Company Founder

John R. Brick, PhD, CFA

Founder of Brick & Associates, Inc.


Jack, as he was known, is the founder Brick & Associates, Inc. He was the youngest child of hard-working Irish immigrants and did not have the money to attend college on his own.  He was fortunate to be awarded a baseball scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) where he earned his undergraduate and MBA degrees. After a tour of duty in the US Army in Europe and working in the private sector for a few years, Jack returned to UW for his PhD degree with a plan to teach at the college level.  He joined the faculty of the MSU Broad College of Business where he became a Professor of Finance and taught courses on financial markets, financial institutions, and bank management. During his eighteen-year tenure at MSU he published several textbooks and numerous peer-reviewed academic papers. Some of Jack’s written work was published in the Journal of Finance. Jack authored an ALM monograph for the Filene Research Institute entitled Asset-Liability Management: Theory, Practice, Implementation and the Role of Judgment.  As a result of his reputation and expertise Jack conducted numerous workshops and training sessions for regulators of financial institutions, trade associations, individual credit unions, and a European bank association.

Jack was a pioneer in the field of Asset-Liability Management (ALM).  In 1987, he founded Brick & Associates, Inc. (B&A), to focus on the new, unchartered waters of ALM following the 1980s’ S&L crisis. One of his goals for the firm was to assist credit unions in measuring and managing interest rate risk to achieve more financial stability and strength.  When asked what it felt like to be a pioneer in his field, he pondered the question and said he felt that he “contributed a little bit.” Jack was humble throughout his life.

Jack retired from MSU in 1994 to focus full-time on our ALM consulting business.  For over four decades, Jack served as a Board member of the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union and held the position of Co-Chair of the ALCO and served a term as Chairperson of the Board.

In 1989, Jack began living his dream of a second-generation business when the first of his adult children joined B&A. Kerry, Bridget and Jeff appreciate the gift that they had working with their father for more than three decades. Jack enjoyed being at our B&A office so much that he referred to the office as his cottage. He worked at “his cottage” until three weeks before he passed.

Jack appreciated friendships and business relationships with credit union executives across the country. Many of those relationships spanned two, three and even four decades and made his life more meaningful.

Jack passed away on March 14, 2022 after a private, year-long battle with Leukemia at the age of 84.  His family and staff at Brick & Associates are grateful for the legacy that he left behind.

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