Brian Lindsay Ward

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.

Eagle Asset Management, Inc. (Eagle) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. The firm was founded in 1976 by Tom James and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carillon Towers Advisers, Inc., which is wholly owned by Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF). Eagle provides portfolio management services to institutions and high net-worth clients (individual investors, trusts and smaller employee benefit plans) and serves as the investment subadvisor to the Carillon Funds.

7-Eleven, Inc. engages in the operation and owning of convenience stores. Its products include sandwiches, salads, side dishes, cut fruit and protein boxes, as well as pizza, chicken wings, and mini beef tacos. The company also offers beverages such as coffee and tea, cold pressed juices, beer and wine, energy shots and drinks, big gulp, and Slurpee. The company was founded by Joe C. Thompson Jr. in 1927 and is headquartered in Irving, TX.

Merrill Lynch International (MLI-UK) is a brokerage firm headquartered in London, UK. The firm was founded in 1988 and is a subsidiary of ML UK Capital Holdings Ltd., ultimately owned by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) in the US. MLI-UK provides brokerage services to individual and retail clients.

Guggenheim Securities LLC is a SEC-registered broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1999 and is a subsidiary of Links Holdings LLC, ultimately held by Guggenheim Partners LLC. Guggenheim Securities’ specializations include the sales and trading of fixed-income securities and sophisticated structured products. The firm offers in-depth analysis and expert execution of trading opportunities to large institutional investors and asset originators. They offer sales and trading services relating to a wide range of instruments.

Founded in 1994 as Carolina Capital Markets, CCM provides money managers with access to the secondary fixed-income market, best execution capability, and a compliant method for clients to acquire independent research through competitive commissions. CCM believes that strong relationships in the street and with the buy side are key to delivering value to their clients. At other firms, a salesman may pass off customer’s order to a busy trader. At CCM customer’s broker goes directly to the street and works customer’s trade all the way through to execution. By combining sales and trading roles, they cut a layer of cost, allowing them to work on thinner spreads while still providing best execution. CCM is an institutional fixed income broker dealer and leading provider of third party fixed income research with bond trades executed on an agency basis.

Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley LLC (TSW) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The firm was founded in 1969 and is a subsidiary of Pendal USA, Inc., which is owned by Perpetual Ltd. (ASX: PPT) in Australia. TSW offers a full range of investment management strategies which includes US and Non-US Equities, Income Strategies, Balanced portfolio strategies and Alternatives for both Institutional and Strategic Advisory clients.

Harvard University engages in the provision of teaching and research. It has twelve degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, offering a global education. The university was founded in 1636 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

Founded in 2002 by Hunter Thompson and William Davis, Thompson Davis & Co. (TD & Co.) is an independent investment research firm and broker/dealer located in Richmond, Virginia with an additional office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The firm is a member of FINRA and the SIPC. TD & Co. provides unbiased, original research and services to institutional and retail investors. They do not perform research on companies for investment banking opportunities. TD & Co. also offers a full-range of financial services ranging from financial planning and private money management to corporate and municipal bonds. TD & Co.'s research team employs a focused methodology. They seek to identified, under followed, undervalued growth companies. The firm uses computer screens that look for companies with sequential revenue and earnings growth and strong balance sheets that are selling at a discount to their growth rates. Specifically, TD& Co. looks for companies with several characteristics: (1) 20% + revenue and earnings growth (2) sequential revenue and earnings growth, i.e., quarter over quarter improvement in both the top and bottom line (3) top management is buying the company's stock in the open market with their own money (4) significant management ownership of the stock (5) strong balance sheets with little or no debt or manageable declining debt, strong cash position or debt reduction efforts (6) operating in a growing market sector (no deep cyclicals or natural resource sectors) (7) gross margin expansion and market share gains and (8) selling at a discount to the company growth rate, allowing for p/e expansion toward growth rate.

A subsidiary of Davenport & Co., Davenport Securities is a broker/dealer headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The firm provides a full array of investment services including comprehensive stock and bond brokerage, investment management, research, financial planning, insurance, public finance and corporate finance services. Their research includes coverage of several sectors including healthcare & special situations, media/telecommunications/technology, metals, REITs, specialty finance, technology, financial, energy, consumer staples, consumer discretionary, capital goods & construction materials, and business and professional services. They research local and regional firms making recommendations based on assessments of a company and the industry, regional and national trends, visits to the business, and meetings with the management. In addition to in-house research, Davenport uses several nationally-recognized research firms to provide them with investment information for larger national and international companies. They are a member of the SIPC.

Seaport Global Holdings LLC is a full-service investment bank that offers investment banking, capital markets, financial advisory, sales, trading, and research services. The private company is based in New York, NY and has subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates, UK, Singapore and the United States. The company combines its extensive knowledge, solid relationships, and deep distribution platform to serve its clients' unique business requirements. The company was founded in 2001 by Michael Meagher and Stephen Corcoran Smith, with Michael Meagher serving as the CEO since then.

The Community Foundation, Inc. operates as a community foundation that provides stewardship services for endowments. The firm works with donors and partner organizations to address needs through grant making, leadership and community development programs. It administers charitable grant-making funds established by individuals and corporations for the purpose of benefiting non-profit community organizations. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Richmond, VA.