Thomas Sponholtz leads the strategic direction of the REX & Co. group of companies. Thomas has over 18 years of experience in building large-scale consumer finance securitization and investment management businesses. Prior to founding REX & Co., Mr. Sponholtz was a Director in Barclay’s Global Investors’ Alternative Investment Group, which manages more than $9 billion. While at BGI, Mr. Sponholtz developed the group’s global business strategy and was responsible for the building of various new businesses. Mr. Sponholtz also held various positions in BGI’s $140 billion Fixed Income group, most recently as head of Fixed Income Strategy and co-head of Active Fixed Income. Before joining BGI, Mr. Sponholtz was a Senior Investment officer at Susquehanna Investment Group. Prior to joining Susquehanna Investment Group, Thomas was with Alex Brown and Sons where he led the development and securitization of several large-scale consumer finance products in partnership with European banks. Mr. Sponholtz holds an Academy Economist degree from Niels Brock’s Academy of International Business in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Michael Berman has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. As President and CEO of Nomura Holdings America, he was responsible for overseeing business units managing $50+ billion in principal positions as well as $1.5 billion per month in commercial and residential mortgage backed originations. Prior to becoming CEO, Mr. Berman held positions as head of the US Government business unit, head of Fixed Income, head of Capital Markets, and Chief Operating Officer of the firm. Prior to joining Nomura, Mr. Berman held the title of Director at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Berman started his career at Kidder Peabody where he was responsible for systems in the Financial Futures and Fixed Income departments. Mr. Berman founded the Educational Choice Foundation, which created the Manhattan Charter School, where children from the Lower East Side of New York City receive a free education that includes daily music instruction. He is a trustee of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and a member of the board of directors of MDC Holdings, a publicly traded home building company. Mr. Berman holds a B.A. in Economics from San Francisco State University.

Ian spearheaded the initial concept and business development of REX & Co. including proof of concept testing, corporate financial modeling, collateral analysis, and product development. Prior to founding REX & Co., Mr. Charles was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at UNX, an institutional electronic trading platform and broker dealer, with an annualized transaction volume of 6 billion shares. While at UNX, Mr. Charles launched their equity research division. Mr. Charles was previously at SG Cowen as an Analyst within the Investment Banking and Equity Research division. Prior to equity research, Ian spent 10 years at AOL Time Warner as Director of Business development within the FORTUNE Group at Time Inc. While at Time Inc., Mr. Charles designed and launched multiple brand extensions and acquisitions including Business 2.0, Fortune Small Business, and FORTUNE Technology Buyers Guide. Mr. Charles received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado and an MBA in Finance from the University of San Francisco, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. 

Barry A. Abbott has been a corporate and financial services lawyer for over 30 years. Prior to joining The REX Group, Mr. Abbott was a Director of (and is currently an Of Counsel to) Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, P.C., in San Francisco, where he headed the firm’s Financial Institutions and Services Group for 12 years. Prior to joining Howard Rice, Mr. Abbott was a partner at Morrison & Foerster for 11 years. Through the years, Mr. Abbott has provided legal counsel to many of the largest institutions and corporations in the country developing the legal documents for the first equity line program (for Crocker Bank in the late 1970’s), the legal documents for the first major reverse mortgage program (for Transamerica HomeFirst in the late 1980’s), and helped organize NCREIF (The National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries). Mr. Abbott also taught Payment Systems at the Boalt Hall School of Law (at the University of California, Berkeley), and for three years served on the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. Mr. Abbott has for many years been listed in The Best Lawyers in America. He received his A.B., magna cum laude (Phi Beta Kappa), from Dartmouth College; his J.D., with honors (Order of the Coif), from the University of Florida; and his M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Tjarko leads REX & Co's consumer product development and strategic initiatives. Prior to joining REX & Co, Tjarko was a consultant with McKinsey & Company specializing in financial services. Mr. Leifer spent six years serving clients and strengthening the firm's Finance and Insurance Group. Mr. Leifer led consulting engagements for top US and European financial services firms in the areas of strategy, sales, marketing and operations. Mr. Leifer holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Brown University and a M.S. in Management Science from Stanford University.