Paul Edward Pliester

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. engages in the provision of insurance, annuities, and employee benefits programs. It operates through the US, and MetLife Holdings segments. The company is headquartered in New York, NY.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (Investment Management) (BBH-IM) is the investment management division of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1931 and do-business-as Brown Brothers Harriman Mutual Fund Advisory Department. BBH-IM advises or sub-advises Mutual Funds, an ETF, and UCITS Funds.

Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. provides financial services. Its services include investment, real estate, investment banking, consulting and insurance services. The company was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Pekin Hardy Strauss, Inc. (Pekin Hardy) is an independent, SEC-registered investment adviser headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded by Rick Singer in 1990 as Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management, Inc. Pekin Hardy serves as the investment manager to the Appleseed Fund, a mutual fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and provides investment management services to separately managed accounts, retirement plans, and other client accounts.

InspereX LLC is a broker/dealer firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded by Thomas S. Rickets and Joe Rickard in 1999 as Incapital LLC. They are a subsidiary of InpereX Holdings LLC. InspereX provides market participants cloud-tech tools and market-linked product education to better execute their trading strategies and manage their portfolios.

Man-AHL Diversified I LP engages in the business of speculative trading of physical commodities, futures contracts, spot and forward contracts, swaps and options on the foregoing, exchanges of futures for physical transactions, and other investments on domestic and international exchanges and markets. The company was founded on September 29, 1997 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

MD SolarSciences Corp. manufactures and distributes skin care products. Its products include sunscreens, anti-aging moisturizer, eye repair emulsion and facial repair serum. The firm sells its products through stores and online. The company was founded by Robert J. Friedman and Bruce A. Deitchman in 2007 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.

Ceres operates as a non-profit organization. Its solutions include energy conservation, environmental restoration, management commitment, management commitment, reduction and disposal of wastes and audits and reports. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

SSgA Funds Management, Inc. (SSgA FM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1978 and is a subsidiary of State Street Global Advisors, Inc., ultimately held by State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT). SSgA FM provides investment advisory services to US investment companies and certain pooled investment vehicles.

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.

William Blair & Co. LLC (William Blair) is a SEC-registered broker/dealer firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded by William McCormick Blair in 1935 and is a subsidiary of WBC Holdings LP. Until 1941, they were known as Blair, Bonner & Co. William Blair provides broking services to individual, institutional and issuing clients.

Pfingsten Partners LLC (Pfingsten Partners) is a private equity firm founded in 1989 by Thomas Steven Bagley. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

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.

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.

Part of Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc., William M. Mercer Cos. LLC is a company that provides insurance and reinsurance services worldwide as a broker, agent, or consultant for clients. The company is based in New York, NY.

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.

Founded in 1979, Northern Trust Securities, Inc. is an SEC-registered broker/dealer and government securities broker/dealer headquartered in Chicago. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS). They offer research, account information, market data and online trading services. In addition, Northern Trust offers a variety of banking services including retail banking, trust services, securities brokerage services and investment management services. They operate primarily in the US, continental Europe and Canada. Northern Trust Securities is a member of the NASD and the SIPC.

Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Northwestern has three campuses

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization that represents over 1,000 member companies in various industries. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is based in Chicago, IL, and represents businesses from all industries. The members collectively employ 400,000 employees and generate $24 billion in revenue. The chamber combines the power of membership with its legacy of leadership and business advocacy to drive a dynamic economy. The organization offers extensive benefits and opportunities for members at every level, including networking, professional development, and business advocacy.

The Executives Club of Chicago operates as a premier membership organization and business forum. The non-profit company is based in Chicago, IL.

GCM Customized Fund Investment Group LP (GCM Customized Fund Investment Group) is a private equity subsidiary of Grosvenor Capital Management LP founded in 1999. The firm is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Morningstar, Inc. (Research) is the investment research arm of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), an American financial services firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded by Joseph Mansueto in 1984 and provides independent portfolio information offering star ratings and analysis of managed funds. They also provide economic commentary and asset allocation information based on qualitative research.

North Branch Capital LLC (North Branch Capital) is a private equity firm founded in 2014 by Jonathan E. Leiman, Daniel B. Bauman and Bill Huber. The firm is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois.

The Phi Beta Kappa Society operates as an organization for liberal arts and science education. The non-profit company is based in Washington.

Abacus Finance Group LLC (Abacus Finance) is a private equity firm founded in 2011 by Tim Clifford and Sean McKeever. The firm is headquartered in New York.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is a national trade association representing the wind industry, which is the largest source of renewable energy in the United States. AWEA has 1,000 member companies and represents 120,000 jobs in the economy, with a nationwide workforce located across all 50 states. The non-profit company is based in Washington, and the CEO of the company is Tom Kiernan. The organization serves as a powerful voice for how wind works for its members, including leaders in wind power and energy development, turbine manufacturing, and component and service suppliers. AWEA hosts the Western Hemisphere's largest wind energy event, the AWEA Windpower Conference & Exhibition, which will be held in June 2021. The conference will be housed within CleanPower, the new exhibition hub for utility-scale renewable energy, bringing together wind power, solar power, and energy storage industries.

The American Clean Power Association champions policies that aim to transform the power grid into a low-cost, reliable, and renewable power system. The private company is based in Washington. The CEOs of the American company are JC Sandberg and Jason Grumet.

RLJ Credit Management LLC (RLJ Credit Management) is a private debt/equity division of RLJ Cos. founded in 2011 by Trevoir D. Gregg and Robert L. Johnson. The firm is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.