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Mr. Nies is the Regional Managing Director of the Southeast Region, based in Atlanta, GA. Mr. Nies joined Merrill Lynch in 1998 as a Financial Advisor and later became the regional sales manager of the South Florida Region. His industry experience also includes leading the Credit Suisse Private Bank's Pacific Northwest Region and the U.S. Market Leader for the Asia Pacific Market. Mr. Nies graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Engineering and holds a MBA with honors from the University of Florida.

Mr. Thelander brings extensive management and client service experience to his role as Regional Managing Director for the Mid-America Region, based in Chicago. He joined the firm as a Financial Advisor and went on to serve in management positions in several regions, most recently as Regional Managing Director for the Heartland Region. Mr. Thelander earned an MBA from the University of Colorado.

Ms. Murphy became the Regional Managing Director for the Pacific West Region after several years of leading Financial Advisors in Northern California as well as other key markets in Oregon and Southern California. She has been in Leadership since 2002 and been with the Firm for fifteen years. Tracy holds a Bachelor's of Science degree from the University of Southern California.

A Boston native, Mr. McGauley began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1994 as a Financial Advisor and went on to assist in the professional development of new Financial Advisors in the firm's national training programs. Prior to his current role, he was Director of the Rockefeller Center Complex and the World Financial Center Complex in New York City.

Linda Patel is the Regional Managing Director for the Merrill Private Wealth Management in the Texas Region, headquartered in Dallas. Her responsibilities cover the Texas markets, as well as Missouri, New Mexico and Colorado. Ms. Patel previously was the Valley Coast Market Executive for Merrill in Southern California, responsible for eight full-service brokerage offices. She holds a B.B.A. degree in international studies and a minor in economics from PACE University in New York.

Based in Manhattan, Ms. Colavita is responsible for the Metropolitan Region that encompasses New York, New Jersey and Greenwich, Connecticut. She previously led the Client Solutions and Sales group, focusing on the ultra-high-net-worth client experience. She also spearheaded the accreditation and on-going professional development of Private Wealth Advisors and their teams. Ms. Colavita earned a bachelor's degree in communications from The Pennsylvania State University.

Mr. Wood is the Regional Managing Director for the Mountain West Region of Merrill Private Wealth Management headquartered in Century City, California. He joined Merrill in 1993 after a distinguished active duty and reserve career serving in the United States Navy as a Naval Commander and Flight Officer. During his career with the firm, he has served as a wealth management advisor and has held a number of senior roles at the firm, most recently leading the Washington, D.C. market.