Meet our Team
- William J. Kridel, Chairman
- David W. Jaffin, Chief Financial Officer
- Anthony F. Dudzinski, Chief Operating Officer
William J. Kridel, Chairman
Mr. Kridel is a Managing Director and Founder of Ferghana Partners Group. He is responsible for new business development and works on all the types of transactions covered by the firm (partnering, acquisitions, divestments, and equity finance), as well as participating in the evaluation of science, technology, and clinical development aspects of clients, counterparties and competitor companies.
Prior to founding Ferghana, Mr. Kridel was a Managing Director of Barclays de Zoete Wedd Limited (BZW) with responsibility for corporate finance and M&A advisory services in a number of countries and a number of sectors including pharmaceuticals, chemicals and oil & gas.
Following the sale of his investment banking company, The Kridel Group, to Peers & Company in 1988, Mr. Kridel ran its European operations from the Paris office of this investment banking affiliate of the Long Term Credit Bank of Japan until early 1991. From 1977-1988 his firm, The Kridel Group, with offices in the US and Europe, specialized in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and equity private placements.
Mr. Kridel is a graduate of the Choate School, Yale University (AB), and Columbia University School of Law (JD). He is admitted to various state and federal courts including the Bar of the State of New York, the US Patent Office and the United States Supreme Court.
David W. Jaffin, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Jaffin has extensive experience in public company financial and manufacturing management, and in private equity investing. From 2000 to 2005, he was President and CEO of Technical Coatings Laboratory, a manufacturer of specialty paints and coatings based in Avon, CT.
From 1992 to 1998 he was CFO of HoloPak Technologies, Inc., a manufacturer of specialty coatings traded on the NASDAQ National Market System. He also was Vice President at Bradford Ventures Ltd., a leveraged buyout firm affiliated with Bessemer Securities Corporation. Earlier, he worked as an auditor for Arthur Andersen & Co. on a variety of industrial and financial services companies.
Mr. Jaffin graduated from Harvard College with a BA cum laude in History, and from New York University with an MBA in Finance and Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Anthony F. Dudzinski, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Dudzinski has more than 23 years of experience in the financial services industry. In 2004, he cofounded Wellspring BioCapital (the predecessor to XShares Group LLC) with Mr. Feldman. From 2000 to 2003, he was President, Chief Operating Officer, Director, and Member of the Executive Committee of M. H. Meyerson & Co.. From 1997 to 1999 he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Compliance Officer of Argent Securities of Atlanta, GA. From 1983 to 1997, Mr. Dudzinski was with Meyerson, where he started as an order clerk, and rising to senior group trader, in charge of trading over 600 separate securities.
Mr. Dudzinski is also active in industry associations at the committee and roundtable levels.