Ralph O. Hellmold

Ralph O. Hellmold has served as a director of the Company since its formation on December 31, 1996 and is Chairman of the Compensation Committee. He was Managing Member of Hellmold & Co., LLC, an investment banking boutique specializing in mergers and acquisitions and working with troubled companies or their creditors until 2012, and is currently an investor. Prior to forming Hellmold & Co., LLC in 2004, Mr. Hellmold was president of Hellmold Associates which was formed in 1990, and Chairman of The Private Investment Banking Company which was formed in 1999. Prior to 1990, Mr. Hellmold was a Managing Director at Prudential-Bache Capital Funding, where he served as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group, co-head of the Investment Banking Committee and head of the Financial Restructuring Group. Prior to 1987, Mr. Hellmold was a partner at Lehman Brothers and its successors, where he worked in Corporate Finance since 1974 and co-founded Lehman’s Financial Restructuring Group. Mr. Hellmold is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has served as director, and on the audit committee, of other public corporations in the past. Mr. Hellmold has a Master’s degree in International Relations from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College. As a result of these and other professional experiences, the Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Hellmold should serve as a director because of his extensive business, investment banking, finance, and corporate management experience, as well as his in-depth understanding of the financial markets and a strong background in mergers and acquisitions, which also supports his role of serving as Chair of the Company’s Compensation Committee.