4 Minutes With…Mark Fisler, Managing Director, Ocean Park Advisors

September 2, 2014 |

FislerToday, Mark Fisler is helping companies to get affordable financing at Ocean Park Advisors — just a few years back, he was going through the highs and lows of the ethanol boom in a more direct sense as the President of Global Ethanol, which he joined after spending 20 years in the finance sector with Piper Jaffray and Coltivare.

Perhaps it is fitting that he’s just finishing up reading Unbroken, the story of Olympicn and World War II hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini, who survived a wartime plane crash in the Pacific, sruvived 47 days on a raft, and emerged from more than 30 months in Japanese POW camps — a book that shortly will be the subject of a film directed and produced by Angelina Jolie. Talk about highs and lows.

million mindsTell us about your organization and it’s role in the Advanced Bioeconomy.

Ocean Park Advisors provides financial advisory services to Generation and Generation Two biofuels companies as well as bio-based chemicals companies. These services include mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity placement services as well as a whole host of strategic advisory services.

Tell us about your role and what you are focused on in the next 12 months.

As a senior advisor with eighteen years experience working in biofuels, I will continue assisting companies in Gen One and Two biofuels execute their financial and operational strategies. Our particular focus in the next twelve months will be to continue assisting industry participants with the consolidation and advancement of the biofuels and bio-based chemicals industries through the provision of strategic and financial advisory services.

What do you feel are the most important milestones the industry must achieve in the next 5 years?

As the policy landscape continues to evolve for biofuels and clean technology companies, these industries will need to find new ways to economically compete for its place at the table. This will be achieved by continuing to evolve Gen 1 technologies through scale, diversification of product offering and implementation of disruptive technologies.

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about the Advanced Bioeconomy, what would you change?

Policy instability – set the rules and keep them in place. This uncertainty has led to fits and starts for the next evolution of the Advanced Bioeconomy.

Of all the reasons that influenced you to join the Advanced Bioeconomy industry, what single reason stands out for you as still being compelling and important to you?

I wanted to apply my financial, strategic advisory and management skill sets to an industry that improved the environment in which we live.

You’ll be speaking at the next ABLCNext conference in San Francisco this November. What’s special about that week for you?

As a three time participant in this important conference, I look forward to hearing from the companies in development so I have a feel for progress and support that they are finding for their plans in the capital markets. In addition, I look for cues on ways in which Ocean Park can provide value added services to the Advanced Bioeconomy.

Where did you go for your undergraduate degree?

I have two undergraduate degrees: Economics and Business with a Concentration in Finance from the University of St. Thomas. I chose St. Thomas for its liberal arts academic discipline and strong reputation among upper Midwest private colleges.

Who do you consider your mentors?

In 1996, I was initially mentored in biofuels by Bill Wells who was then the Vice President for Industrial Development for Fagen Incorporated. Bill brought his high energy level along with a broad background to biofuels that I felt was unmatched in the industry at that time. Bill has a PhD in Chemistry with a concentration in fuel science, ethanol operations experience, experience in selling ethanol and deep experience having worked in the oil industry. In addition, bill was an inventor having briefed a sitting president (George Bush, Sr.) about ETBE in the early 90’s. From Bill I learned about what we produce in the hydrocarbon complex, the cost structure, the environmental impacts and why the development of alternatives were so important for the future of the planet. I worked side by side with Bill as we developed over 16 projects in the ethanol industry. I could not have bought a better education than the one that I received from Bill from 1996 through 2001.

What’s the biggest lesson you ever learned during a period of adversity?

I often say that you learn very little when everything is going well and you learn many lessons when the chips are down. In 2008, from my chair as President and Chief Operating Officer of a multi-plant ethanol company I witnessed the financial meltdown of a nascent ethanol industry. During 2008, the ethanol industry was suffering under its own weight created by outgrowing its markets and a period of commodity volatility brought about by the New York based investment speculators. Many hard lessons were learned about risk management and operational excellence at a time where margins were thin to non-existent. The hardest lesson that I learned was that management structures, operational procedures and risk management practices were woefully inadequate to withstand the pressures that would be brought to bear by this period in the market. Lesson learned: Build the ark before the rain….

What hobbies do you pursue, away from your work in the industry? 

I like to swim, bike and run and have participated in numerous triathlons including an Ironman in 2011. A recently very busy personal and work life has taken me away from consistent training, but I look forward to returning to this activity soon and gaining a better level of fitness as a result.

What are 3 books you’d want to have with you, if you were stranded on a desert island?

Crime and Punishment, Unbroken, The Bible.

What books or articles are on your reading list right now, or you just completed and really enjoyed?

Just finished reading “The Boys in the Boat”. Currently reading Unbroken.

What’s your favorite city or place to visit, for a holiday?

Tuscany, Italy

Category: Million Minds

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