Meet The Team
Meet the Onboarding Team
Thomas Smale
Thomas is the Founder of FE International. He is a serial online business entrepreneur and expert. In his early 20s, he began building and selling small online companies. This turned into a full-time career when he founded FE International in 2010, growing the business with zero funds from ground up and consistently doubling annual revenue, as well as the average deal size. Thomas specializes in advising in the M&A of SaaS, e-commerce, affiliate and content businesses. He has consulted hundreds of internet entrepreneurs on exit strategy, growth and business development.
Ismael Wrixen
Ismael is the CEO of FE International, the market leader in the sale of SaaS, e-commerce and content businesses. Ismael has overseen the sale of hundreds of millions in online businesses, including the sale of the popular accounting software, Less Accounting, and the acquisition of Drip by Leadpages. Wrixen is also an active investor in SaaS businesses, sits on the board of numerous exciting SaaS start-ups, including MageMail and MRR Media and is and a member of the Forbes Finance Council. Wrixen’s previous background was in large-cap M&A investment banking, where he executed several high profile public deals namely in the Technology sector.
Nikita Pashkin
Nikita is an Associate of the Origination & Onboarding team at FE International. Nikita brings the knowledge and experience of working with Boston-based private equity firms, where he focused on performing deal sourcing and due diligence in the $5-$10 million valuation range. Nikita graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business with a triple concentration in Finance, International Management, and Strategy & Innovation.
Paul Yap
Paul is an Analyst of the Origination & Onboarding team at FE International. Paul brings with him valuable insights derived from his prior experience with KPMG Singapore’s compliance and M&A teams, where he worked on mid-cap deals ranging from $10-$100 million. Paul graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University, Questrom School of Business with a double concentration in Finance and Management Information Systems. He was also named the Top Concentrator in his cohort for Management Information Systems.
Katrina Wrixen
Katrina is an Analyst of the Origination & Onboarding team at FE International. Prior to joining in 2015, Katrina successfully launched a portfolio of web-assets, giving her expert knowledge into e-commerce, affiliate and advertising online businesses. She still manages these assets to this day, keeping her in tune with the ongoing developments in the industry. Katrina works alongside Thomas in our industry-leading onboarding team.
Meet the Expert Brokers
James Morrish
James is the Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at FE International. James oversees relationships with private investors as well as funds, and has personally closed hundreds of deals since starting at FE International in 2014. Starting out in management consulting in 2011, James worked with a range of technology majors before making the move into online businesses M&A advisory in 2014. James studied Business Administration and Management at the University of Bath, which he graduated with 1st class honors.
Christopher Wong
Christopher is a Vice President for Mergers and Acquisitions at FE International. He started out in fixed income trading and later moved to securitization structuring in the middle market space. After a couple of years working in various tech startups, he transitioned into the M&A advisory role with FE International in 2016. Chris is responsible for e-commerce and content opportunities and enjoys facilitating deals and educating new buyers in the industry. Chris holds BS degree in Finance from Bentley University.
Kevin Oh, CFA
Kevin is a Vice President for Mergers and Acquisitions at FE International. Kevin brings years of experience in institutional asset management with J.P. Morgan. At FE International, Kevin is responsible for SaaS and e-commerce opportunities, and enjoys doing lots of research about the industry, as well as educating potential investors on market trends. Kevin graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Syracuse University.
Meet the Operations & Marketing Team
Amanda Ng
Amanda Ng is the Principal Staff Officer at FE International, leading development and execution of effective strategic and tactical plans for external and internal communications, as well as facilitating strategic initiatives for business development. Amanda brings a unique blend of the digital marketing and PR expertise in agency, business and community settings. She has a passion for leveraging diverse marketing tools and techniques to help companies communicate better; her professional interests and focus lie on the intersection of Internet businesses, technology and philanthropy. Amanda graduated from Hamilton College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and is an active member of the Boston tech start-up community.
Katelyn DeBlois
Katelyn DeBlois is an Executive of the Marketing team at FE International. She is responsible for the overall marketing strategy of FE International and its entities, making data driven decisions to position the company and drive engagement. She has a unique passion and ability to work in both the analytical and creative aspects of marketing, creating an environment where they efficiently work together. Katelyn comes from a background in education technology and brings a very diverse set of skills to the team, which are used to test and implement new strategies and processes. Katelyn graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Quinnipiac University in Public Relations.
Emily Chisholm
Emily is an Analyst of the Marketing team at FE International, assisting with coordination and optimization of strategic team work methods and managing advancement of the company’s brand. Emily brings with her a history of empirical data analysis, professional experience in investment banking and oil & gas consulting, and a history of successfully marketing new ventures for university organizations. She has a passion for international business, as well as sculpting and communicating a company’s identity through the application of data and sophisticated marketing techniques. Emily graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Science in economics.
Meet the Technical Team
Eduards Blumbahs
Eduards joined FE International in 2011 as Programming Manager. He is responsible for maintaining the company website and other sites the company owns and manages on behalf of clients. Eduards graduated from the University of Latvia with a Masters degree in Computing.
Stuart Bourne
Stuart joined FE International in early 2011 as a content writer and in-house website maintenance specialist. Since then, Stuart has become Project Manager of several sites which FE International manages on behalf of its clients, maintaining and growing businesses for healthy investor returns.
