Our Team

Allen Linnen, Founding Partner

Allen has over twenty years of Technical Marketing experience. During an eight year career with General Electric he progressed through a series of sales, marketing, and technical positions which prepared him for advancement to sales and marketing management. In 1981 he left the company to begin his entrepreneurial activities.

He launched, grew, and sold several businesses in Venezuela. In 1986 he founded Phoenix International C.A., a technical marketing services company that over the years evolved into oil field services. In 1999 he sold controlling interest in Phoenix to focus his energies on a new enterprise in the United States: PersianasUSA, LLC.

Allen holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas.

Gisela Lopez, Founding Partner

Gisela has run her own successful consulting business, TechInvest, focused on the Latin American energy and industrial sectors since the early 80’s. Having served as VicePresident of Banco Union (Venezuela’s largest commercial bank) and VicePresident of Banco Provincial’s corporate division, she is also Director of Fedecamaras, the National Federation of Chambers of Commerce. Her extensive experience uniquely positions her to provide market research insight to the global business marketplace.

Gisela holds a PhD in International Finance from Harvard University and an MBA, with a concentration in Entrepreneurship, from Babson College.

Paul Goold, General Manager

Paul brings a wealth of expertise and over fifteen years of experience in the manufacturing, procurement and service industries. For the past five years he has worked in London where he was General Manager in charge of Production, Graphics, and other services for such blue chip organizations as Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

His background includes eleven years working for a manufacturing company specializing in products for clients such as Kodak, EMI and Chanel. He graduated from the London College of Printing in 1989 and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Industrial Management.