The Team
Lee Epstein
Lee Epstein is considered a leading expert on working capital investing. With more than 20 years in the industry, he has written over 100 professional essays on the subject and has collaborated on several books. He is a regular lecturer for the Association of Finance Professionals, the American Management Association and the Investment Management Institute. He has taught for the University of California at Berkeley (Haas School of Business) and New York University (Stern School of Business). Lee has been profiled in a number of financial publications, including the American Management Review, Wall Street Journal, and Who's Who in International Finance, and has also been highlighted in the prestigious Banking on Top Bankers.
As a Senior Vice President of Lehman Brothers, Lee managed a Corporate Services Group, specializing in middle-market working capital. When Smith Barney merged its branch network with Shearson's, he was appointed Chairman of the Regional Institutional Sales Group Task Force, responsible for integrating the Corporate Services Groups of both firms.
In 1995, Lee founded two independent companies under a holding company, Aldica. Money Market One, a NASD broker-dealer, offers high-quality, short-term investments to working capital investors. Decision Analytics provides strategic financial services tailored to the same market. Lee is a 1968 graduate of the University of San Francisco.
Christopher Stoddart
Christopher Stoddart, Chief Operating Officer, brings over 14 years of corporate investing experience to Decision Analytics. He served as treasurer for KLA Instruments Corporation, General Cellular Corporation and The Cooper Companies, Inc. and as manager of international treasury at National Semiconductor. Fluent in Spanish and proficient in French, Chris received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Yale University, a M.Sc. in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a M.B.A. in finance from the University of Chicago.
Charles Furr
Vice President of Institutional Sales, Charles Furr, has nearly 40 years experience trading securities. Prior to Decision Analytics, he served as vice president and managing director of Hibernia National Bank, Capital Markets Group, where his clientele included both regional and national financial institutions. He was also a senior vice president in regional institutional sales for Lehman Brothers. Charles specializes in trading esoteric, non-mainstream securities. His wide network of contacts makes him a valuable resource for finding buyers or sellers in that challenging market. Charles graduated from the University of Mississippi, School of Business.David Gray
David Gray has built many of the investment tools for Decision Analytics, including the Association for Financial Professionals’ Investment Benchmarks, which were the first benchmarks to successfully address the challenge of measuring the cash investment market. David uniquely combines expertise in securities and information technology. Prior to Decision Analytics, he worked at Lehman Brothers, where he was a Corporate Services Vice President, Regional Institutional Sales Group. David has a B.A. from Arkansas State University.
Stuart Browne
Stuart Browne is responsible for business development and marketing for Decision Analytics. He has over 15 years experience in acquisitions and business development in real estate and investment banking consulting. Prior to Decision Analytics, Stuart was the director of domestic acquisitions and raising capital for Silverleaf Holdings, a private real estate investment company. He has also served as vice president of investments at Pinnacle Realty, which maintained a $17B portfolio. He has also been head of corporate development at two private investment banking companies (Diagonal Integration and Six Sigma Group), and has advised companies in technology, real estate, and other industries on capital raising from the private and public capital markets. While still in college, he founded the fifth largest mortgage banking company in St. Louis, which he sold to J.P. Morgan Chase. Stuart attended St. Louis University and Maryville University and holds a bachelor’s degree in management.
Seda Kachatourian
Seda brings over 15 years of experience in investment accounting to Decision Analytics, where she assists clients with reporting, data integration, managing quarterly closes, regulatory reporting, and annual audit processes. Prior to joining the Firm in 2003, she served as Senior Corporate Accountant with Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, where she was responsible for investment accounting and reporting for portfolios exceeding $8 billion. In addition to money market instruments, she is well-versed in municipal and corporate notes and bonds, mortgage and asset-backed securities, and other securities that often cause accounting headaches. Seda lives in San Mateo with her husband Mike and daughter Tenny.