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Built to Battle: Joe Gallace on Grit, Growth, and Getting Back Up
21 Plays25 days ago
In this episode of Valiant Talks, Frank reconnects with former teammate Joe Gallace for a raw and powerful conversation that spans sports, finance, fatherhood, and a life-altering health journey. Joe opens up about his diagnosis with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2017 and a later battle with aplastic anemia in 2023—two serious conditions that tested his resilience and perspective. From chasing baseball dreams to navigating life with three kids and a demanding career, Joe shares how his competitive fire shaped his path and how grace, grit, and community helped him push through the toughest moments. Whether you're navigating career pivots, parenting challenges, or personal setbacks, Joe’s story is a masterclass in perseverance and reflection.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Reunion
00:00:26
Frank Furbacher
Today I'm joined by a very, very special guest, another former teammate of mine. His name is Joe Galace. Joe, thank you so much for joining us.
00:00:35
jgallace
Thanks, Ferb. Thank you for having me.
00:00:37
Frank Furbacher
Joe, it's great to talk to you.
00:00:37
jgallace
I appreciate
00:00:39
Frank Furbacher
We got a chance to run into each other a few weeks ago in the Jersey Shore.
00:00:43
jgallace
it. Yeah. Yeah, we did. That was funny.
00:00:45
Frank Furbacher
ah We got a bad week of weather, but the good part was I got to run into you.
00:00:50
jgallace
It was the worst. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't have been on that boardwalk, right, without without that weather. wouldn't have seen you guys. Wish we are we didn't have to run after the kids and chase them because they were dead set on going to that aquarium at that moment. And, um you know, we could have caught up a little more, but now we're here. So we'll catch you up now.
00:01:07
Frank Furbacher
Yeah, yeah. I don't think my kids minded it ah too much because that meant the arcade for them.
00:01:09
jgallace
Yeah.
00:01:12
Frank Furbacher
But
Career Insights and Family Life
00:01:13
Frank Furbacher
all right, Joe, we've got um tell everyone what you're up to today.
00:01:13
jgallace
yeah
00:01:17
Frank Furbacher
Let's start there.
00:01:18
jgallace
Yeah, so um right now I'm at Ionic Capital, Director of Operations. Been there for about 12 and a half years now. um We're based out of city and volatility fund.
00:01:30
jgallace
And so that's been, I've been working in operations for them, which is kind of post-trade world. um Not in the front office, not in the sales or trading side. Everything post-trade is what I handle. a lot of technology, Excel, you know, emailing with a lot of the banks,
00:01:47
jgallace
and counterparties that we deal with. And, uh, so yeah, I've been doing that. I also try and find ways to passive income. So on the side of, uh, do bottle-less water coolers, you know, the family, we, we bought that about a year ago and, uh, lease those out to like office space, commercial spaces, try and find passive income there. And then also found a little enjoyment in traveling. So going to dip my toes and start doing some travel agency stuff on, you know, just nights, weekends, you know,
00:02:17
jgallace
Kind of something I enjoy, a little passion project I'm going try and take on here, see where it goes. Worst case, I save a little money on my trips. But yeah, that's those are things I'm doing now on top of having three kids who are very much involved in sports right now.
00:02:31
jgallace
eight The eight and the five-year-old nonstop. We have hockey, softball, flag football, t-ball, and the two-year-old starting dance. And I'm sure she will be doing something sport-related soon.
00:02:42
jgallace
She's ready to run some people over. he So looking forward to that. Yeah. yeah That's pretty much what i got going on right now.
00:02:49
Frank Furbacher
That's awesome. joe Where do you live now?
00:02:51
jgallace
I am in Belmore in Long Island. So we lived in Harrison until right before COVID. Moved out here, be closer to my wife, Lindley's family. Yeah, we've been here since, what was that?
00:03:05
jgallace
February of 2020.
00:03:07
Frank Furbacher
Wow. Wow. That's awesome.
00:03:09
jgallace
Yeah.
00:03:10
Frank Furbacher
That's great. I had no idea. I thought you were in Westchester. So I had no idea you were in Lyle.
00:03:13
jgallace
and
00:03:13
Frank Furbacher
That's awesome.
00:03:14
jgallace
No, we sold the house in March of, 2020 moved in with my in-laws while our house was being worked on out here and then COVID hit. So we were with them for about seven months till October.
00:03:27
jgallace
So yeah, we're right about five years in this house, right? Like right now. So yeah, it's cool.
00:03:32
Frank Furbacher
That's great. So tell us, Joe, where'd you grow up and what was that community like for you?
Early Life and Business Acumen
00:03:37
jgallace
Yeah. So I grew up in Harrison, West Harrison specifically, which is right down the road from Manhattanville. So, you know, it was a very small old school Italian town where everybody knew everyone. Everyone knew everything going on. it was a big football town.
00:03:50
jgallace
so you know, I was always into every sport, but football was always my first love. And I think a lot of that had to do with the tradition there, Harrison Rye rivalry, you know, right down the road from, from our campus and, uh,
00:04:03
jgallace
That was what like. It was, yeah, very small small town, which is probably why i've felt the way I did about Manhattanville and a a lot of other things is this small family feel.
00:04:13
Frank Furbacher
to just a complete sports guy growing up.
00:04:15
jgallace
Oh, yeah. Yeah. From the second I was born, you know, there's just first word was ball and just everything was sports from, you know, four years old. All my family members tell me was like I could go and run off the name of every football player and I would just watch SportsCenter reruns all night.
00:04:31
jgallace
It was just... It was always sports. It was the longest time. And then, you know, there are some so stories that my ah grandparents would tell me ah money-wise in terms of numbers and money that, you know, I didn't like blueberry muffins growing up.
00:04:47
jgallace
And it instead saying, I don't want it, I sold it to my cousin for 25 cents rather than just saying, you know, it's not something I wanted. So they always thought, you know, that was the route I was going to go if if it was not sports.
00:04:59
Frank Furbacher
That's funny. That's funny. And what um what former teammates of ours grew up in that area as well? Was it Triano who grew up in Rye?
00:05:05
jgallace
He was one of them. and He was w rye, so he was on the other side of it. But, um you know, Jay Monforti was Harrison, but he went to owner prep.
00:05:08
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:05:13
jgallace
But I knew him since we were young. ah John Kane, I grew up with. I've known him since I was five years old. So all the way through high school. And then, you know, also Manhattanville. Pinto was nearby. These, you know, all guys that, ah you I've figured...
00:05:27
jgallace
we would also get to when we touched on baseball and the reason why, you know, I went to Mojava was all these guys. i I knew a lot of these guys, um, just from, from playing baseball locally. But, uh, yeah, Kane was, and Jay, you know, were the ones I grew up with. that i knew my whole life, you know, Jay, best men at each other's weddings and, uh, godparents to each other's kids. And so, yeah, he was definitely,
00:05:52
Frank Furbacher
So it's Harrison High School that
College Journey and Sports
00:05:53
Frank Furbacher
you went to? Okay.
00:05:54
jgallace
I went to Harrison high school. Yeah.
00:05:56
Frank Furbacher
And so getting to, okay, it's time to pick a college. What's ah that process like for you?
00:06:03
jgallace
Yeah, so, mean, Aval wasn't even on the radar at a high school, even though all those guys were going there, um or had been there, a few of them had been there. um I was set on new University of Tampa, so all my immediate family, my aunts, my uncles, my grandparents on my dad's side, live in the St. Pete Clearwater area.
00:06:22
jgallace
So, I really loved University of Tampa. There was an opportunity to to play JV baseball there that I knew I can go. Thought I'd have an easier time making the team than I did. Um, it was definitely an adventure, um, did make it.
00:06:38
jgallace
And then, uh, you know, a little bit through the season, i realized like there was no varsity. Those guys were just insane. The varsity down there, it was just next level.
00:06:50
jgallace
And, uh, I said, do you know what? I think I want to go somewhere closer to home and play ball. And so I stopped JV to not, you know, use a year of eligibility started talking to guys like Jay Pinto, um, about what was going on. You know, you guys were on your skyline run at the time.
00:07:08
jgallace
when you guys won that, that conference and I was following, I remember following on my laptop, you know, how you guys are doing. I think you were playing Cortland right after. uh,
00:07:18
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:07:18
jgallace
I would say that kind of made me more interested in Manhattanville. And, you know, being close to home, I'd be able to commute the first semester. There's lot of familiar faces. I felt like it would be an easy transition. And again, you know, very home, small town feel to it.
00:07:35
jgallace
um It was just very easy for me, given the location and the people and all that.
00:07:41
Frank Furbacher
So what year were you when you transferred in?
00:07:45
jgallace
I would have been a sophomore, so redshirt freshman and and a sophomore.
00:07:46
Frank Furbacher
Gotcha.
00:07:48
jgallace
So I spent one year at University of Tampa.
00:07:52
Frank Furbacher
I actually had no idea now that you're saying it.
00:07:53
jgallace
Well, Caulfield and them called me Tampa for a while, right?
00:07:54
Frank Furbacher
I remember that you transferred in, but I, yeah, yeah.
00:07:58
jgallace
Julene's still coming to Tampa. So, yeah, that was that was the ah reason I had already, you know, decided before I really even knew about Manhattanville. I knew of Manhattanville because growing up we actually used to – ah a friend of ours in basketball group, Todd Hannon, his dad was like head of maintenance there, which was actually one job I held at Manhattanville was over the summer. I did maintenance.
00:08:20
jgallace
And, uh, So we would get to play at Mahavill's court every once in a while in practice, whether it was the CYO or AAU teams or whatever. we would We would be over there. So I probably should have known more about Mahavill than I did. But, you know, I was pretty set on going to Tampa.
00:08:36
jgallace
Thought I'd go there and and actually never come back. I thought because that was like a second home for me. I was very close to my family. um But at some point, baseball just became more important to me. And, you know, I came home.
Balancing Academics and Athletics
00:08:49
Frank Furbacher
So you've got a bunch of familiar faces as you go in. You're basically recruited by childhood friends, I would imagine.
00:08:56
jgallace
Yeah, Steve Pinto, I'll never forget. were talking. He's like, yeah, you know, you come in pretty soon. You'd be, you know, you'd be a really good nine hitter for us. Probably should have been a little more offended by that. You know, like, all right, nine hitter, sure.
00:09:08
jgallace
But I think this summer before we had all played together, We, you know, Jay, Kane, Pinto, Nicky Poe, Del Grosso were on the same Harrison summer team. We went to the Babe Ruth World Series and we came in fourth in the country.
00:09:22
jgallace
um So these are guys I had just played with. I think I was the nine batter of that. So might have been part of the reason for him saying that. And yeah, just I thought that was a great opportunity. I think, you know, Toronto had known who I was. So I talked to him a little bit. He ended up being gone once I got there, I guess. But just another familiar name.
00:09:41
jgallace
um kind just made it a very easy transition.
00:09:45
Frank Furbacher
yeah was that the that baby tournament was it the uh famous one where pinto threw out his arm pitching randomly in that tournament or no yeah yeah
00:09:51
jgallace
Yeah, ah he did pitch. Yeah. Yeah, he did. that that's that's That's the one. he Then after he came out of the game, put one over the right center scoreboard.
00:10:01
Frank Furbacher
nice nice
00:10:02
jgallace
But yeah, yeah that was that was a good season. I left there with my own. i have the highest batting average ever in the history of that tournament. So had my own my own, uh, fun at that tournament too. It was, it was a really good time. Everybody did.
00:10:17
jgallace
And, uh, yeah, I'll never forget. We got on the bus to leave in Del Grasso, you know, saying something to Kane cause he was about to be a freshman at Manhattanville. Um, I won't repeat for the podcast, but it was fun at the time. It's something I'll never forget. And, um, yeah, cause a few of those guys obviously were going that following year.
00:10:35
Frank Furbacher
That's awesome. That's great. um So you transfer in. What's it like kind of getting your feet under you as you you mentioned you were a commuter? um
00:10:44
jgallace
Yeah.
00:10:45
Frank Furbacher
What was that like?
00:10:47
jgallace
ah Again, I think the familiar faces helped. I think Pinto... was living on campus at the time. So I spent a lot of time in that, in, in that dorm room. I want to say 10, E3, 4 was like the, the main place everybody was, I think we had the, you know, the three up and down, right.
00:11:01
jgallace
One, four, two, four, three, four, I want to say.
00:11:03
Frank Furbacher
Yep.
00:11:04
jgallace
So, um, you know, I came in and and started hanging out all the guys and, you know, pretty quickly became, you know, the common room dweller, uh, for there along with, uh, Paul and, you know, I really got close with Paul in in that area. Cause we were basically sharing that common room a lot of the time.
00:11:22
jgallace
Um, so i would say the transition was very easy. There was, it was very comfortable having known people. I didn't go into Manhattanville feeling like a freshman in any way, or feeling the way I felt when I went to Tampa and having to meet people. And it was very different experience.
00:11:39
jgallace
So, um, I had a tougher time there. was, you know, I did end up having a great time meeting people, but at Manhattanville, I was very fortunate in that way to just kind of slide right into a group where there was already relationships made and people um already in place.
00:11:57
jgallace
And, you know, within a week and I also met Lindley, you know, who is now my wife. And that also helped as well help the transition and just have another solid relationship on campus.
00:12:12
Frank Furbacher
That's great. What did you study? but you study
00:12:17
jgallace
So I ended up having a study and major in finance and then like everybody else, minor in history. um Went to Tampa with accounting as my major. And I always thought that's what I was going to go into was accounting and CPA and all that.
00:12:32
jgallace
Coming back to Manhattanville, that was actually one of the things that I was kind of hesitant on with Manhattanville was that they did not offer that. So I just figured, let me do finance. It's the closest. It's adjacent. I could always get back to the accounting, take certifications and do all that.
00:12:49
jgallace
Not ultimately the path I ended up going on. There was just two accounting courses at Manhattanville. Not really helpful, which was okay. And i kind of appreciate that now, given where I am and and the industry I'm in. I actually don't think I would have been happy as an accountant.
00:13:04
jgallace
See a lot of people who work a lot of hours and quality life. portion and I, my job does have some accounting aspects to it, but it's not the traditional like accounting taxes and all that. So, um, yeah, finance and very happy that I i went that route.
00:13:22
Frank Furbacher
Any favorite professors?
00:13:24
jgallace
So I do remember one course, uh, I think he's doctor, uh, not doctor it was Alex John Jelinella. um want to say don't mess up that name, but he was one of the first ones that actually started talking stock market and companies and analyzing All that. And that kind of just shifted the way i where I looked at finance and and learn more about. and I became more interested in the stock market, open an E-Trade account while we're in college, trading like one hundred dollars.
00:13:50
jgallace
Looking back, it wasn't the smartest thing paying commission and investing a hundred dollars. But. Everybody's got to start somewhere. And that's kind of where I started was was that class.
00:14:01
jgallace
um Yeah, and I think i my interest has only grown. I watch CNBC every day when I'm here at home and just always trying to have a knowledge of what's going on in the markets. Even though I'm not a trader, I'm not a sales guy, it's still relevant, it's still helpful.
00:14:15
jgallace
And, you know, manage my own portfolio outside of that. And yeah, I would say it started with that class.
00:14:24
Frank Furbacher
And um that's the second time Professor G.L. has been mentioned on this podcast.
00:14:31
jgallace
Oh, yeah?
00:14:31
Frank Furbacher
Damon was the same way.
00:14:33
jgallace
Okay.
00:14:33
Frank Furbacher
Another finance major, but I would take as many courses as he'd offer.
00:14:38
jgallace
Yeah.
00:14:39
Frank Furbacher
That's for sure.
00:14:40
jgallace
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I definitely enjoy that class. It was one of the bigger classes. You know, think I i did prefer of the smaller ones. It was in it was in bowling's room for lack of a better term. I say ah can only call that bowling's, you know, bowling's room where it was a lot of people, but I do think the class was probably one of the better classes I took while there.
00:15:02
Frank Furbacher
What about history professors?
00:15:04
jgallace
yeah was bowling and, you know, um all courses were with bowling and and I enjoyed them. And, you know, a big part of that was all the team was there, right? We were always together and and that aspect of it. So I wouldn't say I'm the biggest history buff, but it was it was the classes, you know, we all enjoyed taking and being part of.
00:15:27
Frank Furbacher
And what about, ah let's say, off the field, outside the classroom? What was what was joe up to?
00:15:34
jgallace
Yeah, I would you know work as many off jobs as I could, make some beer money. I bartended at the Turtle and Kelly's. i you know, with Jay, had his coffee company. We did that.
00:15:47
jgallace
um And then just either hung out. I love hanging out in the dorm, right? Everybody playing FIFA or NHL. That was some of my favorite things to do. You know, the bars were fun and all that, but um I would say...
00:16:02
jgallace
when it was either if we weren't on the field or in the batting gauge, it'd be just playing video games and and hanging out back in the dorms was, was my favorite thing to do. You know, i would want to go back and do that again.
00:16:11
Frank Furbacher
yeah Yeah, going out was fun. Going out was always fun, but ah there was something about hanging out in the dorms that was always...
00:16:19
jgallace
It was so much better. it was, it it just was.
00:16:20
Frank Furbacher
yeah
00:16:22
jgallace
And, you know, while i was working there in white planes, might've had it a little bit of different views hoping everybody would come out, but, uh, No, and nothing then nothing beats being in the dorm room, you know, hanging with the guys.
00:16:33
Frank Furbacher
Yeah. So talk to me about baseball season
Graduate Studies and Career Transition
00:16:39
Frank Furbacher
wise. I mean, i know you have i don't know exactly how many, but I know that what, 2010, you had two home runs, good batting average, drove in a lot of runs.
00:16:46
jgallace
and
00:16:51
jgallace
Yeah.
00:16:52
Frank Furbacher
You guys had a just a great team that year ah that wound up winning the championship.
00:16:55
jgallace
Yeah, we had a great year and, you know, We won the conference, you know, won the MVP of the conference tournament that year. um That was actually, always mess this up, but I think that zero was the year coming off my knee surgery that I had in summer of 09. I think it was a bit of a slow start for me, especially in Florida.
00:17:16
jgallace
And I was having a really tough time. And then just getting my swing back and any power, any ability to drive the ball. And it took a lot of heat from that early on, I think, whether it was from teammates or even other parents that maybe thought I should have been removed from the lineup. and um so, you know, probably about halfway through the season, I started to pick it up and things got better and um injuries started to to fade. And I felt like I got healthier back and back in the flow of it. And, you know, so winning that conference championship and even the MVP was kind of something
00:17:54
jgallace
I don't really get emotional a lot of ways, but that's something that was something that like, just given how that season had gone, it was, it was a very tough time for the majority of that season. It was really great ending to it because the first year I did come in,
00:18:08
jgallace
And, uh, you know, I didn't start right away that, that first year I came to handle, but about halfway through, i began playing every day and I had much better, higher higher batting average. And I was hitting better. i was feeling better. i was playing third of the time. Obviously fielding was an issue I had to deal with my entire time there.
00:18:27
jgallace
Um, but my things were easier freshman year and it got more challenging. as years went on, whether it was because of you knee injury or just struggling, getting in my own head that year, that 2010 year is easily my favorite, just winning the conference and having gotten through that and improved as the year went on.
00:18:48
Frank Furbacher
Yeah, yeah. lot of home runs that year from the team, so that was good.
00:18:51
jgallace
That, yeah, a lot of home runs. We had a lot of stolen bases. where We were like leading the nation early on. I think we had coach man come in. It was all about stealing bases. I forget if that was Oh nine or 2010, think it was, it might've been on nine, but yeah.
00:19:03
Frank Furbacher
He came in in 09. Yeah.
00:19:05
jgallace
So I was, you know, we liked to run and, and then, you know, we had Dozie, Fiorito, Stas, some big bats, Murray.
00:19:05
Frank Furbacher
yeah
00:19:14
jgallace
There's some big bats on that team.
00:19:16
Frank Furbacher
Yeah, it was like one through nine Somebody could hit a home run, which was unheard of when I played, I feel like.
00:19:19
jgallace
It was, yeah.
00:19:23
jgallace
Yeah, it was, it was a stack lineup. That was, That was a fun team to play on, and yet still we were just barely over 500. I think, you know, feeling fielding was an issue.
00:19:35
jgallace
You know, there were some games where the bats just go cold, and that ended up happening at regionals, unfortunately. And, you know, we went on too which was not ideal, not how we saw it going. But um it was a good lineup. It was a great team to be on.
00:19:49
Frank Furbacher
Yeah. Yeah. Any any other highlights that stand out from playing career or even outside your playing career at Manhattanville?
00:19:59
jgallace
Um, I mean, that that's definitely the one, you know, winning the conference. I think the next year was another one It was it was a tough year. We thought we were going to be good. i had broke my hand going into that season, missed the first like 13 games.
00:20:14
jgallace
And then I think that the rest of that season i was. Was my best would have been my best year had I not gotten hurt. And it was the reason I went back to grad school was to play baseball, you know, I went back for sports business management, but it was mostly to play baseball.
00:20:30
jgallace
And, uh, you know, I had the most home runs, I think in a season was that year with the even worse bats we had to do, that we they changed the bats on us. And, uh, so that, that always stand out. I look back on that year and it was a weird, it was just a weird year, but, um, uh, you know, I, I appreciate the year for what it was and just, you know, more things that have come up in my life that I've had to deal with that were challenging at the time, maybe not as challenging as thought they were right. Like just kind of to be reflective and look back on things and just certain moments in my life that allowed me to tolerate, tolerate more challenges, um, that are bound to come up.
00:21:13
Frank Furbacher
How'd you break your hand? Batting cages?
00:21:16
jgallace
Uh, yeah. Bounding cages. Um, yeah.
00:21:17
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:21:19
jgallace
took a 90 mile an hour fastball from a teammate to the hand.
00:21:23
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:21:23
jgallace
Yeah. Right before we're about to leave for Florida. So that was, that was fun.
00:21:26
Frank Furbacher
Oh, man. So you're getting ready to, you know, ah you you mentioned you were a graduate student. Did you wind up getting your graduate degree?
00:21:35
jgallace
I did, I did end up finishing and I always thought I'd end up in sports management. Obviously, like said, sports have been my first love since, since I was little and they still are, they still are.
00:21:48
jgallace
But, um, you know, all the finance world and graduating in finance. And then while i was at um grad school and playing that last year, I had a part-time internship at a fund administrators, CICO hedge fund services right down the road in Rybrook.
00:22:03
jgallace
So I was doing that part-time while going to school and while playing. And that kind of just led me to the next few jobs of ultimately where I am now.
00:22:14
jgallace
So never really got that opportunity to transition over to sports. I'm not even sure where I would have gone with it per se. um And don't I don't really regret it right now.
00:22:28
jgallace
um I thought I would. But as I look back, I don't. so But i did I do have that master's degree. I did get it. i finished. I don't like not finishing what I started.
00:22:41
jgallace
And yeah, so I did i did finish that out.
00:22:43
Frank Furbacher
So what was it like? You had the internship, you're playing, you're finishing up your degree. what um Tell me about how that transitioned into you know your first full-time role.
00:22:53
jgallace
Yeah. um So had all that going on and i was able to manage that, you know, it was very flexible part time hours and then all the classes were at night. And then, you know, baseball was priority, at least for the spring. Anyway, it was it was priority.
00:23:08
jgallace
And um once that was done, I still had the grad classes and then. I was able to, through a headhunter, find a full-time job at JP Morgan, all also in the same space, which is you know the operations side of of hedge fund services.
00:23:25
jgallace
And on that on that side, you're more on the accounting side of it and servicing hedge funds from outside of the firm, and you're providing the funds of service.
00:23:36
jgallace
And i was there for about a year and the goal was always to get to a hedge fund, um, and be part of that group and be on, on that side of it and not at, you know, a big bank or big fund services.
00:23:49
jgallace
um it was a great starting point. I think a lot of people have gone that same path that I did. You start at, you know, a sick go or JP Morgan fund services, and then you try and work way over to a fund, um, which is where I still am today. So that was kind of the path I took.
00:24:05
jgallace
And, uh, Yeah, I've been at Ionic for about 12 and a half years now.
Professional Responsibilities
00:24:10
Frank Furbacher
So what do you do at Ionic?
00:24:12
jgallace
So right now, i you know, i started there as an operations analyst and now I'm director of operations there. It's a small group. You know, we work, there's only five of us and and we do all the post-trade work for the front office. So we work pretty closely with the technology team in a lot of ways, helping the front office be more efficient in certain processes and no so, you know, they'll execute a trade. We make sure it settles the cash moves, um whatever margin implications are of that.
00:24:46
jgallace
You know, we look into that and setting up all these platforms with, you know, brokers and dealers and, and working with all these banks and whether it's just moving money or um agreeing to trade terms and then all these outside providers, there's a a lot of regulation in what we do in the finance world. And and every year that changes. and it's kind of our job to help bring that into the firm and make sure it's kind of there's a process for it and we're abiding by those regulations and we have you know a project set up to implement that and make it as efficient as possible.
00:25:29
jgallace
So everything kind of just flows through smoothly. So kind of the bridge there.
00:25:33
Frank Furbacher
So finance degree and in full effect.
00:25:34
jgallace
Right.
00:25:36
jgallace
Yeah. Yeah. It's operations also people it's middle office, you know, you have your front office, traders, middle office, and then back office would kind of be like the fund administrators, the stuff going on.
00:25:40
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:25:46
jgallace
So we do that as well, but a lot of it is just working with, we actually do work with SICO who is where I had started, um, as the fund administrator and and we work with them kind of to make sure all the information is accurate for when, you know, um,
00:26:01
jgallace
our month end, year end reports go out to investors and stuff like that. So we're kind of just the middleman.
00:26:05
Frank Furbacher
Yeah. Nice.
00:26:07
jgallace
but
00:26:08
Frank Furbacher
Very cool.
00:26:09
jgallace
Yeah, it's, it's nice.
00:26:09
Frank Furbacher
so
00:26:11
jgallace
Cause I, you know, going back John Nellis class, right. With the trading and all that at that time, I thought I want to be a trader, salesperson, something along those, those lines once I had graduated.
00:26:22
jgallace
um But having gotten into operations, there's a certain level of, I think stress and, and pressure on that sales side and front office.
00:26:33
jgallace
I don't know if that would have been for me, maybe, you know, I, I thought about trying it out, but I really do like in, in operations, all this post-trade world. And, you know, it is fast moving at times and and you have to juggle a lot of things.
00:26:42
Frank Furbacher
Thank you.
00:26:48
jgallace
Um, But I like the the flexibility of the operations and and not having that higher stress level that maybe be a trader might have. And I'm still very much involved in the world and and the performance of these trades still at our fund, right? I still want to see them do well and our our firm and company do well, and um but kind at a little bit of a distance.
00:27:12
Frank Furbacher
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So tell us about your health journey.
Health Challenges and Resilience
00:27:15
Frank Furbacher
um That that's something that I've heard from folks that are close to you, you know, I still keep in touch with Kane and Murray and all those those guys.
00:27:25
Frank Furbacher
um
00:27:26
jgallace
Yeah.
00:27:26
Frank Furbacher
Tell us about what you what you went through over the past couple of years.
00:27:29
jgallace
Yeah, that that hasn't been easy, um certainly. And, you know, again, we can go into my appreciation for where I work and why I love the small family type and not being at a bigger bank, because without them, i would not have been able to get through all the things I've been through since 2017. And seventeen and and the everything that they provide me, whether it was through health care, making sure i had everything I needed there, work from home setups, all that, um to not have to commute in the city and focus on my health, they've given me everything I could possibly need. I'm very, very lucky to be where I am and have these people who run a company that care about the employees the way they do.
00:28:12
jgallace
So I'm going to start there because that that was so important in in the journey. um But in 2017, you know, my daughter's about to be born.
00:28:25
jgallace
we go in the hospital. born. I have a sore throat. So what's going on? i don't want to give her strep or whatever, get a strep test, nothing. few weeks go by, neck starts falling up.
00:28:37
jgallace
Tests aren't showing anything. They think it might be mono. You know a few more weeks go by, they take tonsils out to do a pathology on it. And that's when I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, T cell.
00:28:50
jgallace
um So that was mid-August. So then, you know, fast forward a few weeks when the treatments were about to start, Lynn is about to go back to work, teaching, September.
00:29:02
jgallace
um lot going on, right? Newborn at home. And, uh, how to start all that. So it was going be six rounds ah of high dose chemo every three weeks followed just given the rarity of this type of cancer.
00:29:20
jgallace
um, and at that time it would be using my own cells. So I went through the whole process myself. I did not need a donor. so that Feb of 2018 and this whole process was very difficult.
00:29:33
jgallace
Um, You know, had to be isolated for a while. So, you know, we talked, you know, making masks and working remotely. i was doing COVID before COVID was a thing.
00:29:45
jgallace
um i kind of had to operate under those same rules, um protecting, you know, because I a very um weak immune system at that point, having gone through that.
00:29:58
jgallace
But ah you know I pretty much worked through all of it. Like I said, they had given me the opportunity to do that. with any They gave me whatever I needed, but just the way I am, i felt the best way to get through that was to continue in my routine, in my normalcy, and to not let it beat me, not let it knock me down. I felt my biggest attribute in that was to be able to continue on and show the treatments and what I was going through, it they wasn't going to get the better of me.
00:30:29
jgallace
So while people be like, oh, you should take time off work. You should not do this or whatever. Like, I didn't feel that that was beneficial because i didn't want to let it impact my life, you know, and, and within a hundred days of that, which was, I was back playing football, flag football.
00:30:40
Frank Furbacher
Thank
00:30:45
jgallace
I was going back to the office, you know, after that too, even if for a few days a week, again, everybody at that time is five days a week, but I was only just starting to do it, you know, here and there. Um, so, you know, that, that was a rough journey. And, and fortunately i was going through scans every three months for the first two years and blood work. And there were things that would pop up and it's the, you know, they call it scans, I'd, right? Like every, everything you're anxious about everything, every little blood work, every scan, anything that shows up. And there's, ah you know, there's always something if everybody gets their blood work every few months and it's
00:31:22
jgallace
You're going find something small off, but like everything was just under a microscope for me. so And it it is to this day. and But things got better. and that you know That was 2018, 2019, 2020 COVID hits.
00:31:37
jgallace
And we're all dealing with all of that again. right like Back in remote and masking and all that stuff.
00:31:46
jgallace
But I felt like I was able to make that transition having already done that. COVID wasn't as big of a shock for me with regards to work and kind of protecting myself from getting sick.
00:31:59
jgallace
And yeah, wait fast forward again, 2023 to go back to health journey, i caught the flu yeah so and it completely wiped out everybody in the house. But for me,
00:32:14
Frank Furbacher
Thank
00:32:14
jgallace
it completely wiped out my entire immune system. So initially they thought lymphoma was back. Ended up not being the case, ended up being what they call aplastic anemia, basically bone marrow failure.
00:32:27
jgallace
So treatment for that, because it never rebounded, was another bone marrow transplant. And with siblings, you get about a 30, 40% chance of a match.
00:32:38
jgallace
I have one sibling and fortunately she was a match and she flew up from Texas. You know, they, they take her stem cells out, spin around, put it in a vial and, and put it into my immune system after going through six days of chemo again and radiation.
00:32:55
jgallace
And then you just wait and wait for it to activate. It wasn't like the first time with my cells, there's no chance of rejection and it's just, it kind of reactivates really quick.
00:33:06
jgallace
So yeah,
00:33:09
jgallace
20 something days in the hospital of just waiting for even one white blood cell to pop back up. And then once it did, it started kind of speeding up. A few weeks later, I was able to get out of the hospital.
00:33:19
jgallace
So was in there about five to six weeks and i was able to get home. i was, I got out and I thought I was mely get home for my daughter's birthday and Easter that same weekend.
00:33:26
Frank Furbacher
Okay.
00:33:31
jgallace
And the day I got out, I had pneumonia with no immune system to fight. and So I had to be readmitted and I didn't think I was going to make it home. So they gave me some breathing thing and I said, I'm getting out of here. And I told him, like I'm getting out of here. My daughter's birthday is coming up.
00:33:46
jgallace
I don't care what you say I'm getting out here. I was able to get my oxygen levels back up because I was in like the 80% of oxygen level, which is not good. Like I could have just hit the floor, they said. And, uh,
00:33:58
jgallace
Two days later, I got my oxygen levels up. They let me get out and i was able to go home, surprise my daughter on her birthday. And, uh, and like I said before this, that this is the tougher part of the conversation is when start talking about family, gets little difficult, but the, the other side of that is, um, I don't have a hard time talking about what I've been through physically. And I I've talked to other people who've been through things too, and I've helped them through their journey.
00:34:22
jgallace
And I'm always happy to do that. I always tell anybody I've known a few few people, most of them older that I've had to go through transplants since then. And I've talked to them on the phone and helped them through it. um And it's just something I'm very happy to do and be there for, for people and and do that because i think it's very valuable.
00:34:39
jgallace
I didn't have that. um I really didn't have access to that. And I went in blind and um it wasn't easy because, know, They want to give you therapists. and for me, I needed somebody that who has been through it, right?
00:34:54
jgallace
It's hard to have reassurance unless you're talking somebody who's like been through certain things. So I want to be that for people or a truck too.
00:35:03
Frank Furbacher
That's great. That's great that you're that you're able to be there for someone. um That's quite a journey. And, you know, it's it's crazy to go to hear about it too, especially knowing, you know, now as parents, there's a completely different, just every priority is different, right?
00:35:12
jgallace
Yeah. yeah
00:35:23
Frank Furbacher
Once you're once you're a parent and to go through that and yeah.
00:35:29
jgallace
Because they don't know either, right? Like, you got to be you even when it's hard to be you, right? to Life doesn't stop. That's the biggest thing. Life does not stop.
00:35:40
jgallace
It keeps going. And even though you might look fine, like I, when the more recent thing happened, I could not walk up a flight of stairs ah and not be completely gassed and out of breath.
00:35:51
jgallace
And... Kids don't know that you could say, but like little kids, they just, they see you and they think you're fine and they have their schedules and you got to try and push through and and get through things best you can. So it was a lot of pushing through between, you know, myself and Lynn, you know, a lot was on her plate.
00:36:09
jgallace
ah There was a ah lot of it additional stuff on her plate and we're very lucky. And, you know, to go back to people like, you know, Keen and Jay, people talked about, I had a lot of support from people from Harrison Um, all people close to me here, you know, we had a lot of support and we're very lucky for that.
00:36:30
jgallace
Um, because having three kids is a lot on its own with nothing else going on.
00:36:30
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:36:36
jgallace
And, uh, so we're very, very lucky.
00:36:40
Frank Furbacher
So what kind of perspective did that entire health journey give you?
00:36:45
jgallace
All of it, everything. um You know, I think I look back on college and the way I stress and got mad about things and angry at people or myself a lot about an at bat, about a grade, about, read you know,
00:37:04
jgallace
I laugh at it now. i'm like, did I really just like let that spiral and become such a big thing? Like that was nothing. Um, and it's a perspective I wish I had then and over years. And, you know, it was even before health where I i felt I needed to get more, um, self-reflective on certain things.
00:37:23
jgallace
And then this just kind of took that to a whole nother level because in terms of perspective, like if you don't have your health, you you don't have anything like it It really is the biggest, most important thing.
00:37:37
jgallace
ah And I didn't understand that back then. And I wish I did. I think I would have been ah better student. I think I would have been baseball player, better friend. a lot of things if I was then the way I am now.
00:37:52
jgallace
um I just, I don't let things get to me the way I used to. And i think I'm better for it because...
00:38:00
jgallace
You can learn from things. That doesn't mean you don't acknowledge something's wrong. And I think that's important. But I think the way you handle yourself and handle situations, you have to be able to acknowledge it and and keep keep calm.
00:38:14
jgallace
Like um have some grace with yourself was kind of the biggest thing is I was very hard on myself. And it came from, you know, anybody who was at a baseball game knew how hard my dad was on me.
00:38:27
jgallace
with sports, with anything. And I kind of brought that onto myself too. So it was kind of a double, um, it was him. And then it was me on myself and kind of wish I had given myself more grace back then. and And not.
00:38:40
Frank Furbacher
It's a weird thing, though, because um I would say you and Jay fit into a bucket of people, a small bucket, where you guys were completely different people on the field than you were off the field.
00:38:55
jgallace
Yeah, no.
00:38:56
Frank Furbacher
And.
00:38:57
jgallace
Yeah, I i definitely had a switch on the field.
00:39:02
Frank Furbacher
But it's it's due to, um in my opinion, right, it's due to your competitive nature, but that's also what drove you.
00:39:02
jgallace
I've been told that, yeah.
00:39:09
Frank Furbacher
Right.
00:39:09
jgallace
Yeah, for sure.
00:39:11
Frank Furbacher
So it was those it was that drive and determination to be like, well, not going to settle for you know that one at bat. I didn't do well. Okay. Well, that wasn't good enough.
00:39:20
jgallace
Yeah. Yeah.
00:39:21
Frank Furbacher
So now um now I've got to make up for that. And that that kind of drive yeah is...
00:39:25
jgallace
yeah
00:39:28
Frank Furbacher
You know, even today in playing sports, I play with a guy who is i would call him a manic um competitor. And we're playing men's league hockey.
00:39:38
Frank Furbacher
So it's like some people aren't cool with that.
00:39:39
jgallace
Yeah.
00:39:40
Frank Furbacher
um
00:39:41
jgallace
Yeah.
00:39:42
Frank Furbacher
But but off the ice, completely different person.
00:39:45
jgallace
Yep.
00:39:45
Frank Furbacher
And it's funny because ah i know you're a Ranger fan, so you'll you'll enjoy this.
00:39:51
jgallace
Yep.
00:39:52
Frank Furbacher
But it's sometimes it takes those kind of people to bring everyone else into it with you, because that fire or that competitiveness is actually something where, you know, some people may shake your head and be like, oh, why is Joe upset?
00:40:07
Frank Furbacher
Like he struck out. Who cares? um But then something else may happen on the field where you're like, oh, like he cares.
00:40:16
jgallace
yeah no i i definitely always yeah that's that competitive nature is something i just had from ah kid young age i never liked to lose i wanted to win and
00:40:17
Frank Furbacher
That's what it that's what he's actually showing.
00:40:29
jgallace
Um, it's something is funny. Now I'm seeing in my son and trying to figure out how to control that because his, I'm seeing his emotions. I'm watching in real time. And I'm like, that is me. How do I, how do I change this? How do I get them to not get so upset if he misses a flag or I'm like, how do I do this?
00:40:47
jgallace
And also, yeah, that's what I did. So how can i judge him for being the way that I was?
Family and Personal Reflections
00:40:54
jgallace
And I do think it is a benefit on the field, but I'm hoping that I can help him find a way to control it maybe a little better than I did.
00:41:02
jgallace
And yeah, as you as you get older and you play less sports and you have less competitive things, trying to find ah competitive drive to do right like i i'm probably done playing flag football less softball stuff like that so now it's through the through my kids and then you know finding other ways to be competitive or challenge myself off the field now is kind of it's kind of where i'm at in this stage of my life right as you get older and um
00:41:32
jgallace
I miss that part of it, that competitiveness. I mean, I'm going to go to alumni day this weekend. And just like last year, I think I left there. I was talked about by the current team because i look like a maniac out there. Like I'm taking it way too serious for a 36 year old.
00:41:49
jgallace
And it's just once you step, you know, across the lines, it's just, It's a switch. It's a switch. And I don't know how to turn that off. That's I'm going have it on Sunday. I know I will.
00:42:01
jgallace
Even though I say I'm not, I will. But yeah, going, you know, going back to perspective, it's like I was in a place not too long ago where I physically couldn't walk up a flight of stairs.
00:42:11
Frank Furbacher
Thank you.
00:42:13
jgallace
Right. So while I can get out there and be competitive and do what I love, like I'm gonna do it. And I want to win. Like I want to beat those kids on Sunday. That's just.
00:42:22
jgallace
That's who I am.
00:42:24
Frank Furbacher
Yeah, but, you know, that's exactly it, Joe. That's who you are. And it's about harnessing it to the best of your ability.
00:42:27
jgallace
Thank you.
00:42:30
Frank Furbacher
And I would say the same but with kids, right? And we always try to, I look at, you know, my son who's just started sports really this year. And I'm like, how do I just harness those things that he has, those strengths that he has to be, number one, he enjoys it, number two, so that, um you know, at the end of the day, he walks away and he's like, yeah, I had a good time doing that.
00:42:44
jgallace
yeah
00:42:52
jgallace
Yeah, that's definitely been the biggest thing because it was funny with my son in flag football. He'd get upset at every little play, whether it was Miss Flag or someone got his flag. I'm like, relax. Like, you know, there's more plays. It matters about the game.
00:43:03
jgallace
he gets on the ice for hockey. You, no matter what happens, you can't wipe a smile off his face. It is pure joy. And I don't know how to skate. So this is just through being Ranger fans, taking him to a game and the enjoyment he has out there. and So like right now I'm sending him to lessons and I'm, I'm feeding that because the joy he gets from that gives me so much joy. And I'm enjoying watching his journey in that already in just one year of the progress he's made. And it's,
00:43:33
jgallace
you know He's getting better at football. yeah He had a good first game last week. He didn't get upset. So hopefully, hopefully it's just, you know, getting a little older. He's only five. So.
00:43:43
Frank Furbacher
Is he doing the learn to play program with the Rangers?
00:43:45
jgallace
That was how he started.
00:43:47
Frank Furbacher
Okay, cool.
00:43:47
jgallace
he He probably should have skated more before that. because that was more hockey than, but he did it right with it. There was kids of all levels with that learn to play, but it was a great program.
00:43:56
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:43:57
jgallace
You know, you get full equipment, head to toe, 10 weeks of ice time. um oh well, he was doing lessons back at like our home rink, but now he's in the home league um right here, you know, five minutes away and then doing lessons there too, which is the next 22 weeks. So very interested to see where that goes.
00:44:18
Frank Furbacher
That's awesome.
00:44:19
jgallace
Yeah, it is because I have no life experience in that.
00:44:19
Frank Furbacher
Yeah. my
00:44:22
jgallace
I did not skate. I cannot skate. He's about to be better than me.
00:44:26
Frank Furbacher
Well, I mean, listen, hockey is intimidating just because there's so many pads and then they're out there by themselves. So kudos to him for getting out there.
00:44:33
jgallace
Yeah.
00:44:33
Frank Furbacher
My son will not get on the ice without me yet. So I'm volunteering in that learn to play five.
00:44:37
jgallace
How old is he?
00:44:40
jgallace
Okay. Yeah.
00:44:41
Frank Furbacher
So this is the first year he's doing it.
00:44:42
jgallace
Oh, you're volunteering? Yeah.
00:44:43
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:44:44
jgallace
Yeah, it was helpful. you know, one of his friends on his football team actually happened to be in the learn to play. And the father um skates and his um his the kid's uncle actually um Gilroy played for the Rangers, Matt Gilroy.
00:45:01
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:45:01
jgallace
played for the Rangers. So the family, you know, there's some skating in the, in the family and the father was out there on the ice and took some time with the two of them, the way you are with your son. I think it was very helpful um to get him going to get Luca going.
00:45:13
jgallace
So, yeah, I think that's great.
00:45:14
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:45:15
jgallace
You're out there with him.
Career Advice and Perspective
00:45:17
Frank Furbacher
Any Joe, as we wrap up here, um
00:45:21
Frank Furbacher
You mentioned the perspective. um Is there any advice that you'd give to whether it's, you know, could be folks coming out of college, but it also could be, you know, our peers or ah folks that that we went to school. Is there anything looking back anything else that you want to share in terms of whether it's advice or um lessons learned?
00:45:47
jgallace
Um, hold on. Are we able to pause this for a second? I'm sorry. Or no, sorry.
00:45:51
Frank Furbacher
Yeah.
00:45:53
jgallace
like you Are you able to, is it going, um, advice?
00:45:54
Frank Furbacher
Go ahead.
00:45:58
jgallace
I mean, in specific to the industry or just in general, like leaving school or both, like, yeah I think the biggest thing is to be flexible and not kind of pigeonhole yourself into what you think needs to be the dream job.
00:46:03
Frank Furbacher
In general, leaving school.
00:46:14
jgallace
um I worked a lot of different jobs. I didn't think that I'd be doing what I am now and enjoying it in the in the way I am because life changes like drastically. Life can change and you appreciate things differently, whether it's flexibility and work from home or so you could have more time. Your family becomes more valuable than maybe a little more money or the perfect job.
00:46:38
jgallace
And I feel like a lot of people are so dead set on I need this exact job when I leave college the second I get out. um You know I waited tables at a restaurant. I bartended. did coffee, you know, not because, you know, i was still living at home. It wasn't because I needed the money, but I wanted it. And i feel like each thing each job I may have took me maybe helped me socially or to have conversations that would help in interviews. And, you know, another thing is going on some interviews because I've learned the hard way.
00:47:09
jgallace
Don't go to a finance interview and say your dream job is to be the GM of a sports team because they're not going to hire you when you say your dream job is not in line with what they're hiring for.
00:47:19
Frank Furbacher
you
00:47:20
jgallace
Right. So you learn some things the hard way um and get as much experience in as many things you can. Like just because you take a job is not for the rest of your life.
00:47:32
jgallace
You can move and and maybe you enjoy it more because you tried it. Maybe you're like, oh, this is something. I didn't know existed in this type of job. You know, I thought everything was just trading. Right.
00:47:43
jgallace
And I got out of college. I realized there's a lot more to the finance world than just trading. There's a lot that goes on. There's a lot of regulation. There's a lot of um communication between banks and so much else that goes on that where there are areas of need.
00:47:57
jgallace
And, you know, at this point with three kids and, busy your life like flexibility and, and, you know, work-life balance is something i prioritize a lot more than maybe trying to go make as much money as I possibly can.
00:48:11
jgallace
And yeah, I think flexibility is the biggest thing and open, just being open-minded.
00:48:20
Frank Furbacher
That's great, Joe. Well, thank you so much for coming on here. ah
00:48:25
jgallace
appreciate it.
00:48:26
Frank Furbacher
one of my One of my all-time favorite teammates, one of the most driven and competitive teammates i ever had. Just want to say thanks, Joe. And please, best of health to you.
00:48:33
jgallace
Thank you for it means a lot.
00:48:36
Frank Furbacher
And please, please say hello to Lindley for me.
00:48:36
jgallace
Yeah, thank you.
00:48:39
jgallace
i will. ah for Thanks. Good catching up.
00:48:42
Frank Furbacher
Take care, Joe.
00:48:43
jgallace
Later.