Biography

Joel D. Zychick has more than 40 years of hands-on experience as an Attorney, Business
Executive and provider of Multi Family Office Services. Here’s a summary of his professional
career.

Joel started his career as practicing attorney and for more than 20 years he represented closely held private and public companies in acquisitions, initial public offerings, venture capital and other capital and financing transactions. Between 1986 and 1997 Joel was a Partner of the New York law firm of Hertzog, Calamari & Gleason where he directed the firm’s tax practice group. Joel remained Of-Counsel to the firm until its acquisition by Winston & Strong, a Chicago based law firm in 1999. Prior to becoming a partner at Hertzog, Calamari & Gleason, Joel was an associate at the law firms of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, New York, and Jones Day, Cleveland.

Joel also works on the operating side of the companies to whom he previously provided legal services. Between 1993 and 1996 Joel served as CFO of GETKO Group, Inc. to assist the company in preparing for an IPO. In 1996 Joel, during the time GETKO was filing its Registration Statement for its pending IPO, he facilitated the sale of GETKO to Cendant Corporation (NYSE) and was then asked to serve as GETKO’s President and CEO through the end of 1999. GETKO provided data management, direct mail advertising and print-on-demand publishing services.

Since 2000, Joel has advised private companies in a variety of transactions, which include by way of illustration: the sale of a privately held company to a public company and the subsequent reacquisition of portions of that company by the original sellers; development and execution of funding strategies for several early stage technologies and products created by a leading edge “innovation” company and advising on the “going private” transaction of a NASDQ listed company.

In 2000, Joel founded Zcounsel Inc. to provide Multi Family Office services for 3 generations of two families, the legacy business of which he provided legal services in connection to several strategic financial transactions and then the sale of their business. Zcounsel assists with portfolio and private equity investment management, risk management, generational financial planning, and oversight of the legal, accounting, banking and insurance professionals involved with Zcounsel’s clients. Joel also serves in a fiduciary capacity for many of the entities affiliated with its clients.

In 2010, Joel accepted the position as President of eVision Smart Optics, Inc., a research and
development company in the specialty optics field (wearable electronic frames, electronic and auto focusing spectacles, contact lenses and lens implants). As President, Joel has managed the evolution of the company’s technology and built out its patent portfolio to the point it now owns or controls more than 350 patents worldwide. eVision presently is co-developing with industry partners an electronic contact lens and specialty optics for mixed reality systems. Joel is intimately involved the licensing and enforcement of eVision’s patent portfolio in the United States.

Joel is a member and former Officer, Council Director and Committee and Task Force Chair of the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association. He also served as the Section’s liaison to the New York State Bar Association’s Tax Section and as a member of the Executive Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section Officers Conference. Joel is a “fellow” of the American College of Tax Counsel.

In addition, for three decades, Joel has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Northside Center for Child Development, Inc, a community based mental health agency and therapeutic early childhood center. During his tenure he served at various times as Chair of its Finance Committee, Treasurer and most recently Senior Vice President.

BBA, George Washington University School of Business
JD, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
LL.M (taxation), New York University School of Law