James Birrell

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

NewLeaf Symbiotics, Inc. develops and commercializes a family of beneficial bacteria. It commercializes Pink Pigmented Facultative Methylotrophs bacteria that improves plant health, promote early growth, and increase crop yield. The company was founded by Stephen Kahn, Thomas R. Laurita and Michael Bielski in 2012 and is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.

Monroe Capital LLC (Monroe Capital) is a private equity firm founded in 2004 by Theodore Koenig. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP (GSAMLP) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of GSAM Holdings LLC, and their ultimate parent is Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS). Founded in 1988, GSAMLP provides investment solutions to a range of individual and institutional investors worldwide.

AllianceBernstein LP (AB) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2000, the firm is owned by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co., ultimately held by Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EQH). AB provides investment advice to investment companies, pension and profit-sharing plans, banks and thrift institutions, trusts, estates, government agencies, charitable organizations, individuals, corporations and other business entities.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC provides assurance, tax and advisory services. Its services include audit and assurance, consulting, deals, human resources, legal, tax, and family business. The firm also offers accountability, risk management, structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and performance and process improvement. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Buffalo, NY.

Open Prairie Ventures Inc (Open Prairie) is a venture capital firm founded in 1999 by James M. Schultz. The firm headquartered in Effingham, Illinois.

Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund LP invests in companies located in the US, with a special focus on rural America with an investment size of $2 - $10 million. The fund target companies operating in the fields of agricultural, life science, food, processing, information technology & logistics sectors. It provides debt and equity financing for growth transactions.

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.

KB Partners LLC (KB Partners) is a venture capital firm founded in 1996 by Keith Bank and Byron Denenberg. The firm is headquartered in Highland Park, Illinois.

Development Bank of Southern Africa Ltd. operates as a development finance institution. It offers finance services that include grants, lending, investing, underwriting guarantees and arrangement of finance. The firm also offers training, development and expertise, agency service, development information and technical assistance services. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Citadel Advisors LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Miami, Florida. The firm was founded in 1990 by Kenneth Griffin and is wholly-owned by Citadel Advisors Holdings LP, ultimately held by GFH HFEVA LLC. Citadel Advisors manages private investment funds that are offered exclusively to sophisticated investors.

PanAgora Asset Management, Inc. (PanAgora) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. All ownership interests of PanAgora are owned by PanAgora employees and Power Corporation of Canada (TSX: POW), indirectly through its subsidiaries. Founded in 1989, PanAgora is a quantitative investment manager of distinct and innovative Equity, Multi Asset and Risk Premia strategies that are designed to address the needs of institutional investors worldwide.

BlackRock Fund Advisors (BFA) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1984 and is a subsidiary of BlackRock Delaware Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BFA manages assets for US registered investment companies, including ETFs. Mandates include cash management, equity, fixed income, multi-asset and index strategies.

York Business Associates LLC designs and develops electronic trading software platforms. The company is headquartered in Deer Park, IL.

Accenture LLC operates as a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. The company is headquartered in Reston, VA.

Getco Ltd. distributes wear parts and related fastening systems for the industrial and construction machinery industry in North America. It offers cutting edges, bucket side cutters, adapters, fasteners, bucket teeth, rippers, compactors, adapter kits, routers, and sprockets, as well as hardware products, including nuts and bolts. It has offices in Phoenix, Toronto, and Seattle. The company was founded in 1984 and is located in Oakwood, GA.

VoltDB, Inc. provides database for large scale transaction processing. It offers solutions such as cryptocurrency trading and stream processing. The company was founded by Michael R. Stonebraker, Scott Jarr and Andrew Hunt Palmer in 2009 and is headquartered in Bedford, MA.

Morningstar Research, Inc. Canada is Canada's leading investment fund research firm. They were formed in 1999 as the result of the acquisition of Portfolio Analytics and BellCharts Inc. by Chicago-based Morningstar Inc., the global investment firm in the US. They market the two most popular mutual fund software products, PALTrak and BellCharts and operate the Morningstar.ca web site. In addition, Morningstar Canada provides analysis and consulting services for investment management, fund performance evaluation and pension plan governance. They are located in Toronto.

UBS Investment Bank provides investment banking and securities brokerage services. Its clients include institutional and corporate clients, intermediaries, governments, and hedge funds. The firm also provides merger and acquisition advisory, private placement, investment research, foreign exchange, equity, and leverage finance advisory services. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC (PIMCO) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Newport Beach, California. Founded in 1971, the firm is a subsidiary of Allianz Asset Management of America LP and their ultimate parent is Allianz SE (ETR: ALV), a German global insurance company. PIMCO provides discretionary investment management services to a global client base.

The Pritzker Organization LLC (TPO) is a private equity subsidiary of PRITZKER FAMILY founded in 2002 by Tom Pritzker. The firm is headquartered in New York.

Capstone Financial Advisors, Inc. (Capstone) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois. The firm was founded by Troy E. Bute and J. Frank Verkamp in 1999. Capstone provides advisory services to high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutions.

Part of Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank Corp. is a company based in New York, NY.

Rialto Capital Management LLC provides real estate investment and asset management services. It offers distressed cycle investing, performing, distressed and undermanaged properties, commercial mortgage backed securities, debt securities, and rescue capital, recapitalizations and structured debt positions for investment management value delivery. The firm also offers underwriting support, loan workout, and small loan program for asset management value delivery. The company was founded by Jeffrey P. Krasnoff in 2007 and is headquartered in Miami, FL.

Raith Capital Partners LLC is an Independent Private Equity/Venture Capital firm founded in 2012 by William W. Landis and Nelson Hioe. Raith Capital Partners LLC is headquartered in New York.

Epic Staffing Group operates as an portfolio company. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

Terravet Real Estate Solutions is a company that specializes in helping veterinary practice owners maximize the value of their real estate. Terravet is based in Montgomery, PA and has subsidiaries in the United States. The company offers leasing and expansion services to help clinics and hospitals reach their full potential. The company was founded by Daniel M. Eisenstadt and he has been the CEO since incorporation.

STV Group, Inc. provides engineering, architectural, planning, environmental and construction management services. It offers planning, environmental, design, program and construction management, and specialty services for the transportation, design-build, institutional and commercial building, advanced technology, industrial and defense markets. The company was founded in 1912 by Elwyn Seelye and Albert Stevenson and is headquartered in Douglassville, PA.

Lithko Contracting LLC operates as a concrete contracting company. It specializes in the delivery of cast-in-place walls, slabs, columns, tilt-up, site-work, super-flat floors and structural concrete. The company is headquartered in West Chester, OH.

Grubb Properties LLC provides real estate services. The company was founded by Robert Lay Grubb in 1963 and is headquartered in Charlotte, NC.

TMS International Holding Corp. engages in the provision of industrial steel mill services. It offers raw material brokerage, scrap management, scrap optimization, slag handling, metal recovery, slag aggregates, abs software, product handling, railcar dismantling, specialized services, logistics management, industrial services, surface conditioning, blast furnace services, extruded product services, and copper slag services. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Glassport, PA.