Senior Management & Investment Committee Members

Nicholas Tompras, CFA^®

President
Chief Investment Officer
Nick has over 19 years experience in the investment management industry. Nick founded ACR and developed its core investment strategies and research process. Prior to forming the firm, Nick was a portfolio manager for the $12 billion asset management operation of a St. Louis based bank, where his responsibilities included management of the bank’s private foundation and the trust company’s endowment and foundation portfolios. Nick has a BA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and has attained the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Darryl Grayson

Chief Operating Officer
National Marketing Director
Darryl has over 24 years of experience in the investment management industry. Darryl’s former positions include Managing Director – External Distribution for Wilmington Trust, and National Sales Manager for both Gabelli Asset Management and Allied Irish Bank PLC. He has also held sales executive positions at Delaware Investments and OppenheimerFunds. Darryl has an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Fordham University and a BA from Binghamton University.

Howard Potratz

Chair Investment Committee
Howard has 20 years of experience as a Corporate Executive with several Fortune 500 companies and an additional 20 years experience as a Management Consultant with expertise in marketing, finance, strategic planning, business development and general management. Previous positions held include Director of Marketing and CFO of Planters Peanuts; President of 1-800-Flowers and Corporate Vice-President of Marketing and Business Planning for Kellwood. Howard is a graduate of Wartburg College and earned an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of Finance and Commerce.

Steve Fazzari

Academic Advisor, Macroeconomic Research
Steve’s research, often highlighted in the national press, explores two main areas: the link between macroeconomic activity and finance, specifically the financial determinants of investment spending, and the foundations of Keynesian macroeconomics. Steve served as the Chair of the Department of Economics at Washington University for six years. He was awarded the 2003 Missouri Governor’s Award for excellence in teaching and the 2007 Distinguished Faculty Award from Washington University. Steve’s many academic achievements include receiving a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

Willem Schilpzand, CFA^®

Associate Portfolio Manager & Analyst
In addition to domestic experience with Merrill Lynch and East Coast Asset Management, Willem has worked for MFS International in London and IBM in Dublin, providing him exposure to both the domestic and international markets. Willem completed the highly regarded Applied Value Investing Program and was nominated for the Beta Gamma Sigma Honors Society while earning his MBA from the Columbia Business School in New York. He has a BBA in International Business from the University of Georgia and has attained the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Tim Piechowski

Associate Portfolio Manager & Analyst
Prior to joining ACR, Tim was a Research Associate at San Diego based Brandes Investment Partners. At Brandes, he analyzed banks, thrifts, insurers, and holding companies on a global basis. Tim has a BSBA with concentrations in Finance and Accounting from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. While at Georgetown, Tim held internships with Credit Suisse, the Allied Irish Banks, and the Griswold Company, a direct access broker on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.