Bio

Prior to starting the Fund in 2007, and since 2003, Ryan served as Vice President of Business Development at MSI, a privately held building products distributor and construction services company. Prior to MSI, Ryan served as a financial analyst for Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn's long/short equity hedge fund after working at SAC Capital Advisors LLC in a similar capacity. Ryan began his career as an analyst on the sell side in small cap research for CJS Securities. Ryan earned a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University. Ryan currently serves on the Board of Directors of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corp. (NASDAQ: GLDD) and Hardinge, Inc. Ryan formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of AgJunction, Inc. (TSX: AJX), Cicero, Inc. (OTC:CICN), Frequency Electronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEIM), Material Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: MASC), The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ: MIDD), and RELM Wireless Corporation (NYSE MKT: RWC).