About
I love Jesus, my wife and kids, the city, the arts, the intersection of culture and the church, and everything to do with entrepreneurship (having started six companies including Free Things to Do in Chicago — a public service site supported by Google Adsense ). My other passion is being part of the movement to reshape our culture through investment in artists and other artistic endeavors.
These are my opinions alone — not of my church, not of my wife, not of my many children (although they come up with some doozies themselves!)….
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Having had an excellent college experience as a football manager under Bo Schmbechler at the University of Michigan then moving after graduation into a successful marketplace career in accounting, banking and corporate finance, Steve has a background as a serial entrepreneur, and has grown successfully four different companies over the last ten years. He also took his wife Sue on a once-in-a-lifetime, one-year World Tour, covering 25 countries (before kids and a mortgage!) in 1996-1997. Ask him about that awesome adventure – he highly recommends it to all!
As Steve rounded the inevitable 40-year mark several years ago, he began to reflect on the fact that that he has about 20 million minutes (38 years for the mathematically challenged!) left to make his life significant. This blog hopes to chronicle that journey.
Steve served for three years as the CFO and Project Manager at Park Community Church, a growing church of about 2,300 urban energetic folks in the heart of Chicago on the near northside in two locations, where he served as project manager on Park’s first permanent building, and added his direction and creativity to areas like strategy, information technology, human resources, communications and other cool stuff.
Over the last ten 15 years, Steve has had some cool jobs…….Steve helped start and grow Dakota Beef LLC into the country’s largest organic beef company now serving delicious meat through Costco! He also co-founded Envestnet Asset Management, a successful venture-backed financial services firm, which has grown significantly through multiple acquisitions. Steve also served as the VP-Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of American Disposal Services, Inc., a $240 million publicly-traded consolidator in the waste services industry, which was acquired in October 1998. Steve’s also enjoyed his marketplace experience as a money center banker with Bank of America and Continental Bank and more than five years as a CPA with a Big Six firm.
He earned his undergraduate degree in accounting and economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA in finance and corporate strategy from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Steve and his wife are active in a number of charities in Chicago, love the theater (where he is on the Board of Provision Theater – the best theater company in Chicago), and he and his wife and their four children reside on the northside of Chicago.
