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Maria Fiorini Ramirez. Age 59. Mrs. Ramirez is President and Chief Executive Officer of Maria Fiorini Ramirez, Inc., an independent global economic and financial consulting firm formed in August 1992. Prior to our acquisition of Independence, Mrs. Ramirez served on the Board of Directors of Independence for six years. Since April 2000, Mrs. Ramirez has served as a director of the Independence Community Foundation. In February 2006, Mrs. Ramirez was appointed to the Board of Directors of Security Mutual Life located in Binghamton, New York. In April 2005, she was appointed a director of AMF Funds Chicago, a family of fixed income funds, and, in February 2004, she was appointed a director of Schroder Hedge Funds based in Bermuda. Mrs. Ramirez was appointed a trustee of Pace University in May 2002. In February 1996, she was appointed to the Investment Policy and Product Review Committees of Edward Jones & Co., an investment firm based in St. Louis.
Mrs. Ramirez served as a director of Arlington Capital, London, a private equity firm, from 1991 to 2000. From 1996 to 1998, she served as a director of the mutual funds group of Security Benefit Life Insurance Company in Topeka, Kansas. From 1989 to 2000, Mrs. Ramirez served as a director of Statewide Savings Bank, S.L.A. in New Jersey. In 1974, Mrs. Ramirez joined Merrill Lynch where during her 10-year tenure she was appointed First Vice President and Senior Money Market Economist. Mrs. Ramirez became a Senior Vice President and Senior Money Market Economist at Becker Paribas in 1984 when the firm was acquired by Merrill Lynch. From 1984 to 1990, she was a Managing Director and Money Market Economist for Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Mrs. Ramirez was elected to our Board, as a Class III director, effective June 1, 2006, pursuant to the terms of the Independence merger agreement. She also serves on our Audit and Mergers and Acquisition Committees.
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