Davidson Companies

Fred Dickson is a longtime equity market strategist with a reputation for solid analysis and balanced, commonsensical commentary. Fred rejoined D.A. Davidson & Co. in 2001 after working for the Branch Cabell Division of Tucker, Anthony, Inc., in Virginia. He began his investment career in 1973 as part of Goldman Sachs' top-ranked investment strategy team before serving as an institutional portfolio manager and chief investment officer with several money management firms. He first joined D.A. Davidson & Co. in Great Falls in 1993 as Director of Research and Chief Market Strategist before joining Branch Cabell in 1997. Fred holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has served as an adjunct professor for the University of Richmond in Virginia and faculty member at the New York Institute of Finance. He holds the Chartered Market Technician professional designation.

Paul Willey joined Jensen Securities Co. in 1995 with over 16 years experience in the securities industry, prior to the D.A. Davidson & Co. acquisition of Jensen. Paul's experience includes sales positions at Smith Barney Harris Upham, Kidder Peabody and Prudential Securities. Paul has a bachelor's degree, majoring in zoology with a minor in chemistry.

Jim Bradshaw joined D.A. Davidson in January 2000 after seven years with Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, where he headed the financial services practice for the firm. Over that period, Jim provided research coverage on bank and thrift stocks throughout the West. Prior to his stint with Pacific Crest, he was a commercial bank examiner with the State of California Banking Department. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and also earned an MBA in 1992 from the University of Oregon.

Kevin Hayward joined D.A. Davidson & Co. in 2001 as an Institutional Salesman covering West Coast Accounts. Prior to joining Davidson, Kevin worked in institutional sales at Wells Fargo Investments. Kevin began his career as an associate at Black & Co., a regional brokerage firm based in Portland, Oregon.

Scott Barraclough joined D.A. Davidson & Co. in 2002 with 16 years of experience in the industry. Scott previously worked for Tucker Anthony, where he was the head of Listed Trading. Prior to this, he was the head of Listed Trading at Hannifen Imhoff. His experience includes eight years as both a position trader and a sales trader at Cantor Fitzgerald. Scott started his career on the floor of the Pacific Stock Exchange, before moving up to the institutional desk of Newhard, Cook. Scott graduated from Seattle University with a major in finance and a minor in economics.

Teresa Meyer, CFA, joined D.A. Davidson & Co. in 1998 with 14 years experience and has been involved in both institutional sales and research. She has been a member of the Institutional Sales team since April 2003. Teresa joined Black & Company, a regional brokerage firm in Portland, Oregon, in 1995 as a research analyst and institutional sales person and was promoted to Director of Research in 1997. She previously held positions in money management and equity research at Capital Consultants of Portland and Hambrecht & Quist, San Francisco.

David Slocombe joined D.A. Davidson & Co. in 2005 bringing 12 years of investment experience and extensive relationships with major institutions on the West Coast. Prior to joining Davidson, David was a 1st Vice President at Southwest Securities and a Vice President at Loewenbaum & Company / Southcoast Capital. David graduated from St. Edwards University with a bachelor's in business administration and finance.

Bringing two decades of scientific and practical research experience, Miller is charged with setting DatStat's strategic direction and vision. Miller brings together scientific research and enterprise feedback thought leadership and best practices to solve the expansive needs of today's scientific research and corporate organizations. Miller pioneered web-based research through online surveys and analysis, which earned industry awards and recognition among peer researchers. By using her online survey technology, Miller completed her Ph.D. in 3 years, as compared to the average of 7 years. Sought after by researchers looking for a better way, Miller spent almost 10 years consulting with scientific and corporate research organizations. Working with large, fast-paced software companies to world-renowned research centers, Miller delivered online data collection and management solutions to achieve unprecedented results where others fell short. Miller holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington and undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Human Development from Boston College. Currently, she is a board member of the Northwest Center for Women Entrepreneurs and member of the worldwide Entrepreneurs Organization (Previously YEO) and holds affiliations with Stanford University Section on Medical Informatics and UW Business School.

Elliott de Bruin began his career in 1999 with Black & Co. in institutional equity sales before joining D.A. Davidson & Co. in July 2004 as a VP of institutional equity sales. He holds a bachelor's in business admininstration and finance from Carroll College in Helena, MT.

Jim Bellessa has been associated with D.A. Davidson since 1983, establishing a strong reputation for his coverage of utilities and various growth industries. For ten years, he served as the firm's Director of Research. He previously served as a trust investment officer with the Idaho First National Bank in Boise and as a financial analyst with Western Asset Management Co. in Los Angeles. He received both his bachelor's degree and MBA from Brigham Young University, and has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Jim is based in Great Falls, MT.

John Kraft joined D.A. Davidson in July 2001 covering financial services technology companies. Previously, he was responsible for review and evaluation of incoming business plans at a Northwest technology-focused venture capital firm. He also spent six years at Bank of America, most recently as a Vice President managing an $80 million credit and investment portfolio. In addition, John was chosen to help pilot a high-value client management program that was later successfully adopted nationally. He studied at Claremont McKenna College and the University of Washington, earning an MBA and E-Business Certificate from UW.

Matt Petkun is part of D.A. Davidson's technology team, which he joined in February 2001 as an associate. Matt was promoted to analyst in March 2002 and now covers semiconductor capital equipment and embedded systems companies. Previously, Matt served as a staff writer for RedChip.com covering small capitalization equities. He began his career at Nike, Inc. assisting in retail inventory allocation and demand planning. Matt graduated with a bachelor's degree from Westmont College.

Mike Wonsiewicz had been in the investment industry for over 12 years before joining D.A. Davidson & Co. in 2000. Previously he worked for The Seidler Companies as a specialist and clerk for ten years on The Pacific Exchange in Los Angeles . Mike is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a bachelor's in finance.

Sally Walton is a Vice President in D.A. Davidson & Co.'s Fixed Income Strategy Group. She specializes in the reinvestment of proceeds from bond issues and bond defeasances. Walton works closely with institutional clients, providing investment consultation and/or brokerage services to public entities such as states, counties, cities, and special districts. Over the past 20 years, She has used the "Disciplined Investment Process" to assist public entities in developing, implementing and monitoring investment strategies.

Ms. Alderson began work with Davidson Fixed Income Management in May 2003. As Investment Coordinator she is responsible for maintaining the overall reporting functions, and crafting other specialized reports or correspondence tailored to specific client needs. Ms. Alderson also executes securities transactions in conjunction with the firm's portfolio management activities. She has over five years banking experience and holds a B.A. in Business Administration/Accounting from the University of Montevallo. Ms. Alderson has received the AFP designation as a Certified Treasury Professional, CTP.

Steve Chercover joined D.A. Davidson in February 2000 covering the Paper & Forest Products sector, which he previously covered for TD Newcrest in Toronto prior to joining D.A. Davidson. His knowledge of the Canadian industry and current location in Portland, Oregon give him a unique perspective of the evolving North American forest products industry. In the past several years, Chercover has enjoyed several accolades, including a #2 ranking in the Wall St. Journal's 2004 "Best on the Street" Analyst Survey, and the #1 ranking for earnings estimate accuracy, according to Starmine & Forbes Magazine. Steve has also been named to the All-American Research Team in Institutional Investor Magazine's ranking of Regional and Boutique brokerages for the past two years. Steve holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario, an MBA from the University of Toronto, and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Trisha Mingo serves as Fund Accountant and Manager of Operations for CSAFE, a Colorado local government investment pool. Her duties include daily transaction management, statement reporting, investment execution and website management. Ms. Mingo has been involved in the investment and finance industry since 1995. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration, with an emphasis in financial management, from Regis University.

Dave Westcott is a Managing Director for D.A. Davidson & Co.'s Fixed Income Strategy Group. He is responsible for providing consultative and fixed income brokerage services to institutional portfolio managers. Prior to joining D.A. Davidson in 2002, Westcott served as Managing Director for U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray since 1986 as Co-strategist for the Government Strategy Group. He has over 27 years of experience in the fixed income industry as a consultant, advisor and as a strategist developing and implementing investment strategies. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and joins a team of strategists specializing in a total return approach to fixed income management. Westcott holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Lewis & Clarke College .

Doug Woodcock is Director of Equity Capital Markets for D.A. Davidson & Co. Mr. Woodcock was a Managing Director and Principal at Jensen Securities until it was acquired by D.A. Davidson & Co. in 1998. His 25 years of experience in the securities industry include prior positions as VP for Dean Witter from 1982-1986 and General Partner of Dakota Partners, an investment partnership, from 1986-1990. Doug serves on the D.A. Davidson & Co. Management Committee and Board of Directors. He is a current member of the Securities Industry Association Institutional Committee. Doug is a graduate of University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada and a former member of the National Ski Team of Canada.

Mark Semmens has extensive experience in providing investment banking services to corporate clients in connection with public offerings, private placements, mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Mr. Semmens joined D.A. Davidson & Co. in 1985 and founded the firm's investment banking department. During the course of his career, he has served on the firm's Management Committee, Executive Committee, and Board of Directors. He has also served on various securities industry committees and on the board of directors of two private companies. Mr. Semmens is a graduate of Carroll College with B.A. degrees in Business Administration and Finance. He currently is a member of the Montana Board of Regents, which governs the eight public colleges and universities of the Montana University System, and Chairman of the Higher Education Student Assistance Corporation, a student loan funding organization. Mark is based in Great Falls, MT.

Norm Duffett joined D.A. Davidson in April 2003, bringing over 20 years of project finance and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Davidson, Mr. Duffett was head of Orca Capital Corporation, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in private equity and M&A, which he co-founded in 1991. Before forming Orca, Norm was Regional Investment Banking Officer in the Capital Markets Group of Bank of America and served as head of corporate development with Schnitzer Group. Norm is on the Board of Directors of the Software Association of Oregon and the Stanford Business School Alumni Association of Oregon. Norm holds an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School and a bachelor's magna cum laude from Princeton University. Norm is based in Lake Oswego, OR.

John Rogers is HiSoftware's chief financial officer and chief operating officer. His primary responsibilities include managing the company's financial growth, scaling continued operations and directing global human resources. Rogers brings to HiSoftware more than 22 years of financial and operations experience. Prior to joining HiSoftware, Rogers was a partner of Henniker River Group, a technology-focused business development firm, since 2000. Prior to that, Rogers was chief operating officer and chief financial officer of RealWorld Corporation, a former client of Henniker River. At RealWorld, Rogers was responsible for overall operations and all financial matters. He oversaw a complete turn-around of the company that eventually led to its acquisition by Great Plains Software, Inc. (GPSI) in the year 2000. Before joining RealWorld, Rogers was an officer and vice president of finance and CFO of Softdesk, Inc. (SDSK) until its March 1997 merger with Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK). Roger's financial expertise played a key role in his position at Softdesk to help facilitate the $92 million merger. After the acquisition of Softdesk by Autodesk, Rogers continued in his role as director of finance for Autodesk in their AEC Market Group, overseeing the financial reporting, budgeting and analysis for the AEC product line. Before joining Softdesk, Rogers was CFO of Acuity Imaging, Inc. and Automatix, Inc., both public companies. Rogers holds a bachelor of arts degree from Boston College and a master's degree in business administration and international affairs from Columbia University.

Patrick Fay is the Director of Equity Trading for D.A. Davidson & Co. His responsibilities include both the NASDAQ and Listed Equity Trading Departments. Prior to joining Davidson in 2002, with over 22 years of experience in the securities industry, he worked as Senior Vice President with Frost Securities, Inc. in Dallas for a year. His previous experience includes being a Partner and Co-Head of Equity Trading at J.C. Bradford & Co. in Nashville , where he worked for 17 years. Pat started his career in New York City as a specialist clerk on the NYSE, before moving to the trading desk at Dillon, Read & Co for three years. He was a past President of the Nashville Securities Trader Association and is an active member of the Security Traders Association of Portland.

Deanne Woodring is a Managing Director in D.A. Davidson & Co.'s Fixed Income Strategy Group. For over 20 years, Woodring has focused on developing and implementing a disciplined investment process for public entities. The utilization of customized benchmarks that best fit the objectives and constraints of her customers is the driving force of her service. Woodring assists clients in defining the liquid and core portions of their operating portfolios. Using a benchmark strategy, she monitors for potential risk and then works with clients to enhance investment returns. Concise communication, accountability and experience are the keys to Woodring's successful consultative and brokerage service. Woodring holds an Executive Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Washington and a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon . She also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Gary Nelson joined the firm in 2005 to manage the Loan Placement Program. He has nearly 30 years of varied and extensive experience in the financial industry. Included in this experience is: the underwriting and successful placement of over $500 million in commercial financings; the direction of the loan servicing and credit administration of a commercial loan portfolio of over $1.5 billion; and the oversight of over $5 billion in bank and savings & loan assets for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Resolution Trust Corporation.

Whitney Zuercher is Operations Manager for the Fixed Income Strategy Group. Her primary activities encompass operation support for institutional accounts including reporting, trade execution and client management. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Portland State University.

Bryan joined D.A. Davidson in October 2004 as an associate to Jim Bellessa covering utilities and various growth industries. Prior to joining D.A. Davidson, Bryan worked as a Credit Analyst with Mountain West Financial Corp. in Great Falls, MT. He received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in finance, from the University of Montana and holds an MBA from Regis University located in Denver, CO. He is currently a Level II CFA candidate. Bryan is based in Great Falls, MT.

Catherine joined D.A. Davidson in June 2006 as an associate within the Technology sector working with Alan Davis. She graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Finance and a minor in History.

Chris Denny joined D.A. Davidson in October 2006 as an associate for JB Groh covering the aerospace and transportation sectors. Prior to Davidson, he was an intern at Piper Jaffray in its Investment Banking division. Chris received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration (emphasis in Finance) and minor in Economics from Trinity University, located in San Antonio, TX.

Dan Meyers joined D.A. Davidson in February 2007 as an associate for Reed Anderson covering consumer and specialty retail companies. Dan graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree in economics. Dan is based in Minneapolis, MN.

Ms. Gillespie joined Davidson Trust Co. February 26, 2002 as a Personal Trust Administrator. In 1979, she received her B.S. degree in Business Administration, Accounting Option from Montana State University-Billings. She has been a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Montana since 1981. Prior to returning to Montana, Ms. Gillespie was Controller for Perkins & Company, a public accounting & consulting firm, located in Portland, Oregon.

Katherine Woods-Eliot joined D.A. Davidson in March 2005. She graduated with a degree in History from Reed College in May of 2002, and did post-baccalaureate work in accounting at Portland State University. Katherine serves as an associate to Jim Bradshaw covering the banking industry.

Kevin joined D.A. Davidson in June 2004 after graduating from the University of Portland with a B.B.A. in Finance. Kevin has assisted in expanding Corporate Services across various segments. He has experience with ESOP/ESPP programs, 144 sales, corporate stock repurchase programs, and directed share programs.

Lauren joined D.A. Davidson in August of 2003 as a Retail Research Associate. Prior to joining the company Lauren attended Washington University in St. Louis where she studied computer engineering and business and earned a B.S.B.A. in Marketing with a second major in Management. At Davidson Lauren coordinates the distribution of Retail Research material including Morning Comments, databases, company reports and the monthly Recommended List publications. She is also responsible for updating the DAD 99 Index and fielding general research questions.

Ms. O'Boyle has been with Davidson Trust Co. in Kalispell since 1992. She is a graduate of the National Graduate Trust School at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She has also attended Cannon Financial Institute and has an American Institute of Banking Diploma in Applied Banking. Prior to joining Davidson Trust Co., Ms. O'Boyle spent 19 years with First Interstate Bank in Kalispell.

Matt Herb is a research analyst for Davidson Fixed Income Management. His focus is on research, client relations, and office operations. He has worked in the banking and finance industry for the past 5 years. Mr. Herb has his bachelor's degree in Finance from Western Washington University.

Array

Sam Orme is a Principal in Investment Banking for D.A. Davidson & Co. Mr. Orme has extensive experience working on a variety of investment banking transactions including mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private equity transactions. He has provided investment banking services for a broad range of privately held companies as well as public companies, including Volcom, Ask.com, Crocs, Deckers, Micrel, Online Resources, and The Ensign Group. Buyers of his clients have included Random House, Cargill, Corporate Express, and Mitsui, as well as numerous financial buyout groups. Mr. Orme has developed a wealth of contacts in the investment community and throughout the United States. Over his career, he has advised companies on mergers and acquisitions totaling over $4 billion in value. Prior to joining D.A. Davidson, Mr. Orme worked for Robertson Stephens M&A Group in San Francisco. Before Robertson, Mr. Orme was an accountant at Deloitte & Touche, where he advised Fortune 500 companies. He holds a B.S. in Finance and a minor in Economics from the University of Utah, David S. Eccles School of Business. Sam is based in Lake Oswego, OR.

Tyler rejoined the Private Client Research Department in August of 2007 as a Private Client Research Specialist after working as an Investor Reporting Analyst for Merrill Lynch's mortgage servicing group. Tyler first joined Davidson in 2005 as a Financial Consultant in Kennewick, WA. He is currently attending the Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. School of Business Administration at the University of Portland, and holds a bachelor's degree in Business Finance from Brigham Young University - Idaho.

Arthur P. Sims is President of Davidson Trust Co., the trust and wealth management operation within Davidson Companies. Mr. Sims joined Davidson Trust in September 2004 after previously serving as Director and President of Legg Mason Trust, fsb, in Baltimore, Maryland. He joined Legg Mason in 1992 to form and develop a trust business for the company. He previously served in various management positions with a number of financial institutions, accumulating more than 29 years in the trust industry during his career. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and holds a law degree from Case Western Reserve University. He has been active in a variety of civic and educational organizations.