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Guests & Co-Hosts

Eric Charles May

Eric Charles May is the author of the novel Bedrock Faith, which was named a Notable African-American Title by Publishers Weekly, and a Top Ten Debut Novel for 2014 by Booklist Magazine. A 2015 recipient of the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, May is a former reporter for The Washington Post. He’s also a native of Chicago’s South Side—Morgan Park, South Shore—and in addition to rooting for the White Sox, he also longs for the day when the football Cardinals quit their nomadic wandering and return to their original home on the South Side. Eric’s fiction has also appeared in Fish Stories, Solstice, Hypertext, Flyleaf Journal, F, and Criminal Class magazines. In addition to his Post reporting, his nonfiction has appeared in Sport Literate, Chicago Tribune, and the personal essay anthology Briefly Knocked Unconscious By A Low-Flying Duck. He has taught at the Stonecoast, Solstice, Northwestern University, and Chicago writers’ conferences, and in Chicago he’s read personal essays with 2nd Story, That’s All She Wrote, and done oral tellings at the Grown Folks’ Stories and Here’s the Story personal essay programs.

Spencer Israel

Spencer is the producer of PreMarket Prep, doing all the behind-the-scenes work necessary to make sure the show runs smoothly. He also helps with Benzinga’s editorial and newsdesk operations. Spencer has a background in media, graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in journalism in 2013. His previous stops include time at USA Today, Sports Illustrated, The Baltimore Sun, and the MLB Network, where he held various roles across multiple platforms in the media industry. Spencer moved to Detroit to join Benzinga in September 2015 after spending the first 24 years of his life on the east coast.

KENNY POLCARI

In the realm of institutional financial services, Kenneth Polcari stands out as a go-to expert in starting up, turning around, and growing investment operations to consistent profitability and world-class service. His background in managing institutional relationships and directing trading strategies has given him the steely drive, inventiveness, and perseverance to prevail in the most volatile economic climates.

Currently Mr. Polcari is Director of NYSE Floor Operations at O’Neil Securities, Inc – the B/D division of Wm. O’Neil & Company out of Los Angeles, CA and represents the interests of global institutional asset managers that need to access the world’s equity markets. He is a Board Advisor/Markets Expert for The Integral Board Group and a speaker on behalf of The American College. Prior to this he was a Managing Director for 15 yrs at Icap Corps, LLC- a British based Inter-dealer Broker. Earlier in his career, Mr. Polcari served as Senior Vice President, member New York Stock Exchange and division manager with Salomon Brothers directing their NYSE Division during the heady bull market of the 1990’s. In addition to managing the division, he helped design an equity technology platform that automated and enhanced trading functions and significantly improved productivity. Mr. Polcari gained a reputation for superior management skills, client service and relationship building, as well as a savvy insight in risk mitigation.

Mr. Polcari has leveraged his superior communication and presentation skills and is a “CNBC Exclusive Contributor/Market Analyst”. You can find him giving market commentary from the floor of the NYSE across a range of their US programming including “The Half-Time Report”, “Power Lunch” and “Closing Bell” in addition to giving US market commentary to CNBC Asia and CNBC/Italy. In addition he is oft quoted in major print media outlets that include the WSJ, FT, Reuters and regional local and International publications.

He is an engaging public speaker that seeks to help the industry and the public understand current market structure and trends as well as institutional investment styles.  Topics include the Evolution of the U.S. Equity Markets & the Role of Technology, Rules And Regulations, Policy Initiatives as well as

The Impact of 9/11 on the U.S. Financial Markets.

Mr. Polcari received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a major in Finance, from Boston University. He holds FINRA Licenses in Series 7, 24, 27, 55, and 63.

Active in the financial community, he is as a member of the Security Traders Association (STA) and has served on its Trading Rules Committee. In addition he is a board member of the National Organization of Investment Professionals (NOIP), the Security Traders Association of NY (STANY) and the National Security Traders Association. Leadership roles include past president of the Independent Floor Brokers, former governor of the NYSE, former member of the Market Performance Committee, the Technology Committee, and the FACTS Program. He is also a supporter of a variety of charitable causes including the Members Handicapped Children’s Fund, The Headstrong Project, the Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Society, American Cancer Society, and The Spaulding Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Hospital. He lives in Westchester County, NY with his wife – also a former member of the NYSE – and is the father of two daughters.

Mr. Kenny Polcari is a member and Director of NYSE Floor Operations on behalf of O’Neil Securities, Inc. representing the interests of institutional asset managers needing access to global equity markets. In addition to his role as an Adjunct Professor at the Boston Graduate School he is also a Markets Expert at Integral Board Group, LLC. His decades long experience in the equity markets and his position on the floor of the exchange gives him and his clients a unique view of the daily market action.  Mr. Polcari is a veteran equities trader, a CNBC exclusive contributor / market commentator appearing across a range of CNBC Global programming, an engaging speaker and champion of the U.S. capital markets and can be found working with the financial media, industry conferences and investor events helping public audiences understand the markets.  In addition to CNBC – media highlights have included Bloomberg, CNN (domestic and international), ABC, Fox, Reuters, AP, BBC, WSJ, Financial Times, Yahoo Finance.  Additional international credits include Der Spiegal, China Business and RAI.  He is well known for his daily boots-on-the-ground market analysis.  Every morning, Mr. Polcari publishes a large-audience newsletter starting with insights on the day’s market action and ends with a recipe to serve the mood of the markets.  Earlier in his career, he served as Managing Director at ICAP Corps, LLC and was Senior Vice President, member New York Stock Exchange and division manager with Salomon Brothers directing their NYSE Division.  Mr. Polcari graduated from Boston University School of Management with a BS/BA degree with a concentration in Finance.  He is a frequent lecturer on topics such as the Evolution of the U.S. Equity Markets & the Role of Technology, Rules And Regulations, Policy Initiatives as well as The Impact of 9/11 on the U.S. Financial Markets.