Mark Friedman has served as one of our directors since October 2006. He has been the Managing Partner of Trilea Partners LLC an investment and consulting firm since May 2006. From July 1996 to May 2006 he was with Merrill Lynch where he served in various capacities including most recently as group head of its U.S. equity research retail team where he specialized in analyzing and evaluating specialty retailers in the apparel accessory and home goods segments. From June 1995 to July 1996 he specialized in similar services for Lehman Brothers Inc. and from August 1990 to June 1995 in a similar capacity with Goldman Sachs & Co. Mr. Friedman has been ranked on the Institutional Investor All-American Research Team as one of the top-rated sector analysts. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan in 1986 and a Masters degree in business administration from The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania in 1990. |