Our Team
Dan Connell
President
Dan Connell is an entrepreneur with experience spanning finance, technology, and business strategy. Alongside providing strategic advisory to the Marstead Group, Dan is President of The Binnacle Group, a first-generation single-family office, and Head of Revenue at NeuRealities, a collaboration between Mesmerise Group and Mayo Clinic. Dan's experience includes a tenure as Partner at Ernst & Young, leading Risk Regulatory and Compliance Technology for Wealth and Asset Management. Dan also co-founded Tradescape Corp., one of the first Direct Market Access Trading platforms, then acquired by E*TRADE. Dan holds a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Wilson Cook
COO
Bradford Wilson Cook (Wilson) brings a wealth of expertise in business operations to the Binnacle Group. His extensive background encompasses key areas such as human resources, legal affairs, compliance, and risk management. Wilson's professional journey includes a seven-year tenure at Ernst & Young, where he collaborated with premier global financial firms. During this time, he played a pivotal role in the creation of EY Comply, a highly successful revenue-generating initiative for the firm. In 2019, Wilson assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer at Accern, contributing significantly to the organization's growth trajectory and implementing a robust organizational structure. Prior to these impactful roles, Wilson garnered valuable experience at prestigious institutions such as Bridgewater Associates, State Street Bank and the U.S. Senate. Wilson also serves as an advisory board member for start-ups and family offices, providing strategic insights and adeptly addressing complex challenges.
Jay Tobin
CFO
Jay Tobin is a seasoned financial executive with over two decades of experience in investment management, corporate finance, and strategic advisory roles. As Chief Financial Officer at the Binnacle Group, he oversees financial operations and investment strategy for a single-family office managing more than one billion in assets across diverse industries and global markets. He plays a key role in financial forecasting, investment due diligence, and M&A strategy, ensuring sustainable growth and long-term value creation. Previously, Jay has held senior roles at Han-Tek Inc, Macquarie Group, Hourglass Capital, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Securities, where he has both served as a CFO and specialized in investment management, equity research, and global energy market analysis. Jay has excelled on both the buy-side and sell-side of investment management, serving on multiple II ranked research teams, and generating outperforming as a long-short portfolio manager. His deep expertise in equities, energy commodities, and portfolio management made him a trusted advisor to institutional investors, hedge funds, and Fortune 500 companies. Jay holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a BA from Duke University. He also studied abroad at Oxford University and the Stockholm School of Economics, further enriching his global perspective on financial markets and economic policy.
Frank Napolitani
Operating Partner
Frank Napolitani has enjoyed a successful 27-year career in financial services and is currently an Operating Partner and Member of the Investment Committee at The Binnacle Group since October 2023. Frank began his career as a hedge fund analyst at Street Search Advisors, an emerging manager focused fund of hedge funds from 2000-2002 and then worked in senior business development roles in Prime Brokerage, Accounting and Legal for leading service providers servicing the alternative investment industry. He has been instrumental in starting and operating subsidiaries including Seakeeper Ventures, LLC, a co-investment platform centered around emerging opportunities in early-stage companies. Frank is the Managing Partner of Cartesian FinOp Partners an outsourced CFO business providing services to Family Offices, Investment Funds and SMEs and Cartesian Digital, focused on providing outsourced CFO and investment operations services to digital asset hedge funds and venture capital funds. Mr. Napolitani obtained his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island in 1995.
Scott Friedman
Advisor
Scott Friedman joined the Binnacle Group as a key partner in Co-Investments and Strategic Business Initiatives. An accomplished investor and fintech builder, Scott brings over 25 years of C-suite experience spanning operations, business development, and regulatory compliance. As a founding team member at Robinhood, Scott led critical operational and customer-facing initiatives that helped shape the company’s disruptive ascent from startup to publicly traded platform. During his tenure, he served as both President and Chief Compliance Officer, guiding Robinhood through hypergrowth and regulatory evolution. Scott is passionate about challenging convention and driving innovation at scale. His proven ability to turn bold ideas into scalable ventures makes him a powerful asset to Binnacle’s mission of strategic co-investment and transformative business building.
Doug Noble
Director, European
Co-Investments & Alternatives
Doug Noble has over 16 years’ experience in the Financial Services industry, predominantly working with private market funds raising capital from institutions and family offices. He also has institutional experience having spent some time at Janus Capital distributing equity and fixed income funds to UK Financial Institutions before Janus’s merger with Henderson Global Investors. Doug has since been involved with Family Office focused investment communities, initially joining the founding partners at dara5 and helping them to build the business, enabling the deployment over $130m in three years into a variety of venture capital funds and direct deals, before then spending a year helping the London Technology Club on their network and growth stage venture fund. At Binnacle Doug is responsible for sourcing European Co-Investment and Alternative Investment opportunities for the Family Office and has an extensive network in the Family Office space. He also helps to manage a large informal network of SFO & MFO peers. In his spare time is a keen chef, traveller, padel and tennis player.
Our Team
Dan Connell
President
Dan Connell is an entrepreneur with experience spanning finance, technology, and business strategy. Alongside providing strategic advisory to the Marstead Group, Dan is President of The Binnacle Group, a first-generation single-family office, and Head of Revenue at NeuRealities, a collaboration between Mesmerise Group and Mayo Clinic. Dan's experience includes a tenure as Partner at Ernst & Young, leading Risk Regulatory and Compliance Technology for Wealth and Asset Management. Dan also co-founded Tradescape Corp., one of the first Direct Market Access Trading platforms, then acquired by E*TRADE. Dan holds a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Wilson Cook
COO
Bradford Wilson Cook (Wilson) brings a wealth of expertise in business operations to the Binnacle Group. His extensive background encompasses key areas such as human resources, legal affairs, compliance, and risk management. Wilson's professional journey includes a seven-year tenure at Ernst & Young, where he collaborated with premier global financial firms. During this time, he played a pivotal role in the creation of EY Comply, a highly successful revenue-generating initiative for the firm. In 2019, Wilson assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer at Accern, contributing significantly to the organization's growth trajectory and implementing a robust organizational structure. Prior to these impactful roles, Wilson garnered valuable experience at prestigious institutions such as Bridgewater Associates, State Street Bank and the U.S. Senate. Wilson also serves as an advisory board member for start-ups and family offices, providing strategic insights and adeptly addressing complex challenges.
Jay Tobin
CFO
Jay Tobin is a seasoned financial executive with over two decades of experience in investment management, corporate finance, and strategic advisory roles. As Chief Financial Officer at the Binnacle Group, he oversees financial operations and investment strategy for a single-family office managing more than one billion in assets across diverse industries and global markets. He plays a key role in financial forecasting, investment due diligence, and M&A strategy, ensuring sustainable growth and long-term value creation. Previously, Jay has held senior roles at Han-Tek Inc, Macquarie Group, Hourglass Capital, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Securities, where he has both served as a CFO and specialized in investment management, equity research, and global energy market analysis. Jay has excelled on both the buy-side and sell-side of investment management, serving on multiple II ranked research teams, and generating outperforming as a long-short portfolio manager. His deep expertise in equities, energy commodities, and portfolio management made him a trusted advisor to institutional investors, hedge funds, and Fortune 500 companies. Jay holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a BA from Duke University. He also studied abroad at Oxford University and the Stockholm School of Economics, further enriching his global perspective on financial markets and economic policy.
Frank Napolitani
Operating Partner
Frank Napolitani has enjoyed a successful 27-year career in financial services and is currently an Operating Partner and Member of the Investment Committee at The Binnacle Group since October 2023. Frank began his career as a hedge fund analyst at Street Search Advisors, an emerging manager focused fund of hedge funds from 2000-2002 and then worked in senior business development roles in Prime Brokerage, Accounting and Legal for leading service providers servicing the alternative investment industry. He has been instrumental in starting and operating subsidiaries including Seakeeper Ventures, LLC, a co-investment platform centered around emerging opportunities in early-stage companies. Frank is the Managing Partner of Cartesian FinOp Partners an outsourced CFO business providing services to Family Offices, Investment Funds and SMEs and Cartesian Digital, focused on providing outsourced CFO and investment operations services to digital asset hedge funds and venture capital funds. Mr. Napolitani obtained his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island in 1995.
Scott Friedman
Advisor
Scott Friedman joined the Binnacle Group as a key partner in Co-Investments and Strategic Business Initiatives. An accomplished investor and fintech builder, Scott brings over 25 years of C-suite experience spanning operations, business development, and regulatory compliance. As a founding team member at Robinhood, Scott led critical operational and customer-facing initiatives that helped shape the company’s disruptive ascent from startup to publicly traded platform. During his tenure, he served as both President and Chief Compliance Officer, guiding Robinhood through hypergrowth and regulatory evolution. Scott is passionate about challenging convention and driving innovation at scale. His proven ability to turn bold ideas into scalable ventures makes him a powerful asset to Binnacle’s mission of strategic co-investment and transformative business building.
Doug Noble
Director, European
Co-Investments & Alternatives
Doug Noble has over 16 years’ experience in the Financial Services industry, predominantly working with private market funds raising capital from institutions and family offices. He also has institutional experience having spent some time at Janus Capital distributing equity and fixed income funds to UK Financial Institutions before Janus’s merger with Henderson Global Investors. Doug has since been involved with Family Office focused investment communities, initially joining the founding partners at dara5 and helping them to build the business, enabling the deployment over $130m in three years into a variety of venture capital funds and direct deals, before then spending a year helping the London Technology Club on their network and growth stage venture fund. At Binnacle Doug is responsible for sourcing European Co-Investment and Alternative Investment opportunities for the Family Office and has an extensive network in the Family Office space. He also helps to manage a large informal network of SFO & MFO peers. In his spare time is a keen chef, traveller, padel and tennis player.