John Joseph
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
John Joseph is an accomplished entrepreneur and finance professional with a uniquely diverse background spanning mathematics, high-frequency trading, strategic consulting, and live entertainment investing.
John began his academic career in pure mathematics, completing a Master’s degree and passing both the basic and advanced PhD examinations at the University of Massachusetts before leaving to pursue an opportunity in finance. He later combined his quantitative expertise with entrepreneurship to build innovative ventures across multiple industries.
He is currently the founder and CEO of Five Wall Productions, where he manages a quant-driven portfolio of Broadway, West End, immersive, and other live entertainment properties on behalf of institutional investors. Prior to that, he co-founded the Broadway Strategic Return Fund in 2016, the first institutional-quality hedge fund dedicated to live theater. As a Broadway co-producer, John is also a three-time Tony Award winner.
Earlier in his career, John was a founding principal at Ridgeline Partners, leading strategic consulting engagements that delivered measurable impact for Fortune 500 companies—including $133MM in incremental net revenue for a direct sales team and more than doubling revenue and gross profit for a technical/exchange division.
In 2003, he founded The SEMA4 Group, a Commodity Trading Advisor specializing in fully automated high-frequency trading. He developed the firm’s proprietary trading platform, which was later released commercially as Independent Trader. He has twice been recognized in CTA Star Search competitions, winning in 2003 and earning a top placement again in 2024.
Across his ventures, John has raised more than $1 billion for his own projects and for others. His career has been marked by both analytical rigor and creative vision, enabling him to bridge finance, technology, and the performing arts.
Beyond his businesses, John is a published mathematics researcher, with his work “A Chaotic Extension of the 3x+1 Function to Z₂[i]” appearing in The Fibonacci Quarterly in 1998. He is also an avid traveler with a global network, having spent significant time in China, Israel, and Ukraine.
