Anthony Von Mickle, President & Founder
With The Investment Forum, the Sky is the Beginning
Anthony "Von" Mickle is the founder and president of The Investment Forum and an expert on personal finance and investments. He is a published author and motivational speaker who guides his audiences through the jungles of alternative investments. He is a graduate of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina where he studied Modern Languages (French) and Business Administration. Upon graduation, he declined a full time military career and continued his studies at the Harvard University Ukrainian Research Institute while fulfilling his military obligation with the Army's Infantry. He earned an MBA from Keller Graduate School and currently working towards a PhD in International Business. He has a certificate in Financial Planning from Georgetown University, Private Equity and Venture Capital –Asia from Harvard Business School and School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University (TSEM), The Washington Investment Banking Institute and is a member of the Washington Association of Money Managers and the Wharton Club of D.C.
He began The Investment Forum in 2004 as a way of bridging the gap between the “haves”, “have nots” and the “have mores”. After a decade of earning a nice salary as an information technology professional and CEO aspirant, he realized he would have to spend substantially more time and no guarantee that he would ever reach the level of success he was destined for under the umbrella of large corporate organizations. While following his passion for investments, he became acutely aware that many people were admirable of the success he’d achieved through his part-time investments. He vowed since they were willing to listen, he was willing to tell everything he knew – the good, the bad and the ugly.
He realized that many people, highly educated included, shared similar interests in living a life more abundantly but too many simply had no idea how to go about doing it outside of socking money away in their 401Ks and saving a few pennies here and there in hopes that once their kids were grown and gone perhaps they could have their day. Von is very much a student of wealth and aggressively yearns for knowledge, but most importantly the opportunity to share it. Through his creative, humorous style, he has had tremendous success hosting The Investment Forum. They continue to sell out as the growing numbers of professionals who attend walk away with actionable, results oriented steps to help them along their way. Currently, he serves as an advisory board member to Celebrate Life Foundation, EDGEadvertising.com and the ICSC Alliance Committee.
He is the author of the multi-award winning book Real Estate for Real People: A Guide to Achieving Profitability in Residential Real Estate Investing and the creator of the powerful High Impact Presentation DVD. He is currently writing Slide 68: 86 Your Current Life for the Lifestyle You Desire. Von was born and raised in Cassatt, SC and now shares dual residences in the greater Columbia, South Carolina and Washington, DC metro areas.
Annie Mickle, Chief Operations Officer
Annie Mickle hails from Camden, South Carolina. She is an author, artist, public speaker and retired soldier. Annie is a Big Sister volunteer and Toastmaster who believes her greatest accomplishment is mentoring children. For the past 10 years, she has opened up her heard and her home to teenagers during the summer. She acts as a mother, teacher and motivator in order to help them see the value of an education. She believes the best way to educate children is to show them the way.
During her military career she held a variety of leadership positions ranging from personnel administered clerk (PAC) to Detachment First Sergeant of The Army Solider Show. Her civilian education includes Associate of Art in General Office Administration, Midlands Technical College, Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources, Park University, Master of Art in Human Resources, Webster University. She is currently working on a PhD in Organizational Psychology.
Her military education includes Basic and Advanced Training, Primary Leadership Development Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officers Course, Advanced Non-Commissioned Officers Course and Instructor Training Course.
Her awards and decorations include Meritorious Service Medal (2), Army Commendation Medal (3), Army Achievement Medal (5), Good Conduct Medal (6), national Defense Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Development Ribbon (3), Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon (2). Annie consults with SERCO and assigned to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) as a senior consultant to the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).
Johnnie Mickle, Chief Strategist
John is a career veteran of the United States Army with more than 25 years served in the transportation field in various countries. He has held several prestigious Pentagon and White House assignments under the Clinton Administration. He finished his career in El Paso, TX as an instructor at the United States Army Sergeant’s Major Academy.
He is a serial entrepreneur who brings the success of a host of businesses bought and sold across the United States. His knowledge of the business and political landscape has helped shaped the direction of The Investment Forum since its inception. He has an advocate and strong supporter of political fundraisers at the local and state levels.
John also lends his program management expertise skills to the federal government through various information technology infrastructure projects throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. His leadership and experience has helped the strategic direction of several high profile government IT projects.
He holds an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts studies from the University of Kentucky, a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Park University and an MBA from Webster University.
