Michael J. Cohen

C.K. Cooper & Co. is a full-service investment banking and broker/dealer headquartered in Irvine, California. The firm was founded in 1982 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of C & K Capital Corp., and a sister company to Paladin Capital Partners, Inc. The services provided by C.K. Cooper & Co. were expanded in 1996, when a management team led by Alexander G. Montano purchased the firm. In 2001, C.K. Cooper & Co. began to offer brokerage services to individual investors. The firm is a member of the NASD. C.K. Cooper & Co. focuses on the oil and gas sectors. Their primary focus within the oil and gas sectors is the exploration and production sub-sector. The core thesis of the firm's research is based on what they refer to as the feeding frenzy, suggesting that there are constant business cycles within the E&P sector. These cycles are predicated on the need for larger oil and gas companies to acquire smaller exploration and production companies to maintain rates of growth.

Founded by Dana Telsey in 2008, Telsey Advisory Group LLC (TAG) is an independent equity research and consulting firm focused on the consumer sector, including retail and apparel companies and restaurants. They provide hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity firms and private and public consumer companies the detailed analysis and market context that is necessary to make strategic and investment decisions. TAG covers both US-based and international companies across the consumer landscape, including apparel manufacturers, children and teen retailers, consumer electronics, department stores, discounters, home furnishings, luxury goods, off-price retailers, quick service and specialty restaurants and specialty apparel retailers. Their consulting services include acquisition due diligence, benchmarking, competitive analyses, financial analysis, investor relations functions, market assessments, and valuation.

Headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in New York City, Minneapolis, Chicago and Boston, ThinkEquity Partners is a broker/dealer. The firm offers targeted research and investment banking services for institutional investors and corporate clients. They specialize in identifying, analyzing and understanding the technological, macroeconomic and cultural trends that impact key growth verticals, with a particular concentration on healthcare, technology, media/education and business/consumer services. The firm starts with a top-down analysis approach and then allocates resources based on a long-range research roadmap.

Broadpoint.Gleacher Securities, formerly Broadpoint Capital, Inc. is an independent, institutional investment banking, sales and trading boutique headquartered in New York City. They were also previously known as First Albany Capital, Inc. The firm is a subsidiary of Broadpoint Securities Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BPSG), formerly known as First Albany Cos., Inc. They have additional offices in Boston, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Bonita Springs, Florida, Glen Allen, Virginia, Roseland, New Jersey and St. Louis, Missouri. Broadpoint.Gleacher follows a range of fixed-income securities and provides proprietary views and analysis on credit fundamentals and trading dynamics. They focus on investment grade, high yield and convertible securities in the following sectors: consumer, building materials, financials, gaming / leisure, healthcare, homebuilding, industrials, mining, packaging, paper/forest products, power/energy, technology/media/telecommunications and transportation.