The Team
Mark and Dan Palchak are co-founders and owners of Brook Park Holdings.
Mark Palchak, Co-Founder and Owner
Mark started his career growing proprietary trading groups in Chicago at Infinium Capital Management. In time, Mark assumed leadership of Infinium in a distressed situation immediately taking the company through a successful sale process and returning the successor company, V3 Markets, to profitability. Mark learned core skills in business growth, risk management, and technology strategy during his time in trading.
Mark earned dual degrees in Computer Systems and Finance from the University of Dayton and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
Dan Palchak, Co-Founder and Owner
Dan’s professional experience before BPH included leadership positions at Citadel Securities and Infinium Capital Management, global high-frequency trading firms. At Citadel, Dan immediately turned around a losing trading desk, starting a new algorithmic trading desk, and continuously developed new successful trading strategies during his three-year tenure at the world’s top hedge fund.
In 2012, Dan was named to Forbes “30 Under 30” list.
Dan earned a degree in Economics from Miami University of Ohio, and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Christian Champ, Board Member
Christian acts as a board member, strategic advisor, and executive coach.
Before that, he spent 22 years as a credit investor in the Asset Management industry. He started his career as an analyst for Stein Roe and Farnham. Then worked for McDonnell Investment Management, and THL Credit, which purchased McDonnell. Then for First Eagle Asset Management, which purchased THL Credit.
At First Eagle, he was the Head of Credit and a Portfolio Manager for $15B in AUM, leading a team of 16 analysts. He led the firm’s distressed efforts and funding raising in the retail channel.
Christian graduated from Wake Forest University and holds the CFA designation.
Nate Laurell, Board Member
Nate has been an entrepreneur for 20+ years in technology, finance, renewable energy, and real food. He started his first company, Technacity, in his dorm room at the University of Illinois.
As a partner in Infinium Capital Management, where he traded everything from carbon to treasuries, he helped lead the transition to electronic trading. For the last ten years, with an emphasis on sustainability, he cofounded Amp Americas and The Fresh Factory.
Nate holds a BS and MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He lives and works in Chicago (mostly) but can often be found in Northern California or at New Frontier Farms (and dog rescue) in Wisconsin.