Mark is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, teaching “Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition.” Mark is a cofounder and Chairman of Pickles Group, a non for profit that provides kids free resources and community who are navigating a parent’s cancer. Mark rejoined Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria in 2011 after working there in high school and led the company through significant growth for almost a decade. When Mark was CEO and President, the company employed more than 4,000 people and operated 58 company-owned locations throughout Chicagoland and Phoenix, along with an eCommerce company Tastes of Chicago. Under Mark’s leadership, Lou Malnati’s was ranked as a top workplace nine years in a row by the Chicago Tribune.
Prior to joining Lou Malnati’s in 2011, Mark spent five years as a Vice President at Dixon Midland Company, a Chicago-based private investment firm. In his role at Dixon Midland, Mark helped source platform and add-on investments as well as provide hands-on operational duties at portfolio companies. Before Dixon Midland, Mark was a private equity Associate at Glencoe Capital specializing in basic industries and an investment banking Analyst at Deutsche Bank with an emphasis on leveraged finance and MA.
Mark has a BS from Cornell University and an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago. Mark resides in Winnetka with his wife Carolyn, and their four children Molly, Elinor, James and Henry.
