Farukh Z. Farooqi

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.

Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers, Inc. (NBIA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2002 as Neuberger Berman Fixed Income LLC and adopted their present name in 2016. They are a subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers Holdings LLC, ultimately owned by NBSH Acquisition LLC. NBIA provides a wide range of discretionary investment management services to a variety of clients, which includes individuals, institutions, registered investment companies, non-US registered funds and private investment funds.

BlackRock Advisors LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1994 and is a subsidiary of BlackRock Capital Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BlackRock Advisors manages assets for US-registered investment companies and 529 Plans.

Standard & Poor's Financial Services provides financial market intelligence services. It offers credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data to the financial decision-makers. The company was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Carnegie Mellon University is an American school that operates as a college or university. It is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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.

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.

Ernst & Young LLP engages in the provision of accounting, assurance, tax, transaction, and advisory services. It specializes in the actuarial, analytics and big data, cyber security, accounting compliance and reporting, center for board matters, international financial reporting standards, country tax advisory, global trade, tax accounting, and climate change and sustainability. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Fitch Ratings, Inc. is a global rating agency and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by John Knowles in 1913 as Fitch Publishing Co. They are a subsidiary of Fitch Group, Inc., ultimately owned by The Hearst Family Trust. Fitch Ratings seeks to provide independent and prospective credit opinions, research and data to the world's credit markets. Their approach is based on a foundation of local market experience that covers capital markets in over 150 countries. The firm's ratings analysis and rating decisions are based on established criteria, methodologies and ratings definitions which they apply in a consistent manner. Fitch Ratings provides coverage of the following markets: Economics, Banks, Insurance, Sovereigns, Corporates, Structured Finance, Public Finance – International, Public Finance – US, Infrastructure & Project, and Finance.

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.

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.

Neuberger Berman BD LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in New York City. It is directly owned by Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC, which is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC, which is owned by NBSH Acquisition LLC. The firm traces their origin back to the 1939 founding of Neuberger & Berman, its predecessor firm. In 1950, Neuberger Berman became one of the first firms to offer a no-load mutual fund to individual investors. Neuberger Berman BD manages a range of equity, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund strategies on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors worldwide.

Peking University provides post-secondary education services. It offers undergraduate and graduate courses. It provides courses such as basic and applied sciences, social sciences and the humanities, sciences of medicine, management, and education. The company was founded by JiaNai Sun in 1898 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

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.

Fidelity Management & Research Co. (FMR) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1946 and is a subsidiary of FMR LLC, also known as Fidelity Investments. FMR provides investment supervisory services, which include sub-advisory services, to Fidelity's family of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, qualified tuition programs, privately offered unregistered investment funds, separately managed account clients, and various other institutional accounts.

Duke University is an academic university that offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. It also has publications and research services. The university was founded in 1838 and is headquartered in Durham, NC.

Lazard Asset Management LLC (LAM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1970 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, ultimately held by Lazard, Inc. (NYSE: LAZ). LAM manages investment portfolios and provides investment advice to institutional and individual investors around the world.

Susquehanna Investment Group LLC (SIG) is an investment advisory firm headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. The firm is a subsidiary of Susquehanna International Group LLP, ultimately owned by Philadelphia Trading, Inc. SIG provides investment advisory services to various clients.

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.

A.M. Best Co., Inc. provides news, credit ratings, financial data products and services for the insurance industry. The firm specializes in global insurance, ratings, insurance analytics, underwriting information, insurer data filling and regulatory information. The company was founded by Alfred M. Best in 1899 and is headquartered in Oldwick, NJ.

Cboe Exchange, Inc. provides options exchange services. It trades equity options, security index options, options on exchange traded notes and products, binary options, one-week and quarterly options, long-term equity anticipation securities options, and flexible exchange options. The firm also provides information on various stock and options trading strategies, options trading tools, stock and option quotes and data; and options information and education. Additionally, they offer access to product information, conference notices, portfolio management tools, and educational materials for institutional investors and products and strategies for advisors to protect client’s portfolios. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

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.

VSS Fund Management LLC (Veronis Suhler Stevenson) is a subsidiary of Veronis Suhler Stevenson LLC, a private equity firm founded in the year 1981 by John J. Veronis and John S Suhler. The firm is headquartered in New York.

Simon & Schuster, Inc. engages in the publication of fiction and non-fiction books. It offers a wide range of genres and formats for children and adults both audio and in print. The company was founded by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster in 1924 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Founded in 2001, Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc. is a registered broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Macquarie Bank Ltd. (ASX: MBL). They provide coverage of the following industries: resources, healthcare, security/defense, transportation, financial services, retail/consumer products, TMET (telecommunications, media, entertainment and technology), oil & gas, diversified manufacturing/distribution and infrastructure/utilities. Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc. is a member of FINRA.

Part of GenTek, Inc., Digital Communications Group manufactures voice and data quality copper and fiber-optic cable for the telecommunications industry. Digital Communications Group was acquired by GenTek, Inc. from Prestolite Wire LLC on August 25, 2000 for $90 million.