Diamond Castle was founded by Larry Schloss, Ari Benacerraf, Mike Ranger, Andy Rush and David Wittels. Mr. Schloss, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, was one of the founding partners of the highly successful DLJ Merchant Banking business in 1985, and has invested in most sub-asset classes of private equity, including buyouts, real estate, mezzanine and others, on four continents. Mr. Benacerraf, Mr. Rush and Mr. Wittels are former Managing Directors of DLJ Merchant Banking who have invested together with Mr. Schloss for an average of 15 years. Mr. Ranger is a former Co-Chairman of DLJ Global Energy Partners, which was responsible for DLJ Merchant Banking's energy investing activities, and previously was Head of DLJ's Global Power investment banking group. Through many years of investing together, our founders share a dynamic and rigorous investment philosophy that serves as the foundation of Diamond Castle's approach to investing.

Joining our founders are George Fotiades, Gene Lockhart and Scott Schneider, our Operating Partners for healthcare, financial services and media and communications investments, respectively. Each of our Operating Partners has more than 25 years of experience in senior management positions at companies within his industry. Our Operating Partners are involved in all phases of the investment life cycle - from sourcing and due diligence to board leadership and investment realization - and they provide us with the industry expertise and relationships that we believe are critical to investing successfully.

Diamond Castle's founders and Operating Partners are joined by an experienced team of investment professionals, most of whom are former colleagues from DLJ Merchant Banking. We also draw on the experience, resources and relationships of our Executive Board of more than 20 CEOs and corporate executives with whom we have worked for many years, including many CEOs of successful prior investments. Our Executive Board provides us with senior-level access to companies across a wide variety of industries.