Paul M. Friedman has been a member of our Board of Directors since August 2016 and was appointed Chairman of the Audit Committee in August 2020. He was the Chairman of the CNG Committee from 2016 until August 2020. From November 2009 to March 2015, Mr. Friedman served as the Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Guggenheim Securities LLC. From June 2008 to October 2009, Mr. Friedman served as a Managing Director of Mariner Investment Group ( Mariner ). Mr. Friedman spent 27 years at Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. ( Bear Stearns ) from 1981 to 2008, most recently holding the position of Chief Operating Officer of its Fixed Income Division. Mr. Friedman serves as the Lead Director and the chairman of the Compliance Committee of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. and is on the board of directors of Rithm Property Trust Inc. (formerly known as Great Ajax Corp.), where he is the Chairman of the board, the chair of the compensation committee and a member of the audit committee. He was also on the board of Intelligo from 2020 until September 2025. Mr. Friedman has a M.S. in Finance and Accounting from New York University, Stern School of Business, and a B.A. in Economics from Colgate University. Mr. Friedman was selected and qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors because of his diverse and extensive business and financial experience as well as his experience on the boards of other public companies.