Meet The Team
Meet the Onboarding Team
Thomas Smale
Thomas is the Founder of FE International. He is a serial business entrepreneur and expert. In the early 2000s, 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 marketing software Juicer, the 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.
Meet the Expert Advisors
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.
Jonathan Westwood
Jonathan is an Analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions team at FE International. Prior to joining FE International Jonathan worked with Venture Capital funds in both Europe and Asia. Jonathan specializes in e-commerce businesses, advising on exit planning, M&A and post-acquisition growth strategies.
Jaimee Gilbertson
Jaimee is an Associate in the Mergers and Acquisitions team at FE International. Jaimee is FE International’s top ranked Content M&A advisor, having closed over 100 acquisitions over the past two years. She brings experience in Corporate Finance, where she has worked within M&A and Debt Advisory teams in the technology markets. Jaimee has a passion for entrepreneurship and runs a portfolio of successful online businesses
Meet the Operations & Marketing Team
Katrina Wrixen
Katrina is a Manager of the Brand Marketing 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 manages visual branding for the FE International Group.
Emily Chisholm
Emily is an Associate 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.
