PRINCIPALS

Richard A. Graff is a financial economist, mathematician and former defense consultant. He originated the concept of synthetic debt-remainder interest decomposition in asset-based finance. A founder and principal of Electrum Partners, he designed Electrum’s proprietary financial products and has received at least six patents on the financial technology, with additional patents pending.

Richard received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from M.I.T., as well as master of arts and doctor of philosophy degrees in mathematics from Princeton, where he was a Princeton National Fellow. After positions on university mathematics faculties and in defense consulting, he received a master of business administration degree in finance from the University of Chicago.

Richard received the 2005 James A. Graaskamp Award from the American Real Estate Society for extraordinary iconoclastic thought and innovations in real estate investment theory and asset-backed finance. He has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed research articles in economics and mathematics. He is a member of the editorial boards of two scholarly real estate economics journals: the Journal of Real Estate Research and the Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management. He has been a real estate professional for more than a decade.

Richard M. Ross, Jr. has been a real estate professional in Chicago for more than 35 years. He has handled many complex transactions for major institutional clients including site acquisitions and relocations. He has provided confidential consulting services to corporate clients in the areas of development, finance and property management. As an investment principal, he has directed the development of new properties and the redevelopment of existing properties for alternative uses.

Dick is a founder and principal of Electrum Partners. He co-developed the extension of synthetic debt technology to short-term financings and has been instrumental in each transaction implemented with synthetic debt finance.

Dick received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Denison University. While working full time as a commercial real estate professional, he earned a master of business administration degree in finance from the University of Chicago.

For many years, Dick has devoted time to philanthropic organizations. He is the founder and chairman of Scribcor/Ross, Inc., a corporation established to manage the National Foundation for Philanthropy. He serves as a trustee and administrator of several educational and nonprofit organizations.