Board of Directors

Andrew Paradise is the CEO and founder of Skillz. Prior to Skillz, Andrew founded AisleBuyer, which was best known for pioneering mobile self-checkout prior to its sale to Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) in 2012. Andrew has been the founding inventor behind companies in different technology sectors ranging from eCommerce to image recognition to HR technology. Andrew was named to the San Francisco Times’ 40 under 40 class of 2018.

Casey Chafkin is the co-founder of Skillz. Prior to Skillz, Casey was the VP of Business Development for AisleBuyer (now Intuit GoPayment). Casey received his B.S. in economics from Duke University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Henry Hoffman has been an independent director of Skillz since August 2022. Mr. Hoffman is a Partner at SL Advisors and Portfolio Manager of the SL Advisors MLP & Infrastructure SMA strategies. Mr. Hoffman is also Co-Portfolio Manager of the Catalyst Energy Infrastructure Fund (MLXIX) and Co-Portfolio Manager for the Rational Inflation Growth Fund (IGOIX). Mr. Hoffman is a co-creator of the American Energy Indices, with a deep passion for the energy infrastructure space. Mr. Hoffman has been with SL Advisors since 2010. Before joining SL Advisors, Mr. Hoffman worked as a buy-side equity analyst for PNC Capital Advisors and a private equity real estate analyst for PNC Realty Investors. Mr. Hoffman graduated from Duke University with a B.S in economics and a minor in chemistry. Mr. Hoffman’s experience in the financial services industry makes him a valued member of the Board.

Kent Wakeford is an independent director of Skillz and has more than 20 years of experience in the technology, digital media, ad tech, gaming and esports industries. Kent is the co-founder and Vice Chairman of Gen.G Esports, which, according to Forbes, is the one of the most valuable esports team organizations in the world. Previously, Kent was Chief Operating Officer of Kabam, where he helped grow Kabam to a globally diverse company with over 1,000 employees in seven countries. Prior to serving as Chief Operating Officer at Kabam, Kent was the co-founder and President of Integral Ad Science, the global market leader in digital ad verification which was acquired by Vista Equity Partners for $850 million. Kent currently holds board positions at FanAI, Inc., B Site Inc. and Gen.G. Kent received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California.

Alexander Mandel currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of The Influential Network Inc., a privately-held influencer marketing company, and has served in such capacity since January 2022. From January 2019 through December 2021, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Fluent, Inc. (Nasdaq: FLNT), and as an independent financial consultant to the company from July 2018 through December 2018. From February 2016 to June 2018, Mr. Mandel served as the Chief Financial Officer of IAC Applications, a division of IAC/InterActiveCorp (Nasdaq: IAC). From 2010 to 2015, Mr. Mandel was employed by LendingTree, Inc. (Nasdaq: TREE), including as its Chief Financial Officer from 2012 to 2015. He was a Managing Director at Centerview Partners LLC, an investment banking advisory firm in New York City, from 2008 to 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Mandel held various positions at investment banking firm Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc from 1996 to 2008, including Managing Director beginning in 2003. He received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Tufts University and his Masters of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.

Anthony Cabot is a Distinguished Fellow in Gaming Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Before joining the Boyd School of Law in March 2018, Anthony Cabot practiced gaming law for 37 years and was a former chair of the gaming law practice and executive committee member at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP. Professor Cabot is a founder and past president of the International Masters of Gaming Law, past president of the Nevada Gaming Attorneys Association, and past general counsel to the International Association of Gaming Attorneys.

Gary A. Vecchiarelli is an independent director of Skillz and has more than 20 years of professional experience in accounting, finance & capital markets. Gary is currently President & Chief Financial Officer of CleanSpark, Inc., a multi-billion-dollar market cap NASDAQ company operating in the bitcoin mining and data center industries. Gary has focused on high-growth middle market companies where he has held senior-level and executive roles. He has extensive experience in mergers & acquisitions, capital raising, strategic planning & execution and U.S. GAAP, SEC reporting & SOX compliance. During his career, Gary has raised over $3 billion dollars of capital in the public markets through common equity and convertible debt instruments. Gary has extensive casino gaming experience serving as SVP of Finance & Chief Accounting Officer for Golden Entertainment and Chief Financial Officer for Galaxy Gaming. In the first part of Gary’s career, he worked for several public accounting firms including McGladrey & Pullen, LLP and most recently BDO USA, LLP where he helped open the Las Vegas audit practice of BDO.

Gary has been a licensed CPA since 2006 and has active licenses in California & Nevada. In 2014, Gary was named to the Las Vegas “40 under 40” list of accomplished young professionals by VEGAS INC magazine. Gary is currently a member of the CNBC CFO Council and an independent director for Doral Academies of Las Vegas, one of the top performing charter school systems in the state of Nevada.

Shannon Demus is an accomplished financial executive with broad leadership experience across the gaming, technology, and entertainment sectors. She currently serves as CFO – Americas at Light & Wonder (ASX: LNW), a global multi‑billion‑dollar market‑cap company—formerly Scientific Games—developing leading content, hardware, and systems for land‑based casinos, digital gaming, and mobile applications. Prior to joining Light & Wonder, she held financial roles at Aristocrat Technologies (ASX: ALL) and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), building deep expertise in cash flow management, strategic planning, cost optimization, and mergers and acquisitions.

She holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BS in Business Administration from USC’s Marshall School of Business. In 2024, she was recognized on the VEGAS INC “40 Under 40” list. Shannon also serves as a board member and corporate officer for United Way of Southern Nevada (UWSN).