Richard Close

Richard Close is a Managing Director at Jefferies & Company who covers the
healthcare information technology services sector. FT/StarMine has recognized
Mr. Close as the number-one earnings estimator for the healthcare technology
industry in 2007 and 2009, the number-three stock picker for the healthcare
technology industry in 2009, and the number-one stock picker for the commercial
services and supplies Industry in 2004. He also ranked in the top 10 stock
pickers in 2002. Mr. Close is a three-time recipient of The Wall Street
Journal’s “Best on the Street” selection; he was named to “The Home-Run Hitters”
list in 2001 and the “Top Guns” list in 2005. He has been featured in a broad
array of industry periodicals and media outlets, including Bloomberg TV,
Investor’s Business Daily, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall
Street Journal. Prior to joining Jefferies in 2003, Mr. Close was a Senior
Research Analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey covering privatization and
education services. Previously, he served at Montgomery Asset Management and
Montgomery Securities. Mr. Close received a B.S. from the Rochester Institute of
Technology.