TEAM
Andrew Ranson
For more than 20 years, Andrew Ranson has had a heart and a mind for international business.
His career began as a trader and traffic manager for Nonferrous Metals (U.S.A.), Inc., a Chinese ministerial-level import and export firm based in New York. It was here that he learned the intricacies of international trade, and honed his understanding United States-China business practices. Andrew also lived and worked for four years in Hong Kong and New York as a member of the Boston Consulting Group. In this capacity, he served major multi-national clients in a variety of industries.
His vast experience also includes investment management, organizational strategy development and implementation, executive coaching, as well as strategic and marketing consultation for organizations ranging from global Fortune 500 industrial corporations, to family-owned manufacturing companies, to boutique investment managers.
As president and associate partner of GiANT Capital, Andrew is committed to the firm’s promise of long-term financial partnerships and comprehensive solutions designed to help you succeed in your U.S. investment.
Andrew is a magna cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College, where he studied Chinese language and culture and received a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies in 1991. He is a 2008 summa cum laude graduate of the MBA program at Oklahoma Baptist University, where his focus was international business.
Eric Zhang
A native of Beijing, China, Eric has been facilitating trade and investment between U.S.-based companies and China for more than two decades. As executive vice president and associate partner of GiANT Capital, he now brings this experience to individuals . . . along with a strong desire to help you find success and significance through long-term U.S. investment partnerships.
Early in his career, Eric founded one of the first private management consulting companies in Beijing, where he assisted many major multinational companies develop their China business. He went on to found and manage American Chinese Trade Services, LLC, with offices in Tulsa, Shanghai, and Beijing. Before joining GiANT Capital he served for three years as the chief representative of the Oklahoma Foreign Direct Investment Office in China, heading the initiative of bringing direct investment from China to the State of Oklahoma.
Eric is an adjunct professor at the University of Tulsa, and has been a speaker at the Shanghai Foreign Investment Board. He received a masters degree in mechanical engineering in 1987 from the Harbin Institute of Technology in China. He also received training in marketing and management from the Kellogg School of Management.
Dan Bales
Since December 2008, Dan Bales has served as the CEO of GiANT Capital. The majority of his vast experience comes from serving as the former President and CEO of Alliance Bank, N.A., in Oklahoma City, and in various senior management capacities in a number of community and multi-state regional banks. He actively participated on management teams that developed and implemented strategies for eight unique bank mergers and acquisitions.
Outside the banking sector, Dan’s experience includes president and CEO of Classic Sports Wear, a manufacturing company, owner & CEO of Hobbies Inc., a multi-state wholesale distribution business, and executive vice president and CFO of Paragon Investments, a venture capital/securities firm, and Barclay Securities, a privately held, licensed NASD firm. He received a bachelor of arts degree in industrial psychology from the University of Oklahoma in 1971 and numerous credit certifications/commercial lending degrees from graduate schools of banking.
Matthew Myers
Matthew Myers is a founder of the GiANT family of companies. He began his career working for his family’s medical laboratory business, Clinical Biopathology Laboratory, where he soon became CEO. Simultaneously, he launched a software company to test employees’ health by setting wellness standards. Both businesses were sold to Medical Arts Laboratory, Inc.
Other opportunities that guided Matthew to his leadership at GiANT include founding NuCare Inc., a nutritional supplement manufacturer and distributor, and Extreme Interactive Media Inc., a large web site for extreme sports fans. Matthew has also led numerous merger and acquisition transactions. Matthew holds a bachelor of science in marketing from Oklahoma State University and a masters in business administration from Oklahoma City University.