Craig T. Bouchard, Chief Executive Officer

Profile

A senior banking executive, public-company chief executive, and corporate governance leader with more than four decades of experience in international commercial banking, capital markets, derivative trading, mergers and acquisitions, and board service in highly regulated industries. Craig previously served as President and CEO of NumeriX, a Wall Street risk-management software firm still regarded as the gold standard for derivatives trading institutions, before going on to found and lead companies in the global metals and industrial sectors, three of which grew from millions in revenue to approximately $1 billion in annualized revenue within eighteen months of formation. Two of those companies listed on the NASDAQ, and a third went public in the bond market. He was named a finalist for S&P/Platts CEO of the Year Award in the Global Metals Industries in 2018. Craig pairs deep operating experience in cross-border financial services with public-company governance and direct engagement with regulators, institutional investors, and sovereign counterparties. At Spark Quantum Inc (CEO), he leads capital strategy, the allocation of capital, the building of the culture, and leading the path to a public listing.

Patents & Published Works

Co-inventor of U.S. Patent 12,037,144 B1, a space-transformation system for high-volume, high-mass access to space, and inventor of U.S. Patent 4,212,168 for power-producing dry-type cooling systems. He is also a New York Times, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon bestselling author; his book The Caterpillar Way: Lessons in Leadership, Growth and Shareholder Value (McGraw-Hill, 2013) reached the top ten of the New York Times Best Seller list.

Craig T. Bouchard, a Record of Building, Listing, and Governing

Banking and Financial Services

Began his career at The First National Bank of Chicago (now JPMorgan Chase), where he served for nineteen years and rose to Senior Vice President, the third-youngest officer to reach that rank in the institution’s 150-year history. He held successive senior assignments spanning international commercial banking, capital markets, derivative trading, and quantitative research, including Head of Commercial Banking in Hong Kong, Area Head for Asia Pacific based in Tokyo, and Global Head of Derivative Trading and Quantitative Research, ultimately managing one of the largest derivatives trading houses in the world at the time, with ~1,000 employees and six trading rooms.

Technology and Software Leadership

After banking, Craig spent four years as President and CEO of NumeriX, a Wall Street risk-management software company for derivatives trading that remains an industry gold standard, giving him direct operating and P&L responsibility for a technology business serving global banks and trading desks.

Corporate Leadership and Governance

Has founded and led companies in the global metals and industrial sectors, three of which each grew from millions in revenue to approximately $1 billion in annualized revenue within eighteen months of formation; two listed on the NASDAQ and a third went public in the bond market. As co-founder, President, and Vice Chairman of Esmark, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESMK), the highest-appreciating U.S.-listed stock for the full year 2008, he oversaw the finance, strategic planning, government relations, and human resources functions. He has completed twelve acquisitions across the global metals industry and prevailed in three contested proxy contests, each requiring sustained engagement with institutional investors, proxy advisors, and regulators.

Education

Holds a Doctor of Science from Illinois State University (2018); a Master of Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (1981); and a Master of Arts in Economics (1977) and a Bachelor of Science (1975), both from Illinois State University.