Mikey’s parents Jennifer and Stephen Czech of New Canaan, Connecticut have created the Mikey Czech Foundation with a goal to establish the world’s  leading neuro-oncology research lab to help cure pediatric brain tumors.  Because these tumors are rare, investments in medical research dollars to find a cure have been scarce.  The foundation will approve grants to support research at healthcare, education, and medical research facilities throughout the United States.  They hope to raise 6 million dollars.

For Eric Sydor, the challenges of the Ironman Lake Placid Triathlon seemed an appropriate opportunity to focus on the challenges of the Foundation. Donations can be made through the Mikey Czech website – www.mikeyczech.org, click the Donate Button, and Select “Racing for Mikey” in the drop down.  The Mikey Czech Foundation is a registered 501c3 non-profit foundation. All donations are tax deductible.

From left, Charles Winward, Angela Leach, Sarah Buxton and Greg Smith celebrate after scaling the United Kingdom’s Scafell Peak, the second

Few would doubt that climbing a mountain is a demanding endeavour. Try climbing three in one day.

“We wanted a physical test and we love the great outdoors, and the Three Peaks Challenge combines those into a very tough challenge,” avid athlete Greg Smith told the Advertiser July 14 from his London home.

On June 19, Smith and a team of his friends climbed three of the United Kingdom’s toughest mountains in just 24 hours for a charity across the pond. The Mikey Czech Foundation, a New Canaan charity, has received $5,000 (as of early July) in donations stemming from the team’s completion of the challenge.

Marquette University Class Notes Profiles

By Nicole Sweeney Etter

Steve Czech, Bus Ad ’86, launched his first hedge fund in 2003 with a laptop, Rolodex and 15 years of contacts in the investment banking industry.

Four and a half years later, he’d built his fund’s value to nearly $400 million.

Czech says, “My expertise consists of identifying situations that are very difficult, very challenging, that no one wants to invest in becausethey are so difficult and challenging — but they’re extremely lucrative.”

He started his career in commercial and investment banking. After earning his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, he became intrigued by hedge funds.

“Hedge funds became a meaningful component of the financial landscape, and they provided me with the kind of investment flexibility I was interested in pursuing,” he says.

Czech works 80 to 100 hours a week as chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager of Gottex-SJC Capital LLC, his second hedge fund. He closed down his first fund when his 11-year-old son was diagnosed with a rare, inoperable brain tumor in January 2008 so he could accompany him through the grueling treatments. Mikey Czech died nine months later.

Now Czech applies his entrepreneurial energy toward finding a cure for rare pediatric brain cancers. He and his wife, Jennifer, created the Mikey Czech Foundation with a goal of raising $6 million to create a world-leading neuro-oncology research laboratory in New York City. Because Mikey’s tumor type affects only 150 kids a year and can’t be biopsied, research for a cure is virtually non-existent.

Czech is committed to changing that. After all, he made a promise to his son. “The next time I see him, whenever that is, I want to be able to look him in the eye and tell him we eradicated this hideous disease,” he says.

• The Saxe Middle School honored Mikey with a two-page tribute in its yearbook.
• We wish to thank everyone at Saxe for their efforts on our behalf. Saxe has been nothing short of wonderful with respect to how they have treated us and handled what was an extraordinarily difficult situation.