Jeffrey Carter has been an independent commodity speculator at the ChicagoMercantile Exchange (CME) since 1992. Previous to that, he traded for FCT Group, Inc. He trades interest rate, equity and agricultural futures for
his own account. From 1999 to 2001, he was a member of the CME Board of Directors. In addition to trading, Jeff has published editorials and opinions on the futures industry, and been a commentator on Bloomberg
Television, and CNBC. He has also been featured on WTTW.

Jeff has made several angel investments, most recently in Tallgrassbeef.com, and shuffletech.com. Jeff has also written an article for pajamasmedia.com. Jeff has an undergraduate degree from the College of Business at the University of Illinois in Champaign, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth. He is the treasurer and co-founder of the Hyde Park Angels.

Michelle L. Collins is an Advisory Board Member of Svoboda, Collins LLC, a private equity firm focused on lower middle market buyouts.  Ms. Collins was a co-founder and was Managing Director at Svoboda, Collins LLC from 1998 until 2006.  Prior to that, Ms. Collins was a Principal in the Corporate Finance Department at William Blair & Company, LLC, a middle market investment banking firm, from 1991 to 1997.  She began her tenure at the firm as Associate in 1986.   

Ms. Collins is a Board Member of CDW Corporation (Public), Molex, Inc. (Public), Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Illinois (Private), PNA Holdings, LLC (Private).  In addition, she is an Advisory Board Member of Parts Now LLC in addition to Svoboda, Collins LLC.   Previously, she was on the boards of Coldwater Creek, Inc. and McWhorter Technologies, Inc., both public companies, as well as several private companies. 

Ms. Collins resides in Chicago and is actively involved with several Chicago-based civic and charitable institutions. 

Joel Krauss has been an advisor to executives since 1974, helping organizations achieve double-digit bottom line growth. In 2003 he co-founded Market Strategy Group, LLC a consulting firm that helps executives and senior leadership teams target and achieve double-digit bottom line growth. Krauss has served executives in financial services, retailing, computers and electronics, transportation, health care, and government, including: Accenture, AT&T, Bell Canada, Deere & Company, Dow Jones, Fiji Sugar Company, Frito-Lay, Inc., Fidelity Investments, Lucent Technologies, Merloni, Microsoft, Molex, Profit Recovery Group, Sterling Capital, Qwest Communications, Underwriters Laboratories, Xerox, Wagner Electric and Zebra Technologies.

Krauss holds a BS in engineering mathematics with a minor in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Chicago Booth.

Doug Monieson has been involved in the financial trading community for more than twenty years. Since 1994, Doug has been an active member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He is a founding member of the NASDAQ100 futures pit, and served as the Vice Chairman of the Pit Committee from the pits inception until 2001. He is a valued member of the CME Pit Supervision Committee and has served on the CME Group’s Political Action Committee since 2007.

Monieson has made regular appearances as a financial commentator on Bloomberg TV and has made guest appearances on CNBC, CNNFN, and Canada’s Report on Business TV. He is active in HPA’s screening committee and in two of HPA’s investments. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA and received his MBA from Chicago Booth.

Peter Wilkins is the CEO and founder of Omaxen Group. Omaxen provides consulting services to private equity and venture capital firms seeking to rapidly grow struggling start-ups or turn around failing companies. He is currently involved with a number of service-based firms in the education, technology, healthcare and digital media sectors. Prior to his current role, Wilkins worked with KKR Capstone as the president of PRIMEDIA Healthcare where he turned around the organization from record losses to record profits and built one of the premier online physician communities.

Wilkins holds a degree in business from Indiana University and graduated from the Chicago Booth Executive Institute. He and his family reside in Chicago, where he is currently a board member of Starlight Children's Foundation Midwest and serves on the advisory board for National-Louis University, Latino Initiatives, Proyecto Comunidad.

Ellen Rudnick currently serves as Executive Director and Clinical Professor of the Michael P. Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at the Chicago Booth.

Prior to this appointment she spent twenty-five years in business management and entrepreneurial activities, primarily in the healthcare industry. Ellen co-founded and served as Chairman of Pacific Biometrics, a medical diagnostics company (1993-1999); was President of HCIA and CEO of its predecessor company, Healthcare Knowledge Resources, both healthcare information service companies (1990-1992); and held the positions Corporate Vice President of Baxter Healthcare, President and Founder of Baxter Management Services Division, and Director of Strategic Planning for Baxter (1975-1990).

Ellen received an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Vassar College. Her governance experience includes:  Liberty Mutual Insurance, Patterson Companies (PDCO), First Midwest Bank (FMBI) and Health Management Systems (HMSY). She has previously served on the boards of Oxford Health Plans, NCCI, and NephRx.  She also serves on the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Foundation Board. She has been a venture partner for Inroads Capital

Ira S. Weiss is the managing director of RK Ventures and is a professor at the University of Chicago.  Ira is the chairman of the board of Bidshift, a portfolio company of RK Ventures, and is a director of Orly’s Treehouse. At RK Ventures, Ira has lead investments in energy technology, healthcare, and biotech, and is actively involved in each company funded by the RK Ventures.Ira has also taught at Columbia Business School, and in his academic work, he has published on valuation issues of earnings, and on tax and accounting regulation. Ira has also worked as an economic consultant specializing in tax and corporate financial strategies, for Coopers and Lybrand. Ira received both his MBA and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. 

Contact Ira Weiss at ira@hydeparkangels.com

Donna Zarcone is founder of D.F. Zarcone & Associates LLC, a strategic advisory firm providing consulting at the executive and board level. Zarcone is an experienced chief executive and board director, with a proven record of rapidly growing and building companies, while consistently delivering outstanding bottom line results. She serves on two public company boards: CIGNA Corporation and The Jones Group Inc. and two private company boards: CDW Corporation and The Duchossois Group. Additionally, she is a frequent speaker at industry and corporate governance conferences.

As the former President of Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc., Zarcone led that international company through transformational growth. In her eight year tenure as President, managed loans grew from $1.1 billion to over $6 billion, market share grew from 20% to 50%, and annual operating income increased from $20 million to over $200 million. Zarcone joined the independent start-up finance company in 1994 as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and was instrumental in the sale of that company to Harley-Davidson, Inc. in 1995. Zarcone became its President, Chief Operating Officer, and Board Director in August 1998. Zarcone was also responsible for the creation, development and leadership of Harley-Davidson Enthusiast Services, a collection of service offerings including Harley Owners Group, Rider’s Edge motorcycle training classes, motorcycle rentals and tours, museum development, and web-based commerce.

Prior to her affiliation with Harley-Davidson, Zarcone served as Executive Vice President, CFO and Treasurer of Chrysler Systems Leasing, Inc., a computer technology leasing company. Zarcone began her career as an auditor and computer audit specialist with KPMG/Peat Marwick.

Zarcone is actively engaged civically, currently serving on the boards of the Economic Club of Chicago; National Association of Corporate Directors - Chicago Chapter; Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Hyde Park Angels; and Chicago Club. She is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago; Committee of 200; Chicago Network; and Young Presidents’ Organization.

Zarcone holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting from Illinois State University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is a certified public accountant.