Eric R. Schmitz

Nicholas Co., Inc. is a privately-owned, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm was founded by Albert Nicholas in 1967 and they provide investment advice to individuals, institutions, trusts, estates and charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities, pensions and profit sharing plans, and investment companies.

T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (Price Associates) is a registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm was founded by Thomas Rowe Price, Jr. in 1937. They are a subsidiary of the T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW), which was formed in 2000 as the publicly traded parent holding company of Price Associates and their affiliated entities. Price Associates offers a variety of mutual funds, sub-advisory services and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans and financial intermediaries.

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.

Global Factory, Inc. provides collaborative manufacturing execution systems. The firm's software gather, organize & analyze demand, production & quality data from various sources and monitor key indicators & execute business processes to control, manage & optimize distributed manufacturing operations. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

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.

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.

Engine No. 1 LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded by Christopher James and Charles Penner in 2020 and is a subsidiary of Engine No. 1 LP. Engine No. 1 provides investment advice to pooled investment vehicles and special purpose vehicles.

Crest Rock Management Co LP (Crest Rock Partners) is a private equity firm founded in 2019 by Steve Johnson and Jeff Carnes. The firm is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

West Monroe Partners LLC engages in the provision of business and technology solutions. It offers advance analytics, customer experience, mergers and acquisitions, operation excellence and performance services. It also provides services to private equity, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, energy, banking and credit unions. The company was founded by Dean Fischer, Susan Stelter, and Kevin McCarty in 2002 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

SWS Research Co., Ltd. is the investment research subsidiary of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Co., Ltd., which is owned by Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co., Ltd. (SHE: 000166) in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, the firm was founded in 1992 to offer a wide range of products and services to global investors who want to invest in Chinese equity market. SWS Research provides clients with securities research service that covers over 500 key stocks in Asian market, as well as economics, strategy, bond, fund and derivatives research. Their clients include almost all major domestic institutional investors such as mutual funds, insurance companies, banks and trusts. They also serve QFII and other overseas institutional investors.

Founded in 2005 by Jay H. Freedman, Crystal Rock Capital Management is a registered investment advisor headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois.

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).

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 Middle Market LLC engages in financial advisory business. It specializes in strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), restructuring, and capital raising. The firm’s M&A and Strategic Advisory service focuses on private equity and divestitures, privately-owned companies, corporate acquisitions and divestitures, and sale of public companies. Its Restructuring service consists of situation assessment, alternative assessment, and execution. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

Part of Deloitte LLP (New York), Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC provides financial advisory services. The company is based in New York, NY. The CEOs of the company are Hector Calzada, Paul Warley, Thomas Sloop.

Balmoral Funds LLC (Balmoral Funds) is a private equity firm founded in 2005 by Jonathan A. Victor and Skip Victor. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Harren Equity Partners LLC (Harren Equity Partners) is a private equity firm founded in 1999 by Thomas A. Carver and Hunter Reichert. The firm is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia with an additional office in Lauderdale, Florida.

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