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Overview

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Panelists

Steve Peplin Talan Products

As a lifelong entrepreneur, Steve Peplin has started and operated numerous companies, all in the specialty building trades or building products industries.

Steve Peplin studied architectural engineering at the University of Wyoming. Prior to & after that he had a series of “adventure” jobs including chef, logger, oilfield roughneck, cowboy, vertical construction worker & sailor.

With a heritage as a 3rd generation manufacturer, he started Talan Products in 1986 with $2,100 & 2 partners. Talan has since grown into a recognized industry leader in manufacturing for the renewable energy & building products industries.

As CEO of Talan, Steve has successfully fostered a culture of innovation, progressive management, high performance & collaboration. Talan’s recognition includes numerous awards for growth, innovation, safety, & manufacturing excellence.

Steve’s hobbies include cooking, unicycling, jugging, golf, skiing, motorcycle trips, sailboat racing, shooting and hot air ballooning.

Gregarious & affable, Steve Peplin enjoys every day on the job.

Lauren Rich Fine Partner Gries Financial Partners

Lauren Rich Fine, CFA joined Gries Financial Partners in 2016 to help drive business development and strategy and work directly with clients on their investment portfolios. She is a partner at the firm and handles marketing and talent as well.

Prior to that she was an Executive Search Consultant at Howard & O’Brien, focused on C-Suite and board searches. The bulk of her searches were in the areas of finance and marketing and her clients ranged from public to private and closely-held companies. Lauren was previously a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch in Equity Research for nearly two decades, where she was named to the Institutional Investor All-American Research team, holding the number one position in her coverage universe for 11 years. She analyzed public companies within the broad Internet & Media universe as well as Advertising & Marketing and Education companies. Lauren was a frequent source & contributor to CNBC and other news outlets as well as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. She was tapped to speak at numerous conferences throughout her career.

She has a B.A. from Tufts University where she majored in Economics & Psychology and did a year abroad in Greece and England. Her M.B.A. is from the Stern School of Management at New York University.

Lauren sits on the board of the E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) and Private Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) and is on the Audit Committee of each organization. She previously served on the Dolan Media Board of Directors (NYSE: DM).

She is also on the boards of the Ahuja Medical Center, Cleveland International Film Festival (Chair Investment Sub-Committee), Cleveland Museum of Art (Chair Finance Committee), College Now (Chair Mentoring Committee), and ideastream (Chair Marketing Committee & Investment Sub-Committee), is the Chair of the University Hospital Connor Integrative Health Network Leadership Council, and sits on the Investment Committees at the Jewish Community Federation and Ursuline Sisters of Northeast Ohio. She is actively involved in a number of local start-ups. Lauren was awarded the YWCA Women of Achievement Award and was a Crain’s Women of Note.

William B Summers Jr. Director and Advisor McDonald Investments, Inc.

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McDonald Investments Inc., an investment banking and securities firm and a part of KeyBanc Capital Markets. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Summers served as Chairman of McDonald Investments Inc. from 2000 to 2006, and as its Chief Executive Officer from 1994 to 2000. From 1998 until 2000, Mr. Summers served as the Chairman of Key Capital Partners and an Executive Vice President of KeyCorp. Mr. Summers is a director of Integer Holdings Corporation (formerly Greatbatch, Inc.), and a member of the advisory board of Molded Fiber Glass Companies. From 2004 until May 2011, Mr. Summers was a director of Developers Diversified Realty Corporation.

Mr. Summers was previously a member of the NASDAQ Stock Market board of directors, and served as its chairman for two years. Mr. Summers is a trustee of Baldwin Wallace University, and serves on the boards of the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the U.S Army War College Foundation, and the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Summers holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Baldwin Wallace University.

Moderator

Jim LeMay Senior Vice President and General Counsel OMNOVA Solutions

Jim LeMay is Cleveland PDA programming Co-Chair and was, for over 20 years, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, and General Counsel of OMNOVA Solutions, a $760 million global manufacturer of specialty chemicals and functional surfacing materials serving the coatings, adhesives, plastics, building & construction, and other commercial and industrial markets.

Mr. LeMay’s Corporate Development responsibilities include strategic planning; growth strategy development; identification and evaluation of growth opportunities; and M&A transactions leadership. As General Counsel he was responsible for worldwide legal and regulatory affairs including transactions, public reporting, corporate governance, and compliance.

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