Dream Exchange Founder and CEO Joe Cecala and members of his executive team were recently recognized at an on-campus event for a major gift supporting the Lubar School of Business Career Center (see related article). At a reception immediately following, Dean Kaushal Chari announced that the Dream Exchange has also made a gift to elevate the School’s graduate program in finance.
The finance gift will support a part-time staff position responsible for enhancing relationships with employers, mentoring master’s students in finance, and seeking to elevate the program’s visibility. Gregg Bolt, the new Dream Exchange Manager of Finance, has been hired for the role. Bolt is a retired executive with 38 years of experience in Fortune 500 companies including Tenneco, Johnson Controls, and Quad Graphics.
Cecala, a member of the Lubar School of Business Advisory Council, started the Dream Exchange in 2018 with the goal to become the first company to operate a venture exchange. The Dream Exchange research also showed that many underserved entrepreneurial communities do not have access to public capital markets. To help address this lack of representation, Cecala expanded the company’s direction to not only create the first venture stock exchange but also to start a national market system exchange in partnership with a minority-led capital group, making Dream Exchange the first majority black-owned stock exchange in the history of the United States. The Dream Exchange plans to open both stock exchanges in 2023.
“We are honored and grateful to Joe Cecala and Dream Exchange for supporting our student career development initiatives and expanding our connections to the finance community to drive continued excellence in our finance program,” said Chari. “They join us as a true partner and we look forward to a long and productive relationship.”
“Through its partnership with the Dream Exchange, the Lubar School of Business has really become part of the solution to opening opportunities in financial education and career progress for its students,” said Cecala. “Our purpose is to see all market participants have access to the world of finance, wealth creation, and opportunity and we cannot think of a better way to enhance the possibility of this purpose than through education and literacy at the university level with an urban college partner like UWM Lubar.”
“We are delighted to partner with Dream Exchange,” added Vice Chancellor of Development & Alumni Relations Joan Nesbitt. “Their commitment to minority-owned businesses aligns perfectly with our access mission. Together, we can better educate future leaders and create leadership and entrepreneurial opportunities for a broader population.”