Meet the Team
Jason R. Cooner - Chairman, President and CEO
Jason is a world leading expert in large-scale banking and financial infrastructure design and development across Web2 (TradFi), Web3 (DeFi) and Web4 (DeFED) domains. He holds a unique level of expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and environmental science, as these areas begin to serve as tools to monetize natural resources as Real World Assets.
His experience includes developing and deploying the Department of Defense's first Internet management portal - UUNET, helping architect the Interactive Financial Exchange (IFX) Protocol to drive all communications between banks globally, and creating the business model for the Machine-2-Machine sector (M2M), today known as the Internet of Things (IoT).
As Founder of Parisii, he is building DeFED™, the world's first quantum-tolerant Web4 banking platform that integrates real-world assets (RWAs) into the monetary layer to create regenerative, appreciative, asset-backed financial systems.
Antonio J. Colón - Board Member, Chief Financial Officer
Antonio J. Colón founded SJU Global in 2019 to help international investors and companies leverage Puerto Rico’s favorable tax incentives. He established SJU Fuels, which commercialized a patented fuel-cleaning and emulsion technology that reduces fuel consumption by 20–30% while cutting NOx, COx, SOx, soot, and black carbon emissions by 80–90%, aiding compliance with IMO 2030 and UN Sustainability Development Goals.
He provides clients with integrated sustainability solutions, including zero-carbon technologies, energy storage, and micro-grid systems for energy independence. In 2012, Colón joined Great Bay Energy as CFO and CRO, overseeing electricity and hydrocarbon trading across major U.S. ISOs. He began his career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen, later handling M&A in Latin America and serving as controller for a Puerto Rico telecommunications company acquired by Liberty Media Group.
Gunther Sonnenfeld - Chief Technology Officer
Gunther Sonnenfeld is a systems architect who has contributed to 125 special projects and 70 early-stage companies across five continents. He is the co-inventor of more than a dozen trade secrets in decentralized finance, environmental sustainability, advanced cybersecurity, and early AI/deep-learning platforms. He leads Web4 software development, including the quantum-tolerant W4S encryption system and the CHO7R meta-framework for efficient AI data processing.
His prior venture, RAIR, introduced the first AI-enabled enterprise tool for Ethereum Layer-2 tokenization; he also co-developed the first distributed digital rights management (DDRM) patent. Recognized by Sage as one of the top 100 global blockchain leaders in 2018 and a Forrester Groundswell Award recipient in 2010, Sonnenfeld has advised JP Morgan, the UN, UNESCO, the World Economic Forum, and U.S. congressional technology committees. A University of Southern California graduate, he has collaborated on advanced computing curricula with several leading universities.
David Lopez-Kurtz - Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary
David Lopez-Kurtz focuses his practice on emerging technologies, including digital assets, blockchain, Web3, and artificial intelligence/large language models. He advises clients on project formation, structuring, financing, federal and state securities laws, and digital-asset offerings.
He specializes in developing bespoke compliance programs, regulatory navigation, and ongoing oversight through a fractional Chief Compliance Officer model. In addition to Web3 and AI work, he handles traditional corporate and securities matters such as private/public offerings (Reg A+, Reg D, Reg S, Reg CF), mergers and acquisitions, disclosure reporting, and business formation. An adjunct professor of law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Lopez-Kurtz is a frequent speaker and author on crypto, blockchain, metaverse, and AI regulatory developments, with publications in the National Law Review and Law360.