Control Group is a hot commodity on Wall Street.
Mark O’Toole, the globetrotting trading and risk exec for OpenLink Financial in New York, like most of Wall Street, is getting into the music industry — by managing the rising Brooklyn indie rock band.
Its debut EP, “Shoes of the People,” was critically acclaimed. Band member Darren Korb, the first artist to have huge success crossing over from games to rock music, just had a smash hit with the soundtrack to Supergiant Games’ “Transistor.” The album sold a mind-blowing 48,000 copies in its first 10 days.
O’Toole sees more than heavy metal. “I specifically help large food and beverage companies and consumer packaged goods companies with solutions for commodities risk management,” the Manhattan resident told On the Money.
“Working with teams, negotiation and managing people globally provides me with all the skills I need to manage a band like Control Group. Plus, it’s cool.”
Back in the day, O’Toole was a bouncer at his family’s famous watering hole, The Harbour Bar, in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. His seaside locale was a boozy respite for Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and a host of actors and film celebs like Neil Jordan. O’Toole once had to ban blues singer Mary Coughlan for unruly behavior.
Control Group is no trouble for O’Toole. The group releases its single, “You Can Be the Star,” Tuesday and its debut album “Hot Swap” (not to be confused with interest rate swaps) is slated for the end of summer.