I came to California in January 1981 as a political refugee from the former Soviet Union with one suitcase, a tennis racket, and $90 in my pockets. I earned my M.S in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Moscow Institute of Chemical Engineering (where I also taught Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer). While in Russia, I built and tested life support and recycling systems for space and deep ocean programs.
As an American citizen, I enjoyed a successful 16-year career in engineering and project management with domestic and international corporations and succeeded in patenting one of my inventions.  

In 1997, I took a one-year sabbatical to study the business of trading so I could make my money work for me. My best mentors were professional traders and hedge fund managers - people who invest and trade their own capital and whose decisions are based on the sound management of risk and the common traders' emotions (greed, fear, hope).

Trading tends to be a solitary business, but I am a social animal. That is why I enjoy sharing my secrets for success through individual, personalized coaching.

Many of my students eventually become my friends and colleagues. They tell me that my trading expertise is complemented by my personable, approachable nature and my diverse and colorful life experience.

It gives me great satisfaction to see my students succeed using my professional techniques to assure their financial independence.