company or organization. There is usually a board of directors or executive team that makes all the decisions about how the company will be run. With a DAO, there is no such thing. The code that governs the DAO is open source and available for anyone to view and audit. In this new scenario, an organization can be run by anyone in the world who has an internet connection.

By utilizing a fractional CFO, support levels can be varied and customized to the evolving needs of the organization with the CFO’s work schedule tailored as such. Increased support can be provided at critical times reverting to a more consistent level when appropriate. A fractional CFO can bring substantially all the benefits in terms of skills and knowledge of a full- time resource, at significantly less cost. Services are provided on-site which is convenient for meetings and to perform critical work. The CFO becomes embedded and acts as part of the management team. When not on-site, the CFO can be ‘virtually’ available via modern communication tools.

Do you want to hire your first CFO or wanting only some interim coverage? We offer CFOs for urgent short term objectives and longer term engagements. Adaptable with clear pricing so you solve the needs of your business and don’t have to rush into a potentially bad and expensive full time hire. Sam McQuade CFO has successfully scaled his decades old ideas into an innovative full-service Financial Partner Solution for incubators, startups, emerging business concepts as well as well-established international companies, corporations and organizations with the introduction of Panterra Finance. The Panterra Finance professional executive team members are equipped to provide an industry leading concept of an on demand Fractional CFO and Interim CFO during pivotal transitions. See more information on Sam McQuade.

Untold – The Inside Story by its Founder in a Three-Part Tell-All Expose

Adam Zuckerman, founder of Progenex – an international sports nutrition company, emerges from the shadows after 10-years to tell the true accounts of great invention, criminal fraud, and what he intends to do about.

In 2009, Adam Zuckerman, an American finance entrepreneur partnered with Dr. Scott Connelly, famed inventor of MET-Rx, an American brand of nutritional supplements Connelly sold to Rexall Sundown for $108 million in 2000, currently owned by NBTY.

After 9-years of retirement, Connelly wanted back in the game and launched Progenex Dairy Bioactives, Inc., a bio-nutritional/medical start-up, consisting of a patented and proprietary product Connelly named “Recovery.”

Recovery, as its name implies, was a consumable whey-protein hydrolysate Connelly co-developed with largest dairy producer in Australia, Murray Goulburn Co-Operative Co. Limited (MGC), acquired in 2017 by Saputo (TSX:SAP) for $1.2B. MGC and Connelly co-created a unique substance called Whey Growth Factor Extract (WGFE), which was discovered by tracking RNA expression signatures to reveal which genes were involved with muscle growth, metabolism, and inflammatory response. The product was noticeably effective and it was pricey because it was costly to make. As part of Connelly’s agreement to co-develop WGFE, MGC granted Connelly an exclusive license to market WGFE in the United States, provided he could meet minimum production thresholds for raw materials. Connelly needed a business partner and capital.

Prior to founding Progenex Dairy Bioactives, Inc. with Zuckerman, Dr. Connelly began his career as an anesthesiologist.

Dr. Connelly worked in the hospitals burn unit, which is where he discovered that healing from wasting or damage to human tissue was to occur from the inside out not topically. Simply, while the medical and pharmaceutical world raced to create a topical solution for tissue regeneration, Connelly created a digestible consumable that would not only prove to regenerate tissue in burn victims and slow wasting, but in anyone who needed fast repair and recovery. These findings led to the creation of Progenex “Recovery” – the company’s marquis product, but not before Connelly made his bones a decade earlier, where many sports-fitness enthusiasts consider Scott Connelly the Godfather of industry.

MET-Rx is best known for pioneering a new category of bodybuilding supplements known as meal replacement powders or MRPs.

It was also involved in the androstenedione controversy in the late 1990s. As noted above, the original MET-Rx product was intended to help prevent critically ill patients from losing muscle mass. Connelly’s product was marketed in cooperation with Bill Phillips and the two began marketing to the bodybuilding and athletic communities, launching sales from the low hundreds of thousands to over $100 million annually.

Connelly sold all interest in the company to Rexall Sundown for $108 million in 2000. MET-Rx is currently owned by NBTY

Connelly’s intended application for MET-Rx was the medical sector, as with Progenex to follow, where MET-Rx fast became the gold standard for the bodybuilding community worldwide for obvious reasons in the 80’s – lifting weights is a process of repeatedly tearing tissue and requiring fast repair. And Connelly wasn’t shy about being the poster boy for his brand, nor did he pose in a lab coat. Quite the contrary, where beyond his exhaustive credentials as a protein science pioneer and MD, who revolutionized an industry, Connelly was ripped and often posed with dumbbells in his hands and a tank top for advertisements and interviews.

Enter CrossFit. Progenex gains significant momentum as the title sponsor for CrossFit and becomes a national brand.

Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit, met with Zuckerman and Connelly in 2011 to strike a deal with Progenex as title sponsor for the CrossFit Games. CrossFit was just becoming a household name, which attracted Reebok in 2014, squeezing Progenex out.

CrossFit, a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai
in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trademark. The company forms what has been described as the biggest fitness chain in the world, with around 12,000 affiliated gyms in over 150 countries as of 2022,
under half of which are located in the United States.

CrossFit, meaning cross-discipline fitness, was conceived as a company in 1996 as Cross-Fit. Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai incorporated CrossFit, Inc. in 2000. They opened a gym in Santa Cruz, California in 2001 and posted their workouts on the Internet for their clients, and these workouts were then quickly adopted by individuals in the police, military, firefighting services. The first affiliated gym (known as ‘box’) to form was CrossFit North in Seattle, Washington when Glassman’s internet postings were used by those who wanted to officially incorporate his workouts into their training regimen in 2002.

Glassman obtained complete control over the company in 2012 after a divorce with Jenai, who tried to sell her share in the company to an outside party after the divorce settlement, but Glassman bought it with a $16 million loan from Summit Partners. In June 27, 2020, CrossFit sold to Eric Roza, a tech entrepreneur who made his name and fortune with a data company he sold to Oracle for $1.2 billion in 2014. Roza, 53, according to one source, paid $200 million buying CrossFit Inc.

Connelly and Zuckerman go to war over Progenex before the ink even dries.

In May of 2010, Zuckerman brought suit against Connelly for breach of contract. Both said to have egos as large as the Grand Canyon, Zuckerman emerged victorious in 2013 after a three-year legal blood bath, winning all of Connelly’s shares for $1 dollar. But this is merely where the story begins. Progenex had become an industry leader and was about to go international, but Zuckerman had other issues looming.

Zuckerman was released from prison in late 2013 after beating trumped-up charges by the government, which led to a decade of secretive activities that to this day remain sealed by the Feds. It is believed that his 7-year relationship with the government prior to founding Progenex, not only assured Zuckerman’s early release but would make his government enemies into allies and Zuckerman forever untouchable.

After just 14-months, on October 14, 2013, Zuckerman was released from Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution, expecting to retake control of the Progenex empire he had won from Connelly. But his chief underling, Ryan Page, who would be later sued by CrossFit for trademark infringement, along with Steve Shamion, a trusted investor Zuckerman appointed as temporary Manager to protect his assets had other plans. Shamion and Page saw dollar signs, and instead elected to conspire to steal Progenex from Zuckerman and his ex-wife, Patricia Robinson, who Zuckerman gave full control of Progenex through its managing entity, Amidah LLC, and 40 investors. (See related court transcripts).

Zuckerman met Page four years prior to founding Progenex, rescuing him from a company he ran into the ground in Las Vegas with Luke Adams, who currently serves as Progenex’ dirty CFO.

Zuckerman refers jokingly to Page as the M&M pirate – a tongue-in- cheek descriptor of Page, who would eat an entire large bag of peanut M&M’s in every meeting, and hides his identity as Progenex’ puppet master. Page is hidden from sight by design, and not merely to avoid a head on collision with the legal freight trains coming for him.

Page is anything but a poster boy for a global sports-nutrition brand that caters to an elite athletic market. He not only lacks expertise in the field or requisite credentials to develop these products, but bears no physical resemblance to the exclusive athletes the products cater to. Page is a fraud in every way, and continues to thwart authorities and the courts, after being found culpable for defrauding over 40 investors, pilfering Progenex corporate assets, and failing to turn over the company to investors and Patricia Robinson. Page, along with his entire family, Luke Adam’s, and Paul Gomez, Zuckerman’s ex brother-in-law, are all alleged to be co-conspirators, helping Page to scatter Progenex assets around the world in a hide and seek game of catch me if you can.

Page not only illegally controls Progenex, but has his hands in every pot, using sub-entities he owns and controls as the company’s vendors. From manufacturing to shipping and co-packing, Page created a tangled web used to fleece the company and its investors in every way, including changing the long-established website address from www.progenexusa.com to www.progenexfit.com, to the avoid seizure of Progenex assets ordered by the courts.

Paul Gomez, who started as a warehouse boy for Billabong, a global surf brand, under then CEO Bob Hurley, founder of Hurley International, sold to Nike, apparently contributed nothing more than t-shirts to the supplement maker, and serves as a pin up patsy for Page. Zuckerman describes Gomez as an “illiterate parasite that betrayed his entire family,” along with wife Stephanie, Patricia Robinson’s sister. Robinson remains to this day the rightful heir to the Progenex throne, where Zuckerman put the controlling entity, Amidah LLC in her name for safekeeping prior to serving his prison term.

Page viciously targeted Robinson after Zuckerman let the legal wolves loose on Page, blackmailing her to backdate documents that would disavow her control and rights to Progenex. When Robinson refused, Page illegally ceased paying her distributions from the company, along with the rest of the Progenex investors. Not a single investor has received a dollar in profit or return on their investment to date, while Page lines his pockets and continues to deceive and defraud Progenex customers.

To say that Zuckerman has been lurking in the shadows all this time related exclusively to the Progenex saga would be inaccurate. Zuckerman has been anything but inactive.

Zuckerman knew he needed to be patient. After Zuckerman’s release in 2013 as noted above, Page and Shamion, along with Dwight Beckstrand, Progenex’ now disgraced former corporate counsel, who faced domestic violence charges, instead of returning Progenex to Zuckerman as agreed, conspired to destabilize and oust Zuckerman.

Page began plucking off, one by one, Zuckerman’s internal founding team at Progenex while he was serving time. In a Lord of The Flies-esque corporate kill off, Aaron Thomas, who raised most of the early startup capital for Progenex from over 40 close investors and family, was the first to go. Then came Cameron Verdi, a close friend Zuckerman salvaged from the loan modification business, who would later attempt his own coup by high jacking Amidah from Zuckerman’s ex-wife Patricia Robinson with no legal authority.

Cameron Verdi, who imposters as a founder was nothing more than a mid-level employee who Zuckerman appointed as a Wooden Indian to manage Amidah LLC under his direction.

Zuckerman is well known for making outrageous public commentary without restraint. When asked, Zuckerman explains that he simply says out loud what everyone else thinks. Zuckerman describes Verdi as a “nobody opportunist, dumber than his dog,” which is a bold statement considering Zuckerman’s love of animals.

Per Zuckerman and according to filed corporate documents, Verdi lacks any legal authority as a decision maker for Amidah LLC, the controlling entity and largest shareholder of Progenex. Verdi simply vexatiously interfered and bungled efforts to retake control of Progenex from Page. Patricia Robinson, Zuckerman’s ex-wife is the managing member of Amidah, owning 90%, and more than 45% of Progenex in the aggregate. Robinson remains in legal control of Amidah and therefore Progenex.

Any significant actions on behalf of Amidah must be authorized by Robinson, including but not limited to, bringing and settling litigation. But Verdi, per Zuckerman is “an unscrupulous troglodyte, who took advantage of Robinson’s lack of sophistication and turned on his master, Zuckerman.” And worse, Thomas Frost, the San Diego lawyer retained by Zuckerman to take the case, allowed it, and refused to talk to his actual client, Patricia Robinson.

Not only did Frost fail miserably in court using Zuckerman’s airtight roadmap and evidentiary file of over 2000 organized documents, but allowed Verdi to subvert Robinson, who is his true client, causing a four-
year stall to retake Progenex from Page. Zuckerman indicates that Frost should have been sued for malpractice and disbarred. And so should Judge Margret Nagle, according to Zuckerman, who had been stymied for 4 years in finalizing her ruling for these very reasons. Zuckerman remains emphatic that Judge Nagle failed to do her job. According to court transcripts and per Zuckerman, Judge Nagle was as well dumfounded related to how Frost was able to proceed without Robinson’s authority. In fact, Judge Nagle asked that Zuckerman testify to these facts as part of a recorded testinomy soon to be published.

Progenex is no longer the patented formula Dr. Connelly invented. Page uses Glanbia Nutritional’s patented whey-hydrolysate, Thermax 690, in both More Muscle and Recovery, the company’s marquis products.

The Connelly/Zuckerman war suffered many casualties, among them MGC and with it WGFE – the secret sauce that made Recovery and More Muscle unique. MGC severed ties with Connelly after Zuckerman won the company back. The formula is not sold by anyone in the US currently, but Zuckerman plans to change that. Connelly and MGC had published significant science behind WGFE’s efficacy, while Page buried independent lab reports that prove Progenex products lack of efficacy, and are nothing more than overpriced cheap whey, along with label fraud claims. Zuckerman claims Progenex is a fraud, and anyone can buy Thermax 690 from Glanbia or competitive alternatives that are superior hydrolysates, and Zuckerman intends to make sure they do.

Zuckerman doesn’t want Progenex, just its customers. Making deals with Progenex competitors, he plans to introduce WGFE 2.0 to millions of Progenex customers who will fast jump ship as the truth comes out.

Armed again with deep pockets and a dream team of high-powered lawyers, Zuckerman has no intention of picking up where Progenex and the lawyers failed. Zuckerman has other plans, and intends to disclose the brands fraud, along with Page, and migrate millions of customers to a recognized industry leader and announce a its full suite of WGFE 2.0 alterative product for less. (Soon to announced)

Zuckerman had his plan, and knew timing was key. Waiting patiently for the statute of limitations to run out for the government, who had been hunting his war chest for a decade, Zuckerman has quietly amassed a new army while reclaiming his resources to strike.

In a 3-part live streaming interview, conducted by high-level CrossFit influencers, and redirected back to www.progenexuntold.com, Zuckerman will tell the entire story from start to finish to what is expected to be a significant audience. But it doesn’t end there.

Zuckerman wants the customers to know the truth about Progenex and Page, and understand that they are being ripped-off, lied to, and are lining the pockets of a thief, Page – who not only betrayed the market, but has harmed innocent people and their families. Zuckerman believes that customers will be outraged and abandon the brand for new options – a safe landing where Zuckerman holds equity and can repay investors. Zuckerman’s team of internet mercenaries are prepped to get the word out via Twitter, Instagram, email, Google, and even to cell phones of customers directly.

Stay Tuned for Part II of Untold : Zuckerman’s live streaming interview dates, surprise guest host, and the launch of www.Progenexuntold.com.

The rise of a law and legal expert in Houston, Texas : Brittanye Morris: Because of the hard work and discipline instilled by her parents, Brittanye graduated high school in three years, while being an active cheerleader and debate team member. She then attended the University of Houston, where she graduated with honors with a degree in Political Science. Drawing on her debate experiences and Political Science background, Brittanye decided that she wanted to use her talents to advocate for Houston residents as an attorney. Brittanye elected to attend a law school with a history of training community advocates and some of the best lawyers and judges in Houston (and the country), the prestigious Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. While at Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Brittanye had the honor and privilege of representing the law school as a member of its world-renowned mock trial program. Discover extra information at https://brittanyemorrisforjudge.com/.

Brittanye’s decision to run for judge is guided by one main principle: justice for all. Our legal system, courtrooms, and judges are tools meant to ensure justice for all…not just the rich, or the connected, or those that can afford an attorney. Our judges, as administrators of the courtrooms and legal system, are there to ensure that each and every Harris County resident has an equal opportunity at justice. Residents should not have to choose between missing valuable work hours to care for their families, and sitting in a courtroom all day waiting for their name to be called. Our legal system and courtrooms should be fair, accessible, and, most importantly, transparent. Our judges should be fair and impartial. If Brittanye is fortunate enough to earn your vote, Brittanye promises that her courtroom will remain fair, accessible, and transparent for all litigants. As your judge, Brittanye promises to ensure that she and her courtroom will be fair to all, accessible to all, and transparent to all, with the ultimate goal of ensuring justice for all.



Native Houstonian Brittanye Morris has devoted her career to a variety of areas of law, concentrating on property law in and around the Houston area. Morris, a 29-year old woman of color and a rising force for common-sense government, recently won an uncontested race to become Harris County District Court Judge for the 333rd District in Houston, TX. At a time where citizens are demanding that politicians serve constituents’ interests at an unprecedented decibel, Morris’s election brings some harmony to an otherwise cacophonous fever pitch.

Morris’s mother was an educator in the public school system, and her father a police lieutenant. An achiever since childhood, Morris earned her Bachelor’s in Political Science with a minor in History from the University of Houston, and her Juris Doctorate from Thurgood Marshall School of Law at the prestigious Texas Southern University.

For those looking to leave their own positive mark on history, Morris offered, “Be open. That’s the biggest advice I can give to anybody… It’s those opportunities, those possibilities and those twists and turns that get you where you ultimately need to be.” It’s how she managed to overcome every challenge she’s faced so far. It’s how she’ll successfully overcome those that still lie ahead.

Morris’s experience-rich background lends a core competency to her legal expertise. “I’ve been through situations to where you’re working the best you can, and for whatever reason, your ends don’t meet,” Morris recalled. “That’s a different perspective than someone who had a life where things were afforded to them.” Harris County is the third most populous county in the United States. The Houston Metropolitan area needs genuine, representative leadership just like any East Coast hamlet or bread basket village. “The pendulum is shifting,” Morris noted. “In our community in particular, more and more people are wanting more representation. More and more people are wanting more diversity on the bench.”

She pointed out that “when you think about the Greats of any time, they weren’t Great at their time. It wasn’t until long after they left this Earth that they became historical icons.” Rather than worrying about how history might remember her, Morris focuses her energy where it’s feasibly useful instead. “I really feel like representation matters, and certain voices have been marginalized,” Morris said. “But at the end of the day, for me, it’s very important just to live in a way that I’ll be proud of and my children will be proud of.”