Operations and Custodian Liaison
Grace Thompson
Operations Team Leader
Grace joined the Operations team in 2023. As Operations Team Leader, she will oversee the team’s day-to-day operations, provide guidance, and support our operational processes to keep them functioning properly.
She has over 10 years of experience in tax services, working mainly in tax operations at custodian banks. She has a Bachelor of Business Honors Degree from the Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland.
When she is not working, Grace enjoys attempting to cook and bake. She also likes finding a good TV series to binge.
Elsie Leigh
London Operations Manager
Elsie joined Acupay in 2014. As the London Operations Manager, she supports custodian banks in achieving smooth processing of tax relief requests for all their clients including entitlement monitoring and documentation management, across various markets. She also provides technical support to clients using the Acupay System.
Elsie holds an MSc in Financial Economics from City University, London and a BSc in Economics from Greenwich University, London.
Rick Coté
Operations Analyst
Rick graduated the University of Binghamton in 2020 with a B.S. in Financial Economics. He spent a semester in Florence, Italy, where he studied Italian Art and Language as well as Roman history, visiting several archeological sites.
Rick joined Acupay in March 2024, after serving in other various operations roles in the industry.
Outside of work, Rick enjoys hiking with his dog Milo, and his favorite TV series is Game of Thrones.
Nancy Donato
Office Manager
Nancy graduated from Oneonta State University with a Business Economics degree in 1980.She worked at various law and accounting firms as trust and estate paralegal and fiduciary accountant from 1980 to 1994. From 1994 to 2006, Nancy worked as a senior account representative at Fiduciary Communications Group, a predecessor to Acupay System LLC and from 2006 to 2010 for Acupay as Operations Associate. Since 2010, Nancy has been the Office Manager of Acupay's New York office.
Ekua Plange
Operations Analyst
Ekua joined Acupay in 2018 as an Intern supporting management of data and handling of documentation. She joined the Operations team in March 2021 as an Operations Analyst supporting the smooth processing of tax relief requests and administrative tasks.
Ekua studied Accounting and Finance at the University of Northampton. Ekua speaks fluent English and Dutch.
Alex Ritz
Operations Associate
Alex joined Acupay in 2020, primarily focusing on projects relating to Acupay’s sister company Bondholder Communications Group (“BondCom”). Alex performs a wide swath of duties for BondCom, including client engagement, project management, liaising with clearing system and custodian bank counterparts, and data analysis. Prior to working for Acupay, Alex was employed by a labor law firm where he provided cost analysis for union contract bargaining negotiations.
Alex is a graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, where he studied Mathematics and Jazz Performance. He is an accomplished drummer who has performed in 9 countries and been featured on over 12 albums. He also enjoys cooking, cycling, and photography.
Kenny Wu
Operations Associate
Kenny joined the team in 2011 and graduated from St. John’s University in Queens, New York with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He works as an Operations Associate supporting Acupay's Italian operations and acts as liaison with DTC Participants for all operational matters.
Kenny is fluent in English and Cantonese.