Niol Ma is a Co-Founder and Managing Principal of The Taloquence Group (formerly Athena International Capital). Previously a founding member and COO of Cottonwood Management, Niol oversaw all capital executions, middle- and back-office operations; expanded the organization from a two-member operation focusing on alternative, cross-border financing to a vertically integrated real estate platform of over 40 professionals located in Boston, New York and Los Angeles. Throughout his careers, Niol has also managed a broad range of asset classes in the U.S.A. and Asia, including equity derivatives, fixed-income assets, hedge fund portfolios, real estate debt and equity portfolios. He has had extensive experience in operational functions including tax, finance, treasury, and information technology, led a 100 strong Electronic Brokerage Department and customer service team and established the region’s first in-house electronic trading system at KGI Asia, one of the first pan-Asia-based investment banks. The real business passion of Niol is to build companies from the ground up. Having done that a few times over the years, Niol very much looks forward to working with the team at the White Snake Projects to catapult the activist opera company to her next stage of success.