Dinner of Champions Chair
Paul M. Purcell
Paul Purcell is a partner at Continental Advisors LLC, an investment firm he co-founded with his brother David almost 20 years ago. Until recently, Paul developed and was in charge of portfolio research for all publicly traded non-bank lending, financial information technology and payments issuers. Before assuming that role, he designed and managed the build out of the firm's key business functions and technology.
Leveraging his research and domain expertise, Paul now serves in an advisory capacity on private investments at Continental Investors LLC, a firm founded by his father, Phil. Paul has originated and manages a portfolio of nearly $50 million allocated to small- and medium-sized companies. In this capacity, he is a member of the Boards of Directors of numerous companies - WePay, SupportPay, Align Income Share, Intuition/Veritec Solutions, Drizly and What’s Next Media (PYMNTS.com).
Paul was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2006 at the age of 31. Since his diagnosis, Paul has been an active patient and disease advocate. The cornerstone of those efforts was a golf outing he founded with the tireless help of many called the Drive for Breakthroughs. Over the course of 6 events (2007-2012), the Drive for Breakthroughs raised over $2 million to benefit the advanced research model of the Myelin Repair Foundation. In addition, Paul has been active with the local and national chapters of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (Walk MS, Bike MS, MS Half Court Classic), Dr. Saud Sadiq (Tisch Multiple Sclerosis Research Center of New York), and Dr. Richard Burt (Department of Immunotherapy and Autoimmune Diseases) at Northwestern Hospital. All told, Paul and his family have dedicated many resources fighting for positive patient outcomes and to raise millions in the fight against MS.
Paul was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois, the fifth of seven sons of Anne and Phil Purcell. He is a graduate of New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL. He holds a B.A. in political science from the University of San Diego, where he is a member of the University's Emerging Leaders Council. Paul is supportive of the Evans Scholars Foundation and Carl's Kids Foundation.
Paul is married to Mindy Purcell, also a New Trier graduate. They and their four children (Mac 14, Luke 12, Paige 10, and James 7) live in Winnetka. Paul spends most of his free time in the winter months cheering on his children in hockey rinks across greater Northern Illinois. In the summer months, Paul can often be found on the golf course with friends and family.