Mr. Laird age 60 serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Laird Squared LLC an investment banking company that he formed in January 1999 exclusively to serve the database information services industry. From 1989 to 1999 Mr. Laird was a Managing Director of Veronis Suhler & Associates a leading specialty merchant bank that serves the media and information industries. From 1982 to 1989 he was an institutional equity salesman and a senior securities analyst of database information services for Hambrecht & Quist. From 1975 to 1982 Mr. Laird was an institutional equity salesman and investment strategist for PaineWebber Mitchell Hutchins. Mr. Laird is also a director of The Advisory Board Company which specializes in best practices research and analysis related to the management of companies in the health care industry. Mr. Laird is the Chairman of the Compensation Committee a member of the Audit Committe and has served on the Board since 1993. His current Board term expires in concurrence with the Annual Meeting of Stockholders for fiscal 2007. |