Lianne Leissler Gray

Truist Bank provides financial services. Its services include banking, lending, insurance, trust, and wealth management solutions. The firm offers services to businesses, public agencies, local governments, and individuals. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC provides assurance, tax and advisory services. Its services include audit and assurance, consulting, deals, human resources, legal, tax, and family business. The firm also offers accountability, risk management, structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and performance and process improvement. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Buffalo, NY.

Capital Crossing Servicing Co. LLC operates as an industry leading underwriter and investor in and servicer of commercial real estate and small business loans. It offers loan acquisition, loan portfolio underwriting, asset management, loan servicing, and real estate management. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

Carolinas Gateway Partnership is a non-profit company that has helped Eastern NC become a thriving food region. The company is based in Rocky Mount, NC. The company has worked with large food processing corporations to create jobs in the area. Robert B. Pike has been the CEO of the company since 2023.

The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was established in 1999 to receive a portion of funding received from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers. The non-profit company is based in Rocky Mount, NC. The foundation's mission is to promote the economic well-being of North Carolinians and to transform the state's economy by supporting projects related to agriculture, job creation, and workforce preparedness.

Citizens Bank NA provides commercial banking services. It offers credit cards, borrowing services, student lending solutions, retirement plans, and wealth management and investment services. The company is headquartered in Providence, RI.

Central Hockey League operates a professional minor league hockey teams playing in small to medium-sized markets primarily in central and southwestern US states. The league, which was started in 1992, is managed and operated by WPHL, a subsidiary of Global Entertainment Corporation.

Digi-Key Corp. distributes electronic components. It also distributes semiconductors, discrete, electromechanical parts. Its products include audio products, batteries, cable assemblies, capacitors, computer & video accessories, connectors, crystals & oscillators, discrete semiconductor products and many more. The company was founded by Ronald A. Stordahl in 1972 and is headquartered in Thief River Falls, MN.

Hills Bank & Trust Co. operates as a commercial bank. It provides personal business, mortgage banking; and wealth management. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Hills, IA.

BB&T Securities LLC, doing business as BB&T Capital Markets, is the broker/dealer subsidiary of BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT). The firm is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. They offer a full array of investment, trading and execution services to middle-market companies. BB&T Capital Markets' sales and trading arm is comprised of 2 groups: Debt Securities Sales & Trading and Equity Sales & Trading. The Debt Securities Sales & Trading group focuses on: (1) Government and agency securities (2) corporate bonds (3) municipal bonds (4) asset-backed securities (5) mortgage-backed securities (6) preferred securities and (7) money market desk (short-term securities including BB&T funding). The Equity Sales & Trading group focuses on: (1) institutional block execution services (2) institutional distribution of proprietary research (3) providing proprietary access to industry leading conferences and management teams (4) serving as a NASDAQ market maker for over 250 securities (5) stock buybacks including 10b-18 and 10b5-1 trading plans and (6) 144 stock sales, individual 10b5-1 trading plans (buy and sell) and employee cashless stock option programs. BB&T Capital Markets provides research coverage of the communications, defense and government services, energy, financial services, furnishings and consumer durables, healthcare, industrial services, retail/consumer durables and transportation services sectors.

CAMC Health System, Inc. operates hospitals and health care centers. The firm provides gynecological unit, facial surgery, kidney transplant, perinatal, and wound healing centers. The company was founded in 1984 and is located in Charleston, WV.

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities & Colleges is an organization that aims to empower higher education boards to govern with confidence. The AGB is based in Washington. The American company provides resources that give important background for higher education boards. The AGB Principles of Trusteeship outline attitudes and actions board members should embody to become highly effective board members. The organization emphasizes the importance of protecting academic freedom and freedom of speech, which are core values in higher education. The business model of higher education is also discussed, as colleges and universities traditionally charged less than the full cost of educating students because they made up the difference through government support and other revenue streams. Henry Stoever has been the CEO of the non-profit company since 2019.

Realty Financial Partners (RFP) is an independent private equity firm founded in 1994 by Stanley Miller, David Allen and Michael Walton. The firm is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts.

North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, Inc. develops, promotes and implements sound economic strategies. It focuses on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Raleigh, NC.