Open Circle Advisors

Alex Madlener

MD, MS in taxation, CFP®

Dr. Alex Madlener is Managing Principal of Open Circle™ and has worked both as a wealth advisor and as a physician over the past 32 years.

Alex began his financial career in 1980 with Paine Webber, later moving to Charles Schwab where he contributed to the growth of the firm through programs including development of client research. During this period he received a Master’s degree in taxation and became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner. He was recruited by CIGNA Individual Financial Services as a financial advisor, focusing on estate, investment, tax, and retirement planning. After eleven years in financial services, Alex decided to further pursue his lifelong interest in helping individuals and families through consultative relationships and enrolled in the Yale University School of Medicine.

Upon completing his residency training in Psychiatry at Yale, Alex worked in hospital-based consultation-liaison psychiatry as well as in private practice. Throughout this period Alex continued to consult with friends and fellow physicians on financial issues. The recognition that many successful physicians and doctors lack the guidance of a firm that can provide comprehensive wealth management in a consultative relationship led to the creation of Open Circle.

Alex earned a Doctor of Medicine from Yale University School of Medicine, a Master's degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) from Wesleyan University. Alex holds a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification.

Melvin Esdaile

MIA, BA

Melvin Esdaile is a Principal and wealth advisor of Open Circle and has worked in global financial services for more than 30 years. He created Marble Arch Advisors as a private global equity investment firm and worked with Merrill Lynch Global Private Client Group. For 15 years he traded and managed Asia-Pacific and European equities with institutions, initially in London with Morgan Stanley and later with Swiss Bank Corp. in New York.

Mel also managed the New York institutional offices of Worldsec Inc. and Tai Fook Securities, both Asia-Pacific regional equity firms based in Hong Kong. In addition to his institutional work, he managed a portfolio of Asia-Pacific equities for Argonaut Capital Management LLC as Managing Director and Partner. Prior to this work in global securities, he was an Assistant Vice President with Mellon Bank in the International Trade Services group and worked with the International Strategic Planning team.

Mel earned a Master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of International Affairs and holds a Bachelor's degree from Tufts University in Political Science. In 2006 he was appointed as an adjunct lecturer at the Columbia Graduate School of International and Public Affairs.

Richard Hutchinson

MBA, MA, CFP®

Richard Hutchinson is a senior consultant for Open Circle with 35 years of experience in the areas of financial planning and business planning. He has written on the subject of mergers and acquisitions and has been featured in The New York Times, Dow Jones Investment Advisor, Success and Physicians Financial News.

Dick is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and investment advisor with extensive experience in advanced planning for successful individuals, closely held business owners, and corporations. He has a depth of experience, having worked with over 250 small- to medium-sized companies and their owners. As a managing partner at Richards, Gerard & Allen, Inc., he consulted with clients including Barclays and Citigroup on investments and strategic planning. He was a senior consultant with Don Aux Associates, specializing in organizational development and planning services for owners of closely held businesses. He was also an internal consultant for AT&T and a financial analyst for CIGNA.

Dick earned a Master's degree from Trinity College in Financial Economics, a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of New Haven and holds a Bachelor's degree from Miami University (Ohio). He has held faculty positions at the University of New Haven and the Ancell School of Business, Western Connecticut State University.

Alejandra Videla Madlener

MPH, BFA

Alejandra Videla Madlener is Open Circle’s Director of Administration and Chief Compliance Officer. She coordinates all administrative functions and client relations for Open Circle and is responsible for maintaining accurate, comprehensive and secure processing for our clients’ investment activities. She is in continuous contact with our custodian, institutional investment firms and account reporting services.

In addition to being a Certified Real Estate Appraiser since 2002 and specialist in property valuations, Allie is fluent in Spanish and has traveled through most of Latin America. She earned a Master’s degree in Public Health from Southern Connecticut State University and holds a Bachelor’s degree from California College of the Arts.

Sylvia Van Sinderen

BA

Sylvia Van Sinderen, Director of Communications for Open Circle, is a lifelong member of the Greater New Haven community.

Sylvia honed her expertise in public relations, communications and project management through her work with organizations such as Choate Rosemary Hall, the American Institute of Architects, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and the New Haven Green Foundation. She has fulfilled fiduciary responsibility as a trustee of several leading not-for-profits, including Long Wharf Theatre, Orchestra New England and the Arts Council of Greater New Haven. Her community service activities have included the New Haven Youth at Risk Program, the New Haven Woman’s Club scholarship program and the Coordinating Council for Children in Crisis. She is also a juror for the Adrian Van Sinderen Book Collecting Prizes at Yale.

Sylvia earned a Bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College, where she studied theatre arts administration, sociology and English. She is a graduate of Emma Willard School.