Tower Group Inc.

Karen Cone is president and chief executive officer of TowerGroup, the leading research and advisory firm focused exclusively on providing the global financial services industry with the highest standards of research and trusted advice. Cone joined TowerGroup in February 2004. With 30 years of experience in the high-tech and financial services industries, Cone has developed an impressive track record of successfully leading and growing research businesses. Most recently, Cone was the global practice leader for research at MasterCard Advisors, a subsidiary of MasterCard Worldwide. Cone joined MasterCard Advisors in May 2003 to establish and grow a research business focused on the financial services industry, and rapidly built out a research practice including advisory research, primary market research, and performance measurement. Previously, Cone was a member of the Senior Leadership Team at Gartner Inc., the leading research and advisory firm for the information technology industry. Over a 10-year period, she held several key management positions. As senior vice president and general manager of gartner.com, she built a global organization and new Web presence from the ground up that grew into the primary delivery channel for research and related services. As group vice president, Research, she was responsible for business management and technology-focused research services globally. Cone began her career at IBM. As head of Software Business Practices, she was responsible for determining worldwide business terms and pricing structures for over 2,000 software announcements annually. Her rise through the management ranks included six years providing sales and marketing coverage in the New York financial sector, primarily as the Citicorp marketing manager. In addition, Cone had a three-year assignment in Japan, where she held positions as product manager for IBM China and financial operations manager for the Asia/South Pacific Region, and she had a four-year assignment with IBM Russia. Cone is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events and has published research reports and articles on a range of topics in both financial services and information technology. She holds a bachelor's degree in Sino-Soviet studies from Franklin and Marshall College and studied at the University of St. Petersburg under a United Nations exchange program.

Chairman of the Board and CEO, CastlePoint Holdings, Ltd.; CEO and Director, CastlePoint Management Corp. Mr. Lee is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of CastlePoint Holdings, Ltd. He was named to these positions in February 2006, shortly after the Company was formed. In November 2006, he was named chief executive officer and director, CastlePoint Management, Corp. In addition to these positions, Mr. Lee is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Tower Group, Inc. He has held these positions since 1989 when he founded Tower’s primary insurance company operation, Tower Insurance Company of New York (TICNY). Prior to 1989, Mr. Lee was an attorney in private practice specializing in advising entrepreneurs on the acquisition, sale and formation of businesses in various industries.

Bob Egan is the Global Head of Research and Chief Analyst. Bob provides unified leadership direction for all matters related to the research strategy, architecture, methodology, and policies and practices at TowerGroup. In addition, Bob is responsible for operations and management of two of TowerGroup's practice areas. The first, Banking & Payments, is the umbrella for seven research and advisory services: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, Bank Cards, Consumer Lending, Delivery Channels, Global Payments, and European Banking & Payments. He is also responsible for the Cross Industry practice, which is the umbrella for three research and advisory services: Emerging Technologies, Financial Information Security, and Financial Strategies and IT Investments. Bob has more than 30 years of experience in information technology. Before joining TowerGroup, he founded and led Mobile Competency, a boutique market analyst and consulting company focused on enterprise mobile and wireless technologies and solutions. He previously held corporate, product development and technical leadership positions at Corechange, Gartner, Digital Equipment Corp., Waters Associates, and GTE Research Laboratories. As technical director for Emerging Technologies at Digital, he was responsible for some of the pioneering efforts in wireless LANs, data-over-cable TV, and mobile IP. As a vice president with Gartner Group, Bob received the firm's esteemed Thought Leadership Achievement Award. Wireless Review has called Bob Egan the "Market Maker," and Technology Marketing Group named him one of the top six most influential industry analysts. Bob has written hundreds of articles and reports on the mobile industry, and his comments have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, Business Week, and Fortune as well as on ABC News, CNBC, BBC TV, and The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. A graduate of Wentworth Institute and Bryant College, he is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and is a NARTE board-certified electromagnetic engineer. Bob is one of the original authors of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standard underlying Wi-Fi.

Mr. Weiner is chief financial officer and senior vice president of CastlePoint Holdings, Ltd., a position he has held since February 2006; chief financial officer, senior vice president and director, CastlePoint Management, since May 2006; and CastlePoint Reinsurance Company since March 2006. Prior to joining CastlePoint, Mr. Weiner was a senior vice president at Tower Group, Inc.; and, managing director, GAB Robins Capital Partners, providing outsourcing for claims operations. He led PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP's U.S. middle market insurance consulting practice and advised many property and casualty insurers on strategic issues. He is an associate member of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Stephen Cote is chief financial officer of TowerGroup. As a member of TowerGroup's senior management committee, Stephen is responsible for all financial operations of the firm. After joining TowerGroup in 1998, Stephen led the firm's effort to secure additional capital financing, which resulted in the sale of a majority interest to Reuters PLC. Prior to joining TowerGroup, Stephen held senior financial management positions at Mercer Management Consulting, an international strategic management consulting firm, and Grubb & Ellis Company, one of the largest publicly traded real estate services firms in the United States. As vice president and assistant corporate controller at Grubb & Ellis, he was part of the senior management team that restructured the company's operations and refocused its efforts on the company's two core businesses. As controller of Mercer's US operations, Stephen led a team of finance professionals in the improvement and centralization of the core financial and accounting processes. Stephen holds an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco and a B.S. in accountancy from Bentley College. He is a certified public accountant and is a member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the Financial Executives Institute.

Simon Levin is General Manager and Vice President of TowerGroup, responsible for all company operations outside North America. He is based at TowerGroup's international headquarters in London.

Guillermo Kopp is TowerGroup's Executive Director and Global Research Fellow. In his executive role, Guillermo drives corporate strategy and expansion. His advice on a wide range of business and technology trends affecting the financial services industry influences fundamental change at leading institutions and vendors. He speaks frequently at industry events globally, is quoted by many industry publications, and appears regularly on broadcast media interviews. His advice spans multiple strategic topics, including risk management, business model transformation, customer-oriented innovation, outsourcing, and information technology architectures. Guillermo joined TowerGroup in 2002, and prior to his current role, he was the Vice President of Cross-Industry research. Before TowerGroup, Guillermo served at Citigroup for 16 years in diverse information technology and business leadership roles across all lines of business globally. At Citigroup, Guillermo led strategic and multifunctional change initiatives at the Private Bank in the United States. He also drove corporate improvement projects for Citigroup, including the asset management, structured finance, securities, bank branches, and bank cards businesses in Japan, Mexico, and North America. From 1993 to 1995, Guillermo centralized Citibank's technology systems across Latin America. He then relocated to New York to manage global technology services encompassing credit, risk, and funds transfer application systems. Before coming to the United States in 1993, Guillermo worked for five years in Saudi Arabia, where, under special assignment with the Saudi monetary agency, he managed the transformation of the payments system from cash to electronic payments and bank cards. In 1985, he joined Citibank in Argentina, where he led key developments in retail and wholesale banking. His earlier work in technology was in the airline industry as CIO of Aerolineas Argentinas and as the automation policy manager of the International Air Transport Association in Switzerland. Guillermo holds an M.S. in project management from George Washington University and a computer science degree from the University of Buenos Aires.

As former partner and Executive Director of The Tower Group, Mr. Salamida is one of the most successful individuals in the South Florida construction market. Mr. Salamida founded and built The Tower Group into a $100,000,000.00 per year construction powerhouse. In 2002 Mr. Salamida sold his shares of The Tower Group, and joined the Terracon Group as a partner. Mr. Salamida is involved in all aspects of client and subcontractor relations, and is responsible for purchasing and managing company's raw materials and equipment.

Kathleen Khirallah is Lead Analyst for TowerGroup's Retail Banking research and advisory service. She applies her strong subject matter expertise and extensive experience as a research leader and analyst to this role. She is responsible for building a strong research agenda and leading delivery of research in Retail Banking as well as providing thought leadership to clients and the industry. Kathleen has been actively involved in supporting the retail banking practice throughout her 12 years at TowerGroup. Her research has centered on the strategic and tactical use of customer data, customer profitability management, financial management applications, sales management and sales culture development, and strategic marketing systems. Kathleen also focuses on enterprise-class solutions and their application for improving the customer experience, proactively managing customer relationships, and managing business processes and corporate performance in the banking industry. Globally, retail banks of all sizes are struggling with two critical and complementary issues: how to acquire, retain, and maximize the profitability of retail customers while managing overall institutional performance and ensuring profitability. Kathleen is known for her coverage of innovative uses of customer data to further improve the overall customer experience; the effective implementation of sales management strategies within the bank; the deployment of predictive analytics within customer segmentation schemes; the assessment of customer, product, and line-of-business profitability; the strategic use of marketing solutions for improved customer communications; and the implementation of business intelligence tools to optimize bank performance and process management. Kathleen has over 25 years of financial services industry experience. Prior to joining TowerGroup in 1997, Kathleen was senior principal at Marketing PLUS Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in maximizing the revenue potential from marketing customer information file and operational customer information file systems. She has an extensive background in the banking industry, having served in marketing and product management roles in broad spectrum of commercial banks and thrifts. Her experience spans institutions both large and small, including Amoskeag Bank, Security Pacific National Bank, Great Western Bank, and Home Savings of America. Kathleen is interviewed frequently by industry publications including Bank Systems + Technology, American Banker, Bank Technology News, FutureBanker, and Computerworld. In addition, she has authored articles and commentaries for publications including Bank Accounting & Finance, Bank Systems + Technology, The Journal of Customer Relationships, and Bank Technology News. Kathleen holds a B.A. in American political systems and classical civilizations from Wheaton College. She also holds an M.S. in technology management from Pepperdine University.

Ted Iacobuzio is Research Executive for Payments at TowerGroup. In this role, he applies his extensive experience to client-facing interactions, original published research, and media and industry presentations. He also collaborates on the research agendas for the research and advisory services under the umbrella of the Payments practice — Bank Cards, Global Payments, and Wholesale Banking — and is responsible for fostering thought leadership and providing content oversight across these services. Ted has been covering the banking business for 20 years. Before joining TowerGroup, he was director of technology management services for Alex Sheshunoff Management Services of Austin, Texas, and New York bureau chief for London-based Lafferty Publications. He joined TowerGroup in 1997 as the first analyst to cover payment cards as a discipline. He became director of the then Consumer Credit service in 2001. Ted became a member of TowerGroup’s Executive Research Office as managing director in 2005 and has been leading the Payments practice since 2006. Key among the goals Ted has outlined for the Payments practice is exploring synergies among the products that the three services composing the practice cover while respecting the deep vertical functionality each of these businesses brings to its customers, whether consumer or business. Ted is a frequent speaker at industry events, including CardForum and CardTech/SecureTech. He is often quoted in the press, including The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The American Banker, MSN Money, and CardLine. He graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College.

Tim Sharman leads TowerGroup's Specialized Advisory Group, responsible for applying TowerGroup's research and intellectual capital to the business problems of TowerGroup's clients. In the 15 years before he joined TowerGroup, Tim worked as a consultant and business-unit manager at American Management Systems, Dean & Company Strategy Consultants, and Roland Berger & Partner International Management Consultants. Before becoming a consultant, Tim was a commercial credit analyst for NatWest and an equity derivative analyst for Barclays de Zoete Wedd, Bank of America, and Girozentrale. His consulting areas of expertise include: Corporate strategy development Market entry and exit strategy Business model and organizational design Customer relationship management Economic modeling and analysis Policy and process redesign Business planning and execution Project and program management Tim's focus has been on helping companies devise strategies that create profitable growth, allowing for effective corporate responses to disruptive industry and technology changes. He has also worked to integrate these strategies so that people, process, and technology elements are fully addressed. By employing quantitative analysis, he ensures that strategies are based on fact, and he builds the support and commitment needed to successfully achieve transformative change. Sample engagements include developing and implementing: A transformed physical network for a money-center bank to drive increased market presence with lower operating costs A transformation plan for a bank to become customer-centric and restart revenue growth A growth plan and organizational model for a corporate bank, including a model to drive enhanced competitive responses both strategically and locally Management metrics for a super-regional bank, to drive cross-LOB revenues An asset-monetization approach for a Canadian bank to launch new revenue streams Tim has worked on engagements in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and Europe. He received his B.A. and M.A. from Trinity College, Oxford, in economics and politics.

Andy Schmidt is a Research Director in TowerGroup's Global Payments service. He specializes in image-based clearing and settlement, payments convergence, back-office conversion, and anti-money laundering. Andy has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry as both a banker and a consultant. Andy joined the Global Payments practice after nearly four years with TowerGroup's Specialized Advisory Group, where he was a Manager focusing on the payments industry. Projects he led include estimating the size of the global check-imaging market and performing an in-depth analysis of debit usage in the Nordic retail banking market. Before joining TowerGroup, Andy held management positions at Ernst & Young, LLP, and @stake, Inc., where he provided information security consulting services to the financial services and software industries. In addition, Andy gained over a decade of experience in financial services when he worked at Fleet and BankBoston (now Bank of America). There, he held positions in operations, loan recovery, and commercial lending. Andy received an MBA magna cum laude from Babson College, where he focused on business and market strategy, and a BA in government from Colby College.

Bob McDowall is a research director working in TowerGroup's European headquarters in London. His research addresses the principal challenges and opportunities affecting the European banking, securities, and investment management markets. Since joining TowerGroup at the beginning of 2007, Bob has published research on a range of business issues that impact financial institutions conducting business globally, particularly in European and the Middle East. The topics covered include risk and regulation, exchanges, trading platforms, and securitization. Bob frequently appears on the television networks, including CNBC's European and Arabic networks as well as CNN and Bloomberg, to provide industry comment and analysis. He is a frequent contributor to industry thought and comment in the international, national, and the financial services and economics sector press. Bob McDowall joined TowerGroup with 30 years' experience in the banking and securities and investment business. He worked with a number of institutions, including Merrill Lynch, Pru-Bache, Syntegra, and Singer and Friedlander, in administrative and operational management, business development, corporate advisory, marketing and control and planning functions across most asset classes. He also worked with the private French monetary think-tank, le Centre Jouffroy pour la Reflexion Monetaire and has been a member of a number of industry and consultative groups. Since 1998, Bob has worked in a consulting capacity and has presented at a range of conferences on capital markets, regulation, and banking. He has contributed numerous articles, papers and research documents to publications as diverse as FX/MM, Reuters/FT/ Financial Regulation International (FRI), and it-analysis.com on a range of issues, covering macroeconomics, most financial asset classes, financial regulation, risk management, and application of technology to banking and capital markets. Bob has a degree in law (LL.B) from University College London.

Bobbie Britting is a Research Director in the Consumer Lending service at TowerGroup, covering home equity, student, auto, and personal lending. Her expertise, acquired during a 19-year career in financial services, includes product development, marketing, Internet lending, and partnership management. Prior to joining TowerGroup, Bobbie held management positions at several leading financial services companies, including as vice president, Lender Services, at Ellie Mae, a leading provider of mortgage broker software and connectivity. At Wells Fargo Consumer Credit, she led the Home Equity Product Development team, launched the first home equity instant online decision technology, managed Internet and other partnerships, and integrated marketing activities. She was marketing operations manager at Fair Isaac Co. and spent nine years at Citicorp, serving as vice president, CitiGold, for five years with The Student Loan Corp., and in marketing consumer lending products. Bobbie received her MBA from University of Rochester, Simon Graduate School of Business, and a bachelor’s degree in business and sociology from State University of New York at Plattsbugh.

Brian Riley is a Research Director for Bank Cards at TowerGroup, specializing in technology, emerging trends, product development, and revenue management. His 24 years of experience in consumer credit and bank cards include work in applied technology, operations management, portfolio acquisitions, risk, scoring, and portfolio analytics. Brian held senior management roles at Citibank, Chase, and Wachovia. Brian has a passion for applied technology in the credit card business. He led the design of numerous financial management systems at leading credit card issuers and has worked on projects with several leading processors. Most recently before joining TowerGroup, he led a group specializing in applied technology for the receivables and payment functions in vertical markets such as intermodal transportation, broadcast and cable, industrial gas, and high-tech manufacturing. He also participated in numerous portfolio acquisitions and played a significant role in the original migration of Citicorp's systems to South Dakota. He orchestrated one of the largest sales of aged debt for a major issuer, spawning a new strategy for how issuers deal with delinquent accounts. Brian attended the State University of New York and has done advanced studies in computer technology. He received training as a Baldrige Examiner and participated in the preparation of two applications for the award.

Craig is a Senior Research Director for TowerGroup's Consumer Lending research and advisory service. His specific focus area is mortgage and consumer lending, which covers a wide range of business, process, strategic, and technical topics relating to loan origination, loan servicing, securitization, and risk management. Craig has 25 years of experience in a variety of finance, product development, and business development roles for mortgage technology vendors, lenders, and risk management firms. Prior to joining TowerGroup, Craig was a financial services consultant for clients that included Wells Fargo. Craig's work included developing new home equity loan products for the Internet channel and creating technology specifications to automate correspondent mortgage lending. Before that, Craig was vice president of marketing for Tuttle Decision Systems, where he developed the positioning and branding for Tuttle's electronic loan pricing technology and secondary marketing risk management systems. He was also director of business development at database vendor Mortgage Information Corp. and vice president of marketing at Indy Mac. Craig spent nine years at PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., where he held management positions in market research, product development, and business development. Craig began his career as an economic analyst at the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Craig has written numerous feature articles for Mortgage Banking (US) and Lending Strategy (UK) magazines and is quoted regularly in American Banker, National Mortgage News, Inside Mortgage Technology, and Mortgage Technology. He speaks regularly at mortgage industry conferences. In 2003, Craig received the prestigious Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Craig holds an M.A. in applied economics from the University of San Francisco and graduated with high honors from the State University of New York at Oneonta with a B.S. in business economics. Craig also attended Schiller University in Heidelberg, where he studied international trade.

Dennis Moroney is a Research Director at TowerGroup, responsible for bank cards industry research activities. Dennis has over 25 years experience in the financial services industry. He has worked in consumer banking, retailing and consulting. His experience includes senior-level positions at Citicorp, Macy’s NY, Chevy Chase Bank, and USAA. He also was the CEO of several technology and financial services startups. Before assuming his current role, Dennis was consulting to the financial services industry. He also volunteered as vice chairman of a nonprofit organization's board of directors serving the creditor and counseling industries and based in Washington, DC, and on the Empowerment Zone Governance Board for the city of San Antonio, Texas. He has been a speaker at major industry events and is quoted frequently by publications such as The Economist, Fortune Magazine, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today. He also has appeared on CNBC, BNN, Canadian TV, and National Public Radio. Dennis received his M.B.A. in finance from Hofstra University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Alabama.

Dushyant Shahrawat is a Senior Research Director at TowerGroup in the Investment Management service. With over 12 years of experience in the financial services sector, he is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a member of the Boston Security Analysts Society. He researches strategic issues facing capital markets firms globally and advises them about strategy, marketing, technology, and product development. In nine years as an analyst, Dushyant has analyzed many business and technology issues impacting securities and investments firms and written over 70 reports covering topics such as order/portfolio management, agency brokerage, derivatives, regulation, exchanges, market structure, and outsourcing. Before Dushyant joined TowerGroup, his experience involved conducting financial and business analysis at Thomson Financial Services and at Fidelity Investments, where he was involved in IT forecasting and analyzing trends in Fidelity’s technology spending. Dushyant has been invited to share his opinions on financial industry trends at various events in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. He also has addressed sessions at the SIA annual technology conference, Institutional Investor’s Forums, NICSA, Wall Street & Technology conferences, FT Expo, and other events. He has appeared on CNBC and has been widely quoted in publications including Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, Financial Times, Barron’s, Institutional Investor, and InformationWeek. Dushyant has an M.B.A. in finance from Northeastern University and a B.A. in economics (with honors).

George Tubin is a Senior Research Director for TowerGroup’s Delivery Channels and Financial Information Security research services. George’s areas of expertise include consumer online banking, online fraud and identity theft prevention, information security strategy, and customer authentication as well as mobile banking and contact center strategies and technologies. With over 20 years in the banking and high-technology industries, George focuses his research on consumer online banking, fraud and identity theft prevention, information security strategy, and customer authentication as well as mobile banking and contact center strategies and technologies. Before joining TowerGroup, George was a senior consultant with ADS Financial Services Solutions, providing information technology strategy consulting to top-tier US banks. He also held several positions at BayBank, BankBoston, and Fleet (now Bank of America), including director of e-commerce planning and development and vice president of planning and analysis for the consumer and small business banking divisions. George is frequently quoted in industry periodicals and has appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, CIO Magazine, American Banker, Bank Technology News, CNN Money Online, and Bank Systems and Technology. He has been a chair and featured speaker at dozens of major industry conferences and Webcasts, and has authored articles for numerous media outlets. George received an M.B.A. from Babson College and holds a B.S. in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Matt Bienfang is the Senior Research Director in TowerGroup's Brokerage & Wealth Management service. His research targets the key technology and operational issues facing the brokerage industry today and focuses on the support and management of the sales channel. Additional coverage areas include correspondent clearing, online brokerage, operations, and compliance. With over 17 years of industry experience, Matt joined TowerGroup from a consulting firm that brought organizational design and restructuring to clients while leveraging existing technology to streamline operational processes and support large distribution channels. Previously, Matt was an executive vice president with a large independent broker-dealer responsible for brokerage operations and program development. He has held positions as head trader and senior manager leading numerous enterprise initiatives, including clearing firm conversions and the consolidation of redundant back-office operations and trading departments, and he successfully undertook key roles in sales force development, recruiting, and call center operations in both large and small organizations. Sought out for his industry insight and thought leadership, Matt appears regularly in the media and is called on to present to institutions and industry trade groups. Matt received his B.A. from Washington & Jefferson College, is a member of the Securities Traders Association, and holds NASD Series 7, 24, 55, and 63 licenses.

Nicole Sturgill is a Research Director in the Delivery Channels service at TowerGroup, with responsibility for research on trends and developments in ATMs, self-service kiosks, online banking, and cash vaults. Nicole's areas of expertise, developed over 14 years in the financial services industry, include ATM strategy and processing, cash supply chain management, operational analysis, best practices, vendor management, and regulatory compliance. Prior to joining TowerGroup, Nicole served as manager of banking strategies at Transoft International. She worked with banks in both EMEA and North America, consulting on ATM deployment strategy and performing operational analyses, specializing in cash supply chain strategy and implementation at client banks. Previously, she worked at Fifth Third Bank for almost 10 years, holding several positions in Commercial Banking and Operations. Her most recent role there was as assistant vice president managing ATM operations, Regulation E compliance, and debit card operations. Nicole has been quoted in industry periodicals and has appeared in such publications as American Banker, ATM & Debit News, and Bank Systems and Technology. She has been a featured speaker at major industry conferences and has recently authored an article on currency management for BAI Banking Strategies. Nicole holds a BA in psychology and sociology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Peter Delano is a Research Operations Director at TowerGroup, overseeing two practice areas, Securities & Investment and Insurance. He is responsible for management, resource coordination, and operation of these practice areas as well as collaboration with TowerGroup's Specialized Advisory Group and with other functions. The Securities & Investment practice is the umbrella for three TowerGroup research and advisory services: Brokerage and Wealth Management, Investment Management, and Securities and Capital Markets. This group focuses on technology trends and strategies in the brokerage, capital markets, investing, wealth management, and asset management industries. Peter is also responsible for operation of the Insurance practice area, which focuses on technology trends and strategies in the life and annuity industry as well as the property and casualty industry. Peter spent two years as a Senior Analyst in the Investment Management research and advisory service, in which he focused on technology trends on the buy side. Some examples of his areas of research coverage are client servicing, compliance technologies, messaging protocols, post-trade automation, and instant messaging. Industry publications such as Advanced Trading, Fund Action, Global Investment Technology, Operations Management, Wall Street & Technology, and Ignites.com have turned to Peter for insights on investment management technology. He has also spoken at a variety of industry events since he joined TowerGroup in 2005. Before joining TowerGroup, Peter spent 13 years in the industry, with five years at IXIS Asset Management Services and a combined eight years at Scudder Kemper Investments and Putnam Investments. His numerous management roles were characterized by a focus on linking business needs and technology solutions in areas such as intranet/Internet development and oversight, call center operations, mutual fund and retirement plan recordkeeping, business process improvement, and shareholder communications. Peter received a B.A. in history from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Boston's Suffolk University, and he held FINRA Series 6 and 63 registrations.

Sean Cunniff is a Research Director in TowerGroup's Brokerage & Wealth Management Service. His research focuses on the business and technology issues facing the Wealth Management industry. Advice and planning offerings, managed accounts, and retirement products and services are some of Sean's key coverage areas. Sean has more than 16 years of financial services experience in product management, sales, and client service roles. He joins TowerGroup from AARP Financial, where he was Director of Distribution and Investments. In his 10 years of product management, Sean contributed to the development and implementation of a number of advisory, wealth management, and retirement products and knows well the opportunities and challenges that financial services technology presents. Prior to AARP Financial, Sean held positions at leading firms such as JPMorgan Asset Management, John Hancock Financial Services, and Fidelity Investments. Sean received a law degree from Suffolk University Law School and a bachelor's degree in history from Boston College. He received a Certificate in Advanced Financial Planning from Merrimack College and is a Certified Financial Planner. Sean also holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses and is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts.

Susan Feinberg is a Senior Research Director in TowerGroup's Wholesale Banking research service. Susan is a recognized thought leader in the area of global transaction services with a focus on treasury and cash management, Internet delivery of corporate banking services, supply chain finance, and corporate electronic payments. "Wholesale banking is undergoing a dramatic transformation as both financial institutions and their clients adapt to the challenges presented by the globalization of the supply chain, continued consolidation in all industries, proliferation of new payment and technology standards, and increased demands from all parties for real-time information." According to Susan, "The leading wholesale banking institutions in the next 5 to 10 years will be those that focus on deepening the fundamental relationship between banks and wholesale customers. Collaboration, standards, and industry utilities need not threaten relationships between banks and customers when those relationships are built on a foundation of service quality, value-added information solutions, improved business processes, and partnership." Susan has over 24 years of experience in wholesale banking. Before joining TowerGroup in 2004, she held product management and professional service positions at several leading technology providers to the wholesale banking industry. Prior to her vendor experience, Susan spent 13 years in wholesale banking at Bank of Boston in a variety of positions in cash management (domestic and international product management and Latin American consulting), commercial lending, and operations. Susan is both an accredited ACH professional and a permanent certified cash manager. She was a participant in the groundbreaking Financial Services Technology Consortium E-Check and BIPS (bank Internet payment system) projects and previously served as the chair of the operations committee of the NACHA Cross Border Council. She is a frequent speaker at major industry conferences, including the AFP Annual Conference, NACHA Payments Conference, and several regional Treasury Management Association conferences. She has served as a guest lecturer on the topic of cash management at the Boston University Graduate School of Electronic Payments and at Bentley College. Susan holds a B.A. in Latin American studies (cum laude) from Brandeis University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a master of arts in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Tom Brogan is a Research Director in the Delivery Channels service at TowerGroup, with responsibility for assisted channels—including branch banking, contact centers, and teller systems. Tom’s areas of expertise, developed over 25 years in the financial services industry, include strategy, best practices, deployment and integration of core and distributed systems, business process management, and improving the efficiency of branch operations. Prior to joining TowerGroup, Tom was a Senior Consultant at BenchMark Consulting International, specializing in designing and implementing performance improvements at client banks. He also led efforts to document the cost/benefit business case for core deposit system replacement and to redesign the business specification process for branch system implementations for a major application vendor. He has extensive background in the banking industry, having served in project and senior management roles for S1 Corporation, Banc One Corporation (now JP Morgan Chase) and EDS. Tom holds a BA in Psychology and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame.

Virginia Garcia is Research Operations Director of TowerGroup's Cross Industry practice area, which is the umbrella for three research and advisory services: Emerging Technologies, Financial Information Security, and Financial Strategies and IT Investments. She is responsible for management, resource coordination, and operation of these services as well as collaboration with TowerGroup's Specialized Advisory Group and with other functions. Virginia has also been a research director in the Cross Industry service, advising financial institutions, integrators, and horizontal technology vendors on critical business and technology issues that drive the global financial services industry. Her particular emphasis is on mobile payments, enterprise risk management, service-oriented architecture, and data analytics. Virginia returned to TowerGroup in January 2008 after two years at Fiserv CBS Worldwide, most recently as VP of Market and Product Strategy. During her prior six years at TowerGroup, Virginia was a Research Director in the Financial Services Strategies & IT Investments practice. She was responsible for various topics, including enterprise risk management, outsourcing, business process management, emerging markets, and IT spending analysis. Before joining TowerGroup in 2000, Virginia directed global market research activities at ALLTEL Information Services, encompassing core lending and deposits systems, delivery systems, and Internet banking. Virginia is frequently quoted in industry periodicals and has appeared in such publications as The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Banker, Bank Technology News, CIO Magazine, and American Banker. She frequently speaks at industry conferences and has authored articles for numerous media outlets. Virginia holds a Diplom Okonom-Pradikatsexamen from the University of Kassel, Germany, with concentrations in economics and marketing.

Prior to TowerGroup Josh was a manager of research with Purchase Street Research, where he covered risk management and portfolio optimization topics. He has been an options specialist for Goldman Sachs & Co. on the American Stock Exchange for a variety of indices, as well as handling risk reporting and hedging responsibilities. Before his specialist role, he was a market maker and portfolio management assistant in Chicago at the CBOE. He also spent time at Pioneer Futures, a New York based clearing firm, developing and implementing index arbitrage trade strategies. As well as byline pieces in the ABA Banking Journal and Financial Solutions International, Josh has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, American Banker, Electronic Payments Week, and Credit Card Management Magazine. Josh earned his BS in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is presently pursuing an International Business and Biotechnology double MBA at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.

Carol Wheatcroft is an analyst in TowerGroup's international business based in London. She covers the retail banking sector in Europe and globally. Having spent over 15 years in Asia, living and working in Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia, Carol has a strong awareness of the different business environments that global institutions must embrace. She observes that "there is a difference between the range of products and services global banks feel they are able to offer customers in growing Asian markets compared to those on offer in highly developed European markets. Regulation plays a part, but global banks are inevitably required to be more innovative to gain a greater share of profitable business in Asia." Carol spent four years working with the Asian Banker in Singapore. There she was responsible for research on a wide range of pan-Asian retail banking topics, such as strategic directions in Asia's bank card industry, the market potential for ATMs and cash dispensers in Asia, and an assessment of Singapore's IT solution providers to the financial services industry. Upon returning to the United Kingdom, Carol worked as an analyst for Bloor Research, identifying areas where technology can deliver benefits to financial services institutions. Her early career was spent in industry. During that time, she participated in the EU's Executive Training Program in Japan, spending 18 months in Tokyo studying Japanese language, business, and culture and undertaking a 6-month internship with Marubeni Corporation, a leading Japanese trading company. An accomplished writer, Carol has interviewed industry players and written topical articles for the Asian Banker Journal. She has also contributed content to the technology Web site, it-analysis.com. Carol holds a science degree from Imperial College, London, and an MBA from Cranfield University.

Charul Vyas is an Analyst in TowerGroup’s Emerging Technologies practice, where her research examines the impact new technologies have on the financial services industry as well as adjacent markets, including retail merchants and digital commerce. Charul’s primary research agenda spans the disruptive impact and opportunities associated with the evolution of mobile banking and mobile payments, workforce mobility, and information security. Charul arrived at TowerGroup with more than seven years of experience as an industry analyst. Her responsibilities have included developing, launching, and running syndicated research services incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research methods. She also managed consulting projects on market segmentation, competitive positioning, business plan development and evaluation, and primary research involving focus groups and end-user surveys. With her concentration in the mobile and wireless space, Charul has been a market influencer of strategies and tactics of mobile operators, device manufacturers, and mobile technology and platform vendors. Most recently, Charul was at The NPD Group, a POS and consumer market tracking company, serving as senior manager and wireless specialist. Prior to NPD, she was a research manager at iGR Inc., a small boutique market research firm focused on the wireless arena, where she led the company’s Wireless & Mobile Industry research program. Charul began her career in market research at IDC as a senior analyst in the Wireless & Mobile Communications program. Charul holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Clay Cocalis is vice president of sales and field marketing for TowerGroup. Clay brings to his role a 20-year record of strong leadership and success in driving global information services industry sales. At TowerGroup, he oversees a growing team of domestic and international sales personnel working across both advisory research and consulting, leveraging his experience in serving the needs of the global financial services and information technology sectors. Clay joined the company in August 2004. Prior to joining TowerGroup, Clay served as vice president and director of global sales for Factiva, a Dow Jones and Reuters company that provides global news and aggregates content fed from nearly 9,000 international sources. In that role, he led a global team of 300 professionals selling Factiva solutions and a range of content integration tools to companies worldwide. Prior to this appointment, Clay was the Factiva sales director responsible for both North and South America. Before the formation of Factiva, Clay held a range of sales and management positions with Dow Jones spanning more than 16 years. He began his career as an account executive in Los Angeles. Six years later, he moved to Washington, DC, to become director of marketing and sales for Federal Filings, a Dow Jones subsidiary. He was later appointed director of sales for the South Eastern United States and, in 1997, became the director of sales for the Americas. Clay holds a bachelor's degree in finance with a minor in history from Southern Methodist University.

David Hamermesh is a Research Director in the Consumer Lending service at TowerGroup, with responsibility for residential mortgage lending. David has 15 years of experience in the mortgage industry. His areas of expertise include loan origination systems, business rules management systems, workflow and imaging tools, mortgage compliance, and process improvement as well as many aspects of the end-to-end mortgage lending process. Before joining TowerGroup, David spent 13 years at ABN AMRO Mortgage Group, ultimately as first vice president and senior project manager in the program management office. David managed a variety of technology-related projects, including implementing loan origination systems and business rules management systems, and he brought automated underwriting systems into the world of underwriting. Before he began to specialize in IT projects, David held a series of increasingly responsible positions in customer service, underwriting, and customer retention. David's experience at AAMG covered both retail and wholesale aspects of mortgage banking. David has also played key roles in various business process and architecture improvement projects. David received an M.B.A. with high honors from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in anthropology from Princeton University.

Jim Eckenrode is Research Executive for Banking at TowerGroup. In this role, he applies his extensive experience to client-facing interactions, original published research, and media and industry presentations. He also collaborates on the research agendas for the research and advisory services under the umbrella of the Banking practice and is responsible for fostering thought leadership and providing content oversight across the Banking services. Jim has focused his research and advisory activities on the major trends and directions in the global banking industry and, through that research, provides guidance and advice to senior-level banking and technology executives. Jim’s areas of expertise, which he developed over 23 years in consumer banking and consulting, include technology strategic planning, bank delivery channels, customer relationship management, and core deposit and lending systems. Before assuming his current role, Jim had directed the Financial Services Strategies and IT Investments service and was the Managing Director of Banking and Payments Research and also a senior member of TowerGroup’s Consulting Services group. In those roles, he advised a large number of financial institutions and vendors, focusing on product and market strategies and competitive analyses. Before joining TowerGroup, Jim led strategy and operations consulting engagements for Global 500 financial institutions for the Financial Institutions Group at management consultancy A.T. Kearney, Inc. and held management positions in retail banking at BankBoston and Cambridge Savings Bank. Jim is quoted frequently by publications such as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Economist, and The Banker. In addition to being a featured speaker at dozens of industry conferences, he has appeared on CNN, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, and National Public Radio. Jim received his M.B.A. from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.

Judy White is head of global marketing and communications at TowerGroup. As a member the company's senior management committee, Judy is responsible for all TowerGroup marketing, communications, public relations, and Web site management in the United States and internationally. Her interesting mix of experience working at software companies, an analyst firm, in consulting and financial services lends to her understanding of our clients' goals for advisory services. Since joining TowerGroup in 2005, Judy has grown our public relations, client and prospecting programs, events business, and Web initiatives. Prior to joining TowerGroup, Judy ran her own marketing consulting practice for clients focused on financial services. Her clients included a compliance data technology firm, a check image processing company, a brokerage firm, a marketing database firm, and a banking home equity marketing firm. Her corporate marketing experience includes working at Unica Corporation, an enterprise marketing management firm; Meridien Research, an analyst firm for financial services (now Financial Insights); Harte-Hanks Data Technologies, a database marketing firm; and in product management at BayBank, a former large regional bank. Judy has a B.S. from Babson College and an MBA from Bentley College.

Karen Pauli is a Research Director in the insurance practice at TowerGroup. She covers a wide range of topics in property and casualty insurance, specializing in distribution, underwriting, claims, predictive analytics, core systems, and business optimization. Before joining TowerGroup, Karen was assistant vice president at OneBeacon Insurance, formerly Commercial Union. Besides directing development projects involving automated underwriting, predictive technologies, and agency point-of-sale functionality, she led product development projects, legislative compliance efforts, and underwriter training. Previously she headed the underwriting audit function in the home office of Crum & Forester, establishing measures and conducting field reviews. Her first assignment at that company was a regional underwriting manager, responsible for profit and loss in 12 states and a staff of 100; she also was involved in the development of agency management tools and served as a claims technical consultant. She began her career in insurance at Safeco in personal lines underwriting, managing a team of underwriting professionals and responsible for territorial profitability. Karen is a frequent speaker at insurance industry conferences and is regularly featured in industry periodicals. A graduate of Bradley University, she has a B.S. in history.

Ralph Silva is a Research Director working in TowerGroup's London office and covers the principal challenges facing the global banking market. He focuses his research activities on channel management, branding and marketing, CRM, cross-border issues, global regulations, sourcing, industry consolidation, payments, and the strategic initiatives of diversified global financial services brands. Ralph has over 18 years of global experience and before coming to TowerGroup was with Gartner, covering the investments and security industries. Prior to Gartner, he held various positions with investment banking companies as well as business development positions with technology and financial services providers. He also founded and operated five online brokerage companies spanning three continents. Ralph is a regular presenter at many industry shows, including the European Banking industry fair, CBIT, FinExpo, Nordic Banking Forum and SIBOS. Ralph is also a regular guest appearing well over 200 times per year on the likes of CNN, BBC, Bloomberg TV, and CNBC where he has been Guest Host on Squawk Box numerous times. He holds a degree in administration and information management from the Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Ray Giddings is head of TowerGroup's global events business, with overall responsibility for events in the United States and internationally. A seasoned media professional with over 20 years of experience working for several blue chip international media companies, Ray has been responsible for a number of high-profile publication launches in the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) markets. Most recently, he has focused exclusively on the financial services sector, launching several high-level industry events and turnkey event solutions for tier 1 technology companies. Since joining TowerGroup, Ray and his team have successfully launched the TowerGroup Executive Event program in Europe. The program provides unique industry platforms for high-level peer-to-peer networking and interaction among very senior delegates from the securities & investment and banking & payments industries with leading technology companies looking to increase their penetration in the financial services sector. In 2008, the team will extend and roll out the program in the United States. Before joining TowerGroup, Ray was the business unit head for the financial services sector at SPG Media and previously ran the entire Leadership Sector in the Group, responsible for over $10 million in revenue per year. Educated at a leading UK grammar school and holding a degree in computer sciences, Ray works from TowerGroup's London office.

Rod Nelsestuen is a Senior Research Director in the TowerGroup Financial Strategies and IT Investments Cross-Industry group, where he conducts in-depth research on business and IT strategies, emerging trends, growth strategies and issues germane to the financial services industry. Topics include improving customer experience, innovation, business process management, outsourcing, risk management, and cultivating ethnic and other emerging markets. Rod states, "Growing your business with existing customers and successfully tapping new and emerging markets involves both understanding the dynamic marketplace and anticipating customers' needs in a forward-thinking manner. A proactive, customer-centric approach is critical to differentiating financial service institutions in a world where pure product strategies are easily imitated. Successful FSIs will continually leverage technology to enhance the customer experience." With more than two decades in financial services, Rod has served in diverse finance, marketing, credit, operations, and technology roles at both the operational and executive levels. He spent more than eight years as CEO of an affiliate and six years as the enterprise-level CIO at AgriBank, FCB. He has contributed to numerous business publications in the area of technology leadership. An instructor in the MBA program at Cardinal Stritch University and the University of Phoenix MBA and MBA - Technology Management program, he has also worked in curriculum development for shaping the next generation of business and IT leaders. Rod holds an MBA and a Graduate Certificate in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University. He also completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sally Zita is the global head of business operations at TowerGroup. As a member of the company's senior management committee, she is responsible for TowerGroup's human resources, information technology, editorial, and office administration functions in the United States and internationally. Sally has more than 25 years of leadership experience in business development and operations. Before joining TowerGroup, Sally was an Alliance Director for Xerox Corporation responsible for third-party joint ventures launching new product offerings. While at Xerox she held numerous sales management positions and was recognized repeatedly for her achievement of sales targets. In addition to Sally's career with Xerox she was a regional manager for Electronic Data Systems (EDS), overseeing the company's business for the Xerox Corporate Business Units, which consisted of 20 organizations. Sally was also an elementary and junior high school teacher in New York City for five years. She has a B.A. in communication from Hunter College and a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College.

Stephen Bruel is a Research Director in TowerGroup's Securities & Capital Markets practice. He focuses on the strategic impact of technology in the capital markets industry, addressing technology, operations, and business issues. In his research and analysis, he examines the dramatic changes affecting the capital markets business, including global regulatory issues, risk management, alternative asset classes, and investment banking. Stephen maintains a focus on the over-the-counter derivatives industry and has highlighted the operational and risk management challenges associated with these complex products in his analysis of such topics as OTC derivatives front-office trading, collateral management, and market structure. Regulators' increased scrutiny of OTC derivatives will certainly spur changes in market practices and a continued focus on mitigating the risks inherent in this business. Stephen joined TowerGroup from State Street's Wealth Manager Services group, where he focused on supporting and expanding the suite of technology solutions for the firm's global wealth management clients. Stephen's experience at State Street included people, process, and project management as well as client and technology implementation. Prior to State Street, Stephen held a variety of management positions in the Global Transaction Services division of Citigroup. His responsibilities included managing offshoring projects, designing process improvements, and implementing new customer relationship management technologies. Stephen has been a speaker at industry events and is quoted frequently by publications such as Wall Street & Technology, Securities Industry News, and American Public Media's Marketplace on NPR. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Trinity College.

Bill is a Senior Research Associate in TowerGroup's Securities & Investment group. His primary role is supporting the Securities & Investments team by collecting, organizing, and disseminating securities industry data. Bill has four years of experience in global markets and brokerage operations. Prior to joining TowerGroup, he spent two years as an associate trader with Investors Capital Corporation. While with Investors Capital, he placed orders for equities, fixed income securities, and mutual funds; he also handled various back-office functions such as margin, transfers, and custody items. Before joining Investors Capital, Bill worked for two years in global markets operations with FleetBoston Financial, where he was a member of the foreign exchange confirmation team. He also participated in developing and editing operational guides and manuals in the foreign exchange operations group. Bill studied at the University of Maine where he completed his M.B.A. and B.S. in business administration with a concentration in finance. He is NASD series 7, 24, and 63 registered and is a candidate for the CFA charter.