About Us
optionMONSTER® is a leading publisher of news, perspective, and market intelligence on options and equity trading. Our vision is to empower self-directed investors by narrowing the gap between individuals and professionals. Founded in 2006 and based in Chicago, the heart of the trading industry, optionMONSTER®'s unique perspective marries high-tech analysis of the day's market activity to the traditional floor trader's savvy. We deliver an online suite of subscription products, educational resources, and free content to our base of paying clients and registered users, and specialize in spotting unusual trading opportunities before others have even spotted the trend. Our leadership team features three highly regarded trading professionals, cofounders Pete and Jon ('DRJ') Najarian along with Guy Adami, and includes seasoned executives from the fields of banking, finance, and online media.

Leadership


Jon Najarian Jon 'DRJ' Najarian is a professional investor, noted media analyst and speaker, and cofounder of optionMONSTER®. Following a brief stint as a Chicago Bears linebacker, Jon launched his financial career at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) in 1981, trading in the pits for some 25 years. In 1989 he founded Mercury Trading, running the company for 15 years until 2004, when he sold his floor-trading operations to Citadel, one of the world's largest hedge funds. More recently, Jon - often known after his CBOE floor call letters 'DRJ' - has developed and patented trading applications used to identify unusual activity in stock, options, and futures markets, notably the Heat Seeker® program, which uncovers extraordinary buying patterns from among the 180,000 quotes per second that stream from America's stock, options, and futures exchanges. In addition to optionMONSTER.com, Jon's research and analysis is widely cited by leading financial media including the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Reuters, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, FOX News Channel, CBS Radio, and CNBC. Jon is a CNBC contributor, hosts a CBS Radio show, and webcasts twice daily on CBOE-TV.

Pete Najarian Pete Najarian is a professional investor, noted media analyst, and cofounder of optionMONSTER®. After a football career that included several seasons with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings, Pete took up trading in 1992 at Mercury Trading. Two years later, he assumed responsibility for Mercury's risk and arbitrage and later led its entry onto the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). He also led Mercury's joint venture with M.J. Meehan, the third largest specialist firm on the NYSE. From 2000 to 2004, he served as president of Mercury, and helped execute its sale to Citadel, one of the world's largest hedge funds. He is the co-founder of Hedgehog stock, options, and futures trading platform and together with brother Jon ('DRJ'), co-developer of the Heat Seeker® and complementary programs for tracking unusual buying activity in stocks, options, and futures. Pete is a cast member of CNBC's nightly 'Fast Money' program.

Guy Adami Guy Adami is a professional investor, noted media analyst, and editor of Advantage Point, a research service for professional money managers and self-directed investors. Mr. Adami launched his Wall Street career more than two decades ago with the well-regarded investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, trading in the New York Mercantile Exchange energy and metal pits. Almost immediately he was promoted 'upstairs' to trade precious metals, a position that saw him travel the world, from South America to South Africa and much of Europe. Following the purchase of Drexel's commodity group by American International Group, he was named head gold trader on the company's bullion desk, where he forged lasting relationships with legendary investors Sir James Goldsmith and Kerry Packer. In 1996, Mr. Adami joined Goldman Sachs' noted commodities group, J. Aron, as vice president, where he worked for Gary Cohn and Goldman's current chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein. Next he was asked to head up the industrial / basic materials group of Goldman's US equity division. In 2003 Mr. Adami left to become an executive director at CIBC World Markets, and it was there that CNBC reached out to him with a 'blackboard' idea for what is now 'Fast Money,' a leading nightly television program in financial media. On joining optionMONSTER in 2008, Adami again teamed up with fellow 'Fast Money' cast member Pete Najarian and older brother Jon ('DRJ'), a CNBC correspondent. The duo are the Chicago company's cofounders. Mr. Adami lives with his wife and three children in Morris Township, New Jersey.

Dirk Mueller-Ingrand is a co-founder and chief executive of optionMONSTER®. With a background of more than 20 years' experience in global banking, corporate finance, and technology, Dirk has previously co-founded and/or served as chief executive of several startup companies. An active investor, he is executive chairman of LTR Ltd., a UK-based consultancy focused on the financial services industry. Dirk's career also includes representing a major activist investor in public shareholder disputes.

Kurt Oeler is vice president and general manager of optionMONSTER.com. Previously he was night editor and then director of editorial operations at CNET News.com, an award-winning technology news service, before starting a management consulting practice in online media. He sits on the Advisory Board of Knowledge@Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania's business review, and keeps up with one of his favorite sports at Gainline.us.

Mike Bourdos is account executive extraordinaire. Mike worked as a loan officer in the mortgage business before moving into consumer banking as a branch manager. A longtime options trader, Mike helped Jon and Pete launch the InsideOptions™ service in 2003 and is responsible for all aspects of trader support.

Michael Graf is manager of business development. Michael joined optionMONSTER® from Sapient, a leading marketing and technology consultancy, where he specialized in financial services practice. Prior to Sapient, Michael served as vice president for business development activities at Web Street, an online brokerage firm that was bought by E*Trade. Michael began his career in the financial services industry as a full-service broker.

Mike Yamamoto is the managing editor of optionMONSTER.com. He is an award-winning journalist with decades of experience in online and traditional media. Before joining the company he was executive editor for news at CNET Networks, where he covered the Internet and the technology sector. Outside the digital realm, Yamamoto has been the investigations editor of the Los Angeles Times Washington Bureau, city editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, and a news editor of the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He has also taught journalism as an adjunct professor at the American University in Washington and California State University at Northridge.

Chris McKhann is an analyst and writer for OptionMONSTER based in Chicago. Previously he was at a large online broker where he was a Senior Instructor and Derivatives Product Manager. He has taught options trading in a variety of venues writing options commentary for Investopedia.com. He started his professional investment career as a broker, but he grew up in the industry as his father was a gold dealer and his uncle was the Vice-Chairman of the Bank of Boston.

Joe Canas is director of media technology. Previously he was senior portal strategist at Genentech, where he led web initiatives for the sales and marketing organization. Joe has also created award-winning information delivery programs, portals, Web applications and services for Nortel Networks, Siemens, Amdocs, and ZDNet.


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