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. 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.
Phil Silverman is the Interim Chief Financial Officer of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc., having previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of Chicago Atlantic Group, LLC., the Company’s Sponsor, since January 2021.
Mr. Silverman brings over 10 years of finance and accounting experience with expertise in financial reporting, operations, and internal controls within the asset management industry. Prior to joining Chicago Atlantic, Phil spent nearly nine years with BDO USA, LLP, where he most recently was a Senior Manager in the Financial Services and Private Equity group, responsible for end-to-end execution of audits of private equity and venture capital funds, small business investment companies, business development companies and other asset managers.
Mr. Silverman holds a B.S in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).