It’s easy to see why Steve’s negotiating skills and financial acumen are so strong: In 1973, when the new Chicago Board Options Exchange opened as America’s first options exchange, he was one of its first Independent Market Makers. In this challenging environment, where many traders last only a few years, Steve’s deal-making savvy enabled him to enjoy 18 years of success. He also served on CBOE’s Arbitration Committee for two of those years.

Seeking a new challenge, in 1991 Steve founded Utility Rate Savers (URS), a Chicago-based firm that helped small and mid-size companies cut their utility bills by auditing them for savings opportunities. Although utility deregulation eventually provided these savings, URS achieved its initial growth targets and strengthened Steve’s financial and Client-service skills.

He moved into the credit industry in 1993 when he joined Bannockburn, IL-based Novus Financial, a full-service, nationwide accounts-receivable management firm. His tenure with Novus included managing a seven-person field office for the company. More recently he was a manager at Full Spectrum Lending, a division of Countrywide Home Loans, where he developed and supervised over-the-phone strategies for selling mortgages and closing real estate transactions.

A graduate of the University of Denver, Steve was born and raised in the Chicago area.  He and his wife, Trish, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in 2007.  Their daughter, Melissa, is a therapist working with autistic children, and their son, Scott, will begin college in the fall of 2007.