Search This Blog

Thursday, August 6, 2009

About GFT: Management Team Biographies

GARY L. TILKIN, President and Chief Executive Officer
Gary Tilkin is a 30-year veteran in futures and currencies trading who started at Merrill Lynch and then moved to another national brokerage firm before breaking out on his own.

Tilkin published a highly regarded market letter and advisory service trading in the futures markets. Following the success of his market letter, Tilkin raised substantial funds to manage for clients around the world as a professionally licensed trader. Tilkin confirmed his abilities to manage risk for his clients while earning a reputation for offering unsurpassed customer service.

Tilkin later established and built several successful futures brokerage firms. As his clients increasingly requested services in the foreign currency markets (forex), Tilkin created Global Forex Trading, Division of Global Futures & Forex, Ltd. As one of the first brokerage firms in the U.S. to offer online forex trading, his company was one of the early adopters of Internet technology by building forex trading software that allowed worldwide access to the market.

Gary Tilkin has been involved with every facet of the trading business, from being a customer and professional trader to a broker and managing executive. This extensive experience enabled him to see the market potential of the emerging forex market as an alternative to traditional investment markets.

Today, Tilkin's company serves clients in more than 100 countries throughout the world and is a world-leading online currency trading firm. Tilkin drives GFT, its management team, and employees to deliver the best possible products and customer service to forex clients, while building upon the most advanced forex trading software available.

In July 2004, Tilkin was named a regional winner for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award for the financial services category, which made him eligible for the national competition. The following November at the national event, Tilkin earned the status as an EOY National Finalist, one of three across the country from a pool of 400 regional winners. (See news releases for complete details.)

MUHAMMAD RASOUL, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Since Global Forex Trading's founding in 1997, Muhammad Rasoul has worked within the company in almost every capacity, from sales and dealing to software design, accounting, and strategic planning. Today, Rasoul serves as the company's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Rasoul is responsible for product vision, development, technology selection and implementation, as well as internal and external IS (information systems) activities. Formerly, he performed as Global Forex Trading's general manager and chief technology officer, helping the company establish its electronic trading infrastructure and breakthroughs in forex dealing software.

Prior to the introduction of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, Rasoul assisted regulatory officials in the design and implementation of forex trading standards and practices. He is also the author of Electronic Currency Trading Made Easy, a book about the spot forex market, has published articles in various foreign exchange trade magazines, and is often quoted by futures and forex trade journalists. Rasoul holds a Series 3 commodity futures license and a Series 7 general securities license.

ASHRAF EBID, Executive Vice President of Sales and New Business Development
Since 2001, Ashraf Ebid has headed Global Forex Trading's worldwide sales force while building and maintaining relationships with a worldwide network of referring parties and institutions. He oversees GFT’s global retail and institutional sales managers in offices in the United States, Japan, Australia and London.

As an officer of Global Futures & Forex, Ltd. and a member of its executive committee, Ebid established overseas sales offices and business operations in the Pacific Rim and Europe and leads business development efforts in other areas of the world. He is an expert in sales and management and is seasoned in international business. He is fluent in German, French, Arabic and English.

Previously, Ebid served as vice president of sales while employed for the Fortune 500 company, First Data Corporation (NYSE: FDC), where he last served as First Data's head of sales in their joint venture with PNC bank. He also served as an investment officer at the Chase Bank Corporation. Ebid holds a Series 3 commodity futures license and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business from Suez Canal University.

TOM SULLIVAN, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Tom Sullivan is vice president and chief financial officer of Global Forex Trading. Sullivan joined Global Forex Trading in January 2005 to lead the company's financial operations.

He is responsible for directing the day-to-day business of Global Forex Trading's accounting department and charged with leading a qualified team that employs industry-standard practices. These include accurately tracking and reporting financial information as well as working with Global Forex Trading's independent auditors, customers and referring parties.

Prior to joining Global Forex Trading, Sullivan operated Sullivan Business and Financial Consulting, where he advised companies in budget development, project management and valuation and acquisition strategies. Sullivan has also served as vice president and chief financial officer of Steelcase Financial Services Inc., the financing subsidiary of the world's largest office furniture manufacturer.

Sullivan has more than 28 years of experience in corporate finance and management. He holds a B.A. and an M.B.A from Ohio University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

MIKE BIAFORE, Vice President, Head of Global Retail Sales
Mike Biafore is vice president, Head of Global Retail Sales, for Global Forex Trading. Biafore joined Global Forex Trading in February 2005 to continue accelerating the growth of Global Forex Trading's North American offices and implement its sales and business plans.

He is responsible for Global Forex Trading's sales offices located in Chicago, New York, London, Sydney and Ada, Michigan. Biafore leads the sales performance of each office and ensures that each maintains a fiscal performance in alignment with the company's overall business objectives.

Prior to joining Global Forex Trading, Biafore served as a regional and branch sales manager at Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), one of the largest recruiting firms in the United States. For the past 9 years at RHI, Biafore acquired a wealth of sales management and recruiting experience and earned numerous promotions within this timeframe.

Biafore has more than 15 years of sales, recruiting and sales management experience. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance from Michigan State University.

LUANNE BLEILER, Vice President of Customer Service and Compliance
Since 2000, LuAnne Bleiler has helped build GFT customer service into an industry-leading resource for clients and referring parties worldwide. Bleiler and her staff handle the business aspects of GFT, including compliance, accounting, sales support, and customer service for referring parties, institutional, and retail clients.

Bleiler oversees opening and monitoring new accounts, maintaining GFT's call center, interfacing with legal counsel, international bankers, compliance functions, and referring party training throughout the world. She developed GFT's existing compliance and customer service standards and has shaped GFT's high-performance teams with a "can-do" attitude.

Prior to working at GFT, Bleiler served as senior manager for several departments of one of the largest privately held corporations in the U.S. Her expertise in first-rate customer service has helped guide compliance and customer service staffs to develop more than 50 best practice methods while creating an environment of constant improvement for her employees.

She has earned her Series 3 commodity futures license and holds a bachelor of science in communications from Grand Valley State University.

No comments:

Post a Comment