Kenneth Pasternak
Encyclopedia
Kenneth D. Pasternak is an American financial executive and entrepreneur. He is a co-founder along with Walter Raquet of Knight Trading Group, at one time the largest market maker in NASDAQ
traded securities and also served as its Chairman and CEO.
Pasternak has been a resident of Saddle River, New Jersey
.
degree in education from The State University of New York at New Paltz
in 1977. He received his high school diploma in 1972 from Margaretville
Central School.
In 2001, Pasternak was ranked 9th on Forbes' financial services executive pay list, and number 51 overall, with a total compensation package of $26,488,000; this included a base salary of $250,000 and a cash bonus, of $26,213,000. Because he owned founders' stock he was compensated primarily in cash, and in terms of cash, he was the highest paid CEO in 2001. Other notable financial services executives on this list included Henry Paulson Jr., the CEO of Goldman Sachs who ranked 70th on the list.
In April 2000, Pasternak presented testimony to the US Senate Banking Committee on Competition and Transparency in the Financial Marketplace of the Future. In May 2001, Pasternak presented testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs regarding the implementation and future of decentralized markets.
Pasternak served on the Board of Directors of NASDAQ in 2001–2002 and the NASD Board of Governors in 2001–2002, and was an early-stage investor in the International Securities Exchange
(ISE) in 1999.
In 2001, Kenneth Pasternak retired as CEO of Knight Trading Group.
.
The NASD fined Pasternak $100,000 for each supervisory violation. However, a federal court ruled that Pasternak was not liable for any violation. The judge ruled, "I conclude that there is no evidence of any misconduct committed by Mr. Pasternak nor has there been any evidence of any misrepresentation or omission allegedly committed by Mr. Pasternak and I, therefore, conclude that he is not liable in a primary basis for a securities fraud." Pasternak's lawyer characterized the ruling as "fully exonerat[ing] Mr. Pasternak and confirm[ing], without a doubt, what we have maintained all along - that neither Knight nor Mr. Pasternak ever engaged in any wrongdoing whatsoever."
On March 5, 2010, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) council reversed a ruling that found two former Knight Securities LP senior executives were responsible for supervisory failures in connection with allegedly fraudulent sales to institutional customers.
On June 1, 2009, KABR closed a deal to purchase 85 Challenger Road - a 235000 sq ft (21,832.2 m²) office building in Ridgefield Park, NJ. The Class-A office building sits adjacent to the NJ Turnpike and was formerly occupied by the Daewoo
Corporaion. KABR purchased the building from AIG
for "...the right price" according to Pasternak - though the sales price was undisclosed.
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
traded securities and also served as its Chairman and CEO.
Pasternak has been a resident of Saddle River, New Jersey
Saddle River, New Jersey
Saddle River is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 3,152. Saddle River has the second-highest per-capita income in the state...
.
Education
Kenneth Pasternak received a B.S.Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in education from The State University of New York at New Paltz
State University of New York at New Paltz
The State University of New York at New Paltz, known as SUNY New Paltz for short, is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It was founded in 1828 as the School for teaching of classics. In 1885, the New Paltz Normal and Training School was established as a school to prepare teachers for the...
in 1977. He received his high school diploma in 1972 from Margaretville
Margaretville, New York
Margaretville is a village in Delaware County, New York, United States. The population was 643 at the 2000 census.The Village of Margaretville is in the Town of Middletown. The village is on the border of the Catskill Park...
Central School.
Early career
Pasternak began his career in 1979 at Spear, Leeds & Kellogg where he became Senior Vice President, Limited Partner, and Trading Room Manager. He worked at Speer Leeds until 1994.Knight Securities
In 1995, Pasternak co-founded Knight Trading Group along with Walter Raquet, a publicly traded $1 billion financial services company. Pasternak served as the company's Chief Executive Officer from its founding in 1995 until he retired on January 21, 2002. Pasternak also served on the company's Board of Directors from 1998 until January 31, 2002. Under his leadership, Knight became the leading wholesale market maker in the United States securities markets. Pastenak and Raquet also took the company public in 1998 under the ticker symbol NITE, and its market capitalization exceeded $5 billion.In 2001, Pasternak was ranked 9th on Forbes' financial services executive pay list, and number 51 overall, with a total compensation package of $26,488,000; this included a base salary of $250,000 and a cash bonus, of $26,213,000. Because he owned founders' stock he was compensated primarily in cash, and in terms of cash, he was the highest paid CEO in 2001. Other notable financial services executives on this list included Henry Paulson Jr., the CEO of Goldman Sachs who ranked 70th on the list.
In April 2000, Pasternak presented testimony to the US Senate Banking Committee on Competition and Transparency in the Financial Marketplace of the Future. In May 2001, Pasternak presented testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs regarding the implementation and future of decentralized markets.
Pasternak served on the Board of Directors of NASDAQ in 2001–2002 and the NASD Board of Governors in 2001–2002, and was an early-stage investor in the International Securities Exchange
International Securities Exchange
International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of German derivatives exchange Eurex. It is a member of the Options Clearing Corporation and the Options Industry Council . Historically, responsibility for organizing the Options Industry Conference is rotated amongst...
(ISE) in 1999.
In 2001, Kenneth Pasternak retired as CEO of Knight Trading Group.
Entrepreneur of the Year
In 1999, Kenneth Pasternak, Knight/Trimark Group Inc., was named Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year by Ernst & YoungErnst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
.
SEC investigation
Pasternak faced a series of investigations brought by the NASD and the Securities and Exchange Commission for supervisory violations stemming from allegations brought by an ex-employee.The NASD fined Pasternak $100,000 for each supervisory violation. However, a federal court ruled that Pasternak was not liable for any violation. The judge ruled, "I conclude that there is no evidence of any misconduct committed by Mr. Pasternak nor has there been any evidence of any misrepresentation or omission allegedly committed by Mr. Pasternak and I, therefore, conclude that he is not liable in a primary basis for a securities fraud." Pasternak's lawyer characterized the ruling as "fully exonerat[ing] Mr. Pasternak and confirm[ing], without a doubt, what we have maintained all along - that neither Knight nor Mr. Pasternak ever engaged in any wrongdoing whatsoever."
On March 5, 2010, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) council reversed a ruling that found two former Knight Securities LP senior executives were responsible for supervisory failures in connection with allegedly fraudulent sales to institutional customers.
Chestnut Ridge Capital
After retiring from Knight Trading Group, Pasternak founded Chestnut Ridge Capital, LLC, a northern New Jersey-based hedge fund, which also serves as the Pasternak family office. The fund's strategy is classified as Macro Long/Short and has approximately $90 million in assets under management.The KABR Group
Pasternak also serves as Chairman of KABR Real Estate Investment Partners LLC, a real estate investment firm. The KABR Group is dedicated to the purchase of select market cycle bottom real-estate assets in the New York/New Jersey area and southern Florida. KABR was formed in 2008 when Pasternak conducted a capital raise among family and friends. KABR is the first marketed product to come out of Chestnut Ridge Capital LLC. Outside of KABR, Pasternak owns approximately $100 million worth of real-estate.On June 1, 2009, KABR closed a deal to purchase 85 Challenger Road - a 235000 sq ft (21,832.2 m²) office building in Ridgefield Park, NJ. The Class-A office building sits adjacent to the NJ Turnpike and was formerly occupied by the Daewoo
Daewoo
Daewoo or the Daewoo Group was a major South Korean chaebol . It was founded on 22 March 1967 as Daewoo Industrial and was dismantled by the Korean government in 1999...
Corporaion. KABR purchased the building from AIG
AIG
AIG is American International Group, a major American insurance corporation.AIG may also refer to:* And-inverter graph, a concept in computer theory* Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization in the U.S.* Arta Industrial Group in Iran...
for "...the right price" according to Pasternak - though the sales price was undisclosed.