Girard Sweeney

Lord Abbett & Co. LLC (Lord Abbett) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. Founded in 1929, Lord Abbett provides advisory services to a variety of institutional clients, the Lord Abbett Funds and other registered investment companies sponsored by third parties, the Lord Abbett UCITS Funds, the Lord Abbett Luxembourg Fund, other foreign funds, privately offered commingled funds and various separately managed accounts.

KBW LLC provides investment banking and financial services. It offers mergers, acquisitions, strategic advisory services, equity and fixed income securities offerings, structured finance and mutual thrift conversions, asset management, securities underwriting, and related investment advisory services. The firm focuses on banking and insurance companies, real estate companies and real estate investment trust, broker-dealers, mortgage banks, asset management companies, and specialty finance companies. Its business is organized into three general service offerings: Investment banking, including mergers and acquisitions and other strategic advisory services, equity and fixed income securities offerings, and mutual thrift conversions, Equity and Fixed Income sales and trading; and Research that provides fundamental, objective analysis that identifies investment opportunities and helps its investor customers make investment decisions. The company was founded by Harry Keefe Jr., Gene Bruyette, and Norbert Woods on June 11, 1962 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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.

Sirios Capital Management LP (Sirios) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1999 by John Brennan, Jr. Sirios provides investment advice to private investment funds, UCITS Funds, registered investment companies, wrap program participants, and certain other institutional clients through separate accounts.

UBS Securities LLC is an investment bank and registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 as UBS Warburg LLC. They are a subsidiary of UBS Americas Holding LLC, ultimately held by UBS Group AG (SWX: UBSG, NYSE: UBS) in Switzerland. UBS Securities is a primary dealer in US Government securities and provides a full range of investment banking services which includes corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, trading and sales, fixed-income, equity research, private banking, underwriting and prime brokerage operations. The firm also provides advisory services and access to capital markets for corporate, institutional, intermediary and alternative asset management clients.

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.

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.

Cornell University is an educational institution that offers undergraduate and post graduate programs. It was founded in 1865 and is based in Ithaca, NY.

Evalueserve.com Pvt Ltd. (dba Evalueserve) is an AI-enhanced managed services global provider headquartered in Gurgaon, India. The firm was founded by Alok Aggarwal and Marc Vollenweider in 2000. They are owned by Evalueserve Holdings AG in Switzerland. More than 30% of the Fortune 1000, which includes over 25,000 platform users, rely on Evalueserve’s intelligence and analytics to strengthen and accelerate decision-making. Their solutions uniquely combine expert services with domain-specific AI and have been recognized by analysts such as Forrester and Chartis. Evalueserve’s solutions include data analytics, insights and advisory, intellectual property and R&D, investment banking services, lending services, private equity services, and risk and compliance. These solutions are powered by Evalueserve’s modular AIRA (AI for Research and Analytics) ecosystem, which includes domain-specific accelerators, products, and platforms. Evalueserve experts use these tools to reduce time to value and integrate new solutions into existing workflows. Notable products and platforms include Insightsfirst, Insightloupe, Publishwise, Spreadsmart, and Compsbuilder. The firm supports three categories of firms: financial services, corporates, and professional services. Specifically, this includes Investment Banks, Corporate and Commercial Banks, Asset and Wealth Management Firms, Private Equity and Venture Capital Firms, Index Providers, Technology and Telecom, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Manufacturing and Industrial Goods, Energy, Chemicals, CPG and Retail, Logistics and Transportation, Professional Service Firms, Consultancy and Advisory Firms, Legal Firms, Real Estate Firms, Education and EdTech Firms.

Standard Chartered International (USA) Ltd. is an international bank that provides services to financial institutions, high net worth individuals and affluent customers. The company was founded in 1919 and it is headquartered in New York, NY.

Crowe LLP provides accounting services. The firm offers audit, tax, advisory, risk, and performance services. It serves banking, manufacturing, media and telecommunication, construction, real estate, financial, food, commodities and healthcare industries. The company was founded by Fred P. Crowe Sr. and Cletus F. Chizek in 1942 and is headquartered in South Bend, IN.

Montchanin Asset Management LLC (Montchanin AM) is an independent wealth management firm headquartered in Montchanin, Delaware. The firm was founded by William “Bill” Dugdale in 1998. Montchanin AM provides investment advice to private clients.

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

Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. (Broker) (Baird-Broker) is the broker-dealer division of Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc., an investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm was founded in 1919 and is ultimately owned by Baird Financial Group, Inc. Baird-Broker offers a full suite of comprehensive trading services for institutional clients.

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).

Coleman Research Group, Inc. (Coleman Research) is an investment research firm headquartered in New York City. It was founded by Kevin C. Coleman in 2003. The firm was acquired in 2021 by VisasQ, Inc. (TYO: 4490) in Japan. Coleman Research provides clients with research expertise across a broad array of industries. Their clients include institutional investors, consultancies and corporations.

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.

Hovde Group LLC is a leading boutique investment bank that has been providing advisory services to the financial services sector for over 30 years. The private company offers a full suite of investment banking, capital markets, research, equity sales, and trading services to its clients, including institutional and retail investors, community and regional banks, and other financial companies located throughout the United States. The company is based in Inverness, IL, and has subsidiaries in the United States. Hovde Group consistently ranks among the bank sector's top M&A and capital markets advisory firms, is a leading market maker of community and regional bank stocks, and produces high-quality research from award-winning analysts. The American company was founded in 1987 by Steven Donald Hovde, who has been the CEO since then.

Point72 Asset Management LP (Point72) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm was founded in 2014 and formerly known as Stamford Harbor Capital LP. They are a subsidiary of Point72 LP, which is owned by Point72 Capital Holdings LP. Point72 provides investment management services to the Point72 Funds.

Bloomberg LP (Research) is the investment research division of Bloomberg LP, which is owned by Bloomberg, Inc. in the US. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was founded in 2007 and provides research, long-term forecasts, analytical tools and global in-depth analysis covering a wide range of industries.

New York University Tandon School of Engineering engages in the provision of educational services focusing on science and technology. Its degrees and programs include bachelor of science, master of science, doctor of philosophy, advanced certificate programs, a bridge program to NYU Tandon, and industry partner programs. The company was founded in 1854 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY.

Boenning & Scattergood, Inc. (Broker) (Boenning & Scattergood-Broker) is the registered broker-dealer division of Boenning & Scattergood, Inc., a financial services firm headquartered in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The firm was founded by Henry D. Boenning in 1914. Boenning & Scattergood-Broker provides retail investors, municipal clients, and institutions a full complement of financial services, including retail brokerage, investment advisory, equity research, equity and fixed income sales and trading, investment banking, public finance, and option strategy.