Team Single

Mark is a father of four adult children. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling with his wife, golf, and the arts.

Education: 

Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois in 1981, where he graduated with high honors. He passed the Certified Public Accountant examination in 1982. In 1983, he received his MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

In 1999 Mark was awarded the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation to signify his education and experience in the field of personal financial planning. Since 1997, Mark has earned an average in excess of 40 hours annually of continuing professional education in the discipline. This includes the Certified Financial Planner™ certification professional education program offered by the College for Financial Planning.

Experience:

Mark has more than 35 years of professional experience in finance and accounting.  Prior to purchasing Reason Financial Advisors in 2019, he joined the firm in 2007 as a principal, between 1999 and 2007, he was a financial planning manager and vice president with the registered investment advisory firm affiliate and trust department of a major Chicago bank. From 1997 to 1999, he was an owner and vice president of another fee-only financial planning firm in Northbrook, Illinois. His professional career includes positions as the executive director of a municipal deferred compensation retirement plan covering more than 9,000 participants, as well as treasurer and controller of national and international privately held professional service firms based in Chicago.

Professional and Civic Memberships:

Mark is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the AICPA Personal Financial Planning section, and the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS.) He currently writes a column in the ICPAS INSIGHT magazine and website on topics of financial planning and investment advisory work.  INSIGHT is distributed quarterly to the 21,000 members of ICPAS.  Formerly, he chaired the Investment Advisors/Personal Financial Planning Member Forum Group of the ICPAS, whose mission is to provide informal technical training, hands-on business education and networking opportunities for Illinois CPAs in the personal financial planning and investment advisory community.  He was a member of the ICPAS Finance and Treasury Management Committee, which oversees the short-term and long-term investment assets of ICPAS.  He also served on the ICPAS’ Committee Structure & Volunteerism Task Force which is charged with oversight of  the Society’s member involvement structure, operations, and related issues. He previously served on the ICPAS Consulting Services Executive Committee and the board of the Fox Valley Chapter of the ICPAS.

Mark is also a long-time member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) the largest fee-only financial planner association, and the Greater DuPage County Estate Planning Council.

Mark was a board member and treasurer of Kingswood Academy, a private elementary school located in Darien, Illinois for multiple years between 1998 and 2012.