Christian Meissner

Nomura International Plc provides a variety of financial services including advisement, investment banking and asset management. It trades in and sells fixed income and equity products, including related derivatives; and provides investment banking services, and corporate finance and private equity services. The company is also involved in asset and principal finance business. It offers investment advisory and management, custody, and employment services. Nomura International was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Credit Suisse Group AG is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following four divisions: Wealth Management, Investment Bank, Swiss Bank and Asset Management and four geographic regions: Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific, and Americas. The Wealth Management division offers comprehensive wealth management and investment solutions, tailored financing, and advisory services to ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) and high net-worth (HNW) individuals and external asset managers. The Investment Bank division offers a broad range of financial products and services focused on client-driven businesses and also supports Credit Suisse’s Wealth Management division and its clients. The Swiss Bank division offers comprehensive advice and a wide range of financial solutions to private, corporate, and institutional clients in Switzerland. The Asset Management division offers investment solutions and services globally to a broad range of clients, including pension funds, governments, foundations and endowments, corporations, and individuals. The company was founded by Alfred Escher on July 5, 1856 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

Merrill Lynch International (MLI-UK) is a brokerage firm headquartered in London, UK. The firm was founded in 1988 and is a subsidiary of ML UK Capital Holdings Ltd., ultimately owned by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) in the US. MLI-UK provides brokerage services to individual and retail clients.

Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH operates as an investment holding company with interests in publishing books, newspapers, periodicals and online media. Its customers include authors, researchers, academics, educators, librarians, and readers. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.

Lehman Brothers International Europe (Investment Management) (LBIE-IM) is the investment management division of Lehman Brothers International Europe the regional headquarters and a wholly-owned subsidiary of New York-based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH). Established in 1990, the firm is based in London and is a leading brokerage firm and investment bank. They operate in close relationship with fellow subsidiaries in New York and Tokyo, providing global financial services to corporate clients, high-net worth private individuals and institutions including central banks and UK pension schemes. LBIE-IM's activities include trading, research, capital raising through securities underwriting and direct placements, corporate finance advisory, prime brokerage, private equity investments and trading in Forex, derivatives and commodities.

Salzburg Festival Society, Inc. is an organization that was founded by composer Richard Strauss, poet and dramatist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and director Max Reinhardt in 1920. The festival takes place in the princely baroque town of Salzburg, which is located in Austria. The festival has been recognized as a major destination by the world's foremost performers and attracts visitors from all over the world.