Michael S. Sharp

Founded in 1958, Merrill Lynch Piece Fenner & Smith, Inc. is an SEC registered broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of BAC North America Holding Co. and their ultimate parent is Bank of America Corp. (NYSE BAC).

Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (RJA) is a registered broker-dealer headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. The firm was founded in 1962 and is a subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF), a diversified holding company. RJA offers a full array of capital markets services, strategic advice and planning for institutional investors.

RBC Capital Markets LLC is a full-service brokerage and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. They are a direct subsidiary of RBC USA Holdco Corp. and a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE, NYSE: RY). Founded in 2010, the firm is comprised of 3 major business lines: the Private Client Group, the Fixed-Income Group and the Clearing and Execution Services Group. The Private Client Group serves individual investors, while the Fixed-Income Group provides services to institutions, municipalities and non-profit organizations. The Clearing and Execution Services Group is a provider of clearing and execution services to independent brokers/dealers throughout the US. RBC Capital Markets focuses on the following sectors: communications, media, consumer/retail, diversified industries, energy, financial institutions, forest products, healthcare, infrastructure finance, mining & metals, real estate, social infrastructure, technology and the US municipal markets.

Digi-Key Corp. distributes electronic components. It also distributes semiconductors, discrete, electromechanical parts. Its products include audio products, batteries, cable assemblies, capacitors, computer & video accessories, connectors, crystals & oscillators, discrete semiconductor products and many more. The company was founded by Ronald A. Stordahl in 1972 and is headquartered in Thief River Falls, MN.

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.

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.

Rochester Institute of Technology is a privately endowed, coeducational university with ten colleges emphasizing career education and experiential learning. It was founded in 1829 and is headquartered in Rochester, NY.

Barclays Capital, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 and is a subsidiary of Barclays Group US, Inc., ultimately owned by Barclays plc (LON: BARC) in Great Britain. Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients a full spectrum of prime brokerage services which includes equities and fixed income financing, OTC Clearing, Futures and Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage and access to industry insights and analytics from their Strategic Consulting team.

Veniti, Inc. operates as a medical device company which focuses on the treatment of venous insufficiency. Its products include VENI RF Plus which uses radio frequency generated steam to destroy problematic veins that manifest as varicose veins; VENI Vena Cava Filter system which is engineered to improve the accuracy, efficiency of deployment, placement and retrieval; and VICI Venous Stent which is designed specifically for the treatment of venous outflow obstruction. The company was founded by Sean C. Morris and Mark Klopp in 2009 and is headquartered in Fremont, CA.

EQT Partners, Inc. is a Private Equity firm, a subsidiary of EQT Partners AB founded in 1994. EQT Partners, Inc. is headquartered in New York.

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

The Medical Device Manufacturers Association operates as a trade association. The private company is based in Washington. The American company was founded by Thomas C. Thompson.

United States Surgical Corp. engages in the manufacture of wound closure products and surgical devices. It produces tools used in surgery including staplers, sutures, laparoscopic instruments, cardiovascular surgical products and electrosurgical devices. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in North Haven, CT.

Cordis Corp. develops and manufactures devices for interventional vascular medicine and electrophysiology. The firm's products include guidewires, balloons, forceps, catheters, and stents to treat a variety of circulatory system problems including coronary artery disease and cerebral aneurysms. The company was founded by William P. Murphy Jr. in 1959 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA.

Fifth Street Management LLC is a registered investment advisor located in Greenwich, Connecticut. In 2014, Fifth Street Asset Management Inc. ("FSAM") completed its initial public offering of common stock (NASDAQ:FSAM). As part of the restructuring in connection with the IPO, FSAM became the general partner of Fifth Street Holdings LP ("Holdings”) and the proceeds of the IPO were used to repurchase interests in Holdings from certain minority holders. Fifth Street is wholly-owned by Holdings, and FSAM holds a minority interest in Holdings. The majority of interests in Holdings is held by employees of affiliates of Fifth Street, including Leonard M. Tannenbaum.

EARNEST Partners LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm was founded in 1999 by Paul Viera Jr. They are a subsidiary of Westchester Ltd. LLC, owned by Pev Trust. EARNEST Partners provides investment advice to various types of clients.

Covidien LP manufactures and distributes medical devices. Its products include disposable medical supplies, monitoring equipment, innovative wound closure products, advanced surgical devices, medical instruments and bulk analgesic pharmaceuticals. The company is headquartered in Mansfield, MA.

Voya Investment Management LLC (Voya IM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm was founded in 1997 and formerly known as ING Investment Management LLC. They are a wholly owned subsidiary of VIM Holdings LLC, which is ultimately owned by Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), formerly known as ING U.S. Inc. Voya IM primarily provides portfolio management services to affiliated and unaffiliated insurance companies utilizing a variety of investment styles. The firm also advises other insurance-related entities (e.g., reinsurance companies) as well as various types of institutional investors, such as pension plans, with respect to certain investment strategies.

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.

TTV Capital LLC (TTV) is a venture capital firm founded in 2000 by W. Thomas Smith and Gardiner W. Garrard. The firm is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

SWM International, Inc. is an American leading performance materials company that designs and manufactures highly engineered films, adhesive tapes, foams, nets, nonwovens, and papers for various industries and specialty applications. The private company is based in Alpharetta, GA. The company collaborates with industry leaders to develop and manufacture innovative skin-friendly medical device fixation and topical solutions. The company's state-of-the-art facilities enable them to offer customers the whole spectrum of production services from inception through to market delivery. SWM International and its subsidiaries manufacture on four continents, conduct business in over 90 countries, and employ approximately 5,000 people worldwide.

K&L Gates LLP engages in the provision of legal services. The firm represents corporations, growth and middle-market companies, capital markets participants and entrepreneurs as well as public sector entities, educational institutions, philanthropic organizations, and individuals. The company was founded by Kirkpatrick Lockhart in 1946 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA.

GMT Corp. provides manufacturing services. Its services include production machining, production fabrication and production services. The company was founded by Jill Graening and Larry Graening in 1973 and is headquartered in Waverly, IA.

Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. (Broker) (Baird-Broker) is the broker-dealer division of Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc., an investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm was founded in 1919 and is ultimately owned by Baird Financial Group, Inc. Baird-Broker offers a full suite of comprehensive trading services for institutional clients.

Ernst & Young provides accounting services. Its services include auditing, accounting, tax and transaction services, assurance and advisory business, online transaction advisory and a wide range of financial services. The company was founded by Arthur Young and Alwin C. Ernst in 1881 and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.

TCW Asset Management Co. LLC (TCW) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm was founded in 1992 and is wholly-owned by The TCW Group, Inc. In 2013, TCW management and private investment funds affiliated with The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) acquired TCW Group from Société Générale. TCW provides investment management and advice for a wide array of investment strategies for institutional and individual investors through investment advisory accounts, private open- and closed-end commingled investment funds and structured investment vehicles such as collateralized debt obligations.

Superior Essex, Inc. manufactures and distributes wire and cables. It offers electrical insulating materials, motors, motor renewal parts, shop equipment and tools, test instruments, wires, and cables and miscellaneous parts for distribution applications. The company was founded in April, 1999 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Equity Group Investments LLC (Equity Group Investments) is a private equity subsidiary of Equity International Management LLC founded in 1968 by Samuel Zell. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Servidyne, Inc. provides demand response solutions. The firm’s services include benchmarking, energy audits, energy STAR certification, retro-commissioning (RCx), LEED services, sustainability and ESCO engineering support services. The company was founded by E. Milton Bevington in 1974 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

The Pasha Group, Inc. provides transportation and logistics services. The firm is structured into three operating units: automotive, relocation, and maritime. It handles a range of products including all modes of transportation and utilizing the information technology systems. The company was founded by George Pasha Sr. in 1947 and is headquartered in San Rafael, CA.

Viridian LLC operates as a biopharmaceutical incubator. It focuses in the discovery and development of new molecular entities. The company was founded by Peter Harwin and Tomas Kiselak in 2016 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.

Fairmount Healthcare Feeder Fund Ltd. operates as an hedge fund which engages in pooling investment funds. The company is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.

Tavistock Life Sciences Co (Tavistock Life Sciences Co.) is a venture capital firm founded in 2002. The firm is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Leucadia Asset Management LLC (LAM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2002 as Jefferies Private Client Advisers LLC. They changed their name to Jefferies Investment Advisers LLC in 2006 and to Leucadia Asset Management LLC in 2021. The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF). LAM provides advisory services to high net-worth individuals, trusts, estates, foundations, charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities.

Whippoorwill Associates, Inc. (Whippoorwill) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in White Plains, New York. The firm was founded by Shelley Greenhaus in 1990. Whippoorwill manages private investment funds and separately managed accounts for a large institutional investor.