Mr. Mazarakis co-founded Chicago Atlantic Group in April 2019 and has served as our Executive Chairman since our inception. As a proven entrepreneur and operator with successful ventures in real estate, retail, and hospitality. Mr. Mazarakis brings over 20 years of entrepreneurial, operational, and managerial experience. He has built a 30+ restaurant chain with more than 1,200 employees, established a real estate portfolio of over 30 properties, developed over 1 million square feet of commercial real estate, and completed multiple real estate financing transactions, at a cumulative annual growth rate exceeding 25%. He has invested in and served as an advisor to multiple successful startups. Mr. Mazarakis holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Delaware and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Mr. Mazarakis’s management experience and understanding of the real estate industry, and as a founder of Chicago Atlantic Group, LLC, make him an ideal choice to act as our Executive Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Cappell co-founded Chicago Atlantic Group in April 2019 and has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Prior to founding Chicago Atlantic, Mr. Cappell was a Managing Director and Head of Underwriting at Stonegate Capital, a private credit investment firm focused on lower middle market businesses and emerging brands from July 2016 to October 2018. At Stonegate, he was responsible for credit, underwriting, and the growth strategy of the loan portfolio. Previously, from January 2013 to June 2016, he was a Senior Underwriter at First Midwest Bank and at Gibraltar Business Capital where he worked on a number of specialty finance transactions including technology, software, turnaround/distressed and re-discount loans. He began his career at Wells Fargo Capital Finance focused on a wide array of industries and loan structures from November 2008 to December 2012. Mr. Cappell holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Mr. Cappell’s extensive experience evaluating credit as a debt investor in the specialty finance space, and as a founder of Chicago Atlantic Group, LLC, provides our Board with critical understanding of our business and knowledge of how to craft and execute on our operational and strategic plans.
Dr. Papastavrou founded ARIS Capital Management, LLC, a wealth management firm, in 2004 and currently serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Dr. Papastavrou was the founder and managing director of the Fund of Hedge Funds Strategies Group of Banc of America Capital Management (BACAP), president of BACAP Alternative Advisors, and a senior portfolio manager with Deutsche Asset Management.
Dr. Papastavrou has served as a member of the board of directors of GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO), a publicly traded pure-play contract logistics company, since August 2021; XPO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: XPO), a publicly traded leading provider of freight transportation, from September 2011 to August 2021; and previously served on the board of directors of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI), a publicly traded equipment rental company, from April 2005 to May 2020.
He was a tenured professor at the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University and holds a B.S. in mathematics, and a M.S. and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Papastavrou provides our Board with key insights to the financial markets, capital raising activities, and the management of a large, complex business.
Dr. Bodmeier co-founded Chicago Atlantic Group in April 2019 and has served as our Co-President and Chief Investment Officer since our inception. From October 2019 until December 2020, Dr. Bodmeier was a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary in the Immediate Office of the Secretary at the United States Department of Health and Human Services focused on policy evaluation and the Department’s response to COVID-19. From June 2015 until March 2019, Dr. Bodmeier was President of Quantitative Treasury Analytics, LLC, a boutique consulting firm focused on risk management for corporate clients as well as advising on capital structure decisions and investor relations. From May 2017 until March 2019, Dr. Bodmeier was Co-founder, Chief Investment Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer of Kinetik Finance, Inc., an SEC-registered online investment adviser for 401(k) or 403(b) retirement accounts, where he built the firm’s investment methodology and compliance program. Dr. Bodmeier has also served as a consultant for hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, commercial and consumer lenders, and pharmaceutical companies. His academic research at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business focused on capital market anomalies, portfolio allocation, and risk management. Dr. Bodmeier holds a Ph.D. in Finance and MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Dr. Bodmeier received a B.Sc. in Mathematics and a B.Sc. in Physics from Freie University Berlin, Germany, a B.Sc. in Business Economics from University of Hagen, Germany, and a M.Sc. in Statistics from Humboldt University Berlin, Germany.
Mr. Bodmeier’s extensive knowledge of financial markets, risk management and ideal capital structure, in addition to his experience as a founder of Chicago Atlantic Group, LLC, will be indispensable to our Board and in executing our strategy.
Mr. Sack has served as our Co-President since July 2021. Peter is a credit investor and portfolio manager with experience investing across the capital structure. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Mr. Sack was a Principal at BC Partners Credit from July 2018 to June 2021, where he sourced and underwrote across the firm’s opportunistic and senior lending strategies in a wide array of industries. Previously, Mr. Sack was an Associate at Atlas Holdings LLC, a private-equity firm focused on supporting distressed manufacturing and distribution companies globally, from July 2012 to June 2016. Mr. Sack holds a BA in East Asian Studies from Yale University, a MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and was a Fulbright Scholar at Sun Yat-sen University China.
Mr. Sack’s wealth of experience as a credit investor and portfolio manager across the capital structure will greatly benefit our Board’s discussions and decisions.
Mr. Herbst currently serves on the board of directors of Indemnis Inc., a privately owned provider of drone parachute safety systems. Previously, Mr. Herbst served as Chief Financial Officer of Ready Capital Corporation, a commercial mortgage REIT, and Managing Director of Waterfall Asset Management, LLC, an SEC-registered institutional asset manager, from 2009 until he retired in June 2019. At Ready Capital Corporation, Mr. Herbst was responsible for all finance and accounting operations for the company and oversaw Ready Capital Corporation’s conversion to a public company via a reverse merger with a previously existing public company. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Herbst was Chief Financial Officer of Clayton Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded provider of analytics and due diligence services to participants in the mortgage industry. Prior to Clayton Holdings, he was Chief Financial Officer of Arbor Realty Trust, Inc., a publicly traded commercial mortgage REIT, from 2003 until 2005, and of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC, from 1999 until 2005. Prior to joining Arbor, Mr. Herbst was Chief Financial Officer of The Hurst Companies, Inc., Controller with The Long Island Savings Bank, FSB, Vice President Finance with Eastern States Bankcard Association and a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young. Mr. Herbst holds a BA in Accounting from Wittenberg University and became a licensed Certified Public Accountant in 1983.
Mr. Herbst’s wealth of knowledge and experience as the principal financial officer for a number of public and private entities, including mortgage REITs, makes him an instrumental member of our Board.
Mr. Gulbrandsen currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Gulbrandsen Companies, a group of specialty chemical manufacturing companies headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey. In his role as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gulbrandsen oversees the strategic direction of the companies, including mergers and acquisitions and debt financing transactions. Mr. Gulbrandsen founded the companies in 1984 and has managed the organization through many growth stages to become an enterprise with over 1,000 employees and seven facilities worldwide. Mr. Gulbrandsen also serves as a National Council Co-Chair of the American Enterprise Institute and an Advisory Council Member of Entrepreneurship at Cornell University. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and a BA in History from Cornell University, and he is an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Owner President Management Program.
Mr. Gulbrandsen’s lifetime of management and financial experience will be invaluable to our Board in executing our strategic vision.
Mr. Konigsberg is the founder of Kobra Group, LLC, an executive and board level advisory and consulting firm, where he has served since December 2020. He previously served in various roles at JP Morgan Chase & Co., a global financial services firm, from September 1996 to December 2020, including as Managing Director, Global Chief Financial Officer for Human Resources, Global Chief Financial and Operating Officer, and Corporate Treasury, and at J.P. Morgan Securities (formerly Bear Stearns Private Client Services). Mr. Konigsberg has been a business and functional Chief Financial Officer and has held senior management roles in the treasury function of various companies. Prior to joining JP Morgan Chase & Co., Mr. Konigsberg was an auditor at Goldstein, Golub and Kessler, PC.
Since September 2019, Mr. Konigsberg has served on the board of directors of GTJ REIT, Inc., a private commercial equity real estate investment trust.
He received a BS in Accounting from University of Albany and an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business.
Mr. Konigsberg brings to our Board his broad experience in financial services, including as a director of a private commercial REIT and as a certified public accountant.
Mr. Steiner previously served as President of Service Energy LLC, a third-generation family-owned company based in Dover, Delaware, from May 1992 to September 2021. Service Energy is a branded Liberty distributor, employs over 200 local residents, has a fleet of 25 tank trucks and eleven service vans, and owns a storage facility capable of holding over one million gallons of propane and 350,000 gallons of oil. Mr. Steiner also served as President of Petroleum Equipment, Inc. from May 1992 to September 2021. Mr. Steiner holds a BA in History from Wake Forest University and an MBA from the University of Delaware.
Mr. Steiner’s near 30 years of management and financial experience will be a great benefit to our Board in overseeing our operations.
Some of our directors and executive officers act, and some of our future directors and executive officers may act, as directors and executive officers of our Manager, its affiliates and other investment vehicles managed by our Manager, as applicable, and such directors and executive officers may own interests in such other entities from time to time.