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Lewis Ranieri has served as chairman of our board of directors since November 2003. He also served as chairman of our predecessors from 1995 until March 2004. Mr. Ranieri is the prime originator and founder of the Hyperion private equity funds (Hyperion) and chairman and/or director of various other non-operating entities owned directly and indirectly by Hyperion. He also serves as chairman, chief executive officer and president of Ranieri & Co., Inc., a private investment advisor and management corporation. Mr. Ranieri is also chairman of American Financial Realty Trust, Computer Associates International, Inc., and Franklin Bank Corp. In addition, Mr. Ranieri serves on the board of directors of Reckson Associates Realty Corp.
Prior to forming Hyperion, Mr. Ranieri had been vice chairman of Salomon Brothers, Inc. (Salomon). He is generally considered to be the father of the securitized mortgage market. Mr. Ranieri helped develop the capital markets as a source of funds for housing and commercial real estate, established Salomon’s leadership position in the mortgage-backed securities area, and also led the effort to obtain federal legislation to support and build the market. At Salomon, Mr. Ranieri had responsibility for the firm’s activities in the mortgage, real estate and government-guaranteed areas.
Regarded as an expert and innovator in both the mortgage and capital markets, Mr. Ranieri has served on the National Association of Home Builders Mortgage Roundtable continuously since 1989. In recognition of his dedication and lifelong achievements in the housing industry, Mr. Ranieri was inducted into the National Housing Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the lifetime achievement award by the Fixed Income Analysts Society, Inc. and was subsequently inducted into the FIASI Hall of Fame for outstanding practitioners in the advancement of the analysis of fixed-income securities and portfolios. In November 2004, Business Week magazine named him one of the greatest innovators of the past 75 years, and in 2005, he received the Distinguished Industry Service Award by the American Securitization Forum.
Mr. Ranieri acts as trustee or director of Environmental Defense and The Metropolitan Opera Association and is Chairman of the Board of the American Ballet Theatre.
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