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Many of the facts and figures associated with this country's LGBTQ business and civic community are eye-opening, perhaps none more so than its nearly $2 trillion in estimated annual economic output.
With New York continuing to be at the vanguard of LGBTQ demographics and achievement, Crain's New York Business expected that the 70 honorees on its inaugural Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives list would be an equally attention-grabbing—not to mention, eclectic—bunch.
And so they are.
The members of this group of accomplished, ambitious and often trailblazing individuals represent all manner of organizations, industries and occupations, including media, finance, government, health care, professional services, tech and the arts.
To find the honorees, Crain's consulted with trusted sources in the LGBTQ and general business communities. At the same time, Crain's carefully vetted the nominations submitted by firms or individuals headquartered in the metropolitan area or having a major influence or presence there. Ultimately the LGBTQ leaders and executives were selected for their career accomplishments, their mentorship of others, and their involvement in community and industry organizations.
To understand the ways members of this diverse professional cohort deliver for New York City, please read their profiles that follow.
WASIM AHMAD
Chief crypto officer
Vault12
Having worked with the founding team at AlphaPoint on the world's first crypto trading exchange solutions, Wasim Ahmad is a true crypto pioneer. At Valut12, where he is chief crypto officer, Ahmad focuses on expanding that company's ecosystem and advises on artificial intelligence, blockchain
and encryption solutions. He led private and public fundraising at Vault12 for one of the first security token offerings. Ahmad is a serial entrepreneur, to boot; he was a founding member of Voltage Security, a software company that launched identity-based encryption—a breakthrough in public-key cryptography—and promoted sophisticated data encryption to protect payment systems worldwide. Ahmad is a board adviser for StartOut New York, which empowers LGBTQ entrepreneurs, and a mentor for accelerators Seedcamp and WeWork Labs.
EDUARDO AYALA FUENTES
Director of development
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art
The Leslie-Lohman is the rare museum dedicated to LGBTQ artists and the queer experience—and Eduardo Ayala Fuentes is charged with keeping its coffers full. As the director of development, he oversees fundraising strategy at the SoHo institution and many individual donor opportunities, including large-scale...