Leadership
Thomas Belesis, CEO & Founder
Thomas Belesis is the founder and CEO of John Thomas Financial, a New York City-based financial services company. Following a successful career in brokerage and investment banking on Wall Street, Mr. Belesis founded John Thomas in 2007 with a vision toward connecting innovation and capital within emerging industries.
Mr. Belesis’ strong leadership and financial savvy helped to grow John Thomas Financial from a boutique broker-dealer and investment bank into what is now a global organization with several strategic affiliates including John Thomas Private Wealth Management, JTF Insurance and John Thomas Global Trading.
Mr. Belesis is committed to leveraging his private sector experience and financial expertise to address the trio of crises experienced by most of humanity today: water-food-energy. An Executive Board Member of the World Energy Forum since 2009, Mr. Belesis regularly collaborates with world leaders on global environmental issues. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the United Nations Global Millennium Development Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on raising money from the private sector in order to support eight specific U.N. goals from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS.
In January 2012, Mr. Belesis was named to the Board of Trustees of the New York Institute of Energy and Water, a mission-driven university that aims to create a new paradigm for sustainable development focused on energy, water and environment through higher education and research. John Thomas and its subsidiaries are active in funding alternative energy, coal, oil and gas as well as exploration companies both domestically and internationally.
Outside of his work at John Thomas Financial, Mr. Belesis' position as a leader extends beyond finance. Mr. Belesis received the Bronx GOP Man of the Year Award from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2009 and in 2011 the Businessman of the Year Award from the New York Republican County Committee. He is currently Co-Chairman of the New York State Republican Finance Committee.
Mr. Belesis is active in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as well as Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research. Other nonprofit organizations Mr. Belesis contributes to include animal rights and rescue charities and the Greek America Foundation.
Mr. Belesis appears regularly on broadcast media, including FOX Business News and CNBC, as a panelist and contributing guest on issues regarding finance and the economy as well as national politics.
Mike Norman, Chief Economist
Mike Norman is an economist and trader whose career spans over 30 years on Wall Street. He began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1979 then went on to become a member and floor trader on four U.S. futures exchanges (NYFE, NYMEX, COMEX, CME).
During the 1980s he built a successful oil brokerage business on the NYMEX. In 1990 he was hired by Credit Suisse to set up a derivatives trading desk for the bank in Geneva, Switzerland, where he lived for ten years. After leaving the bank he established an economic research firm whose clients ultimately included many of the world's major banks and financial institutions.
Mr. Norman is a sought after TV commentator and has been seen regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox News. In 2003 he signed with Fox News as an exclusive Contributor and continues to appear on a regular basis on the Fox Business programs. From 2004-2009, he hosted a radio show on the BizRadio Network, where he discussed economics and policy with well-known guests from business, government and the private sector.
Mr. Norman is an expert on fiscal and monetary policy and has created a unique indicator called the Fiscal Liquidity Index that looks at government spending and its impact on the financial markets. The Index is published daily and is carried on the Bloomberg system. Mr. Norman has a BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters from UCLA. He's a frequent guest speaker at various corporate and investment-related events and had the honor of presenting his economic outlook at the Army War College. He ran for NY City Council in 2001.
Wayne S. Kaufman,
Chief Market Analyst
Wayne S. Kaufman, CMT, is a licensed Securities Analyst registered with FINRA (The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). In addition to doing fundamental financial analysis, Mr. Kaufman specializes in technical analysis.
Mr. Kaufman is the Chief Market Analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York City. He is a frequent guest on CNBC and is regularly quoted in the financial media by such outlets as Barron's, Bloomberg, the BBC, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal, among others.
He is a member of the MTA (Market Technicians Association) and holds a CMT (Chartered Market Technician) designation from the MTA. Mr. Kaufman has taught level 3 of the MTA's three-level online course for CMT candidates.
Mr. Kaufman graduated from the University of Michigan in 1975, and holds the following licenses:
*Series 7- General Securities Representative
*Series 9- General Securities Sales Supervisor — Options
*Series 24- General Securities Principal
*Series 63- Uniform Securities Agent
*Series 86/87- Research Analyst
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