Steve M. Bakke

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Credit Suisse Securities USA) is the broker/dealer division of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, an investment banking company headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse (USA), Inc., ultimately owned by Credit Suisse Group AG (SWX: CSGN) in Switzerland. Credit Suisse Securities USA offers a suite of equities, solutions and credit products and services which includes global securities sales, trading and execution, prime brokerage and comprehensive investment research. Their clients include financial institutions, corporations, governments, institutional investors, such as pension funds and hedge funds, and private individuals around the world.

Van Eck Associates Corp. (VanEck) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund management firm founded in 1955 by John van Eck to manage an international equity fund. In 1968, the firm began offering investments in gold shares and other hard assets. Headquartered in New York City, VanEck provides investment advisory services to registered investment companies and other pooled investment vehicles.

Warburg Pincus LLC (Warburg Pincus) is a private equity subsidiary of Warburg Pincus & Company US LLC founded in 1966. The firm is headquartered in New York.

BlackRock Advisors LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1994 and is a subsidiary of BlackRock Capital Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BlackRock Advisors manages assets for US-registered investment companies and 529 Plans.

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (Broker) (CGMI-Broker) is the broker/dealer division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., an investment bank headquartered in New York City with additional offices across the US. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Citigroup Financial Products, Inc., ultimately held by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). CGMI-Broker covers all market capitalizations of the major global indices and provides macro and quantitative analysis of global markets and sector trends. Their core focus of the group is to help investing clients make informed decisions by providing value-added, independent, insightful analysis.

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. (DBSI) is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1971 and is a wholly-owned investment banking and brokerage arm of DB U.S. Financial Markets Holding Corp., ultimately held by Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB, FRA: DBK) in Germany. DBSI provides securities brokerage and investment advisory services to domestic and international private clients and institutions. They are also a primary dealer in US government securities as designated by the Federal Reserve.

Piper Sandler & Co. (Broker) (PSC-Broker) is the full-service brokerage division of Piper Sandler & Co., a financial service firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a subsidiary of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR). The firm was founded in 1969 and previously known as Piper Jaffray & Co. They became Piper Sandler & Co. when Piper Jaffray Companies and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. merged to become Piper Sandler Companies in 2020. PSC-Broker provides brokerage and investment banking services to financial institutions, corporations and other financial investors. Their core focus sectors are Agriculture, renewables & cannabis, Business services, Chemicals & Materials, Consumer, Diversified industrials & services, Energy, Financial services, financial sponsors, Healthcare, and Technology.

Adage Capital Management LP (Adage) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded by Phil Gross and Robert Atchinson in 2001 and is owned by Adage Capital Partners GP LLC. Adage provides investment advisory services to its sole client, Adage Capital Partners LP (ACP), a private investment fund. The firm does not manage any separate accounts.

Silver Point Capital LP is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was founded in 2002 by Edward Mule and Robert O'Shea. The firm serves as the management company with discretionary trading authority to private pooled investment vehicles. Their flagship funds include: Silver Point Capital Fund, L.P. (the Domestic Flagship Fund), Silver Point Capital Offshore Fund, Ltd. (the Offshore Flagship Fund) and Silver Point Capital Offshore Master Fund, L.P. (the Master Flagship Fund).

Balyasny Asset Management LP (BAM) is a multi-strategy hedge fund manager and SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm’s predecessor, Balyasny Capital Management LLC (BCM), was founded in 2001 by Dmitry Balyasny, Scott Schroeder and Taylor O'Malley. In 2003, BCM converted from a limited liability company to a limited partnership. Then, in January 2004, their name was changed to Balyasny Asset Management LP. They are a subsidiary of Balyasny Asset Management Holdings LP. BAM provides investment advisory services to high net-worth individuals and institutional clients through privately offered pooled investment funds.

Apollo Capital Management LP (Investment Management) (ACM-IM) is the investment management division of Apollo Capital Management LP, a venture capital firm headquartered in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Apollo Management Holdings LP, ultimately held by Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO). ACM-IM manages Apollo’s Credit business segment and provides investment management, advisory and administrative services through wholly owned and controlled management entities to its advisory clients.

Barclays Capital, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 and is a subsidiary of Barclays Group US, Inc., ultimately owned by Barclays plc (LON: BARC) in Great Britain. Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients a full spectrum of prime brokerage services which includes equities and fixed income financing, OTC Clearing, Futures and Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage and access to industry insights and analytics from their Strategic Consulting team.

Jefferies LLC is a global investment bank and institutional securities firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1962 and is a subsidiary of Jefferies Group LLC, ultimately held by Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF). Jefferies provides corporate clients with research and execution services in equity, fixed income, and foreign exchange markets, as well as a full range of investment banking services such as underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and recapitalization, and other advisory services, with all businesses operating in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

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).

Moody's Investors Service, Inc. is a credit rating and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. They are a subsidiary of Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO). The firm performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities and provides a variety of analytic tools for assessing credit risk. Their clients include creditors, investment banks and commercial banks.

Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Northwestern has three campuses

ABS Capital Partners, Inc. (ABS Capital Partners) is a private equity firm founded in 1990 by Don Bruce Hebb and Tim Thaddeus Weglicki. The firm is headquartered in Washington, DC.

Access Holdings Management Co. LLC (Access Holdings Management) is a private equity firm founded in 2013 by Kevin McAllister. The firm is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Duke University is an academic university that offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. It also has publications and research services. The university was founded in 1838 and is headquartered in Durham, NC.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc. (Stifel) is a dual-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm is a subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF), a financial service holding company. Stifel provides full-service brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals and their families, institutions and businesses, and financial advisors.

Nomura Securities International, Inc. (NSI) is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1969. The firm is a division of Nomura Holding America, Inc. and their ultimate parent is Nomura Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NMR, TYO: 8604, AMS: 8604). NSI provides securities brokerage services, as well as asset management, domestic retail, global markets, global investment banking and global merchant banking services. The firm's fixed-income business consists of bond sales and trading, origination and product supply for securitization deals and real estate-focused asset finance operations (in cooperation with Investment Banking). In the equity markets, NSI offers sales and trading of domestic and foreign stocks on a global basis, primarily for institutional investors.

Serent Capital Management Co. LLC (Serent Capital Management) is a private equity firm founded in 2008 by David Kennedy and Kevin Frick. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Ekostinger, Inc. provides hurricane protection devices for commercial signs, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and fuel pumps. The firm also offers hurricane protection system for residential and commercial windows. The company was founded by John Parr Wiegel in 1999 and is headquartered in Palmyra, NY.

The Drama League of New York, Inc. is a continuously-operating, nonprofit arts advocacy and education organization. It advances the American theater by providing a life-long artistic home for directors and a platform for dialogue with, and between, audiences. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in New York, NY.