International Advisory Board

Paul Assaiante
Hartford, CT

Paul is the Head Coach of the Trinity College Men’s Squash Team and the U.S. National Team. Under Paul’s leadership, Trinity’s men’s team has won 14 national championships and holds the record for the longest winning streak in intercollegiate sports history, with 252 consecutive victories from 1998 to 2012. Paul oversees the U.S. National Teams and was twice the recipient of the United States Olympic Committee Coach of the Year Award. A graduate of Springfield College, Paul earned a master’s degree from Long Island University and was an alternate on the U.S. Men’s Olympic Gymnastic Team. The co-author of the memoir, Run to the Roar: Coaching to Overcome Fear, Paul is a founding board member of Capitol Squash, the urban squash program based at Trinity College.

Jeff Blumberg
London, England

Jeff is the CEO of Egerton Capital, LLP, an independent investment management firm based in London. Previously, Jeff was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he worked for the firm’s asset management business. Jeff was introduced to squash in his native South Africa and continued to play competitively after his family moved to Victoria, Canada. An American citizen, Jeff competed for the U.S. Junior National Team at the 1994 World Junior Championships and went on to captain the squash team at Harvard University, where he earned 1st Team All-American honors.

Nick Burgin
New York, NY

Nick is Co-Founder of Ripple Capital, a global macro fund headquartered in New York City. Prior to Ripple Capital, Nick was the Global Head of FX Trading and Macro Prop Trading for Goldman Sachs in London, having previously worked for the firm in New York and Tokyo. Nick graduated from Princeton, where he rowed varsity crew. Nick started playing squash in Tokyo, and he and his wife have three children who play squash in Tuckahoe, NY.

James Hahn
New York, NY

James is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of JC Asia Alpha Private Equity Investments, which has offices in New York and Shanghai. James began his career at Paine Webber. Thereafter, James managed one of Asia’s first multi-strategy hedge funds in Hong Kong. James earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and serves on the Wharton Undergraduate Executive Board, the Dean’s Council of the Harvard Kennedy School, and as a Director of the China-US Business Leaders Roundtable Foundation. James and his wife, Lisa, established the Asia Future Leaders Endowed Scholarships, and are lead supporters Evan Squash Vision, which provides protective eye wear to urban squash programs across the country.

David Kay
Chicago, IL

David is the Executive Director of METROsquash, Chicago’s urban squash program that he launched in 2005. Previously, David coached the men’s squash team at the University of Rochester, where he also earned his M.B.A. David was the head squash professional at the Union Club of New York and a top-ranked player on the professional doubles squash tour. A native of Toronto, Canada, David played competitive junior squash and was a team captain and All-American at Princeton University.

Howard McMorris II
New York, NY

Howard is a former international banker who traveled extensively in Europe representing Philadelphia National Bank and the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company. After receiving his B.A. from Princeton University, he studied German at the Goethe Institute in Germany. Howard has been a trustee of the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey and currently serves on the U.S. board  of Interpeace, the international conflict resolution organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.  A longtime supporter of urban squash and an active player of racquet sports, Howard is currently the chairman of the two international committees which govern court tennis, a game which dates back to France in the 1300’s and is understood to be the first of all racquet sports.

Clare Muñana
Chicago, IL

Clare is President of Ancora Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm. Clare has worked on numerous domestic and international engagements for not-for-profit, public and private sector clients in the U.S., Europe, Africa and Latin America. Clare served as Vice President of the Chicago Board of Education for over ten years. Clare is a board member of the Aspen Institute, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Chicago Children First Fund, The Field Museum, the National Museum of Mexican Art and the Terra Foundation for American Art. She holds a B.A. from Boston College, an M.A. in International Economics and Politics from Johns Hopkins University, and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University. Clare plays squash and is the parent of a nationally ranked junior squash player.

Renato Paiva
San Diego, CA

Renato is the Executive Director of Access Youth Academy, San Diego’s urban squash program that he launched in 2007, and the Director of Squash at SEA. Previously, Renato was the assistant squash coach at Harvard University. A native of Sao Paulo, Renato captained the Brazilian Junior National Team and was the top-ranked junior in South America. Renato earned a B.A. from Barbosa University in Sao Paulo.

Javier Rodriguez
New York, NY

Javier is a Portfolio Manager at Aberdeen, Inc., an emerging market-focused investment firm. Previously, he was a senior analyst at Select Equity Group, and he began his career at Goldman Sachs & Co. Javier earned a B.A. from Princeton University, where he played varsity squash, and an M.B.A. at Stanford University. Javier is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a CFA charterholder, and a member of the African Leadership Network. He serves on the board of ClearPlex Corporation.

Paul Shang
London, England

Paul is the Head of Investment Banking at Standard Bank, which has a large presence across Africa, particularly in natural resources, power, telecommunications and infrastructure. Previously, Paul was a Managing Director in investment banking at Lehman Brothers. During his 22-year career at Lehman Brothers, Paul worked in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and London, and ran a variety of businesses, including Asian investment banking, European media, communications and technology investment banking, and European real estate. In 2005, Paul founded PRC Venture Partners, a private equity firm investing in the growth of companies in China. He served as a board member for Habitat for Humanity NYC and is a longtime supporter of CitySquash, the Bronx-based urban squash program. Paul earned a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.