Mr. William W. Sprague is a Managing Director and Head of SMH Capital Markets Investment Banking Group. As the Head of Investment Banking, Mr. Sprague helps drive SMH Capital with the same entrepreneurial spirit as the firm's clients, and firmly believes in the advantages of a full service middle market investment firm. “Large Wall Street firms only care about whether they can market a transaction. SMH Capital asks the more basic question, should the company even do it?” Mr. Sprague has established SMH Capital Investment Banking Group with the unique combination of full-service investment banking capabilities delivered by experienced senior bankers to optimally serve clients.

Before joining SMH Capital in 2004, Mr. Sprague was the founder of Crest Advisors LLC and has more than 25 years of experience in corporate finance and private equity investing. In addition, Mr. Sprague has substantial financial and operational experience, which includes successfully building Smith Barney's Mergers & Acquisitions Group as Co-Head and the Media & Communications Group as the group's Head into $100 million investment banking practices. He was also a member of Smith Barney's Fairness Opinion and Operations Committees.

Prior to that, Mr. Sprague was one of the founding members of the Merchant Banking Group of Kidder Peabody. During his career, he has completed more than $12 billion of transactions in private equity, senior and sub-debt, acquisitions, divestitures, and initial and secondary public offerings. Mr. Sprague has worked with such leading companies as Westinghouse, Comcast, Turner Broadcasting, Valassis Communications, Metro Mobile and Davidson & Associates.

Mr. Sprague holds a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College and a Master of Business Administration with distinction from the Wharton School of Business. Mr. Sprague's current and recent board seats include: GeoEye Inc. (NASDAQ - GEOY), Orbimage Holdings Inc., (OTCPK:ORBM), Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH) and several private companies.

Mr. Michael S. Chadwick is a Senior Vice President and Managing Director at SMH Capital in the Investment Banking Group. He is a senior member of the firm's Financial Services Group in Houston, functioning as a generalist.

Michael S. Chadwick has been active in the commercial banking and investment banking fields since 1975. Mr. Chadwick holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a BA in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Chadwick currently serves as a Director of four public companies: Blue Dolphin Energy Company, Home Solutions of America, Inc., Landry's Restaurants, Inc.; and United Fuel & Energy Corporation.

Mr. Alexander M. Clark is a Managing Director at SMH Capital specializing in the insurance industry, specifically the health and property-casualty segments, including life-annuity and both stock and mutual companies.

Mr. Clark has more than 25 years of experience in raising capital for clients in public and private markets, merger and acquisition transitions, valuation and fairness opinions, and other financial advisory assignments. He has focused on insurance from multiple perspectives.

Prior to joining SMH Capital in 2006, Mr. Clark was a member of the financial-institutions practice at Advest Group for 13 years, dealing primarily with investment-banking activities in the insurance industry. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Gramercy Partners, a small insurance-industry investment bank, and Senior Vice President at McKinley Allsopp, Inc., an institutional brokerage firm. Prior, he held research positions at Kidder Peabody & Co., and Dean Witter & Co.

Mr. Clark served as president and CEO of John Alden Life Insurance Co. of New York. Early in his career, he developed the basic methodology for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for life insurance companies. In 1980, Mr. Clark completed the conversion of a mutual property-and-casualty company to a stock company in Illinois - before there was enabling legislation.

Mr. Clark holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Clark is a Chartered Financial Analyst and serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of Pennsylvania National Insurance Group, Unity Financial Life Insurance Company, American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. (NYSE: AEL) and Penn Treaty American Corporation (NYSE: PTA), where he is also a member of the executive committee..

Mr. Michael Fitzgerald is a Managing Director at SMH Capital and is the Head of the firm’s Advisory Services and Financial Sponsor efforts. Mr. Fitzgerald leads the development and execution of all leveraged finance transactions and mergers & acquisitions, and also coordinates the firm’s relationships with private capital providers, including financial sponsors, lenders and alternative sources. Mr. Fitzgerald is a member of the firm’s Fairness Opinion Committee.

Prior to joining Sanders Morris Harris in 2004, Mr. Fitzgerald was a founding member of Crest Advisors LLC, a boutique investment bank, and Crest Communications Holdings, LLC, a private investment firm which made private equity investments in the media, communications, and technology industries. Prior to the formation of Crest, Mr. Fitzgerald was a member of the Media and Telecommunications Group of Smith Barney Inc., where he was involved with mergers, acquisitions and private and public debt equity capital issuances. Mr. Fitzgerald holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Georgetown University.

Mr. Douglas Hurst is a Managing Director at SMH Capital in the Investment Banking Group. He is a senior member of the firm's Media and Communications efforts.

Mr. Hurst's domain expertise is extensive in Television & Radio Broadcasting, Cable Television & Programming, Wireless, and Wireless Broadband. Mr. Hurst has over 25 years experience in corporate finance.

Before joining SMH Capital, Mr. Hurst was a Managing Director at Crest Advisors LLC. Prior to that, as Managing Director at JPMorgan for five years, Mr. Hurst focused on the broadcasting and cable industries, where he advised and financed high-profile companies such as Nextel, Clear Channel Communications, Time Warner Communications, and Heart Corporation.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Hurst was a Senior Managing Director at Smith Barney where he worked for nearly ten years and was responsible for starting the Media and Communications Group. During his tenure at Smith Barney, Mr. Hurst advised and led transactions for leading media and communications companies that included United International Holdings, International Family Entertainment, Viacom, and Infinity Broadcasting. Mr. Hurst began his career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch.

Mr. Hurst holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.

Mr. Scott Juda is a Managing Director at SMH Capital in the Investment Banking Group. He is a senior member of the firm's Capital Markets Group, having joined the firm as part of the acquisition of the Sutro & Co. capital markets group.

Before joining SMH Capital in 2002, Mr. Juda was an institutional sales-trader at Sutro & Co. focusing on a wide range of buy-side firms, including mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds. Prior to that, as an associate at Buchaltre, Nemer, Fields & Younger, LLP, Mr. Juda focused on practicing corporate and securities law.

Earlier in his career, as a practicing attorney, Mr. Juda worked on and closed a wide range of financings and other business combinations, including, but not limited to, mergers, acquisitions, leverage buy-outs, management buy-outs, roll-ups, sales of assets and sales of business lines. Prior to attending law school, he was an analyst for Sutro & Co.'s investment bank.

Mr. Juda holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pepperdine School of Law.

Mr. Harlan Bruce Juengling is a Managing Director heading up the Private Equity Evaluations Energy Group at  Sanders Morris Harris Investment Banking, working out of the Greenwood Village, Colorado office.

Before joining Sanders Morris Harris, Mr. Juengling was Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets where he managed the energy product and energy specific sales force.   Prior to that, he was a primary account executive with Petrie Parkman Institutional Sales, covering major institutions in Boston and Connecticut regions.  He assisted marketing underwritings for Barret, Tom Brown, Basin, Forest, Texas Meridian, EOG and others. 

Preceding his work with Petrie Parkman, Mr. Juengling worked in institutional sales and research analysis  at Rauscher Pierce Refnes, where he created the RPR Energy Conference, Howard Weil, Underwood Neuhaus Inc and Schneider Benet and Hickman.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Juengling was an accountant involved in financial and tax accounting for General American Oil Company of Texas.
 
Mr. Juelingling holds a Bachelors in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Accounting from Southern Methodist University. 

Harlan holds FINRA licenses for the series 7 & 63

Mr. Keresztes is a Managing Director at SMH Capital in the Investment Banking Group. He is a senior member of the firm's Private Capital Group with a focus on Debt Capital Markets. Mr. Keresztes primary duties relate to structuring, pricing, and distributing privately placed credit products across the capital structure.

Mr. Keresztes is a veteran of domestic high yield, distressed, and international debt and equities markets. Experienced through several cycles, Mr. Keresztes has used his corporate and international finance skills to analyze companies' value and risk-reward profile, as well as to structure and communicate characteristics of complex transactions.

Mr. Keresztes has banked the credit markets of New York and London, including HSBC, where he worked on structuring Highly Leveraged Transactions, syndications, and secondary market loan trading. Mr. Keresztes was also General Manager of a foreign bank that actively used its balance sheet to provide international and structured trade finance for non-investment grade credits. Tom's work as a banker and for investor interests in distressed debt and debt renegotiations includes restructuring committees, debt-equity conversions, secondary market buy-backs, and credit analysis.

Before joining SMH Capital in 2006, Mr. Keresztes worked on the sell-side at Refco Securities in the Special Situations Group. There he looked at less-liquid (small cap), global deep-value opportunities of public and private debt and equity. Mr. Keresztes was in constant touch and met with a wide-range of institutional investors. Published analyses have included companies in the following sectors: airlines, auto parts suppliers, agri-business, power producers, power distributors, chemical companies, forest products and consumer product companies.

Mr. Keresztes holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Toronto and worked in the New Technologies Divisions of Texaco and Gaz De France before getting a Masters in Business Administration from New York University.

Mr. Kenneth Leung is a Managing Director at SMH Capital in the Investment Banking Group. He is a senior member of the firm's Natural Resources Group providing advisory and financing to private and public middle-market companies in air and water pollution, solid-waste, hazardous-waste, and recycling industries as well as nuclear services in the United States and Canada.

Mr. Leung is an acknowledged environmental industry expert. During his career, Leung was named an “All-Star Analyst” by Institutional Investor for 21 years. In addition to serving as editor of Environmental Review, he is a sought-after writer for environmental publications, a speaker at environmental and financial conferences and media commentator. At SMH Capital, Mr. Leung also serves as chief investment officer for Environmental Opportunities Funds I and II, which represents $113 million of private-equity partnership monies.

Before joining SMH Capital in 1995, Mr. Leung was a Managing Director at Smith Barney focusing on environmental and coal investment research and investment banking. While there, he performed contract work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Council. Prior to that, as a Vice President at F. Eberstadt & Co., Mr. Leung focused on environmental and coal research and performed contract work for the President's Council on Environmental Quality. Earlier in his career, he was an Assistant Treasurer at Chemical Bank.

Mr. Leung holds a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham College and a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University.

Mr. John H. Malanga is a Managing Director at SMH Capital in the Investment Banking Group. He is a Senior member of the firm's Natural Resources Group, providing investment banking services to middle market, growth oriented, E&P, midstream and master limited partnership clients in the U.S. and Canada.

Mr. Malanga has over ten years of experience in providing corporate finance and merger and acquisition advisory services to middle market companies. Mr. Malanga also has significant private equity experience and he manages several investments on behalf of SMH Capital.

Mr. Malanga began his investment banking career in the Energy Group at Jefferies & Company where he focused on providing investment banking services to exploration and production companies.

Mr. Malanga holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the Jones Graduate School of Management from Rice University.

Peter J. Mixter has been covering the healthcare industry as an investment banking specialist in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions since 1980. Mr. Mixter is currently Managing Director and Head of the Healthcare Industry Practice of SMH Capital, the investment banking division of Sanders Morris Harris Group, a diversified asset management, brokerage and investment banking firm. For 20 years, Mr. Mixter served as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers (LEH), most recently as Managing Director in its Healthcare Corporate Finance Group and as a member of its Global Healthcare Management Committee. During his career, Mr. Mixter has advised on numerous healthcare-related mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity and debt offerings throughout the world, completing over 150 transactions valued in excess of $60 billion

Mr. Mixter is a director of Berliner Communications, Inc, a leading contractor to the wireless communications industry. and a director of various entities affiliated with Greyshrike Capital, a European hedge fund. Mr. Mixter also was a director of SciGenics, Inc., a company engaged in pharmaceutical research and development acquired by Genetics Institute Inc, currently a division of Wyeth

Mr. Mixter received a Bachelor of Arts (Chemistry) degree from the University of Vermont and a Masters in Business Administration degree (Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society) from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Mr. Gregg Mockenhaupt is a Managing Director at SMH Capital within the Investment Banking Group. He leads SMH Capital's Private Capital Group, which is responsible for executing all manner of private debt and equity financings for acquisition, growth, recapitalization and refinancing purposes through its relationships with a spectrum of capital providers, including hedge funds, specialty finance companies and private investment firms.

Before joining SMH Capital in 2004, Mr. Mockenhaupt was a founding member at Crest Advisors LLC, a boutique investment bank, as well as Crest Communications Holdings LLC, a private investment firm focusing on investments within the media, communications, and technology industries. Prior to the formation of Crest, Mr. Mockenhaupt was a member of the Advisory Group of Smith Barney Inc., where he focused on the execution of merger, acquisition, and financial restructuring transactions.

Mr. Mockenhaupt graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, with concentrations in finance and political science. He has served on the board of directors of several public and private companies.

Mr. Dean Oakey is a Managing Director at SMH Capital in the Investment Banking Group. He is a senior member of the firm specializing in advising micro-cap companies with financial advisory, mergers and acquisitions, and private and public capital raising services. Mr. Oakey has been active in the investment field since 1982.

Before joining SMH Capital in 1997, Mr. Oakey served in Retail and Institutional Sales with Bear Stearns & Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston, and as Managing Director of Rodman and Renshaw Capital Group's Southwestern Regional office.

Mr. Oakey holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University in Finance and Economics. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Peoples Liberation, Inc., a Los Angeles based denim-oriented apparel company.

Mr. Humbert B. Powell is a Managing Director at SMH Capital in the Investment Banking Group. He is a senior member of the firm's Equity Capital Markets Group.

Before joining SMH Capital in 1996, Mr. Powell was the Chairman at Marleau, Lemire USA and Vice Chairman of Marleau, Lemire Securities, Inc. Prior he served as a Senior Managing Director in the Corporate Finance Department of Bear Stearns & Co., with responsibilities for the Investment Banking effort both domestic and international. Prior to that, Mr. Powell served as a Senior Vice President and Director of E.F. Hutton & Co., where he was employed in various capacities for 18 years.

Mr. Powell holds a degree in Business and Economics from Salem-Teikyo University and is a trustee of this college. Current and recent board affiliations include: Lottery Dynamics, Alliance Distribution, World Water Corporation, Endeavor International Corp. (formerly Continental Southern Resources Inc.).

Frederic L. Saalwachter has rejoined SMH Capital Markets in 2007 to lead the Energy Investment Banking Group, based in the Houston, Texas office. Saalwachter first joined Sanders Morris Harris in 1998 as a Managing Director to focus on providing investment banking services to energy companies.  From 1994 to 1998, Ric was Managing Partner of Gladstone Partners, a private investment banking and financial advisory firm concentrating on raising capital and providing consulting services to energy, power and environmental companies.  From 1989 to 1993, he was Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Kemper Securities where his responsibilities included management of public and private financings and merger and acquisition advisory services.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Saalwachter held senior positions in Corporate Finance for five years with Shearson Lehman Brothers and ten years with Warburg Paribas Becker in New York and was a co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of a group of energy services companies in Houston.  He received a B.A. degree from Fairfield University in Fairfield Connecticut.

Mr. Mitchell Stern is a Managing Director at SMH Capital Investment Banking in the Healthcare Group.

Mr. Stern has been involved in investment banking (financial advisory, mergers & acquisitions and raising both public and private capital) for the last 17 years, working with numerous clients ranging from start-up companies to multi-billion dollar conglomerates. He has also covered a broad array of industries, including Healthcare & Life Sciences, Education & e-Learning, Technology, Consumer Products, and Automotives. Within healthcare, Mr. Stern has worked with companies in Biotechnology, Medical Devices, Healthcare Services, OTC/Nutritionals and Healthcare IT.

Recently, Mr. Stern served as Managing Director and Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Glocap Advisors LLC. Until February 2004, he was President of Centaur Advisors LLC, a boutique investment bank focused on transactions in Healthcare & Life Sciences. Prior to that, Mr. Stern worked in the investment banking group at Needham & Company, Inc., where he held a number of positions including Head of Education & e-Learning Investment Banking.

Mr. Stern also worked for six years in the investment banking department at Schroders plc (Wertheim Schroder). While at Schroders, he was a senior member of the Healthcare Investment Banking Group and was involved in raising capital and M&A advisory for companies in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, medical devices and healthcare services sectors. In addition to Schroders, Mr. Stern was a member of the M&A Transactions Group at Deloitte & Touche, as well as a professional with Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup) and Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young).

Mr. Stern holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin and Marshall College and a Master of Business Administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

He has also passed the Certified Public Accountant (C.P.A.) exam.