Russell Bryant

Founder and CEO

Russell Bryant is the Founder and CEO of TGUC Financial, Inc. (TGUCF). Before starting TGUCF, he founded and The Go Urban Companies, Inc. (TGUC), a financial services advisory firm specializing in whole loan trading and capital deployment for investors and debt management companies. Russell has a track record of selling portfolios exceeding $500 million, maximizing asset deployment, and achieving high-yield returns for clients. His previous ventures include Go Urban, a prepaid debit card platform catering to the underserved African American community, and Bryant Enterprises, LLC., a real estate investment firm which he grew into a seven-figure portfolio within three years. Russell co-founded Velocity Services, an IT consulting startup, immediately after college, growing its revenue from zero and successfully selling the business within two years. In 2020, Russell established The Go Urban Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at empowering disadvantaged youth and underserved populations. He holds a B.S.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from Reinhardt University, earned in 1999.

Shawn Peterson

President

Shawn Peterson is a seasoned executive with over 28 years of experience in banking and financial services. As President, Shawn leads with a collaborative approach, leveraging his extensive expertise across Credit, Consumer Compliance, Operations, Customer Service, and Technology. He is renowned for building and maintaining high-value relationships and driving enterprise-wide operations with a deep understanding of critical lending value chain processes. During his tenure as an executive, Shawn has successfully diversified numerous loan funding structures and secured multi-billion-dollar off-balance sheet partnerships with institutions. His ability to negotiate complex deals and lead operational implementations has been instrumental in expanding multiple organizations’ capital base. Shawn holds multiple degrees, including an MBA, an MS in Information Technology, and a Bachelor of Business Administration. He is also a Six Sigma Black Belt, further demonstrating his commitment to operational excellence.

Brandi Hickson

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Brandi Hickson is the Chief Operating Officer for TGUC Financial. She is responsible for managing all brands, distribution channels and deployment of sales and marketing for our contractors and homeowners. She oversees the development and implementation of strategic sales and marketing plans based on company goals and clients needs that will promote sales growth and customer satisfaction for the organization. Ms. Hickson leverages several decades in sales and marketing with an emphasize in the financial market and FinTech space.  She is a double graduate of Texas Tech University with a Bachelors in Finance and a Masters in Education.

Lewen Albritton

Chief Financial Officer

Lewen Albritton serves as TGUC Financial’s CFO. For over 25 years Lewen has been a dedicated, energetic, cross-functional leader in strategic planning, financial and KPI reporting and analysis, process improvements, budgeting and forecasting, client profitability, pricing, and financial system implementations, among others.  He has served at New Life CFO for 5 years as a fractional CFO and Sr. Director serving small businesses in various industries.  He previously spent 13 years at Parago, Inc. and Blackhawk Network, a $2 billion public company, where he held a Sr. Director position and was responsible for managing over $1 billion in annual incentives. He also spent 8 years of P&L planning and reporting responsibility for the U.S., European and Canadian operations at Vartec & Excel Communications.

Lewen has an MBA from Louisiana State University and a BS of Accounting from Grambling State University

Greg Ahern

Chief Information Officer

Greg Ahern serves as TGUC financial’s Chief Information Officer. He is responsible for developing and managing the technical systems and platforms to make sure they communicate efficiently and accurately. Mr. Ahern has been in the internet industry since 1994; prior to joining TGUC, Mr. Ahern successfully founded and sold a number of businesses, including those in the lead generation space, conversion rate optimization, artificial intelligence, and others. Mr. Ahern has served as the founder and president of QuoteCatcherⓇ, a B2B lead aggregation business and founded OmetricsⓇ, a company that specializes in AI and conversion rate optimization tools, and OchatbotⓇ, an AI chatbot for ecommerce and support. Previously, he was also the VP of Marketing for a financial services company that worked exclusively with credit unions. Mr. Ahern has a BSEE from Northeastern University and a patent in the detection of humans in a defined space.

Gerald Tuchman

Managing Partner, Head of Partnerships

Gerald Tuchman serves as TGUC Financial’s Head of Partnerships. Gerald is a seasoned business leader with over a decade of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, and scaling organizations. He previously served as Director of Partnerships and Chief of Staff at Pagaya, a public AI FinTech company that expands access to credit and other financial products, co-developing Pagaya’s first Growth Division and implementing GTM strategies, operational frameworks, and KPIs to drive long-term success. Previously, Gerald served in business development and strategic partnerships at Fin Technologies and Onna Technologies. Earlier in his career, he co-founded The Addison Lab, a consultancy for early-stage ventures, and worked in Mergers & Acquisitions at Lazard Frères. Gerald is a graduate of New York University with a Bachelors in Economics.