The Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Awards recognize exceptional individuals who are shaping the landscape of business and innovation in Central Ohio.
In addition, The Columbus Dealmakers Hall of Fame recognized a class of dealmakers that has made an often-groundbreaking impact on their organizations, industries and the region over the course of decades in business.
We celebrated the accomplishments of the 2025 class of winners September 18 at the Columbus Smart Business Dealmakers Conference. Together, they provide a strong picture of the Central Ohio business community.
Dealmaker Of The Year Honorees
Ryan Helon, Executive Vice President, Investment Funds, Rev1 Ventures. Ryan’s 13-year tenure leading the investment team at Rev1 has driven more than $100 million invested across 149 startups, with participation in over 280 rounds. Known for his partnership-driven approach, Ryan connects founders, co-investors, LPs, corporate partners and community stakeholders to fuel regional growth. His leadership has produced notable recent investments, including Rev1 leading Power to Hydrogen’s $18 million Series A round and catalyzing Healthplan Data Solutions $15 million growth equity round where he made the connection to the investor that led the round.
Josh Lau, CEO of Nymbl Systems. The Columbus-based provider of cloud practice management software for Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P), Complex Rehabilitation Technology (CRT), and Home Medical Equipment (HME) providers recently secured a strategic investment from Frontier Growth. The partnership, valued at more than $15 million, will fuel product innovation and expand Nymbl’s ability to support health care providers nationwide. Since relocating to Columbus just two years ago with 30 employees and seed backing from Tamarind Hill, Nymbl has scaled to more than 75 team members and is now positioned for accelerated national growth.
Jamie McKee, former CEO, StormImpact. Jamie recently sold StormImpact, a spinout from The Ohio State University that uses machine learning models and data analytics to predict weather-related damages and power outages for electric utilities to Urbint, an AI resiliency platform. StormImpact’s technology is already used in more than 15 states by major utilities, including Southern Company, American Electric Power, FirstEnergy, and Oklahoma Gas & Electric, addressing weather-related disruptions that cost the U.S. grid an estimated $70 billion annually. This acquisition expands Urbint’s AI and Machine Learning capabilities, following its purchases of Competers and WRM Software and a $35 million strategic investment led by S2G Investments.
Andy Panos, former president of Cloudbreak Health. GTCR announced the $180 million transaction in November 2023 and completed it in March 2024, with Cloudbreak now operating as an independent entity under GTCR’s ownership. The deal positions Cloudbreak to accelerate growth, enhance its tech-enabled telehealth services, and expand equitable health care access for limited English proficiency and deaf and hard-of-hearing populations. With deep expertise in health care technology and corporate carve-outs, GTCR is advancing Cloudbreak’s mission and strengthening its market leadership.
Ole Rosgaard, President & CEO of Greif Inc. Approaching its 150th anniversary in 2027, Greif is a global leader in high-performance packaging. Since 2022, under Ole’s leadership, the company has sharpened its portfolio toward growth markets such as Food and Beverage, Flavors and Fragrances, Agriculture, and Pharma. Greif has completed five acquisitions totaling more than $1.1 billion in customized polymer solutions, while also completing the $1.8 billion sale of its containerboard business and announcing the $462 million sale of its timberlands. Together, these transactions will generate over $2.2 billion in proceeds, fueling future growth
Kyle Shen, President & CEO of Nexceris. The Lewis Center–based clean energy innovator recently completed the sale of its Li-ion Tamer® off-gas monitoring solution to Honeywell, where it will join Honeywell’s Building Automation portfolio to enhance global fire and life safety. Li-ion Tamer®, developed after a catastrophic Navy shipyard battery fire, has delivered more than 400 million hours of sensing worldwide with zero fires. The transaction allows Nexceris to focus on its core business of providing tailored electrochemical and catalyst solutions that help startups get from lab to launch.
Dan Snyder, Co-Founder & CEO of Lower.com. In a major strategic move, Columbus-based Lower acquired Movoto.com, one of the most visited U.S. real estate search portals with more than 150 million site visits in 2024. The acquisition gives Dan and his Lower team a powerful direct-to-consumer discovery platform to complement its mortgage, refinancing, insurance and banking services. With 1,200 employees across Columbus and Austin, Lower is the largest venture-backed home lender in the country. This move strengths its position as a national homeownership brand, advancing its mission to simplify the homebuying journey from search to financing to ownership.
Social Impact Award Honoree
Tony Wells, President of The Wells Foundation. A trailblazer in social impact investing and social enterprise, Tony has launched technology-based ventures, an executive education program for nonprofit leaders, and an impact investing portfolio that has fueled collaborative community initiatives. His leadership has helped generate more than $250 million in donations for over 220 charities, while advancing innovative solutions such as NeighborRelief during the pandemic. A national advocate for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Tony exemplifies servant leadership, collaboration, and social innovation that strengthens communities and drives meaningful change.
Dealmakers Hall of Fame Honorees
Raj Malik. Raj, a Partner at Pixel Perfect Ventures, brings nearly two decades of leadership in corporate development, M&A and entrepreneurship. He has successfully planned, negotiated and executed numerous complex transactions that shaped the tech and health care sectors. Among those, Raj guided Rally Health (then Audax Health) through a $29 million Series B raise and later negotiated its sale to UnitedHealth Group. He also played a key role in the sale of Network Solutions during two transformative acquisitions by General Atlantic and Web.com. An entrepreneur at heart, Raj co-founded KikScore, where he led a global team to develop a groundbreaking trust seal solution that Google later acquired. His career reflects both dealmaking expertise and innovative vision. Earlier in his career, Raj served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio and, notably, was once the youngest Walmart greeter in the nation.
Lee Mosbacker. Dr. Howard “Lee” Mosbacker has spent his career at the crossroads of science, entrepreneurship, and investment, turning deep academic expertise into market-shaping ventures. He sold his first company in 2001, and then went on to earn his Ph.D. in Physics from The Ohio State University. He launched Traycer by licensing university technology, creating the first real-time Terahertz imager for commercial use. He went on to build and exit multiple companies, including Traycer and FanFund, an artificial intelligence firm. Those exits led to the formation of Caprica AI — a $200+ million sports investment fund, where he currently serves as Founder and CEO. Lee also is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Kobol Fund and Kobol II Fund, a set of private, early-stage, U.S.-based venture capital funds. With their headquartered in Columbus and offices in San Francisco and Singapore, Kobol has a global presence and network, where Lee and his investors are deploying significant capital into early-stage innovators. Lee’s ventures and investments have consistently broken new ground, underscoring his acumen for seeing opportunities others overlook and building them into enduring businesses. And, as if he wasn’t business enough, Lee also founded and leads Cyrannus, an AI-driven global stakeholder platform designed to open new pathways for capital, talent and expertise — especially for underrepresented founders. A true innovator and connector, Lee’s career is a testament to how vision, science, and execution can come together to redefine industries and create impact on a global scale.
