Chris Meredith

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.

Pharmaceutical Product Development LLC engages in the operation of a global contract research organization, which provides drug development, laboratory and lifecycle management services. It offers adaptive trial design, bio analytical lab, bio similar development, biostatistics, GMP lab, clinical supplies, trial monitoring, CMC regulatory, data management, dental pain clinic, real-world outcomes, site intelligence and activation, central lab, global regulatory affairs, IRT systems, late stage research, medical communications, device and diagnostics, medical writing, nonclinical development and regulatory consulting and intelligence, regulatory development, innovation and vaccine sciences. The company was founded by Fredric N. Eshelman in 1985 and is headquartered in Wilmington, NC.

Cowen & Co. LLC is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Cowen Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE: TD) in Canada. Cowen & Co. offers industry-focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research and a sales and trading platform for institutional investors. Their institutional sales and trading business serves both equity and fixed-income clients. Sales and trading execution platform is structured around the following key verticals: (1) healthcare (2) technology, telecommunications and media (TMT) (3) REITs and financials (4) aerospace and defense (5) consumer and (6) alternative energy.

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.

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.

AQR Capital Management LLC (AQR) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. The firm was founded by Clifford Asness, David Kabiller, and John Liew in 1998. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of AQR Capital Management Holdings LLC and their ultimate parent is Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE: AMG). AQR provides investment management services to institutional clients through managed accounts. Their investors may include investment companies, pooled investment vehicles, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, other investment advisers, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions, corporations or other businesses entities.

Solectron Global Servic Canada, Inc. provides electronics manufacturing service. It offers technology repair, remanufacturing and refurbishment services for a different electronic products. The firm provides services for manufacturers who design and sell networking, mobile and land based telecommunications, computing equipment, including workstations, notebooks, desktops, peripherals and other electronic equipment. The company is headquartered in Newmarket, CA.

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).

TRG Management LP, dba The Rohatyn Group (TRG), is a SEC-registered alternative asset management firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2002 by Nicolas Rohatyn. They are owned by TRG Management Principals LP. TRG provides both discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory services to several pooled investments vehicles and separately managed accounts, which from time to time may include a wide variety of investors.

Bloomfire, Inc. develops social learning management system software for business. The firm’s solutions include entire company, sales, marketing, human resources, customer support, Information Technology OPERATIONS and customer insights. The company was founded by Craig B. Malloy, David McCann and Josh Little in 2010 and is headquartered in Austin, TX.

Qzzr, Inc. develops interactive content tools for publishers and marketers. It offers Qzzr which allows users to build, embed and share their own quizzes online. The company was founded by Joshua Little and Bucky Flowers in 2014 and is headquartered in Lehi, UT.

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.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is a registered broker-dealer subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Domestic Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) in the US. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was founded in 1987 and provides debt and equity services including underwriting, M&A advice, securities dealing and brokerage and trade execution. Their client base ranges from large global institutional investors to hedge funds at the cutting edge of innovation in the industry.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.) is a securities brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1927, the firm is a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS). GS&Co. provides services to help hedge funds manage risk, monitor portfolios, maintain liquidity and build their businesses. They offer clients access to global equity and derivatives markets, as well as foreign exchange, commodities, European Lefts, rates and credit across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The firm proactively monitors capital markets, searching for pockets of liquidity and news that may require changes to those strategies. Integration with the Goldman Sachs network gives clients access to the firm's sectored block trades and their insights into price discovery. Their electronic trading program provides clients with tools to manage their trades from pre-trade analytics to post-trade analysis.

The National Parks Conservation Association is a nonpartisan organization that has been working to safeguard national parks since 1919. The non-profit company is based in Washington. With over 1.6 million members and supporters, they aim to protect and preserve the most iconic and inspirational places in the country for future generations. The organization believes in engaging the next generation to ensure the protection of national parks, which is why they launched the Next Generation Advisory Council. The CEO of the American company is Theresa Pierno.

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.

Zephyr Management LP (Zephyr Management) is a private equity firm founded in 1994 by Thomas Barry. The firm is headquartered in New York.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP (KKR) is a private equity subsidiary of KKR & Co. Inc founded in 1976 by Henry Kravis, George Roberts and Jerome Kohlberg. The firm is headquartered in New York.

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).

Fitch Ratings, Inc. is a global rating agency and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by John Knowles in 1913 as Fitch Publishing Co. They are a subsidiary of Fitch Group, Inc., ultimately owned by The Hearst Family Trust. Fitch Ratings seeks to provide independent and prospective credit opinions, research and data to the world's credit markets. Their approach is based on a foundation of local market experience that covers capital markets in over 150 countries. The firm's ratings analysis and rating decisions are based on established criteria, methodologies and ratings definitions which they apply in a consistent manner. Fitch Ratings provides coverage of the following markets: Economics, Banks, Insurance, Sovereigns, Corporates, Structured Finance, Public Finance – International, Public Finance – US, Infrastructure & Project, and Finance.

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 1992, BC Partners, Inc. is a private equity firm located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of BC Partners Ltd., a London-based private equity firm.

Innovatus Capital Partners LLC (Innovatus Capital) is a private equity firm founded in 2015 by Andrew Richard Dym and David Marc Schiff. The firm is headquartered in New York.