Innovative. Practical. Trusted.

The first company to uniquely integrate cloud-based tax software that scales.

Innovative. Practical. Trusted.


Halcyon’s mission:
To help financial institutions, tax professionals, and the people they serve work better together.

Over 17 years experience in tax preparation, serving the largest accounting firms in the country.

The first company to uniquely integrate cloud-based tax software that scales.

Halcyon’s mission is to help financial institutions, tax professionals, and the people they serve work better together.

Over 25 years experience in tax and financial industry, serving the largest accounting firms in the country.

Meet The Halcyon Team

Proven leaders and partners in the financial industry. 

 

Founding Members

Kirk Donaldson

Kirk Donaldson

Founder and CEO, HALCYON


Kirk Donaldson is a SAAS-based financial technologies professional with over 23 years of experience in corporate structure, client acquisition and development, financial services and business management.

Kirk founded LoanBeam, the leader in Income software solutions for the lending and mortgage industry. Growing the company 85X in 4 year and onboarding the top 50 lenders, LoanBeam became the only tax return solution to receive rep/warrant from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

While Kirk has an extensive track record of leadership, a couple of past key roles in the financial industry include serving as Vice President at Morgan Stanley in the international investor and investments business - and as Senior Vice President and head of the Global Wealth Management Group at Merrill Lynch, overseeing several billion dollars in private and institutional assets.

Elizabeth Boonin

Elizabeth Boonin

President and COO, HALCYON


Elizabeth Boonin is a Certified Public Accountant and the President and Founder of Sound Accounting, a full-service accounting and business consulting firm in Smithtown, New York. Sound Accounting was started with the vision of providing a turn-key, secure infrastructure for sole-practitioners on Long Island to help them safeguard client information. She recognized the urgent need to help mitigate risk for these aging professionals after assessing the environment of the first practice she acquired. Since 2014, she has integrated several practices annually while servicing thousands of clients across more than 40 states. As Chief Operating Officer at Halcyon, she draws from this experience to further enhance the tax accounting industry. Doing so by expanding the security protocols in this market segment while simultaneously providing opportunities for accountants to focus their valuable time and effort on services they were educated to provide.

Prior to Sound Accounting, Elizabeth worked in the financial services industry in New York City, specializing in valuing derivatives and other complex financial instruments. And also led several development efforts in this space as a project manager and subject matter expert. Elizabeth’s career began as a tax reporting specialist. She also spent several years as a financial analyst for the global equity financing divisions at both Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers.

Elizabeth is accredited by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in business valuations (ABV), holds her Series 7 and Series 66, and maintains a broker license in the state of New York.

David B. Lowman

Industry Consulting
Ex CEO Chase Home Lending


As former head of Freddie Mac Single-Family, Dave Lowman had broad responsibility for the line of business, including managing the company's relationships with its Seller/Servicers, the performance of Freddie Mac's guarantee book of business, securitization of new business, and all sourcing, servicing and business operations.He has worked in the mortgage and consumer finance business for over 30 years, serving at some of the nation's largest mortgage operations. Dave was the CEO of Chase Home Lending from 2006 to 2011, overseeing $150 billion in annual production and a $1.2 trillion servicing portfolio at what was then the country's third largest mortgage originator and servicer. Prior to that, he spent a decade in senior leadership roles in various lending businesses of Citigroup, including head of Citi Mortgage and Citicorp Trust Bank,FSB. Before joining Citigroup, Mr. Lowman spent 11 years at The Prudential Home Mortgage Company, Inc. in progressively senior leadership roles. He started his career in the Washington, D.C. office of KPMG, where his clients included banks, thrifs and mortgage bankers. He holds a Bachelor of Science in business management and accounting from the University of Maryland's College of Business and Management.

David Wyle

CEO SurePrep


David Wyle is the President and CEO of SurePrep, a leading provider of tax productivity solutions to U.S. public accounting firms. Prior to founding SurePrep, Dave founded and was CEO of ePace! Sofware, creator of the industry leading paperless engagement program originally called ePaceENGAGEMENT. In 2001 CCH Incorporated purchased ePace! Sofware and rebranded ePaceENGAGEMENT as ProSystem fx Engagement. Prior to founding ePace! Sofware, Dave was a CPA with the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand. As CEO of SurePrep, LLC, Dave directs the overall operations of the business, establishes current and long-range objectives, and represents the company to its customers, the financial community, and the public. Dave earned a BA degree in Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1994.

Daniel Sogorka

CEO CloudVirga


Daniel Sogorka, Current CEO and President of Sagent Lending Technologies and former CEO at Cloudvirga, has more than twenty years of experience leveraging technology to remove inefficiency and lower costs in the mortgage space. His strong track record as a senior executive at mortgage and real estate technology firms proves his expertise in executive management, consultative sales, and product development. His mission is to transform the mortgage experience for consumers and originators with a world-class borrower experience and automated lender workflow. Dan’s received multiple industry awards (including the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Tech All-Star award and October Research’s Innovator of the Year award) and numerous patents for his innovations in the mortgage technology space. Prior to Cloudvirga, Daniel served Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) as President of EXOS Technologies and EVP of Sales and Strategy. Earlier in his career, he was President of the RealEC Technologies Business Unit and an integral executive member of the Black Knight Financial Services (NYSE:BKI) team that took the company public in May 2015. Daniel holds a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Villanova University, where he was a Presidential Scholar.

Kirk Donaldson

Founder and CEO, HALCYON
Kirk Donaldson

Kirk Donaldson is a SAAS-based financial technologies professional with over 20 years of experience in corporate structure, client acquisition development, financial services, and business management.

Kirk currently serves as President, Founder, and on the Board of Directors for LoanBeam, the leader in income software solutions for the lending and mortgage industry. The company has grown revenue 85 times in four years. 

Previously, he was CEO Americas and Senior Advisor of Global Marketing for RMJM, one of the world's leading architectural and design firms.

In addition to his responsibilities at RMJM, Mr. Donaldson also served as CEO of the RMJM subsidiary, YRM, a leading nuclear technology and energy design firm based in London. While in that role he focused on emerging markets, leveraging expertise in political relationship management and capital introductions in the United States, Middle East and Africa, while working closely with a cooperative of US government entities. 

Prior to these positions, Mr. Donaldson was at Morgan Stanley in New York City, working on the international investor business within the investments group. Before that, he was Senior Vice President and head of the Global Wealth Management Group at Merrill Lynch, overseeing several billion dollars in private and institutional assets. 

Complementing his domestic and international investment and project experience, Mr. Donaldson served on the Board of Directors of Sonoro Energy and sat as President of the Bond Club of New York - the oldest financial association in America, board member and former Treasurer of The National Galleries and Library of Scotland, Founding Member of the British Relief Fund and the Fourth Creek Conservancy.

Elizabeth Boonin

President and COO, HALCYON

Elizabeth Boonin

As Chief Operating Officer at Halcyon, Elizabeth is focused on expanding security protocols in the tax accounting industry and providing opportunities for accountants to focus their valuable time and effort on services they are historically accustomed to providing.

She is a Certified Public Accountant and the President and Founder of Sound Accounting, a full-service accounting and business consulting firm in Smithtown, New York. While assessing the environment of the first practice she acquired, Elizabeth discovered the urgent need to help mitigate risk for aging professionals. This helped her shape the services of Sound Accounting to include providing a turn-key, secure infrastructure to safeguard client information for sole-practitioners on Long Island. 

Since 2014, she has integrated several practices, while providing services to thousands of clients across more than 40 states. Prior to her founding Sound Accounting, Elizabeth worked in the financial services industry in New York City, specializing in valuing derivatives and other complex financial instruments. 

She started her career as a tax reporting specialist, becoming a subject matter expert and project leader. She also spent several years as a financial analyst for the global equity financing divisions of both Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers.

Elizabeth is accredited by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in business valuations (ABV), holds her Series 7 and Series 66, and maintains her broker’s license in the state of New York.

 

Halcyon Advisory Board

David B. Lowman

Industry Consultant,
Ex-CEO, Chase Home Lending

Dave has been in the mortgage and consumer finance business for over 30 years, serving at some of the nation's largest mortgage operations. As former head of Freddie Mac Single-Family, he had broad responsibility for the line of business, including managing the company's relationships with its Seller/Servicers, the performance of Freddie Mac's guarantee book of business, securitization of new business, and all sourcing, servicing, and business operations.

Prior to that, he was the CEO of Chase Home Lending from 2006 to 2011, overseeing $150 billion in annual production and a $1.2 trillion servicing portfolio when Chase was the country's third largest mortgage originator and servicer. Before Chase, he spent a decade in senior leadership roles at many of the lending businesses of Citigroup, including head of Citi Mortgage and Citicorp Trust Bank, FSB. Before joining And before joining Citigroup, Mr. Lowman spent eleven years at The Prudential Home Mortgage Company in ascending senior leadership roles.

Dave began his career in the Washington D.C. office of KPMG, where his clients included banks and mortgage bankers.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Accounting from the University of Maryland's College of Business and Management.

David Wyle

CEO, SurePrep

David Wyle is the President and CEO of SurePrep, a leading provider of tax productivity solutions to U.S. public accounting firms. In his role, Dave directs the overall operations of the business and establishes current and long-range objectives, while also representing the company to its customers, the financial community, and the public. 

Prior to founding SurePrep, Dave was Founder and CEO of ePace! Software, which created the industry-leading paperless engagement program originally called ePaceENGAGEMENT. In 2001, CCH Incorporated purchased ePace! Software and rebranded ePaceENGAGEMENT as ProSystem fx Engagement. And before ePace!, Dave was a CPA with the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand.

Dave earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1994.

Daniel Sogorka

CEO and President, Sagent Lending Technologies

Daniel Sogorka, Current CEO and President of Sagent Lending Technologies and former CEO of Cloudvirga, has more than twenty years of experience leveraging technology to alleviate inefficiencies and lower costs in the mortgage space.

His strong track record as a senior executive at mortgage and real estate technology firms has bolstered his expertise in executive management, consultative sales, and product development. His mission is to transform the mortgage experience for consumers and originators with a world-class borrower experience and automated lender workflow.

Dan has received multiple industry awards, including the Mortgage Bankers Association’s “Tech All-Star” award and October Research’s “Innovator of the Year” award, as well as numerous patents for his innovations in the mortgage technology space.

Prior to Cloudvirga, Daniel served at Fidelity National Financial as President of EXOS Technologies and EVP of Sales and Strategy. Earlier in his career, he was President of the RealEC Technologies Business Unit and an integral executive member of the Black Knight Financial Services team that took the company public in May 2015.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Villanova University, where he was a Presidential Scholar.

Parvesh Sahi

SVP Business Development, Ellie Mae

Parvesh is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Ellie Mae, where he is responsible for the corporate strategy development of partner, investor, and government relations. At Ellie Mae, he’s able to incorporate his integrated and automated compliance experience to Encompass customers following the acquisition of Mavent, a mortgage compliance engine.

In his role, Parvesh has helped to execute Ellie Mae’s vision of automating all potential functions in the mortgage industry. His focus on technology, secondary market partner relationships, and connectivity has streamlined the mortgage origination process for Ellie Mae customers and partners – from the borrowing experience to mortgage servicing and securitization.

Prior to Ellie Mae, Parvesh helped grow ComplianceEase and QuestSof’s organization through his sales, product, and business development leadership. He has a background in real estate investment, and participates in several Bay Area technology and real estate groups to further cultivate a dialogue about the benefits of disruptive mortgage technology.

Parvesh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco.

Rajesh Bhat

CEO and Co-Founder, Roostify

Rajesh founded Roostify – a collection of forward-thinking individuals dedicated to enhancing the lending experience for everyone involved in the home buying process – in May of 2012 and has been the CEO from its inception.

The company’s mission is inspired by the possibilities of transformation and fueled by the promise of collaboration – bringing a spirit of partnership to everything they do. Roostify's team is a collective of industry leaders who share a deep understanding of the business, along with a passion for the long-term sustainability of their clients' success. This expertise allows Roostify to consistently provide its customers with best-in-class, leading-edge solutions that their organizations demand and deserve. With over $11 billion of loans originated monthly, Roostify currently serves dozens of lending institutions nationwide; from large enterprise banks to a multitude of thriving independent brokerages.

Rajesh earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 1998.

Nikolaos Athanasiou

COO, Guaranteed Rate

As Chief Operating Officer of Guaranteed Rate, Nikolaus provides the vision and strategic leadership to spearhead the company’s national growth.

His extensive experience and knowledge have brought improved efficiencies and optimized performance to the company’s national sales, operations and underwriting departments. His accomplishments are unmatched in the industry, having been named to Crain’s Chicago Business prestigious “40 Under 40” list in 2017, based on his strategic leadership and Guaranteed Rate’s rapid growth during his tenure.

He first joined Guaranteed Rate’s New England branch office in 2009, serving in several leadership roles and playing a key role in the company’s continued success. In 2011, he relocated to Chicago where he led the growth of the direct division to nearly $2 billion nationally by 2013. His contributions helped to quadruple Guaranteed Rate’s revenue over a five-year span from 2011 to 2016.

Thomas Sanzone

Former CEO and Vice Chairman, Black Knight Financial Services

Thomas has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, having served as Chief Information Officer and Chief Administrative Officer at some of the world's largest global financial institutions.

Most recently, he had the roles of CEO and Vice Chairman of Black Knight Financial Services, a technology, data and analytics company, where he was responsible for the overall management of its technology, data and analytics offerings. And led their very successful IPO in 2015.

Prior to joining Black Knight Financial Services, Thomas was Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led the firm's commercial financial services business. He also served as Chief Administrative Officer at Merrill Lynch, reporting to the CEO as part of the seven-person management committee running the firm. While at Merrill Lynch, he was responsible for global technology, operations and corporate services, representing a team of over 20,000 people. He helped steer the company through the financial crisis, which eventually led to the landmark merger with Bank of America – which he helped lead while partnering with the future CEO of Bank of America.

Before Merrill Lynch, he served as Chief Information Officer and a member of the executive board at Credit Suisse. While there, he also led the corporate sourcing program and ran all offshore locations, which contained functions from every area of the bank. Before joining Credit Suisse, he worked at Citigroup, serving as a Chief Information Officer. He also worked at Salomon Brothers, where he started as a programmer analyst and rose through the ranks to become Managing Director and head of global application development.

During his distinguished career, Thomas has designed and run multiple programs that have achieved over $1 billion in bottom line savings while also improving performance. In addition, he has successfully led many large-scale IT transformation programs.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Hofstra University.

Prior to Halcyon, financial firms were missing the insight needed to economically promote relevant and pre-approved client services.

Tax preparers were spending less time on what they do best.

Clients were scrambling with no single place to find documents and view their complete financial picture.

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Interested in joining the Halcyon team?

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