Blake J DeFluri - President
Being born into a family that was very business oriented, Blake began at a young age to crave the desire for competition and began to build the drive necessary for setting high goals and achieving them. He thrived on competition, and had a passion for business. This passion was sparked while confronted with an investment opportunity that was presented to him by his Grandfather at the age of 12. At such a young age he strived for perfection, and aspired to partake in investing and the fast paced and competitive finance markets of Wall Street. He quickly learned that success, whether on the football field, investing, or on Wall Street, all require the paralleled skill; to go in with a plan while being able to adapt to a potentially changing situation, placing team success before individual success while still realizing individual achievements and mistakes. Such achievements and mistakes are to be learned from: not to over do confidence nor to cause a loss of confidence, but to note your performance and soon after be able to plan your next move that will facilitate goal achievements while reducing risk.Blake decided to further his education at The Ohio State University and at the Fisher College of Business after realizing how it could contribute to his aspiring goals. As a current member and President of BCI he has developed as a leader and has contributed to help build the club to focus on creating a peer-to-peer educational platform that educates members about careers on Wall Street and in investing. His business oriented family, as mentioned above, has had a tremendous impact on his life and afforded Blake the opportunity to meet and network with the likes of William A. Schreyer former CEO of Merrill Lynch and former Vice Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and John H. Gutfreund former CEO of Salomon Brothers and Managing Director of C.E. Unterberg, Towbin. These connections have only intensified his enthusiasm for the world of Finance, and offer him and the club a world of networking. As he has matured, he has developed an interest in Investment Banking, Real Estate Investment and equity investing in the technology and energy industries. He has completed an internship in the financial service industry with Abundance Wealth Counselors, LLC and Merrill Lynch and also has completed an internship in the real estate financing industry with The Abbey Company.
During his remaining time here at The Ohio State University, Blake envisions his short-term career goals becoming affirmed; and his long-term vision of becoming more refined and focused.
Ken Melick - Vice President
Ken Melick is currently a third year honors student studying Finance at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. In addition to pursuing a degree in Finance, Ken is also enrolled in the highly selective Honors Accounting Program, which while challenging him intellectually, will also enhance his understanding of Finance. He is also working on a minor in Economics.
Outside of the classroom, Ken is actively involved in numerous organizations including the Undergraduate Business Council where he serves as the Vice President of Finance. In this position he is responsible for leading two of the group’s weekly meetings each quarter and overseeing the distribution of the Fisher Undergraduate Program Fund among all of the student organizations within the college.
Ken has also completed a summer internship where he worked for the Consulting Group at Smith Barney. During this time, he was able to be involved in the daily operations of a firm serving high net-worth individuals with more than half of a billion dollars in assets under management. While at Smith Barney, he also had the opportunity to meet and learn from professional portfolio managers that the firm utilizes to manage client wealth. He continues to work for the firm part-time while attending classes.
In his free time, Ken enjoys learning about the financial markets and has bought and sold stocks for his own account for more than a year. He is also involved with intramural team sports including football, soccer, and hockey.