Board of Directors
Moishe Gubin
Moishe Gubin, age 49, has served as a Chairman of the Board of Directors of OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. (“the Company”) and OptimumBank since March 2010. Mr. Gubin is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Strawberry Fields REIT, Inc. (NYSE American: STRW), an owner of a portfolio of healthcare properties, since 2008. From 2004 to 2014, Mr. Gubin was the Chief Financial Officer and manager of Infinity Healthcare Management LLC, a company engaged in managing skilled nursing facilities and other healthcare facilities. Mr. Gubin graduated from Touro Liberal Arts and Science College, in New York, New York, with a BS in Accounting and Information Systems and a Minor in Jewish Studies. Mr. Gubin is the founder of the Midwest Torah Center Inc., a non-profit spiritual outreach center (www.midwesttorah.org). He also attended Yeshiva Bais Israel where he received a BA in Talmudic Literature. Mr. Gubin has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York since 2010. He also serves as a director of LevelBlox, Inc., an enterprise software company that develops applications for blockchain. As a long-time director and significant shareholder of the Company, Mr. Gubin brings extensive experience with the Company and a shareholder perspective to the Board. Mr. Gubin’s experience in accounting provides the Board with expertise in accounting matters and his experience as the CEO of a large healthcare company provides the Board’s with the general management expertise.
Joel J. Klein
Joel Klein, age 79, became a Director of the Company and OptimumBank in February 2012. Since February 2020, Mr. Klein has also been serving as the Company’s interim Chief Financial Officer, until the Company designates his replacement. Mr. Klein worked in accounting and finance for more than 41 years, including six years as a CPA in public accounting. From 1989 to 1990, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Choice Drug Systems, Inc., a medical supply company primarily to skilled nursing facilities. From 1991 to 1994, he was a Vice-President of Equilease Corporation, an equipment leasing company. He then served as a Vice President of The Stamford Capital Group, Inc., an independent corporate advisory company, from 1994 to 2005, providing high quality advisory services to medium market clients, particularly mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, management buy outs and other strategic financial advisory services. From 2006 to 2010, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Taxi Affiliation Services, LLC, a taxi company located in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Klein has been a private investor since 2010. Mr. Klein received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Brooklyn College in 1969. He has been licensed as a CPA in the State of New York since 1972. Mr. Klein’s significant experience in finance and accounting provides the Board with expertise in financing management and accounting issues. His long service as director also aids the Board by providing a deep understanding of the Company’s business.
Thomas A. Procelli
Thomas Procelli, age 71, has served as a Director of the Company since July 2017 and OptimumBank since October 2012. Mr. Procelli is Chief Financial Officer for Better Living Solutions, a Tallahassee counseling and wellness outpatient center specializing in eating disorder treatment and offers financial institution and business support services through his firm TAP Independent Consulting. Mr. Procelli served as an Executive Vice President since the founding of OptimumBank in October 2000 through September 2015 in the positions of Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Procelli has been in banking for over 40 years, having a diverse background in operations, information systems, compliance and audit. Outside of banking, he has worked in public accounting at the firm of Coopers and Lybrand and in mortgage origination software product development at Fiserv. He received his MBA in Finance in 1979 and his BBA degree in Accounting in 1976 from Hofstra University located in Hempstead, New York. Mr. Procelli’s 15 years of service as an executive of OptimumBank provides the Board with the benefit of his expertise in banking and accounting matters, as well as insight into the operations of OptimumBank.
Avi M. Zwelling
Avi M. Zwelling, age 53, became a Director of the Company and OptimumBank in December 2017. Mr. Zwelling is the managing partner of Zwelling Law, PLLC, which has offices in Boca Raton, Florida and Chicago, Illinois. The firm handles commercial litigation, banking, real estate, and trusts and estates matters. Mr. Zwelling graduated from Columbia University in New York, New York, with a B.A. in Comparative Religion, and earned a law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, also in New York, New York. Mr. Zwelling has been providing legal services to the Company since 2012. As an experienced attorney, Mr. Zwelling’s knowledge and expertise in legal matters assists the Board in addressing legal issues faced by the Company.
Michael Blisko
Michael Blisko, age 50, has served as a Director since May 2021. Mr. Blisko is the Chief Executive Officer for Infinity Healthcare Management LLC, a company that provides consultation services to skilled nursing facilities and other health care facilities. Mr. Blisko is currently a director of Strawberry Fields REIT, Inc. (NYSE American: STRW), an owner of a portfolio of healthcare properties. Mr. Blisko is a principal of related healthcare companies including United Rx, a long-term pharmacy, Xcel Med, and Bella Monte Recovery. Currently, Mr. Blisko serves on the national executive committee for Post-Acute Care for the Indiana Healthcare Association (AHCA) in Washington D.C. Mr. Blisko founded and currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Ambassador Group which represents regional Post-Acute Operators serving over one hundred thousand residents throughout the country. Mr. Blisko is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator with a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Hofstra University and a BA in Talmudic Law from Bais Yisroel, Jerusalem. Mr. Blisko is on the Deans Advisory Board for Hofstra University Graduate School for Health and Applied Sciences. As a significant shareholder of the Company, Mr. Blisko provides a shareholder perspective to the Board. Mr. Blisko’s experience as an executive of several healthcare companies provides the Board’s with the general management expertise.
Steven Newman
Steven Newman, age 49, became a Director of the Company and OptimumBank in August 2022. Mr. Newman has been an active member of the South Florida business landscape since 1998, starting and managing multiple companies. Mr. Newman is a prolific real estate investor and holds a Florida Real Estate Broker License at The Newman Group, LLC where he is the Chief Executive Officer. There, he and his dedicated team have transacted on hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate. Mr. Newman is the Co-Founder and Chairman of The Board of Freight Factoring Specialists, LLC a middle market, full-service factoring company serving the transportation industry. Newman has been an active real estate investor and served as a board member of several non-profit organizations. Mr. Newman received his BA in Sociology from Queens College at the City University of New York in 1998. As an active participant in the South Florida real estate industry, Mr. Newman provides the Company and OptimumBank with the benefit of his experience and knowledge of the local real estate market, as well as the benefit of his ability as a successful business executive. Mr. Newman has been an active community volunteer and Board Member at multiple organizations and lives in Hollywood with his wonderful wife, Martine, and their three amazing children.