GOOD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39
else to appraise the decision to leave the finance industry after
eight years and follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a
law enforcement officer in his hometown of Roselle Park?
Local 27 members know, and the other trustees will find out,
that Kompany is never rash and always calculated. The risk en-
dured managing millions in pension funds as he did as a finan-
cial planner plus the passion of being a public problem-solver
on patrol equals a level-headed approach that is impervious
to pressure.
“We bust his chops that he only has one speed,” assesses Lo-
cal 27 State Delegate Greg Polakoski, who had Kompany as his
FTO. “He’s very thoughtful and methodical. He’s not going to
rush any decision. He will analyze every angle.”
Kompany took the advice of his father and went to college to
have opportunities beyond law enforcement. After completing
a bachelor of science in finance at the University of Scranton in
1995, Kompany went to work for Deutsche Bank at Exchange
Place in Jersey City as a portfolio accountant.
That experience on the operations side of finance gave
Kompany the skills to help manage any pension plan. He
tracked the plans value on a daily basis through stock market
data during the day and at night began pursuing his MBA in
finance from St. John’s.
After getting the MBA, Kompany moved to Merrill Lynch on
Wall Street and over to the retail side as an investment advisor.
When the tech bubble burst in 2001, he went back to the op-
erations side at AIG. As far as checking all the finance boxes,
Kompany attained the AAMS, Series 65 and a Series 6 license
to manage and sell mutual funds during that time.
So what made him decide to give up such a promising finan-
cial career to become a cop?
40
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ NOVEMBER 2018
James Kompany with son Francesco, wife Laura and daughter Luciana