About Bender-Carey Capital

Kristie served as Market President and Regional President at two large publicly traded banks. She hired, trained, and mentored employees while coaching clients in professional development and strategic planning. Kristie’s expertise includes talent acquisition, workforce retention, performance evaluation, and organizational development.

In 2018, Kristie launched Bender-Carey Consulting, an elite advisory firm. She leverages her extensive corporate and banking experience to help professionals maximize market growth by sourcing funding from REITs, hedge funds, angel investors, and traditional institutions. Kristie also provides strategic planning, career coaching, organizational development, and business advancement through marketing and communications. Her efforts have helped companies and emerging leaders develop effective career strategies. Bender-Carey Group and Bender-Carey Consulting have delivered customized capital solutions for diverse projects.

Kristie has earned SECRET Clearance status with the U.S. Government, qualifying her to manage SECRET government contracts. This clearance highlights her ability to handle sensitive military and government projects with the highest security standards.

“I focus on creative financing solutions and providing business clients with exceptional service.”

Kristie has served on the Board of Directors for the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo committee. She currently sits on the board of E3s|End To End Solutions and is a member of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, Colorado Springs Housing and Building Association, Colorado Businesswomen, National Association of Women in Construction, Realtors Commercial and Industrial Society, Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, and the American Paint Horse Association. Kristie volunteers as a certified family investigator for CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Children) of the Pikes Peak Region.

Kristie was honored as one of the “Women of Influence” in Colorado Springs and featured in the Business Journal’s “One-on-One” and Style Magazine’s “People to Know.”

Mark's expertise spans across a wide range of areas critical to business success. He's adept at developing winning strategies, building strong business relationships, managing sales and operations, and executing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to expand reach.

Throughout his career, Mark has consistently demonstrated a knack for identifying and capitalizing on opportunities. He played a key role in taking Blackhawk Network, a startup, to become a leading player in prepaid financial services. Later, at Incomm, a competitor of Blackhawk, he led their expansion into new markets and product lines, significantly increasing revenue.

Mark is also an entrepreneur. After leaving Incomm, Mark founded and had executive roles in multiple start-ups encompassing technology, manufacturing, and retail. He was the lead for each on getting investment, as well as setting in place key management teams for each company.

Beyond his direct ventures, Mark leverages his expertise as an active advisor to leading prepaid card companies like KargoCard (Shanghai, China). He also brings his keen eye for opportunity to the investment world, collaborating with Private Equity and Venture Capital firms to evaluate and invest in promising tech, retail, CPG, and fintech ventures. This investment acumen has been instrumental in securing over $250 million in capital raises across four different companies. Interestingly, before embarking on this successful business career, Mark spent eleven years playing professional baseball for the San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles.

Upon retirement from active military service, he was the Sector Vice President for Global C4ISR and Space, Northrop Grumman Corporation; and, President of Mantech International’s Defense Systems Group and later Corporate Executive Vice President of Mantech. He then founded his own company, Bryan Business Management and Technology to provide strategic planning and leadership guidance to promising small and medium-sized businesses. He completed the Harvard Business School program for Corporate Board of Directors and served as a Board Director for numerous businesses including serving as the Chairman of the Board for three of those companies. He is a Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He is also the founder and senior facilitator of The Leadership Forum.

At Bender-Carey Capital, he aligns promising small and medium-sized companies who specialize in products and services in the areas of Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Network Security and Operations/Cyber Security, Space Operations and other related advanced technology areas with the financial resources they require for research and development, marketing, and operational requirements. Many of these companies are early-stage companies and as the need arises, he guides them through the development of their strategic business plan.

Michael also served as Vice President and General Manager for Aggregate, Concrete, Asphalt production and Construction Services at various locations for some of the world’s largest vertically integrated construction materials organizations including Redlands, CRH, Lafarge and Martin Marietta. During his tenure with these companies, Michael also served as Vice President and General Manager of Technical Services, responsible for quality control, environmental compliance, reserve acquisition/permitting, land management and product best practice management and training for all products for the Western US Division.

Michael’s far-reaching assignments and experiences have required his leadership in the transition to new ownership as the result of leveraged buyouts as well as the integration of acquired operating companies, their assets and personnel. Historically, the ability of a company being acquired to adapt to new ownership and management or similarly, the ability of an acquiring company to successfully assimilate acquired company personnel and assets into the existing business is a strong indicator of the overall success of the acquisition. Successful integration/assimilation of personnel populations is key to a successful acquisition. Michael’s experience on both sides of an acquisition is a unique and powerful asset in coaching, advising, consulting of a successful acquisition.

Michael recently joined an advisory team working toward the development of a precious metals mining project. Providing guidance to this unique project to commercialize the extraction and sale of surrounding “waste rock” as a viable construction aggregate source. Focused on quantifying the extent of the resource, its quality and marketability, industry knowledge and familiarity with aggregate markets assists this project with the potential development of a previously unrecognized revenue stream and significant reduction of mine reclamation costs.

Michael’s extensive experience in many aspects of the resource industry including mining, reclamation, environmental enhancement, marketing, sales and management at low, mid and high levels results in a concentration of industry knowledge. From greenfield to final reclamation, from acquisition to final sale, Michael has been emersed in the industry. His decades and breadth of experience are a well of knowledge on which our resource focused clients can now utilize to advance their objectives as we safely, professionally and profitably pursue the development of earthly resources.

Michael earned a BA at the University of Northern Colorado. Achieved “Concrete Technologist” as certified by the American Concrete Institute. Served multiple terms as Board Member and Chair of the Colorado Stone Sand and Gravel Association. Elected to the Foundation Board of Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration for two terms.

Chaired the Operations Committee for National Stone Association/National Stone Sand and Gravel Association. Completed Lafarge Corporation Worldwide Leadership Training Institute and CRH (Oldcastle) Senior Leadership Training. Michael recently served as Board Chairman of the Colorado Division of “Dream On Three” (Providing dream experiences for children with significant childhood challenges).

Throughout his career, Jay has led and advised on high-value transactions across diverse asset classes, helping drive portfolio expansion and operational efficiency. His multidisciplinary approach, rooted in financial intelligence, strategic communication, and deep capital relationships, strengthens BCC’s ability to serve developers, operators, and private clients navigating major transactions.

As a speaker and coach in the leadership and business space, Jay’s insights into influence, mindset, and negotiation have helped founders, investors, and executives sharpen their edge in high-stakes environments.

At Bender-Carey Capital, Jay combines practical experience with forward-thinking strategy to support the firm’s institutional initiatives and deliver exceptional outcomes across complex real estate and capital markets engagements.

For nearly three years, she has thrived in the fast-paced environment of the corporate world. She thrives on being the "glue" that keeps things running smoothly, taking the initiative to manage schedules, communication channels, onboarding processes, and essential tools. Norilyn is dedicated to empowering executives by allowing them to focus on strategic priorities, confident in the knowledge that the details are expertly handled.

With more than 20 years of experience leading digital initiatives, Aaron works at the intersection of marketing, operations, and technology. He has built and managed hundreds of websites, led complex digital projects, and helped organizations improve performance through stronger messaging, cleaner execution, and better alignment between business goals and customer-facing systems. His background gives him a clear understanding of how brand, sales support, workflow, and digital presence affect growth and long-term value.

Aaron is especially skilled at translating complex ideas into clear action. He works comfortably with both technical teams and business leaders, helping bridge the gap between strategy and implementation. That makes him a valuable partner for companies that need not just ideas, but follow-through.

His experience spans digital strategy, website infrastructure, campaign planning, team coordination, client communication, and project leadership. He has supported a wide range of organizations, from public-sector entities to private businesses, always with a focus on measurable results, strong communication, and reliable execution.

At Bender Carey Capital, Aaron supports clients by strengthening the marketing and digital side of the business so leadership teams can make sharper decisions, improve visibility, and build a more solid foundation for growth.

Through her work, Scarlet has educated hundreds of individuals on personal and business credit fundamentals, including credit profile analysis, responsible credit building, compliance-based repair strategies, and the transition from consumer credit to business credit structures. Her approach emphasizes practical education, demystifying financial systems that have historically excluded underserved populations, and equipping clients with the knowledge needed to move from financial instability to entrepreneurial readiness. In addition to her credit education work, Scarlet has founded and operated two businesses in the small business funding space, with a focus on commercial real estate and hospitality financing with her most recent firm creation called The Executive Group LLP in partnership with the Bender-Carey Leonard Group. Her companies have supported entrepreneurs in accessing capital, structuring funding strategies, and positioning their businesses for sustainable growth within highly competitive industries. This experience allows her to bridge education with execution—guiding clients not only in understanding credit, but in applying it effectively to real-world business opportunities. Scarlet’s mission is rooted in economic equity and empowerment. By combining financial education, credit strategy, and funding expertise, she continues to create pathways for individuals in underserved communities to transition from credit awareness to entrepreneurship, ownership, and generational impact.