Michael Stephen Cermak

Stephens, Inc. is a full-service investment bank and brokerage firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. The firm was founded in 1933 and is a subsidiary of Susi Holdings, Inc., which is owned by Stephens Financial Services LLC. Stephens provides comprehensive securities sales and trading services, including customized solutions for clients in North America and abroad.

Wilbanks, Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC (WST) is a SEC-registered asset management firm headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. In 2024, the firm was acquired by Clearstead Advisors LLC, a holding company. The firm was founded by Wayne Wilbanks in 1990. WST provides investment services for individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporations, Taft Hartley organizations, municipalities, bank trust departments, trust companies, insurance companies, foundations, and endowments.

Masters Capital Management LLC is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm was founded by Michael “Mike” Masters in 1994 and provides discretionary investment advisory services and management services to various pooled investment vehicles intended for sophisticated investors and institutional investors.

MML Investors Services, Inc. (MMLIS) is a SEC-registered broker-dealer and investment advisor headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1981 and is principally owned by MassMutual Holding LLC, itself a subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. MMLIS generally provides advice to individuals, high net worth individuals, trusts, estates, endowments and foundations, Fidelity Charitable donor-advised accounts, business entities and/or qualified plans.

Berenberg Capital Markets LLC (BCM) is a broker-dealer firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2011 and is a subsidiary of Berenberg Americas LLC, ultimately held by Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG in Germany. BCM provides equity execution services to institutional and corporate clients.

Southern Methodist University is a private university near the center of Dallas, SMU offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through seven schools in the humanities and sciences, business, the performing, visual, and communication arts, engineering, education and human development, law, and theology.

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.

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.

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.

California Institute of Technology provides education focusing on science, engineering, academia, business, and public service. The company was founded in 1891 and it is headquartered in Pasadena, CA.

Denark Construction, Inc. is a full-service construction management firm that has been providing superior execution in all aspects of the construction process for over four decades. The private company is based in Knoxville, TN and was founded by Raja J. Jubran, who has been the CEO since incorporation. The company has built a diverse portfolio of high-profile projects across the southeast, consistently delivering successful projects on time and on budget with a focus on quality, safety, and integrity. Denark offers preconstruction services, delivery methods, and a commitment to sustainability.

FirstBank engages in the provision of banking services. The firm offers personal and commercial banking, investment solution, insurance services, online services, and mobile banking solutions. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Inc. operates as a Orchestra, musical performance and education programs. It offers live symphonic music program services. The company is headquartered in Knoxville, TN.

Sylvatex, Inc. operates as a green nano-chemistry company. It utilizes renewable non-toxic inputs to create a nanoparticle that can be used in multiple applications. The company was founded by Virginia Klausmeier in 2000 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA.

H. C. Wainwright & Co. LLC (H. C. Wainwright) is a full-service broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1868 and is a subsidiary of HCWHC, Inc. H. C. Wainwright delivers industry insights and real-time execution to both public and private small and middle-sized global emerging market companies. With a focus on identifying buyers and sellers in illiquid and difficult to trade equities, the firm specializes in block trading and providing liquidity in these securities with as little market impact as possible.

Leerink Partners LLC is a full-service brokerage and investment banking firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded by Jeffrey Leerink in 1995 and formerly known as SVB Securities LLC. They rebranded as Leerink Partners in 2023. The firm is a subsidiary of SVB Securities LLC. Leerink Partners provides institutional sales, equity research, institutional trading, and corporate finance and asset management services to the healthcare and technology industries. They offer superior execution capabilities in common stock, convertibles and derivatives with a singular focus on healthcare and a knowledge-led approach.

University of Houston System offers higher education degrees and job training or vocational study programs. It offers about 280 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in fields such as business, education, humanities and law. It was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

Greenstate Credit Union operates as a state chartered credit union. It provides banking services, credit cards, business loans and services, and wealth management. The company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in North Liberty, IA.

BB&T Securities LLC, doing business as BB&T Capital Markets, is the broker/dealer subsidiary of BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT). The firm is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. They offer a full array of investment, trading and execution services to middle-market companies. BB&T Capital Markets' sales and trading arm is comprised of 2 groups: Debt Securities Sales & Trading and Equity Sales & Trading. The Debt Securities Sales & Trading group focuses on: (1) Government and agency securities (2) corporate bonds (3) municipal bonds (4) asset-backed securities (5) mortgage-backed securities (6) preferred securities and (7) money market desk (short-term securities including BB&T funding). The Equity Sales & Trading group focuses on: (1) institutional block execution services (2) institutional distribution of proprietary research (3) providing proprietary access to industry leading conferences and management teams (4) serving as a NASDAQ market maker for over 250 securities (5) stock buybacks including 10b-18 and 10b5-1 trading plans and (6) 144 stock sales, individual 10b5-1 trading plans (buy and sell) and employee cashless stock option programs. BB&T Capital Markets provides research coverage of the communications, defense and government services, energy, financial services, furnishings and consumer durables, healthcare, industrial services, retail/consumer durables and transportation services sectors.

Nippon Wealth Life Insurance Co., Ltd. engages in life insurance business that provides long-term care insurance, annuities, retirement plans, savings products and mutual funds to individual and institutional customers. It operates through a network of independent brokers and franchised agents. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Part of Tenet Healthcare Corp., Surgcenter Development is a corporation that partners with local surgeons to create physician-owned and physician-operated ambulatory surgical centers (ASC). The company is based in Towson, MD. Since its inception in 1993, Surgcenter has partnered in over 230 facilities, with a current portfolio of 80 operational facilities, located in over 20 states throughout the country. Surgcenter is an industry leader in the performance of complex spine surgery and outpatient joint replacement, and has partnered with thousands of surgeons over its three-decade history. The company was founded in 1993 by Gregory George, Sean O'Neal. The CEO is Stacey Berner. Surgcenter Development was acquired by United Surgical Partners International, Inc. on December 22, 2021 for $1,100 million.

Freightwaves, Inc. engages in the provision of market data and analytics, news, and commentary for the trucking and FreightTech space. Its product, SONAR, is a freight market analytics tool which provides data in the transportation and logistics sector. The company was founded by Stephen Craig Fuller and is headquartered in Chattanooga, TN.

Carbon Direct Capital Management LLC (Carbon Direct) is a venture capital firm founded in 2020 by Jonathan Goldberg. The firm is headquartered in New York.

One Rock Capital Partners LLC (One Rock Capital) is a private equity firm founded in 2010 by Tony W. Lee and R. Scott Spielvogel. The firm is headquartered in New York.

NMGF Management LLC (New Markets Venture Partners) is a venture capital firm founded in 2002 by Mark Anthony Grovic and Robb Tyler Doub. The firm is headquartered in Fulton, Maryland.

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.

Knoxville Opera Co. operates an opera house. Its events include Rossini festival, opera ball, croquet tournament, martini party, pre-opera dinners, and Monday night opera dinners. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Knoxville, TN.

Knoxvilles Community Development Corp. engages in providing housing and redevelopment agency services. The company was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Knoxville, TN.