Anthony Von Mickle, President & Founder
With The Investment Forum, the Sky is the Beginning
"From the mobile home to where moguls roam", Anthony "Von" Mickle is the founder and president of The Investment Forum, a Washington DC based alternative investment firm and an expert on personal finance and 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 served several as in 11 Bravo in the Army’s Infantry. He continued his graduate work of foreign languages at the Harvard University Ukrainian Research Institute in Boston, Massachusetts where he studies included Ukrainian language, culture and politics. He earned an MBA from Keller Graduate School in Washington, DC and currently working towards a PhD in International Business. He holds graduate certificates in Financial Planning from Georgetown University; Private Equity and Venture Capital from Tsinghua University and Harvard Business School; Beijing China and Investment Banking Fundamentals from The Washington Investment Banking Institute, Washington DC. He is a member of the Washington Association of Money Managers, the Wharton and Harvard Business Clubs of D.C.
He spent a decade as a network engineering program manager traveling the globe to ensure clients had continuous application and network infrastructure. After a corporate downsizing and what appeared to be a total financial devastation, he found an $8 an hour part time job and turned it into a multi-million dollar portfolio demonstrating that setbacks really are set ups for step ups. To share his experiences with those who fell on similar harsh times, he founded a 175 member investment club entitled The Investment Forum to help bridge the gap between the “have nots” and the “have mores.” Today, The Investment Forum helps hundreds of people each year with investment advice, business planning and setting up informational interviews to advance business and political careers. Mr. Mickle also writes a monthly column on business, investments and motivation that was recently awarded the prestigious Constant Contact 2010 All Star Award.
He is an international public speaker, making frequent investment and motivational speaking engagements each year. He is the author of the multi-award winning book, Real Estate for Real People and his new book, Slide 68: 86 Your Current Life for the Lifestyle You’ve Been Dreaming Of is due out summer 2011. He created the High Impact Presentation tool which is a DVD designed to help students at The Citadel and Clemson University advance their careers by assisting them with meeting business managers in their fields of interests. Recently, the DVD was featured on Jim Cramer’s Thestreet.com. Currently, he serves as an advisory board member to Celebrate Life Foundation, EDGEadvertising.com and the International Council of Shopping Centers Alliance Committee.
He has dual residences in Columbia, SC and Washington, DC. In his spare time he enjoys fourwheeling and flying helicopters.
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.
