Okay, so let’s talk about this guy, John D. Staszak, right? He’s out there doing all the cool finance stuff in the land of Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples. Seriously, does anyone really know what that means off the bat? Well, he’s digging into gaming, lodging, and yes, your beloved restaurants – probably knows more about steakhouse stocks than the menu at Denny’s.
Now, John didn’t just wander in off the street. Dude has credentials. Got an MBA from the University of Texas and a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Fancy letters, huh? But it’s like, does any of that even matter? Sorta, kind of. In the financial wormhole, though, he’s been around. Worked at places you’ve probably heard your parents mention – Standard & Poor’s, the Bank of New York, Harris biblio-something Gerard, and Merrill Lynch. (Are they all just playing alphabet soup with their names or what?)
And then he’s a CFA charterholder. Which, lemme tell ya, means he’s not just winging it with your 401k. Forbes once decided in 2006 that John was practically the Yoda of stock picking – well, second-best but hey, that’s up there. And the Wall Street Journal? They apparently were fangirling over him too because they had him pegged as the second-best restaurant analyst in 2007. Big deal in analyst land!
But wait, there’s more, like one of those infomercials that never ends. He’s got a nod from the Financial Times/StarMine survey too. He’s basically like a triple threat if your life revolves around knowing which burger joints will make you money. By 2008, the Journal again, couldn’t get enough and gave him bronze for hotels and another top-five for restaurants. It’s like they can’t stop putting this guy on a pedestal – maybe he’s got magic stock-picking powers and a stash of secret sauces they all want?
Anyway, that’s Johnny in a nutshell. Analyst extraordinaire, number-cruncher, and who knows, maybe a closet foodie savant.
