Mr. Salute has served as an independent director of the Company since 2015 and has served on the board of directors of our bank subsidiary, Newtek Bank, N.A. (Newtek Bank) since January 2023. Mr. Salute served as Capital Markets and SEC Practice Director at J.H. Cohn and CohnReznick LLP from 2004 to 2014. Prior to that, he spent 29 years, from 1972 to 2001, at Arthur Andersen managing complex audits for public and private companies. During his tenure, he was responsible for providing clients with strategic planning services as well as consulting on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and process evaluation. His clients included large multinational companies and entrepreneurial start-ups. In addition to his client responsibilities, he started three business lines for Arthur Anderson: the Enterprise Group (New York Metropolitan area), the Technology Practice (New York office) and the Bankruptcy and Corporate Recovery Practice (nationwide). More recently, Mr. Salute served as Chief Financial Officer of PAVmed Inc. from June 2014 to September 2015. Mr. Salute served as a director and a member of the audit committee of Near Intelligence, Inc., a global data intelligence platform, from September 2023 through March 27, 2024. Mr. Salute also served as a director of Walker Innovation Inc. from 2015 through 2018. Mr. Salute is a graduate of Adelphi University and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Salute has more than 39 years of audit, accounting, and tax experience. His extensive audit, accounting, and tax experience and relationships with industry players are an asset to our Board of Directors. Mr. Salute's expertise and experience also qualify him to serve as chairman of our Audit Committee and as the Audit Committee Financial Expert. Mr. Salute's experience with SEC matters includes numerous initial public offerings and his experience representing publicly traded, as well as over-the-counter market traded, clients provides a significant addition to the Board of Directors.