First Analysis Securities Corp.

Larry Berlin is a vice president specializing in research and investment in financial transaction processing, telecom billing and enhanced services, and accounts receivable management. He provides research coverage of leading private and publicly traded companies in his sector. Prior to joining First Analysis in 1999, he was acting CFO at Doculabs Inc., a Chicago-based information technology consulting firm. Earlier, he was a consultant for Ganymede Corp., an associate in corporate finance at UBS Inc., and a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. He earned an MBA and a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago.

Jim Macdonald is a managing director coordinating research and investment in selected areas of the outsourced services sector. He coordinates research coverage of leading private and publicly traded companies in his sectors. Prior to joining First Analysis in 1997, he was a general manager at Nalco Chemical Co., where he played a key role in expanding Nalco's service offering to include operating and leasing equipment at customer sites, which led to the formation of a joint venture with U.S. Filter Co. Earlier, he was with a subsidiary of Ecolab Inc. He earned an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Cornell University, where he also earned the university's highest award in that discipline.

Dan Leonard specializes in research and investment in life sciences tools and inputs, including diagnostics, and other selected areas of the chemistry-enabled sector. He provides research coverage of leading private and publicly traded companies in his segments. Prior to joining First Analysis in 2002, he was an analyst in the life sciences division of Simon-Kucher & Partners, where he specialized in pricing strategy for pharmaceuticals. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan. He is a candidate for an MBA at the University of Chicago.

David Kerstein specializes in research publishing and support in the information technology and outsourced service sectors. Prior to joining First Analysis in 2000, he evaluated marketing courses for UNext, an online university that specializes in business education. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in history in 1999 and a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Frank Sparacino is a vice president specializing in research and investment in enterprise software and health care information technology. He provides research coverage of leading private and publicly traded companies in his sectors. Prior to joining First Analysis in 2000, he spent four years as a sell-side equity research analyst with Barrington Research Associates Inc., where he covered the enterprise and Internet infrastructure software market. Earlier, he was with Brinson Partners, a global money management firm, performing a wide range of duties from portfolio implementation and client service to developing derivative functionality for the firm's portfolio management accounting system. Before that, he worked for KPMG as a corporate tax specialist. Mr. Sparacino earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University. He is a certified public accountant and a CFA charterholder.

Greg Zorovich serves institutional investors in the central U.S. Prior to joining First Analysis in 2006, he was a vice president at WaveCrest Laboratories, a start-up motor technology company, where he oversaw its strategic direction and established partnerships worldwide. Previously, he was co-owner and director of sales and marketing for a start-up biomedical venture that developed, manufactured, and sold product for the health-care industry. Earlier, he was vice president of sales and co-owner of Bio\Nexus Inc., a rehabilitation engineering services provider. He earned a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Wright State University.

Howard Smith is a managing director at First Analysis where he coordinates investment and research in selected areas of information technology. Before joining First Analysis in 1994, he was a senior tax consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co. Mr. Smith earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a certified public accountant. back to top

Ryan Kunkel is an analyst in the investment banking group. Prior to joining First Analysis in 2005, he interned at Morgan Stanley and First Trust Portfolios. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance and economics with high distinction from the University of Iowa.

Ryan Ronquillo is an analyst in the investment banking group. Prior to joining First Analysis in 2007, he was an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions group of the investment banking division of Duff & Phelps Securities, where he specialized in the origination, analysis, and execution of sell-side advisory assignments. Prior to that, he interned as a full-time investment banking analyst at Houlihan Smith & Co., where he worked on fairness and solvency opinions as well as business valuations. He earned a bachelor's degree with a concentration in finance from DePaul University.

Tom brings over 20 years of marketing and strategic planning to Focus. Over his career, Tom has filled leadership roles in strategic planning, marketing, product development, project management, risk management, and finance. It is his breadth of experience that gives him the perspective that bridges all areas of an organization. Most recently, Tom worked on redesigning Bank One's credit risk exposure management framework, and the associated processes and systems. While at First Card, First Chicago's credit card subsidiary, he created a product development strategy to capitalize on First Card's direct mail expertise to launch an integrated product set on a nation-wide basis. Underlying this effort was a unique demographic and psychographic approach to customer segmentation that expanded First Card's capabilities beyond their traditional behavioral-based approach. He led the effort to develop the First Card Platinum Card in the late 1990s. The Platinum Card quickly became First Card's primary product offering by out-performing the previous control product by over 20%. Tom managed this product through its initial rollout to 500,000 cardmembers. Tom began his career with Arthur Andersen & Co., where he was responsible for managing auditing and financial consulting engagements for large, multi-national financial services organizations through small, community banks. Tom graduated from DePaul University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Tony Perkins is an analyst specializing in research and investment in the health care services sector. He provides research coverage of leading private and publicly traded companies in selected areas of the sector. Prior to joining First Analysis in 2007, he was president and co-founder of The Funding Exchange LLC, an Internet market company in the litigation finance industry. Earlier, he worked in sales, business development, and technical services at Outstart, a knowledge management software and services company, and as a manager at Waterstone Consulting. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, with honors, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.