Founder & CEO, Brad McCarthy
Brad McCarthy brings a unique blend of agricultural and financial expertise to the world of bloodstock investing, making him exceptionally well prepared to lead in this dynamic industry.
Growing up on a family-run cattle farm in North West NSW, Australia, Brad developed a deep understanding of breeding both cattle and horses. This agricultural foundation helped lay the groundwork for his future interest in bloodstock.
In later years, Brad gained extensive experience in global financial markets. He worked on the FX Spot and FX Options desks within Commonwealth Bank Australia's highly regarded Fixed Income Currency and Commodities (FICC) division in Sydney. Following this, he served as an Executive at Macquarie Bank's Funds Management Group, where he was part of the trading team for the FX Alpha Fund and Currency Overlay Hedging Model (Option Replication Program).
Brad’s interest and pull back to bloodstock came full circle when offered a role at the Hong Kong Jockey Club as senior trader within their thriving wagering business. The natural exposure to broader HKJC racing participants, in the racing hub of Hong Kong, allowed Brad to gain valuable experience and build key international bloodstock relationships.
Returning to Australia, Brad further honed his bloodstock expertise with a leading equine genetics company, attending all major sales and learning from top racing and breeding participants. He also leveraged his wagering sector experience with major local Wagering Service Providers, integrating form study and sectional data analysis to enhance bloodstock selection.
The Bloodstock Advisory Board
Darren Pettiona - Executive Director Strategy, Dash Financial
Darren has more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry and has been at the forefront of financial services technology. Darren was the founder and CEO of Advent Software Australia Pty Ltd (SS&C Technologies, USA), Coin Software Pty Ltd acquired by Macquarie Bank in 2006 and HUB24 Ltd(ASX:HUB). He has also held non-executive directorships in various financial service and government entities including Charles Schwab Australia, Investorfirst Ltd, Allied Funds Management, van Eyk Research and TOTE Tasmania.
Dr Greg Nash BVSc MACVSc MRCVS
With over 35 years equine sciences experience and widely regarded as the leading thoroughbred equine Veterinarian in Australasia, Greg’s elite ability to assess risk associated with this asset class is second to none.
Craig Marston - Partner, KPMG Enterprise
Craig has more than 15 years of experience in corporate and financial services tax advisory. He works with clients on a broad range of issues including international and funds management taxation as well as tax compliance. Before joining KPMG in 2016, Craig worked at two top tier Australian law firms where he specialised in revenue law. A regular speaker at The Tax Institute conferences, Craig presents on topics including AMITs, Tax Transparency, the Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) regime and Tax Consolidation.
Bryan Carlson - General Manager, Emirates Park
General Manager of the Hunter Valley thoroughbred stud Emirates Park. Bryan formerly held the capacity of Nominations Manager but has also been involved in all aspects of the stud’s bloodstock dealings. This includes Emirates Park’s purchase of 2014 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Mossfun at the 2013 renewal of the Australian Easter Yearling Sale. After graduating from Marcus Oldham, he spent time working in a series of different capacities for Coolmore Australia, Swettenham and Darley. He also gained a great deal of international experience working for Ashford Stud in North America. His time at Emirates Park has coincided with the establishment of Al Maher as one of the country’s most consistent sires of black-type performers, and the headline purchases of Dream Ahead (USA) and Artie Schiller (USA) as dual hemisphere sires.
Steven Angelov - Principal Consultant, CleverCloud
As a seasoned CEO and global business leader, Steven possess over 28 years of extensive experience in both the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds, with a focus on the tele-communications and technology sectors. Throughout his career, he has excelled in creating inclusive, diverse teams that flourish in entrepreneurial environments. His expertise lies in developing productive networks, effective negotiation, leveraging data-driven insights for decision-making, and leading innovation for unparalleled customer experiences. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, Steven’s focus has consistently been on leveraging strategic insights to achieve company growth on an international scale, making substantial contributions to the tech and tele-communications sectors.