Business Advisory Services: Team Biographies
Paola Garcia-Villari
Managing Vice President, Business Advisory Services and Business Development Officer
Paola Garcia-Villari is responsible for overseeing and operating Pursuit’s Business Advisory Services (BAS) team. She joined Pursuit as an underwriter in 2013, working on the Hurricane Sandy loan and grant programs. During her time with Pursuit, Paola has developed significant relationships with banks and referral partners and has helped thousands of small businesses obtain the capital they need to grow.
Prior to Pursuit, Paola worked at NYC Business Solutions – Lower Manhattan as a Finance Account Manager and as Senior Loan Officer at Accion USA. She is a graduate of Hunter College, where she received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry and Biology. Paola was born in Colombia and now lives in New York with her husband and their two-year-old son, Lucas.
Irene Dominguez
Assistant Vice President, Senior Business Advisor
As part of the business advisory team, Irene is responsible for working with a roster of borrowers, understanding their business needs, connecting them with business resources, and developing new ways to engage them in consulting and advisory services. Prior to joining Pursuit, Irene worked with women and minority small businesses in other nonprofit organizations providing guidance on certification processes, credit, and other business areas. Irene has extensive experience in the non-profit and government sectors, including work with small businesses as well as program evaluation. At Pursuit, Irene has supported efforts to reach small through participation in events, including acting as panelist at the 2024 Latino Business Forum, which was organized by the SBA and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Bridgeport. Irene has an MA in Social Sciences, with concentration on economics, from Montclair State University.
Malini Krishna
Vice President, Senior Business Advisor
Malini Krishna is a VP/Sr. Business Strategist on Pursuit’s Business Advisory Team. She has co-founded three businesses and has advised 100s of small companies over the last 15 years through management & operations consulting and numerous business accelerators, including venture capital-backed programs. Malini designs and leads the development and implementation of Pursuit’s intensive technical assistance programming, including Path to Profitability, which focuses on improving performance and operating efficiency for sustainable, profitable growth.
With over 20 years of experience creating systems and resources to scale businesses, Malini’s achievements include pioneering new investment-banking and capital investment products at Bloomberg; spearheading public-private partnerships with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund; creating award-winning partnerships with VisionSpring and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy; guest lecturing at Cornell and New York University (NYU); and being featured in media outlets, such as Stanford Social Innovation Review, Forbes, ABC News, and the NY Times.
Malini holds a B.A. in political science from Bryn Mawr College and an M.P.A. focusing on international finance and economic development from NYU.
Taylor Manis
Business Advisory Services Associate
As a Business Advisory Services Associate, Taylor is eager to contribute to helping small businesses reach their full potential. As part of the business advisory team, Taylor is responsible for connecting with clients, understanding their business needs, and connecting them to helpful resources. In addition to business advisory, Taylor also assists our clients by providing insight on Pursuits loan programs and walking them through the application process. Taylor has worked alongside Malini Krishna in the Path to Profitability Cohort 1 & 2 and has enjoyed having the ability to watch small business owners gain valuable knowledge to help grow their business. Growing up, Taylor’s mom owned a small café, seeing firsthand the obstacles small businesses face to achieve their goals.
Taylor is a Native Texan who has a background in Health care. She enjoys spending time with her Husband, Logan, and their two dogs, Arya and Harvey. In her free time, you can find her painting, listening to records, and enjoying everything NYC offers.
Christophe Pane
Vice President, Senior Business Advisor
Christophe has twenty years of international consulting experience in corporate strategy, M&A strategy, due diligence, corporate finance, and marketing. Prior to joining Pursuit, he was a member of the Strategy& (PwC) team in New York, specializing in growth strategy and due diligence for corporate clients and investors. He was also a Director at KPMG Strategy and a Manager in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice of Deloitte Consulting in New York, and led Corporate Finance and Strategy teams at other global consulting firms, advising senior executives on strategic planning, acquisitions, divestitures, performance improvement, commercial and operational due diligence, and capital investment.
Christophe began his career with Ipsos-MORI and Kantar in London, where he provided marketing advice to blue chip companies for seven years. He received an MBA in Finance and Operations Management from the University of Connecticut School of Business and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from ESDE in France.
Katie Sovie
Business Advisory Associate
Katie started her career with Pursuit as an intern in 2019. Since then she has gained experience working with SBA 7(a) and 504 programs as well as Pursuit’s Community Finance loan programs. On the BAS team she strives to provide loan clients with the best resources for success. She develops monthly resource newsletters for New York City and Upstate NY to showcase the best events, grants, and resources available to small businesses in those areas. She loves working with Pursuit’s BAS team because it allows her to make a positive impact on the small businesses in her community and beyond.
Katie grew up in Northern NY, and works remotely in Waddington, NY. She earned a Bachelors in Business Management and Entrepreneurship from Siena College and is working towards becoming a Certified Business Advisor. She enjoys listening to music and cooking at home with her cat, Oliver, and puppy, Maple. On the weekend you can find her hiking in the Adirondacks, or practicing on the golf course.
