We Are
Thinkers Risk Takers Innovators
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, PEAK6 Investments
Meet Our Transformative Founders
For more than 25 years, Co-Founders Jenny Just and Matt Hulsizer have been transforming outdated sectors, industries, ideas, and modalities into spaces filled with energy and opportunity for innovation.
Jenny and Matt have taken the fiercely competitive manual trading pits at the Chicago Board of Trade and turned them into collaborative digital spaces. Together, the PEAK6 team builds industry-leading companies like PEAK6 Capital Management, esports team Evil Geniuses, and Apex Fintech Solutions. While ideas and innovation come from every level of the company, it’s our leaders, Jenny and Matt, that hold the space for ideas to grow and thrive.
Jenny Just
Jenny Just is a visionary, powerhouse, and one of the few self-made female billionaires in the United States. From her days of cutting her teeth on the trading floor in Chicago to now running a fintech empire, she has started or turned around more than fifteen companies. She has also made hundreds of private investments, including in such companies as Webull, Stash, QuantumScape, and Thrasio.
Just co-founded PEAK6 in 1997 with $1.5M in seed capital as a proprietary options trading firm and since then has grown it into a multibillion-dollar financial services and technology giant housing the next generation of products and service brands including PEAK6 Capital Management, PEAK6 Strategic Capital, Apex Fintech Solutions, PEAK6 InsurTech, PEAK6 EdTech, and Evil Geniuses.
With a true knack for unearthing talent and opportunities, Just looks for forgotten and underestimated sectors to transform into high-growth businesses. Her passion specifically lies in finding opportunities for women to succeed at every table — from the classroom, to the poker room, to the board room.
This passion led her to launch Poker Power in 2020, a woman-led company that teaches poker to all who identify as female, and by extension, teaches women strategic thinking, capital allocation, and decision-making skills. Additionally, Just has created programs to help women advance their careers in trading, fintech, and technology. She founded the Women’s Trading Experience, Women’s Technology Experience and Fintech In Action, programs that seek to tangibly increase the pipelines of women and Black talent in these fields.
Just’s remarkable success has earned her a number of accolades, including being named to Forbes list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women in 2022, Forbes 50 over 50 in 2022 and Worth Media’s Groundbreaking Women in 2023. She was also the recipient of the Women’s Poker Association’s Industry Innovation Recognition Award in 2019 and received a Tony Award for her involvement in Memphis the Musical.
Matt Hulsizer
Matthew Hulsizer is co-founder and managing partner of PEAK6 Investments, a Chicago-based financial services and technology firm. He started PEAK6 in 1997 as a proprietary options trading firm — PEAK6 Capital Management. Since then, Hulsizer and his co-founder have turned PEAK6 into a multi-billion-dollar firm with a diversified portfolio of businesses. Today, PEAK6’s core businesses include PEAK6 Capital Management, PEAK6 Strategic Capital, Apex Fintech Solutions, PEAK6 InsurTech, PEAK6 EdTech, and Evil Geniuses.
Hulsizer has a knack for discovering underfunded and undervalued opportunities with potential to transform the future. While sports are his passion, spotting and coaching up-and-coming talent is his calling. Through his investment prowess and mentorship, he has helped budding investors and founders build impressive businesses from fruition to completion. Hulsizer and his co-founder have created, turned around, or invested in more than 200 companies — from options trading and clearing firms to professional sports teams and consumer products — over the past two decades. Beyond financials, Hulsizer shares a Tony award for co-producing the hit musical “Memphis” and is the co-chair of the women’s soccer team in Monaco.
Meet Our Innovative Leaders
William Capuzzi
The in-house visionary of Apex Fintech Solutions, CEO Bill Capuzzi has been evolving trading, clearing, custody, and the finance industry as a whole for more than 20 years. His work routinely garners industry recognition, including the 2021 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Southwest Award and a 2022 election to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) board of directors. Under Capuzzi’s leadership, Apex has become the trusted technology that powers the digital economy, offering frictionless investing for everyone — from start-ups to the titans of business.
Prior to Apex, Capuzzi worked at Convergex Group, where he was chief of staff and a member of the company’s executive committee. He also served as a director at Pershing LLC and was responsible for their institutional product suite and directing their global reengineering efforts firm-wide.
He has a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and a master of business administration in strategic management from Rutgers University. He holds Series 3, 7, 24, and 63 registrations.
Jay Coppoletta
Jay Coppoletta is the chief corporate development and legal officer of PEAK6 Investments LLC. Since he joined PEAK6 in 2010, he has overseen legal functions across all PEAK6 businesses and has grown the legal function from one person to a team of over 15. Jay also oversees the daily operations of PEAK6’s private investing business, PEAK6 Strategic Capital. Jay lead the deal team in the 2012 acquisition of Apex Fintech Solutions from Penson.
Previously, Jay was an associate at Sidley Austin LLP, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, corporate counseling and securities issuances. He graduated summa cum laude from Loyola University Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Jay also received a JD from the University of Michigan Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude and was a member of the Michigan Law Review and Order of the Coif.
Judi Hart
Judi Hart is the chief executive officer at PEAK6 EdTech. Converging her background as a solution-focused leader of human resources with her ability to anticipate problems, navigate issues, and successfully manage complex changes in operations, Judi serves as a strategic partner to PEAK6’s core businesses in addition to leading the EdTech business. Her areas of focus include overseeing operational execution across portfolio companies within EdTech, promoting a company culture of confidence and risk taking, and positioning the organization for continued growth. Since she joined PEAK6 in 2018, Judi has successfully led the organization through a tremendous expansion, growing from 300 to 2,000 employees worldwide.
Prior to joining PEAK6, Judi spent 16 years as a human resources professional leading people and culture for global brands, most notably Apple and Beats Electronics. She began as Vice President of People and Culture at Beats Music and Beats Electronics, which expanded from 25 to 750 employees before being acquired by Apple. In these roles, she strategically and successfully led teams of high achievers during fast-paced transitions with a culture-first approach. Continuing at Apple, she served as the Director of Human Resources over the media business in Internet Software & Services, overseeing 3,500 employees globally.
Judi earned her bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Southern California, and has been marching to the beat of her own drum ever since.
Erin Lydon
Erin Lydon worked on Wall Street when pregnancy was hidden, and pay was secret. As a thought leader and frequent speaker on the topic of gender equity, Lydon inspires audiences to take action and create change in their communities and organizations. As president of Poker Power, Lydon leads with a mission to teach one million women how to play the game — of poker and of life. Learning how to think, strategize, negotiate, and allocate capital like a winning poker player translates to leadership skills that help women succeed from the classroom to the boardroom. One hundred million people play poker; fewer than 10% are women. Poker Power is changing that.
Before joining Poker Power, Lydon was the strategic advisor to Evil Geniuses. She also was a vice president at JP Morgan, as well as an independent director on the boards of Marbles: The Brain Store and Roomlinx. Lydon also served as an adjunct instructor at Whitworth University, teaching strategy to MBA students. For eight years, she led N. Idaho XC, an elite cross country team where she coached 20 All-American athletes and two national champions.
Lydon’s recent speaking engagements include TEDx, Money 20/20 USA, and AWS Women’s Summit. Lydon received her master of business administration in finance from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in English from Bates College.
Andy McGuire
Andrew McGuire is co-CEO of PEAK6 InsurTech, which is committed to delivering better value to customers through the development of cutting-edge technological advancements, seamless service, and mutually beneficial agency and carrier partnerships.
An established leader in the insurance industry, McGuire has acquired more than 25 years of a broad range of industry expertise, including risk-management and reinsurance expertise. He also has a proven track record of building insurance operations from the ground up and an efficient approach to integrating technology and business functions.
His impressive insurance career spans disciplines including claims, sales, underwriting, product, pricing, and information technology. He began his career as a personal and commercial lines claims adjuster at Safeco Insurance. From there, McGuire was an agency manager, then went on to hold various leadership positions at Allstate Insurance, Zurich Insurance, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, and National General Insurance.
McGuire received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois, where he was an Evans Scholar.
Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson joined PEAK6 more than 17 years ago as a trader. With a focus on asset management and proprietary trading, he rose through the ranks and now serves as chief executive officer of PEAK6 Capital Management, a proprietary options trading firm.
As CEO, Simpson leads the development of the company’s short- and long-term strategy for growth and expansion. He is a team-oriented leader who manages more than 70 traders focused on diversified business strategies. Simpson’s background includes trading positions at Consolidated Trading LLC, Fulcrum Investment Group, Stafford Trading, and Linnco Futures. In 1995, he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in finance.
Simpson’s nearly 30-year history in the finance industry gives him deep knowledge and insight into all aspects of the business. During his tenure with PEAK6 Capital Management, he has positioned the company for growth – organically and by acquisition. In 2019, the firm expanded its national presence by opening an office in New York City. In 2020, the company expanded with the addition of Hardcastle AG, a trading firm based in Rapperswil, Switzerland.
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, PEAK6 Investments
Locations
Headquartered in the Chicago Board of Trade, PEAK6 has offices and collaborators all around the world. Our roots are in trading, but our options-thinking approach allows everyone a seat at the table when it comes to PEAK6’s success. At our core, we’re innovators, investors, collaborators, and amplifiers of progressive technology solutions.
2010 E. 6th St.
Austin, TX 78702
Urban HQ, Eagle Star House
5-7 Upper Queen St.
Belfast BT1 6FB
100 Somerset Corp. Blvd.
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
Krisztina Plaza,
Krisztina krt. 39/B.
H-1013 Budapest, Hungary
141 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
+1-312-444-8000
350 N. St. Paul St.
Dallas, TX 75201
2624 Patriot Blvd.
Glenview, IL 60026
1430 Prudential Dr.
Jacksonville, FL 32207
888 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10106
950 S. 10th St.
Omaha, NE 68108
555 SW. Morrison St.
Portland, OR 97204
Hauptpl. 2, 8640
Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland
Santa Monica, CA 90404
400 2nd Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
1300 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy
Sunrise, FL 33323
Work With Us
Opportunity means following a spark of an idea, grinding through nailing the details, throwing the creative spaghetti at the wall to find out what sticks. Opportunities are abundant at PEAK6. Are you ready to find yours?
