Rick Whittington

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.

Piper Sandler & Co. (Broker) (PSC-Broker) is the full-service brokerage division of Piper Sandler & Co., a financial service firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a subsidiary of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR). The firm was founded in 1969 and previously known as Piper Jaffray & Co. They became Piper Sandler & Co. when Piper Jaffray Companies and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. merged to become Piper Sandler Companies in 2020. PSC-Broker provides brokerage and investment banking services to financial institutions, corporations and other financial investors. Their core focus sectors are Agriculture, renewables & cannabis, Business services, Chemicals & Materials, Consumer, Diversified industrials & services, Energy, Financial services, financial sponsors, Healthcare, and Technology.

Credit Agricole Securities (USA), Inc. (Credit Agricole Securities USA) is a full service broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2004 and formerly known as Calyon Securities USA, Inc. and Credit Lyonnais Securities, Inc. They are a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Global Partners, Inc., which is owned by Rue la Boétie SAS’s Credit Agricole SA (EPA: ACA) in France. Credit Agricole Securities USA provides investors’ customized solutions to ensure they achieve their execution objectives in the tradition of service excellence and product innovation.

JPMorgan Securities LLC (JPMS) is a securities brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1985 and is a subsidiary of JPMorgan Broker-Dealer Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Inc. (NYSE: JPM). JPMS provides research on fixed income, credit, derivatives, emerging markets, foreign exchange, structured finance, technical analysis and bond indices. Their equity analysts cover equities throughout North America, EMEA, Asia/Pacific and the emerging markets. The firm's fixed income team formulates trading and portfolio recommendations for investors in global bonds and other fixed-income markets based on valuations, analytics and market dynamics.

Founded in 1997, Imperial Capital LLC is a full-service investment banking firm and broker/dealer headquartered in Los Angeles. The firm is a subsidiary of Imperial Capital Group LLC and their ultimate parent is Imperial Capital Group Holdings LLC. Imperial Capital offers a range of proprietary products and services to institutional investors, middle-market companies and private equity firms. The firm provides institutional clients research and sales and trading of high yield and distressed debt securities, bank debt, convertible bonds, preferred stocks, and equities. They also provide middle-market companies and financial sponsors with capital markets, M&A, capital structure, restructuring and recapitalization advisory services. For their institutional clients, Imperial Capital offers a variety of research products including bank debt, investment grade debt, high yield, distressed and special situations, convertibles and busted convertibles, equities, preferred securities and industry analysis. Imperial Capital's research focuses on the following sectors: aerospace, defense and government services; airlines/transportation; business services; clean energy; consumer; energy; financial services; gaming and leisure; general industrials; healthcare; homebuilding and real estate; media and telecommunications; security and homeland security; and technology.

ROTH Capital Partners LLC is a broker/dealer headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The firm was founded in 2001 and is a subsidiary of CR Financial Holdings, Inc. They offer institutional sales and trading services. Their broad institutional coverage includes investors in North America, Canada, UK, Europe and other international territories.

Bridgewater Associates LP (Bridgewater) is a registered investment advisor and fund of hedge funds manager headquartered in Westport, Connecticut. The firm was founded by Ray Dalio in 1975. They are a subsidiary of Bridgewater Associates Intermediate Holdings LP, which is owned by Bridgewater Associates Holdings, Inc. Bridgewater provides discretionary investment management services to pooled investment vehicles and single investor funds, and managed account clients.

B. Riley Securities, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm is a subsidiary of B. Riley Securities Holdings LLC, ultimately owned by B. Riley Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: RILY). The firm was formed in 2017, when B. Riley Financial, Inc. merged two of their brokers, B. Riley & Co. (founded in 1997) and FBR Capital Markets & Co. (founded in 1989), under the name of B. Riley FBR, Inc. B. Riley Securities provides research and trading ideas to institutional clients and high net-worth individuals. They provide investment banking services to a wide range of middle-market private and public companies.

Northland Securities, Inc. (NSI) is a dually registered, full-service broker dealer and investment advisor headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm was founded in 2002 and is owned by Northland Capital Holdings, Inc., which was acquired by First National of Nebraska, Inc. (OTCMKTS: FINN) in 2023. NSI is actively engaged in buying and selling securities for its own account as well as for clients.

University of the Pacific is a nationally ranked university with a long tradition of dedicated teaching, small class sizes, practical experience and vibrant residential life. The breathtaking main campus in Stockton, California is home to seven schools and colleges, with more than 80 majors and programs of study. Pacific also has the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco. Total university enrollment is nearly 7,000, with 3,757 undergraduates in an average class size of 19 and a student/faculty ratio of 14:1. It is located in Stockton, California.

CreditSights, Inc. is an independent investment research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was co-founded by Paul Ciasullo, Reena Mithal, Glenn Reynolds and Peter Petas in 2000. They are a subsidiary of Fitch Group, Inc., ultimately owned by The Hearst Family Trust. CreditSights provides fundamental, in-depth credit research for buy-side decisionmakers, sell-side intermediaries and wealth managers and private banks globally. The firm actively covers more than 5,000 companies in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific representing over 56 countries.

Kidder, Peabody & Co., Inc. provides security brokerage services. The private company is based in Buffalo, NY and has subsidiaries in Switzerland. The company was founded by Thomas W. Ostrander.

Founded in 2003 by Benjamin Howe and Maria Lewis Kussmaul, America's Growth Capital LLC (ACG) is an emerging growth-focused, research, broker/dealer and investment banking firm headquartered in Boston. The firm is a subsidiary of America's Growth Capital Holdings LLC. They seek to identify small-cap opportunities and bring new investment opportunities to growth-oriented institutional and private equity investors. AGC completes investment banking transactions for emerging growth companies in the following industries: (1) technology including communications, data center, financial technology, information security, semiconductors and software (2) clean technology, (3) digital media/Internet and (4) business services. They have participated in transactions ranging in size from $6 million to $1 billion. These transactions have included buyouts, buy-side and sell-side advisory assignments, private placements, PIPEs, IPOs, follow-ons and fairness opinions. The firm's Capital Markets group provides analysis on leading emerging growth sectors with a focus on identifying dynamic changes and trends in their focus industries. They present ideas through: (1) white papers, which provide topical and industry-wide analysis by highlighting the leading small-cap public and private companies of influence (2) thought pieces, which illustrate the impact of current events such as legislation, market swings and (3) capital market updates which present comprehensive statistics and data on one or more product areas including IPOs, M&A, private placements, etc. that have an impact on the emerging growth universe. AGC maintains relationships across multiple pools of capital including institutional, private equity, venture capital, hedge fund, sovereign wealth and debt. They leverage those relationships to provide clients with the best sources of financing for their particular needs.

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., Inc. provides investment baking and brokerage services. The firm also provides asset and wealth management, underwriting, alternative investments and advisory services. It serves emerging growth companies and high net worth individuals. The company was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

BMO Capital Markets Corp. (Broker) is the broker/dealer division of BMO Capital Markets Corp., a full-service North American financial services provider headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 and is a subsidiary of BMO Financial Corp., which is owned by Bank of Montreal (NYSE, TSX: BMO) in Canada. BMO Capital Markets offers corporate, institutional and government clients access to a variety of products and services including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, merger and acquisitions advisory services, merchant banking, securitization, treasury and market risk management, debt and equity research and institutional sales and trading.

Cleanfield Alternative Energy, Inc. develops, markets and distributes proprietary, renewable energy products. It develops and markets small wind turbines through authorized renewable energy dealers, distributors and direct channels. The company was founded in 2002 by Mihail Stern, Alexander Trica and Tony Verrelli and is headquartered in North York, Canada.

CLSA Americas LLC is a FINRA registered broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2012 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of CLSA Americas Holdings, Inc., which is ultimately owned by CITIC Securities Co., Ltd. (SHA: 600030) in China. CLSA Americas offers a full suite of execution services throughout North America and Latin America.