Meet the Team
Sam Randall - Founder & CEO
CEO & Founder of Numuun, Sam Randall started working in recruitment in Singapore in 2011.
Sam is a veteran of the recruitment and executive search space. His focus has been on leadership talent for growth stage, technology companies with a deep focus on complex leadership mandates across APAC and MENA regions.
Sam is currently a mentor-partner for several VCs and Accelerators and has a growing angel investment portfolio. His experience as a co-founder of a successful B2B SaaS company in Singapore allows him to connect to other entrepreneur-operators.
Today, Sam lives in Dubai where he’s actively involved in assisting technology and tech enabled companies source global top tier leadership talent.
Wael Zeenni - Fractional CTO & Tech Advisor
Born and raised in the UAE, Wael started his path into technology at the early age of thirteen where he discovered his love and passion for programming. As a self-taught developer, Wael went on to learn all that he could about different programming languages and, over the years, developed a skill for architecture and software design. He currently develops in over 10 languages, works in multiple cloud environments and has built and mentored teams of developers.
During his professional career, he founded two tech startups (one exit) where he acquired a number of skills including building businesses from the ground up, business development and sales, capital raising and acquisitions, etc. It was during those years that Wael discovered his love of startups and advises early stage companies on how to build fantastic products the right way.
Besides technology, Wael is also involved in his family businesses which span verticals such as Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Healthcare, Education, Logistics, Real Estate and Power & Water.
Wael currently sits on the boards of multiple organizations advising them on strategy, business development, networking and digital adoption & transformation.
Wael graduated from Lakehead University in Canada with a bachelors degree in Computer Science.
Akshay Chopra - Advisory Board Member
Akshay is a serial venture builder, angel investor, board director, and fintech executive. A renowned industry figure and thought leader, Akshay has built fintech ventures, patents, partnerships, and innovation hubs globally, and his insights have extensively featured in Tier 1 media.
As Managing Parnter of 237 Ventures, Akshay invests in and builds tech ventures globally, and advises innovative governments and organizations.
Akshay is an experienced independent board director, including for regulated and audited entities. These Fuze Finance, VARA-regulated blockchain solution provider funded by Further Ventrues. He also serves on the boards of MENA FinTech Association (recognized by 22 central banks), and Numuun.io.
Akshay’s career highlights include roles such as VP of Innovation & Crypto Solutions for Visa CEMEA. Akshay is also an investor in 237 Ventures and frequently invests in startups in FinTech, blockchain, AI, and SpaceTech.
Akshay spent over 8 years at Visa, establishing their Innovation, Digital Partnerships, and Crypto Solutions functions, initially in Asia-Pacific and then CEMEA. This includes building Visa’s award-winning Innovation Centers and teams in Singapore, Dubai, Kenya, Russia, and Riyadh.
Akshay holds 7 global patents in the FinTech and payments, and has served in various digital leadership capacities in Asia-Pacific and EMEA. He has played a key role in the development of numerous commercially successful products in eCommerce and digital banking.
Tier 1 global media outlets have extensively covered Akshay’s work and thought leadership; he has been featured in CNN, CNBC, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Financial Times, and more. He is a frequent keynote speaker in world-leading events.
Akshay holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business and B.A. (Honors) in Economics from the University of Delhi and is a Certified Professional Coach.
Shradha Chopra - Consulting Executive Coach
Shradha Chopra is the CEO and Lead Executive Coach at 237 Talent, providing a suite of leadership development services for executives, emerging leaders and startup founders.
Over the last 15 years, Shradha has played leadership roles focused on talent development, career pathing, HR strategy and cultural transformation. Her passion lies in helping individuals get their thinking ‘unstuck’, and move decisively towards a higher performing and more fulfilling career and life.
Shradha is accredited by the International Coaching Federation as a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Accredited Associate Certified Coach (ACC). She has worked with clients across 20+ countries, with diverse backgrounds and needs. Her strength lies in leveraging behavioral assessments and an empathy-based approach to develop the people driving businesses. Shradha also serves as a Leadership Coach with ExecOnline and EZRA Coaching, Partner with Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) and a Consulting Partner with SHL. As the fractional Head of HR, Shradha works with scale-ups to design and deliver key talent and HR strategies. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for Numuun and Fintech Tuesdays (FTT).
Prior to 237 Talent, Shradha led Talent Management, Career Development, & D&I across APAC for BNP Paribas based in Singapore. Previously, Shradha served as Director - Human Resources Practice at Gartner, Inc., where she spent 10 years advising heads of HR at many of the largest companies in the world, on people strategy and organizational transformation.
In addition to her professional coaching certifications, Shradha holds a B.A. (Honors) in Economics from the University of Delhi.
Zhanna Manzyk - Founder at Jaya Talent and Partner at Numuun.io
With 7 years of startup hiring expertise, Zhanna Manzyk has played a significant role in building tech and C-level teams. Beginning her hiring career in Ukraine, the European IT hub, Zhanna is now based in Dubai, contributing significantly to the region's growing ecosystem.
Specializing in Web3, Crypto, Gaming, iGaming, and Tech startups, Zhanna's proficiency extends to C-level hiring and technical roles. As a respected figure in the recruitment ecosystem, she has trained over 200 recruiters in Blockchain Recruitment and advised DMCC web3 startups on effective hiring strategies and recruitment automation.
Zhanna has been instrumental in placing candidates for industry-leading startups in their seed and pre-seed stages, helping them scale to IPO. Holding a degree in Management of Organizations and Business Administration from a top-ranked Ukrainian university, Zhanna leverages her extensive experience in her roles as Founder at Jaya Talent and Partner at Numuun.io to assist startups in building robust teams and achieving growth objectives.
Strategic Partners
Mitchel Lake Group
At Mitchellake, we are more than just a global executive search firm. We are pioneers in launching and guiding technology ventures through the transformative journeys of startup growth and international expansion. Since our inception in 2001, our mission has been clear: to connect visionary companies with transformative leadership.
Competence breeds confidence. With more than 3300 global executive search projects completed for startups, growth ventures, and digital transformation, we know how to identify and engage leaders with the muscle memory to take inspired ventures to scale and to guide organisations of scale through transformational change.
Fractional First
Born and raised in the UAE, Wael started his path into technology at the early age of thirteen where he discovered his love and passion for programming. As a self-taught developer, Wael went on to learn all that he could about different programming languages and, over the years, developed a skill for architecture and software design. He currently develops in over 10 languages, works in multiple cloud environments and has built and mentored teams of developers.
During his professional career, he founded two tech startups (one exit) where he acquired a number of skills including building businesses from the ground up, business development and sales, capital raising and acquisitions, etc. It was during those years that Wael discovered his love of startups and advises early stage companies on how to build fantastic products the right way.
Besides technology, Wael is also involved in his family businesses which span verticals such as Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Healthcare, Education, Logistics, Real Estate and Power & Water.
Wael currently sits on the boards of multiple organizations advising them on strategy, business development, networking and digital adoption & transformation.
Wael graduated from Lakehead University in Canada with a bachelors degree in Computer Science.
237 Ventures
Born and raised in the UAE, Wael started his path into technology at the early age of thirteen where he discovered his love and passion for programming. As a self-taught developer, Wael went on to learn all that he could about different programming languages and, over the years, developed a skill for architecture and software design. He currently develops in over 10 languages, works in multiple cloud environments and has built and mentored teams of developers.
During his professional career, he founded two tech startups (one exit) where he acquired a number of skills including building businesses from the ground up, business development and sales, capital raising and acquisitions, etc. It was during those years that Wael discovered his love of startups and advises early stage companies on how to build fantastic products the right way.
Besides technology, Wael is also involved in his family businesses which span verticals such as Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Healthcare, Education, Logistics, Real Estate and Power & Water.
Wael currently sits on the boards of multiple organizations advising them on strategy, business development, networking and digital adoption & transformation.
Wael graduated from Lakehead University in Canada with a bachelors degree in Computer Science.
Jaya Talent
Jaya Talent is a recruitment agency with HQ in Ukraine and Dubai, aiding startups from seed to IPO.
𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 We help founders hire solid talent and make the world a better place for humanity.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞? "Jaya" in Sanskrit means victory, and that's exactly what we deliver. We connect you with winning talent, fueled by the right attitude and driven by success.
Our hiring philosophy mirrors the principles espoused by Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, and Warren Buffett. We prioritize integrity, intelligence, and energy in our talent acquisition process, echoing Naval Ravikant's sentiment: "Play long-term games with long-term people. All returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest".