Meet The Team

David Zion, CFA, CPA

Research Analyst

Prior to founding Zion Research Group, Dave had 20 years of experience as a sell side Accounting & Tax research analyst at Bear Stearns, ISI and most recently Credit Suisse. He started his career as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche.

Dave has been named to Institutional Investor's All-America Research Team multiple times, and was ranked the #1 or #2 Accounting & Tax analyst for 13 out of 14 years.

Dave graduated from Binghamton University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

When he's not chillin' with some new accounting standard, Dave enjoys cooking, NY area sports (Go Giants!), traveling and a game of poker. Dave was born and raised in the streets of Brooklyn but nowadays he lives in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania with his wife and their three daughters.

Esther Pang, CFA, CPA

Research Analyst

Prior to joining Zion Research Group, Esther had over 10 years of experience as a research analyst at several hedge funds, including Ziff Brothers Investments, Kynikos, Blackstone, and Dristi Capital.  Using an accounting overlay coupled with deep fundamental analysis, she has identified short ideas by revealing companies concealing deteriorating business fundamentals with aggressive accounting ploys overlooked by the street, as well as steered investors away from incurring losses in long equity investments that were overvalued thanks to accounting gimmicks that unsustainably boosted results. She has analyzed companies across multiple industries as well as geographies, including North America, Europe, and Asia.

Esther graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce with a specialization in Accounting and Finance.

Esther enjoys cooking (predominantly Asian cuisine), reading, running, and travelling. Esther was born in Vancouver, Canada, and now lives in Bellevue, Washington with her husband and two daughters.

Janet Pegg, CPA

Research Analyst

Prior to joining Zion Research Group, Janet had over 30 years of experience analyzing and reporting on US and international accounting standards, SEC reporting requirements and US Federal taxation and their implications to investment analysts at Cornerstone Capital, UBS, Encima Global and Bear Stearns. She started her career at Deloitte LLP.

Janet has been named to Institutional Investors All-American Research Team multiple times and is a contributor to accounting standard setting through previous participation in FASAC, ITAC, SASB and CRUF. Janet wins the award for most acronyms in a bio.

Janet graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and received an MBA from New York University.

Besides her bizarre love of accounting, Janet is attempting to rediscover the joys (and pains) of tennis. Depending upon the season, she can be found somewhere along the eastern seaboard - New Hampshire, New Jersey or Florida.

Jayanth Swaminathan J, ACA

Research Analyst

Jayanth is a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). Prior to joining Zion Research Group, he was with CRISIL Ltd, Chennai as an Offshore Associate. Before that, he worked as an Intern (Assurance) at Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants, Chennai.

Jayanth graduated from University of Madras, Chennai in 2008 with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Jayanth is a fitness freak, loves to go for triathlon and brevets. He follows cricket, enjoys cooking with his wife and loves playing with his pet dog. He grew up and lives in Chennai, India with his family.

Maria Zecca, CPA

Research Analyst

Prior to joining Zion Research Group, Maria had over 18 years of experience generating investment ideas through forensic accounting research, most of which was with Ziff Brothers Investments (ZBI) in the Financial Research Group which she helped build and lead. Maria was a Managing Director at ZBI where she covered global equities with an emphasis on Asia and Europe. Maria began her career at Arthur Andersen where she was an experienced manager working on audit engagements as well as serving as a U.S. liaison for several private placement offerings and public debt and initial public offerings for overseas clients to enter the U.S. financial market.

Maria graduated from Montclair State University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

Maria loves to travel with her husband and daughter. While she lives in New Jersey, she was born in Uruguay and visits every year to spend time on the family ranch.

Raamapriya Pisupati, ACA

Operations Manager

Raamapriya is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).  She has 8+ years of work experience at CRISIL Ltd, managing a Research team before joining Zion Research Group. She also holds a Masters Degree in Commerce.

Raamapriya is an ardent lover of books and she enjoys South Indian Classical music. She is keen on current affairs (Politics) and also follows tennis.

She currently resides in Bengalurui with her husband and son

Ravi Gomatam, CFA

Research Analyst

Prior to co-founding Zion Research Group, Ravi worked on the Accounting and Tax research teams at Credit Suisse and ISI. He was also part of the HOLT team at Credit Suisse. Ravi has more than 10 years of experience in Accounting & Tax research and Valuation. Ravi also has extensive experience in architecting and developing software solutions ranging from valuation software to program trading systems.  He is a member of the CFA Institute.

Ravi graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai in 1996 with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Ravi loves playing cricket, board games and card games and enjoys watching cricket and Tamil movies. He grew up in Chennai in India and now lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife and two children.

Sai Kumar Gundagani

Research Analyst

Prior to joining Zion Research Group, Sai Kumar worked as a software engineer with Virtusa Consulting India Pvt Limited.

Sai Kumar graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad in 2016 with a Bachelor of Technology degree and received a Master of Technology in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai in 2020.

Sai Kumar loves travelling and enjoys watching movies with family. He currently resides in Nalgonda, Telangana, India.