Team
MPI is comprised of an exceptionally diverse and experienced team of professionals. We bring together our unique individual skills to form a truly powerful mosaic of creative thinking, critical analysis and pragmatic solutions.
Please meet our team:
Michael Markov, Chief Executive Officer, Director of Research
Michael's first job out of college was as a Programmer/ Mathematician at a truck depot in Kharkov. Later on he taught Mathematics and Statistics, and in 1987-88 developed statistical software for the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In 1990, after arrival in the US, Michael founded Markov Processes, Inc. to provide professional services for institutional investors. He has done a lot of research in the portfolio optimization area as well as in style and performance analysis, which led to the development of unique commercial software.
Michael considers his most challenging project the scheduling of optimal beer delivery routes which, given specifics of the distribution system in the former Soviet Union, leaves modern portfolio optimization theory behind in the dust. If you've got a difficult puzzle to solve please, drop him a line. And, by the way, he is not a relative of the famous Russian mathematician A.A. Markov. Michael holds an MS in Mathematics from Kharkov State University, Ukraine.
Yaacov Mutnikas, President, Chief Operating Officer
Yaacov joined MPI, from Fitch Group Member Algorithmics, a global financial risk technology firm. During his tenure at Algorithmics, Yaacov occupied a number of positions, most recently serving as Company Director and Officer. During the previous 11 years, Yaacov served as Chief Technology Officer and oversaw product creation including research, financial architecture and engineering, software development, product management/architecture as well as business development.
Yaacov also held several parallel positions at Algorithmics, including Managing Director of EMEA and Vice President of Software Engineering. From 1983 to 1996, he simultaneously held the position of Managing Director at two South African financial services technology companies, where he was responsible for financial engineering, research, development and product architecture, as well as general management and operations.
With 25 years of experience, Yaacov brings a deep knowledge and understanding of the financial services industry and has lead significant technology innovations across the sector, particularly in areas of risk management. Yaacov holds an MSc in Finance and Philosophy of Science (QM) from King's College, London and is an active member of numerous industry organizations and affiliations.
Mik Kvitchko, Chairman, Chief Technology Officer
From 1979 to 1990, Mik worked as a software engineer, designer, and entrepreneur for several Ukrainian companies. He was the author of a very popular toolbox of system utilities but, unlike Peter Norton, distributed it for free.
After arriving in the US in 1990, Mik worked for Coopers & Lybrand. In 1991 he joined Markov Processes and steered the company in the direction of commercial software development. His main emphasis in programming is the overall system design and the user interface in particular. In 1992, together with Michael Markov, he developed the first returns-based style analysis software, the design of which got a "Wow!" from Nobel Prize laureate William F. Sharpe.
Since then Mik's break-through design ideas have become the trademark of all MPI's products. In his spare time he writes compilers and windsurfs. Mik has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Kharkov Polytechnic University, Ukraine.
Patrick McKiernan, Chief Financial Officer
Patrick McKiernan joined MPI in September of 2007. Mr. McKiernan has more than 25 years of experience managing organization's financial and operational services. Previously he was the Vice President of Operations and Principal Accounting of Vyteris, Inc., a publicly traded product based drug-delivery company. During his tenure, Patrick played a key role in the implementation of the strategic plan, raised more than $50 million in private equity, updated the overall accounting and reporting systems, coordinated the reverse merger to a public company and managed the overall company operation. Before joining Vyteris, he was the Corporate Controller of EpiGenesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development stage biotechnology company, where he established the accounting function and supported the fund raising efforts of $23 million of private equity. He was also the Co-Founder of Zerbo, McKiernan and Zambito, an accounting and management consulting firm to public and private business entities. Patrick began his accounting career at Coopers and Lybrand. He received an accounting degree from the University of Bridgeport and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Jeff Schwartz, Managing Director
Jeff joined MPI in early 2003. Prior to joining MPI, Jeff served three years as Vice President, Investments and Vice President, Large Plan Sales for mPower, a provider of on-line investment advice to defined contribution investors.
Jeff began his career in finance with Ibbotson Associates, where, in his six years with the firm, he served as a product development analyst, consultant and eventually as the Vice President and Director of Asset Allocation Consulting. At Ibbotson Associates, Jeff was the chief developer of Portfolio Strategist, a mean-variance optimization and historical analysis tool for financial planners and Fund Strategist, a comprehensive book of returns-based analysis on public mutual funds; served as an editor of the Stocks, Bonds, Bills and Inflation (SBBI) yearbook; taught educational workshops for institutions, financial professionals and the Alliance - Ibbotson Research Institute (AIRI); oversaw Ibbotson's consulting practice which provided asset allocation, behavioral finance, fund analysis and capital market research solutions to other financial institutions.
Jeff's expertise lies in financial software development and application, strategic asset allocation, modeling (forecasting) of alternative and foreign investments, manager analysis, behavioral finance, asset-liability modeling, valuation and general capital market research. His opinions have appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Pensions and Investments, Financial Planning, Smart Money and Money Magazine, as well as appearing on CNBC and NPR's Odyssey. Jeff holds a degree in Finance from The University of Arizona and is a CFA Level II candidate.
Nate Nassif, Senior Vice President, Client Services Group
Nate joined MPI in February of 2003. He was no stranger however to the MPI landscape, having collaborated closely with the firm as a research analyst while working in Prudential Financial's (NYSE: PRU) investment management research group. His principal responsibilities included research oversight for a comprehensive mutual fund asset allocation program, and multi-asset class manager due diligence.
From 1996-2000, Nate's investment management work responsibilities involved design, development, ongoing management, and distribution related initiatives for investment products. Nate moved to Prudential in 1998 after beginning his investment management career as a product analyst within Federated Investors' (NYSE: FII) product management/product development group in 1996. He concluded his tenure there on a special business assignment for Federated's turnkey trading and settlement platform for trust departments. Nate graduated with an economics degree from the University of Kansas in 1995.
Anna Sotnichenko, Senior Vice President, Development
Anna joined MPI in 1997. Prior to that she was a Leading Software Engineer at the Central R&D Institute for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics, St. Petersburg, Russia, which designed robots for Russian military and space programs. With the Russian space program winding down, Anna decided on somewhat peaceful applications of her skills at the MPI launch pad in Central New Jersey.
Her areas of expertise are client-server applications, GUI, applied math, statistical methods and, of course, space shuttles and ballistic missiles. Anna holds an MS in Mathematics, University of St. Petersburg, Russia.