About

Don Kaufman, one of the industry's leading option strategists and educational gurus, is the chief instructor for Option Planet, thinkorswim's educational subsidiary. Applying his broad knowledge of trading and option theory, he has delivered a wide range of option trading classes worldwide, from basic classroom seminars to the most advanced trading workshops. Mr. Kaufman's own extensive research in market volatility has aided in the delivery of pioneering analytical models and real-time spread scanning software.

Joe Kinahan, thinkorswim’s Chief Derivatives Strategist, began his career as a CBOE market maker in 1985 and is still a member of the exchange’s arbitration committee. He spent 18 years in the S&P100 (OEX,XEO) pit, as well as two years in CSCO/ORCL. While primarily an independent trader, Kinahan has worked for ING Bank and Blue Capital, and has served as Vice President for Saen Options and Managing Director of Options for Van der Moolen USA. He is a frequent guest on CNBC and Bloomberg Television and Radio and is often quoted in the Wall Street Journal and many other reputable publications. Kinahan joined thinkorswim in January 2006 and still instructs many of the thinkorswim’s Option Planet seminars.

Scott Snyder, the chief strategist for RED Option, began at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) in 1980. During his 23-year career, Snyder traded in every pit at the CBOE, earning a reputation as one of the finest and most complete market makers in the industry. He gained extensive experience spanning equity and index options, corporate and index arbitrage, and even owned a DPM (specialist) in the Amazon (AMZN) pit, which includes such stocks as AMZN, NSM, AIG and WCOM. In 2003, Snyder left the CBOE to start RED Option, a registered investment advisor and wholly-owned subsidiary of the thinkorswim Group.

Steven Quirk began his career as a Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) market maker in 1987. He was a partner with SCMS for 10 years, trading options on the index products and later, he ran the Chicago operations of Van Der Moolen USA. While at the CBOE, he served on the exchange’s Index Market Performance Committee and the Arbitration Committee. In 2007, Quirk joined thinkorswim as an Option Planet instructor, providing both basic and advanced options education across the country.

Michael Follett began his career in 1997 as a retirement specialist, equities broker and bond trader with one of the world’s largest money managers, followed by several other Wall Street firms. He then went on to serve as a registered options principal for Morgan Stanley prior to joining Investools Investor Education as an instructor in 2003. Follett brought a wealth of knowledge of the derivatives markets to the Investools team, and quickly became a key player in both product development and student instruction.

Brett Pattison, Interactive Team Lead for Investools Investor Education, has been involved in the markets since 1998. He joined Investools in 2004, bringing his knowledge of advanced option spread strategies to the team. His primary focus is on helping students understand the effects of pricing, time and volatility on option trades. He has been instrumental in curriculum development, writing both basic and advanced option manuals and creating Investools workshops. He presently teaches both online webinars and live workshops around the country.

Joe Mazzola began his trading career in 1998, gaining experience in fixed income options as a trading clerk for Hanold Trading. In 1999, he joined Helios Trading Group at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). He then began a position in 2001 as a market maker in the MSFT options pit, prior to becoming a Primary Market Maker (PMM) for Bear Stearns on the International Securities Exchange (ISE). In 2003, Mazolla began working for Simplex Investments, eventually taking on the role of Managing Director. For 4 years, he managed over twenty traders, trading 50,000—70,000 options daily. In 2008, he joined thinkorswim as an instructor for the educational arm of the firm.

Tony Battista Tony Battista began his 22-year career in options and futures trading in 1983, as an independent Market Maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), as well as a local independent trader at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), where he traded the 30-year bond future. While primarily an independent trader in the S&P 100 Index (OEX, XEO) pit, he also spent three years in the AOL equity pit. In 1987, he solidified his position at the CBOE by purchasing his first seat at the exchange. He served on the CBOE arbitration committee for over 10 years, ruling on disputes between traders and trading firms, prior to joining thinkorswim.

Blake Young Blake Young, Forex Manager and Lead Forex Instructor for Investools Investor Education, began his career in corporate finance and import brokerage. He has been trading currencies almost exclusively for the past five years, coupling his background in economics and finance with his love for math and both technical and fundamental analysis. In March 2004 he joined the team at Investools, equipping students with the tools to invest in the capital markets and employ wise money management.

Shawn Howell Shawn Howell, Director of Forex for Investools Investor Education, began his involvement with capital markets and trading in 1992, while living and working in Tokyo, Japan. In 1995 Shawn went to work for Charles Schwab, spending over a decade working with the firm’s most active and sophisticated traders and managing teams of specialized brokers. In 2005 he concluded his tenure as the manager of Schwab’s Active Trader Field team to join Investools as an instructor, teaching currency, stock, option and technical trading strategies across North America. In 2006 Shawn became the director for the Forex enterprise at Investools.