Jim Kearns

KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. is a registered investment bank and broker/dealer headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The firm was founded in 1983 and is a subsidiary of KeyCorp. (NYSE: KEY). KeyBanc Capital Markets provides investment banking, commercial lending, treasury management, derivatives, foreign exchange, equity and debt underwriting and trading and syndicated finance products and services to large corporations and middle-market companies.

Thrivent Investment Management, Inc. (Thrivent) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and fund manager headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm was founded in 1986 and is a subsidiary of Thrivent Financial Holdings, Inc., itself a subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a faith-based, not-for-profit membership organization and financial services firm. Thrivent provides investment management and advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, non-profit organizations, corporations and other business entities.

Argent Capital Management LLC (Argent) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm was founded in 1998 by John Meara and Steven Finerty. Argent manages assets for institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

Avondale Partners LLC is an independent broker/dealer headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with additional offices across the US. The firm was founded by Robert Shepherd and Philip Krebs in 2001. Avondale Partners provides financial advisory services as well as equity and fixed income underwriting and private placement services to public and private companies throughout the US, Canada and Europe. They focus on middle-market companies in the healthcare sector.

Scout Investments, Inc. (Scout) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Carillon Tower Advisers, Inc., itself a subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF). Founded in 2001, Scout provides discretionary investment management services to registered and unregistered investment companies, institutional accounts and individuals through separately managed accounts. They also provide model portfolios to financial intermediaries for use in unified managed accounts (UMA).

Schoox, Inc. engages in the provision of a talent development platform offering learning and talent management to companies and small enterprises. It focuses on learning engagement, content curation, social collaboration, performance and succession, carrer development, and bussines impact. The company was founded by Lefteris Ntouanoglou,Costas Vasiliou, Apostolis Agrafiotis, and Vasilis Lolos and is headquartered in Austin, TX.

International Accelerator, Inc. provides access to seed funding and related services. It helps non-US founders raise capital and expand startup in the US. The company was founded by Angelos Angelou and is headquartered in Austin, TX.

Gridmates, Inc. develops cloud based platform and network for the smart grid. The company was founded by Dimitris Koliadimas, Georgios Koutitas, and Constantinos Tzaras in 2014 and is based in Austin, Texas.

Southern Methodist University is a private university near the center of Dallas, SMU offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through seven schools in the humanities and sciences, business, the performing, visual, and communication arts, engineering, education and human development, law, and theology.

Founded in 1992 by Brian Stark and Michael Roth, Stark & Roth LLC is a registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm is a subsidiary of Stark & Roth Holding, Inc.. Stark & Roth also does business as Stark Investments.

William Blair & Co. LLC (William Blair) is a SEC-registered broker/dealer firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded by William McCormick Blair in 1935 and is a subsidiary of WBC Holdings LP. Until 1941, they were known as Blair, Bonner & Co. William Blair provides broking services to individual, institutional and issuing clients.

Part of Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., WMC International Ltd. is a Canadian company that explores and mines for gold and other precious metals. The company is based in Toronto, Canada. WMC International was acquired by Comaplex Minerals Corp., a subsidiary of Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. from Alumina Ltd. on October 08, 2003 for $21.48 million.

Oxford Financial Group Ltd. (Oxford) is a privately-held investment advisory firm headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. The firm was founded by Jeffrey H. Thomasson in 1981. Oxford provides a wide array of investment advisory services to families and institutions alike. Family clients span the range from individuals to multi-generational families. Their institutional clients include foundations, endowments and retirement plans.

Professional Engineers & Geoscientists Newfoundland & Labrador operates as an organization whose mandate is regulating these professions in the public interest. It provides licensing and registration, discipline and enforcement, professional development, committees and volunteers, sponsored programs, and publications. The company is headquartered in St. John's, Canada.

Professional Assoc of Engineers Geologists & Geophysicists is a private company based in Yellowknife, Canada. The Canadian company operates an association for geologists.

Anibesa Energy Metals Corp. operates as a shell company, which engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties. It focuses on seeking a business combination. The company was founded on January 16, 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Pure MHC LLC provides diagnostics and therapeutics technology services. It offers epitope discovery solution where it identifies peptide epitopes that are upregulated in the affected state and validated as ligands presented by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules and T cell receptor mimics (TCRms) technology, monoclonal antibodies that function like T-cell receptor. The firm also provides regulatory compliance support and existing target validation and tissue distribution services. The company was founded by William Hildebrand in 2013 and is headquartered in Austin, TX.

Pure Protein LLC specializes in immunology tools for diagnostics, drug and vaccine development, and high-yield protein production. It operates as a biopharmaceutical company, produces soluble human leukocyte antigen (sHLA) proteins and custom products in various human and animal cell lines. The firm provides sHLA class I and II proteins for use in transplantation, drug target discovery, and bio-therapeutic development, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic reagents for use in immunology research and development. The company was founded by William Hildebrand in 1999 and is headquartered in Austin, TX.

Digi-Key Corp. distributes electronic components. It also distributes semiconductors, discrete, electromechanical parts. Its products include audio products, batteries, cable assemblies, capacitors, computer & video accessories, connectors, crystals & oscillators, discrete semiconductor products and many more. The company was founded by Ronald A. Stordahl in 1972 and is headquartered in Thief River Falls, MN.

Meridian Credit Management LLC, dba Gulf Stream Asset Management (GSM), is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The firm was founded in 2002 as Gulf Stream Asset Management LLC. GSM manages a variety of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) for institutional clients.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC (WFS) is the broker/dealer subsidiary of EVEREN Capital Corp., ultimately owned by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC). Headquartered in New York, WFS delivers a comprehensive suite of banking, capital markets and advisory solutions, such as a full complement of sales, trading and research capabilities, to corporate, government and institutional clients.

The Austin Chamber of Commerce is an organization that helps people in the region achieve greater prosperity by working with businesses looking to create or expand their presence in the Austin region and help them create more jobs. The non-profit company is based in Austin, TX. The company has helped bring more than 400,000 jobs to the region since 2004 and take on the biggest challenges so businesses can focus on growing. Laura Huffman has been the CEO of the company since 2020.