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Our People are
the Difference

Goal’s highly collaborative management team has been working together for over a decade. Collectively the team has a wealth of experience in and deep understanding of the consumer finance industry, with considerable expertise in student loans, credit cards, CLOs, and securitizations.

meet our

management team

President & Chief Executive Officer

Matt Myers

As President and CEO of Goal Solutions and its wholly owned subsidiaries Turnstile Capital Management and Launch Servicing, Matt leads a vertically integrated services business that manages $22b in unsecured and secured consumer loans providing primary servicing, backup servicing, master servicing, collections, SPV management, investor reporting, valuation, analytics, data visualization and forecasting. Goal partners with over 120 clients spanning traditional banks, insurance companies, investment banks, credit unions, hedge funds, fin tech originators, schools and other financial stakeholders providing services across multiple asset classes.

Prior to being President of Goal Solutions Matt served as the Chief Operating Officer for Goal Solutions and Ascent, a sister company of Goal Solutions that makes student loans. As a co-founder of the Ascent business, Matt built out the credit risk, operations, product as well as technology functions and developed the original underwriting scorecards for its proprietary loan products. Over his nearly 15-year span at Goal Matt also built and ran the Asset Management group, sourced and negotiated whole loan acquisitions for the Goal investment business, designed and executed niche securitization programs and led performance analytics. Prior to joining Goal in early 2007 Matt worked at GE Capital in credit risk for 6 years. Matt currently serves on the board of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance (SLSA), the industry trade group for student loan servicers.

Education:

Macalester College B.A. in Economics and History  /  University of Minnesota M.B.A

Chief Technology Officer

Mehrdad Rashidfarrukhi

Mehrdad is a digital and technology innovator with more than 26 years of leadership experience in consumer lending and financial services.  As Chief Technology Officer at Goal, Mehrdad is responsible for a wide breadth of IT areas, leading the IT Strategy, Architecture, Software Engineering, Infrastructure, Cloud Computing, Business Intelligence, Discovery, and exploitation of emerging technologies.  

 Mehrdad is the original member of the PennyMac leadership (NYSE: PFSI and PMT), overseeing the technology team that scaled the technology from start-up to becoming a mortgage leader with +5000 employees. He is the former CIO at Renovate America, Technology Executives at City National Bank, and Countrywide. He achieved industry recognition through a mix of vision, strategy, leadership, execution, and commercial success.

Education:

Meli University, B.S. Applied Physics /  Northrop University, Master’s in computer science.

Chief Compliance Officer

Aaron Geist

Aaron Geist joined Goal Solutions in 2021 and leads the organization’s compliance program with respect to its delinquent and non-performing loan portfolio management services. Aaron has spent most of his career developing compliance management systems and advising organizations on consumer credit and collection compliance matters. Previously, Aaron was Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel for a healthcare financial services organization, General Counsel for a consumer reporting and collection agency, and Legal Counsel for ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

Education:

Florida State University, B.M. / Creighton University, J.D.

Senior Vice President Servicing

Paul Dockry

Paul is a 40-year veteran in the consumer financial services industry.  As General Manager of Launch, he and his team manage over $1 billion in consumer loans for over 25 clients.  Prior to Launch, Paul led the start-up of Wells Fargo Bank’s Education Financial Services business providing executive leadership over a 20-year span, including leadership for two of the industry’s largest education lending portfolio integrations; originating and servicing over $32 billion in student loan portfolios.  Prior to Wells Fargo, Paul held several executive leadership positions with EduServ Technologies/HEMAR Service Corporation of America then the largest third-party servicing company in the nation.

Education:

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, B.S. Finance / University of Washington, M.B.A.

Senior Vice President Innovation

Alec Tilley

As Senior Vice President of Innovation, Alec drives new initiatives that leverage technology to streamline operations and improve our client and borrower experiences. Prior to joining Goal Solutions, Alec has extensive financial services experience working for both debt owners and servicers. From a functional perspective, Alec held roles managing large call center operations, managing vendors and servicers, product and project management, analysis and forecasting, and strategic planning. His background also includes experience consulting for multiple firms in financial services, insurance, entertainment, and other industries. Alec started his career working in large Fortune 500 companies including Disney, Universal Studios, and Gateway Computer.

 

Education

Oklahoma State University, BS Industrial Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology, MS Industrial Engineering

Anderson School at UCLA, MBA

General Counsel

Tristan Fleming

Tristan Fleming brings over 15 years of experience in legal and compliance matters, most of which has been focused on student loans, and is the General Counsel of Goal Solutions. Previously, Tristan spent 9 years as General Counsel of GCO Education Loan Funding Corp., a student loan company with over $6B in assets under management at its peak. Prior to GCO, Tristan was an associate at the law firm of Thacher Proffitt & Wood, LLP in New York City, starting out in the Corporate and Financial Institutions group and then specializing in private student loan securitizations. Tristan and his team are responsible for all legal affairs of the company and its subsidiaries, including litigation, compliance, legal strategy and corporate governance.

Education:

The University of Virginia, B.A / Georgetown University, J.D.

Andrea
Vice President Structured Finance and Treasury Services – CFA

Andrea Lenox

Andrea Lenox has been with Goal Solutions since October 2018.  Ms. Lenox has extensive experience in the financial services industry where for 15+ years she has worked in the issuance, investor reporting, and/or valuation of asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities for prominent banking institutions and another 8 years in the treasury and risk management functions for consumer loan originators.  Asset classes that Ms. Lenox has worked with include autos, home improvement, mortgages, solar, and student loans.  The Structured Finance & Treasury Services team headed up by Ms. Lenox manages the investor and financial reporting function for 100+ ABS trusts, credit facilities, and loan pools spanning 25+ unique issuers/originators.

Education:

California State University – Fullerton, B.A. in Business Administration / University of Chicago M.B.A.

Brian Cox
Vice President Business Development

Brian Cox

Brian is a veteran of higher education finance, having spent the last 20 years in business development and client management roles leading growth initiatives at technology platform and services start-ups focused on introducing student lending to financial institutions across the country.   Brian is relentlessly client-focused – bringing together his passion for consumer finance, his comprehensive knowledge of full program lifecycle, and his creativity to address client needs and create successful partnerships.  Brian has helped expand Goal’s reach in the market and build brand presence in new consumer asset classes serving to clients who are seeking a partner that can help their organization increase revenue, reduce costs and provide competitive differentiation

Education:

University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth, B.S. Business Management.

Vice President Finance & Accounting

Justin Feiszli

Justin is a corporate finance leader responsible for heading the Finance and Accounting functions at Goal. Supporting multiple lines of business, Justin excels in financial analysis, dashboard visualization, and leadership within a dynamic environment. He adeptly shapes and drives long-term corporate strategy for both publicly traded and private organizations on a global scale. With extensive knowledge of financial statements, budgeting, and forecasting, Justin brings diversified industry experience across financial services, property and casualty insurance portfolios, and more. His strong background and unique blend of skills ensures robust financial health and strategic growth for our organization.

Education:
University of Rochester – Simon Business School, MBA
Washington State University, BA

Vice President Operations

Gary Horrocks

Gary Horrocks joined the leadership team in Sioux Falls in early 2024. He provides strategic guidance and support to our operations teams, fostering a culture of accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement. His primary focus is to drive performance and enhance employee engagement fostering a collaborative and high-performing work environment, driving operational excellence, and ensuring compliance with industry standards. His extensive background with Wells Fargo, HSBC, and others in the financial services industry adds significant value to the organization. With a track record of success in leading global teams through client demands, his contribution is instrumental to the ongoing success of the servicing business.

Education:
State University of NY – BA

Senior Director of Human Resources

Stacey Johnson

Stacey Johnson is a SHRM-CP certified HR professional with over two decades of experience driving organizational success. As Senior Director of Human Resources, Stacey leads a dynamic team, shaping HR vision, policies, and compensation programs aligned with market standards. Her strategic acumen and collaborative approach drive excellence in employee relations, benefit programs, and workforce planning. With a track record of exceeding KPIs, Stacey’s leadership in operations management underscores her ability to foster high-performance cultures and adapt to evolving business needs.

Education:
Southeast Tech – AS, Business Administration

 

introducing our

board of directors

Ken
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ascent

Ken Ruggiero

Ken is a veteran and innovator in education finance with more than 20 years spent leading teams that create meaningful change and positive returns for students, schools, employees and investors. During his tenure at Goal Financial, from 2003-2007, the company originated more than $8 billion of private and government guaranteed student loans, becoming a top 10 student-loan provider in the country. After the company’s exit from the lending space in 2008, Ken founded Goal Solutions and eventually, Goal Investment Group, a family of financial technology companies which serve the consumer finance market.

Goal Solutions services and manages over $26 billion in consumer loans. Since 2013, Goal Investment Management has invested over $240 million of its capital in over 60 transactions. Since 2015, Ken has served as Co-founder and CEO of Ascent, a student focused education finance company which seeks to revolutionize the way students plan, pay, and succeed in school. Ascent has made over $1B of loans to 100,000 students attending US Colleges and skills training programs.

Education:

University of Massachusetts, B.B.A | Columbia University, M.B.A

President & Chief Executive Officer, Goal Solutions

Matt Myers

As President and CEO of Goal Solutions and its wholly owned subsidiaries Turnstile Capital Management and Launch Servicing, Matt leads a vertically integrated services business that manages $22b in unsecured and secured consumer loans providing primary servicing, backup servicing, master servicing, collections, SPV management, investor reporting, valuation, analytics, data visualization and forecasting. Goal partners with over 120 clients spanning traditional banks, insurance companies, investment banks, credit unions, hedge funds, fin tech originators, schools and other financial stakeholders providing services across multiple asset classes.

Prior to being President of Goal Solutions Matt served as the Chief Operating Officer for Goal Solutions and Ascent, a sister company of Goal Solutions that makes student loans. As a co-founder of the Ascent business, Matt built out the credit risk, operations, product as well as technology functions and developed the original underwriting scorecards for its proprietary loan products. Over his nearly 15-year span at Goal Matt also built and ran the Asset Management group, sourced and negotiated whole loan acquisitions for the Goal investment business, designed and executed niche securitization programs and led performance analytics. Prior to joining Goal in early 2007 Matt worked at GE Capital in credit risk for 6 years. Matt currently serves on the board of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance (SLSA), the industry trade group for student loan servicers.

Education:

Macalester College B.A. in Economics and History  /  University of Minnesota M.B.A

Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer, Ascent Funding

Ryan Gray

General Counsel, Goal Solutions

Tristan Fleming

Tristan Fleming brings over 15 years of experience in legal and compliance matters, most of which has been focused on student loans, and is the General Counsel of Goal Solutions. Previously, Tristan spent 9 years as General Counsel of GCO Education Loan Funding Corp., a student loan company with over $6B in assets under management at its peak. Prior to GCO, Tristan was an associate at the law firm of Thacher Proffitt & Wood, LLP in New York City, starting out in the Corporate and Financial Institutions group and then specializing in private student loan securitizations. Tristan and his team are responsible for all legal affairs of the company and its subsidiaries, including litigation, compliance, legal strategy and corporate governance.

Education:

The University of Virginia, B.A / Georgetown University, J.D.

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