The document summarizes a panel discussion on banking, private equity, and financing strategies for CFOs. The panel was moderated by Brenda Morris and included Andy Cox from Wells Fargo Securities, Jared Stein from Monogram Capital Partners, and Tricia Landry from Citi Bank. They discussed current market conditions, including record levels of lending from big banks and institutional lenders to small businesses. However, loan approval rates at small banks remained sluggish. Private equity funds have significant capital to invest due to a competitive post-recession environment. IPO markets have cooled as companies raise funds privately at strong valuations. The panel provided CFOs with updates on financing options and building relationships to access capital.

1. Banking, Private Equity & Financing
Strategies: Opportunities for CFOs
May 14, 2015
1:10 – 2:25 pm
Moderator:
Brenda Morris

2. American Institute of CPAs
Moderator:
Brenda Morris
Brenda is with Hot Topic/Torrid, an exciting leader in gift & fashion apparel retail, where
she is charged with being a strategic partner to leadership to grow and develop the
company and enjoy an amazing culture. Prior to this opportunity Brenda was CFO for 5.11
Tactical, an international apparel and gear company, Love Culture Inc., a young women's
retailer, which doubled in size during her time with them. Brenda was with Icicle Seafoods
from 2009 to 2011 as CFO. Brenda was previously with Maveron start-up iFLOOR Inc., a
hard surface retailing concept. She was CFO of Zumiez Inc, a specialty teen retailer. At
Zumiez, she completed an IPO, 2 secondary offerings, and an acquisition of one 20 store
chain. Prior to Zumiez, Brenda was at K2 Corporation as CFO. At K2, she directed all
financial and ops functions. Prior to joining K2, Brenda spent 5 years as the Controller of
UNIONBAY. Morris also had roles at Bowers Machine, FlowMole (aka UTILX, where she
completed an IPO and two follow-ons). Brenda is the Past-Chair of Washington Business
Week, a Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) Regent and Vice-Chair, past Chair Exec.
Advisory Board for PLU’s School of Business; and is a guest speaker and active member
of AICPA. She obtained her Undergraduate Degree in Business, Accounting from PLU,
and her MBA from Seattle University focused on Organizational Behavior and Operations.
She holds her CGMA, CPA and CMA. Brenda is an Advisor for Proformative.com, an
online resource and professional network for senior finance, accounting and related
professionals.
Brenda also serves on the Board of Directors of Boot Barn Holdings, a public western
lifestyle retailer with 160 stores and growing, and is Audit Committee Chair.

3. American Institute of CPAs
Panelists:
Andy Cox
Managing Director - Consumer & Retail Investment Banking Group, Wells Fargo
Securities
Andy Cox is a Managing Director in the Consumer & Retail Investment Banking Group of Wells
Fargo Securities.
Mr. Cox joined Wells Fargo Securities through the legacy Wachovia Securities in 2003 and is
responsible for the firm’s Apparel, Footwear and Sporting Goods practice. Previously, Mr. Cox
was with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. from 1999 through 2003.
His experience includes M&A buyside and sellside transactions, strategic alternatives
assessments and fairness opinions, as well as a range of capital raising transactions, including
initial public offerings, follow-on public equity offerings, convertible debt offerings and high yield
debt offerings. Prior to Bear Stearns, Mr. Cox was with Banc of America Securities, LLC
focusing on syndicated bank lending.
Mr. Cox earned a bachelor of engineering degree with honors from Vanderbilt University and a
master of business administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania.

4. American Institute of CPAs
Jared Stein
Managing Partner – Monogram Capital Partners
Jared Stein is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Monogram Capital, a pure-play consumer
retail private equity fund based in Los Angeles.
At Monogram, Jared focuses primarily on investing in growth concepts in the apparel, restaurant
and food and beverage space. In addition, Jared works closely with the firm’s portfolio
companies as an adviser and source of strategic guidance on topics including financial
reporting, financing, acquisitions and marketing/branding.
Prior to launching Monogram, Jared worked previously at Golden Gate Capital, a leading private
equity firm with $12 billion of capital under management and a top-decline return track record.
Before that, Jared worked at Huntsman Gay and Bain Capital on the private equity investment
team after beginning his career in M&A at Goldman Sachs
Jared earned a B.A. in economics, summa cum laude / Phi Beta Kappa, from Duke University
and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

5. American Institute of CPAs
Tricia Landry
Senior Vice President. Commercial Banking, Citi Bank
Tricia Landry is a Senior Vice President with the Citi Commercial Banking Group in Los
Angeles, CA.
Tricia joined Citi in 2012 managing commercial clients in various industries. Her clients
are domestic and multi-national companies. She works with many types of lending
including domestic lines of credit, term loans, asset-based lending and real estate. She
has experience with cross border finance, factoring, leveraged lending, and purchase
order financing. She works with clients to understand their domestic and international
treasury management needs, working capital management needs, and providing trade
services.
Tricia has worked in commercial banking for over 13 years in LA and the Midwest. Prior to
joining Citi, she was with Wells Fargo in the LA commercial banking group. She has also
worked in the CFO role for a LA based apparel company. In the Midwest, she was with
Bank One (now JP Morgan Chase) in the commercial banking group.
Tricia graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of
Wisconsin – Madison.

6. American Institute of CPAs
CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS:
Business lending set another record in early 2015.
That record is being set mostly by big banks and certain other kinds of lenders.
For early 2015, lending approval rates for small and mid-size businesses at big banks hit
a post-recession high.
New data from the Small Business Lending Index reveals that loans from big banks to
small businesses in early 2015 were approved 21.3 percent of the time, up from 21.1
percent in December 2014.
January 2015’s approval rate was the highest for small businesses since the end of the
Great Recession.
The same record-breaking news is being heralded from institutional lenders, too. The
early 2015 numbers show that these lenders approved 60.5 percent of the business loans
they received.
For those entrepreneurs seeking a smaller loan, a smaller bank is likely the first choice.

7. American Institute of CPAs
CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS:
Unfortunately, the index continues to report sluggish approval rates of small business loan
applications at small banks.
In early 2015, these banks approved only 49.6 percent of the loan requests they got from
small business owners. That’s more than double the approval rate being trumpeted for big
banks, but it also represents an eighth straight month of decline of these smaller loans.
The latest data marks the third month in a row in which small banks turned down more
loan requests than they approved.
Private Equity reports money to put to work and many deals to look at. The post-
recession climate has created a very competitive environment with great opportunities for
PEG’s and businesses looking for investors.
IPO markets have cooled as companies are finding strong valuations in private money.
A choppy first quarter for the U.S. stock market resulted in the least active three-month
stretch for initial public offerings in two years, even as breathless reports about
blockbuster fundraisings in the private markets continue to make headlines. With only 34
IPOs, raising $5.4 billion, the U.S. market had its slowest quarter since the first three
months of 2013.

8. American Institute of CPAs
Takeaways from the Session
• Update on the financing markets, lending and investors for
companies.
• Current and up to date information on how companies are
funding operations and growth from the experts.
• Information on creative ways to find funding you may not have
known or may not have understood.
• How to build relationships that will allow you to weather most
any circumstances in your organizations.
• An opportunity to ask experts what the RIGHT questions are
when looking for partners.
• Resources for the future.
• Answers to YOUR questions!