Breakfast Forum: The Current State of the Capital Markets 2008

J.B. Dollison, Managing Director
Crutchfield Capital Corporation

J.B. is a senior principal of Crutchfield Capital Corporation. Previously, J.B. enjoyed an extended career with Exxon, holding a variety of management positions in finance, marketing and operations, the latter of which included profit and loss responsibility for an operating unit with annual revenues in excess of $50 million. J.B. has substantial experience in marketing and operations, in business valuations, in mergers and acquisitions, and in arranging financing transactions. He is a Past President and a Board Member of the Houston Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, has published various articles on financing and has spoken at a number of national conventions and seminars. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and holds an MBA from Marymount University.

Tom Fish, Vice Chairman
CB Richard Ellis

Tom joined CB Richard Ellis (then L.J. Melody & Company) in 1996. Since then, Tom has been one of the company's top originators and has completed debt and equity transactions in excess of $3 billion. In addition, Tom oversees loan production for Melody's Southwest Region and is leading the company's Resolution Strategies Group, which helps borrowers restructure their existing debt. Tom has been in the real estate finance industry since 1987 and was previously an originator for and co-owner of Post Oak Partners, a Houston-based real estate finance firm. Tom holds a BBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Texas.

Tom Hargrove, Managing Director & Co-Founder
GulfStar Group

Tom is a co-founder of GulfStar Group and has more than 25 years of investment banking experience. Prior to GulfStar's formation, he served as a Senior Vice President of Rotan Mosle Inc. (1986 to 1990) and First Vice President at Underwood, Neuhaus & Co., Inc. (1979 to 1986), where he was responsible for institutional private placements. Prior to 1979, he served as Assistant Vice President in the Corporate Finance Department at First City National Bank. Tom received a BA in Economics from the University of Texas.

J. Downey Bridgwater, Chairman, President & CEO
Sterling Bank

Downey began his banking career at the First National Bank of McAlester, Oklahoma. In 1979 he joined Allied Bank (later acquired by First Interstate Bank) where he spent the next 11 years holding positions of increasing responsibility, including serving on the Bank's merger team during its consolidation with First Interstate. Downey then joined Charter Bank in 1991 as Senior Vice President of Corporate Banking. In 1996 he joined Sterling Bank as CEO of the Memorial office. Downey was named President of Sterling Bank in 1998, CEO in 2002, and Chairman in 2005. Downey has served on numerous community and professional boards including the Harris County Housing Finance Corporation, Texas Medical Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center, BioHouston, the Houston Forum, and the University of St. Thomas. He is also a member of the Development Committee of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He is a graduate of the University of Houston and a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum.

Rudy Garza, Principal & Founder
G-51 Capital Management

Rudy, founder and managing general partner of G-51, focuses on the development of all portfolio companies, syndication partnerships and deal flow. His expertise includes an extensive knowledge of successful hardware and software business models, market shaping services, business growth strategies and talent sourcing. Rudy is an active leader in the venture community, including longstanding participation in NVCA and the Texas Venture Capital Association. He has led syndicated investment deals with numerous angel investors, institutional and corporate venture capital firms such as Austin Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Bain Capital, Polaris Ventures and Institutional Venture Partners. Rudy has served on the board of directors for University of Texas Exes and as Chairman of the Endowment Investment Committee and is a lifetime honorary trustee of the Dell Children's Medical Center. He holds an BBA from St. Edwards University an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.