Masateru Higashida

Guitar Center, Inc. distributes musical instruments. It offers musical lessons, repairs, and rentals. The company was founded by Wayne Mitchell in 1959 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, CA.

Endicott Biofuels II LLC develops cleaner fuel alternatives. The company was founded by Christopher J. Frantz in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

Southern Methodist University is a private university near the center of Dallas, SMU offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through seven schools in the humanities and sciences, business, the performing, visual, and communication arts, engineering, education and human development, law, and theology.

University of Southern California is a private research university that mainly offers undergraduate, graduate & other higher education. The university was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

B. Riley Securities, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm is a subsidiary of B. Riley Securities Holdings LLC, ultimately owned by B. Riley Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: RILY). The firm was formed in 2017, when B. Riley Financial, Inc. merged two of their brokers, B. Riley & Co. (founded in 1997) and FBR Capital Markets & Co. (founded in 1989), under the name of B. Riley FBR, Inc. B. Riley Securities provides research and trading ideas to institutional clients and high net-worth individuals. They provide investment banking services to a wide range of middle-market private and public companies.

Kum & Go LC owns and operates a chain of convenience stores. It offers snacks, coffee, drinks and fresh food. The firm operates in Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company was founded by William A. Krause and Tony S. Gentle in 1959 and is headquartered in West Des Moines, IA.

Brooks Sports, Inc. designs and markets running-specific performance footwear, apparel, and accessories. The firm offers running shoes, shorts, tops, long sleeve tops, sports bras and tanks, skirts, jackets and vests, tights and pants, nightlife products, socks, and accessories for women. The company was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA.

University of Houston System offers higher education degrees and job training or vocational study programs. It offers about 280 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in fields such as business, education, humanities and law. It was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

RBC Capital Markets LLC is a full-service brokerage and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. They are a direct subsidiary of RBC USA Holdco Corp. and a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE, NYSE: RY). Founded in 2010, the firm is comprised of 3 major business lines: the Private Client Group, the Fixed-Income Group and the Clearing and Execution Services Group. The Private Client Group serves individual investors, while the Fixed-Income Group provides services to institutions, municipalities and non-profit organizations. The Clearing and Execution Services Group is a provider of clearing and execution services to independent brokers/dealers throughout the US. RBC Capital Markets focuses on the following sectors: communications, media, consumer/retail, diversified industries, energy, financial institutions, forest products, healthcare, infrastructure finance, mining & metals, real estate, social infrastructure, technology and the US municipal markets.

S. & D. Coffee, Inc. manufactures and supplies coffee and tea to restaurants and convenience stores. It offers fresh brewed, specialty, and single cup coffee, liquid coffee concentrate, coffee procurement, and coffee roasting and blending. It also offers fresh brewed ice tea, liquid tea concentrate, hot tea, and tea procurement and blending. The company was founded by J. Roy Davis, Sr. and Lawrence Switzer in 1927 and is headquartered in Concord, NC.

Part of Sony Group Corp., Sony Marketing (Japan), Inc. engages in marketing and sales activities. The private company is based in Tokyo, Japan.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America operates as a coffee trade association. The non-profit company is based in Long Beach, CA and has subsidiaries in United Kingdom. The company was founded by Paul Katzeff.

Chalk Digital, Inc. develops and provides instant mobile advertisement platform that lets marketers to create and launch their own mobile advertisements. The firm offers do-it-yourself mobile advertising platform that helps clients to create, publish, and track the results of a mobile advertisement campaign. Its display the advertisements when a mobile device is within target area using GPS and then displays advertisements across various mobile applications. Its solutions are used by various big and small businesses, such as real estate agents, local auto dealers, small business owners, personal inquiries, and more. The company was founded by Craig Hagopian, Chandra Kholia and Isgitt and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

Endicott Biofuels LLC develops cleaner fuel alternatives. The firm builds bio-refineries of adding to the domestic supply of economically renewable transportation fuel. The company was founded by Christopher J. Frantz, Stephen W. Brown, and Kenneth L. Erdoes in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

Founded in 1958, Merrill Lynch Piece Fenner & Smith, Inc. is an SEC registered broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of BAC North America Holding Co. and their ultimate parent is Bank of America Corp. (NYSE BAC).

World Coffee Research is a non-profit agricultural research organization that was formed by the coffee industry in 2012. The non-profit company is based in College Station. The American company's strategic aim is to preserve origin diversity in the face of the climate crisis by accelerating innovation in coffee agriculture. The company's core work is around coffee genetic improvement, and they work across the entire innovation pipeline to provide farmers with access to improved varieties. The company has developed a tool for understanding and measuring coffee's flavors and aromas, which supports farmers in making informed decisions about varieties.