Andrew S. Duff became chairman and chief executive officer of Piper Jaffray Companies following completion of our spin-off from U.S. Bancorp on December 31, 2003. He also has served as chairman of our broker-dealer subsidiary since 2003, as chief executive officer of our broker-dealer subsidiary since 2000. Duff joined the Piper Jaffray institutional fixed income sales department in 1980 and was promoted to manager of institutional sales and trading in 1994. He then served as president of the individual investor services and capital markets areas until 1996. From 1996 through 2003, Duff served as president of Piper Jaffray and vice chair of U.S. Bancorp for the wealth management group from 1999 through 2003.

Duff holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and attended the Advanced Executive Program at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Duff currently serves on the board of directors of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the University of St. Thomas board of trustees and the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business strategic board of governors. He is the president of the Walker Art Center board of trustees, and is an advisor to the board of directors of Great Clips, Inc.

Chad Abraham is the co-head of Piper Jaffray investment banking and capital markets and is the chairman of the firm’s capital commitment committee. In this role, he actively manages the Piper Jaffray capital markets team, which includes equity capital markets, private placements, debt capital markets and convertible securities. Abraham joined Piper Jaffray in 1991, and has extensive experience in public and private financing, as well as M&A and other strategic transactions.

Prior to leading the capital markets effort, Abraham spent his career at Piper Jaffray building a leading technology underwriting and M&A advisory practice. In 1996, he opened the Piper Jaffray office in Menlo Park, Calif., and was instrumental in establishing a large technology and health care presence in Silicon Valley, including over 100 investment banking and research professionals.

Abraham graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Northwestern University.

Chris Crawshaw joined Advisory Research in January 2001 and currently serves as the firm's president. He has 23 years of investment experience, including 15 years of experience in investment management and eight years of experience in institutional investment consulting.

Prior to joining ARI, Crawshaw served as a senior client service officer for Pacific Income Advisers. He began his career in finance as an independent investment consultant.

Crawshaw currently serves as a member of an Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Crawshaw holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance from DePaul University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

Christine Esckilsen is global head of human capital and assistant general counsel for Piper Jaffray. She leads the firm's human capital, corporate events and travel, marketing, community affairs and real estate groups. She advises on employment law issues including hiring, performance management, executive compensation and litigation risk mitigation.

Prior to joining the firm in 2002, Esckilsen was in private practice at Littler Mendelson in California, where she was a management-side employment litigator for national corporations.

Esckilsen is the vice-chairperson of the board of directors for MAP for Nonprofits.

Esckilsen received a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish from Michigan State University and a Juris doctorate from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the bar associations of the states of California and Minnesota.

Frank Fairman is head of Piper Jaffray public finance services where he oversees the firm’s public finance activities, as well as the municipal derivative business. He has held this position since 1991 and is a member of the firm’s executive leadership team. He joined Piper Jaffray in 1983 as an investment banker in public finance. Prior to that, Fairman started his career as a consultant at Arthur Andersen & Co.

Fairman holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Fairman is a member of the municipal executive committee of SIFMA. He is also a member of the board of directors for Landmark College in Putney, Vt.; a founding board member of Beyond Walls, a Minnesota-based nonprofit; and a former board member of the Twin Cities chapter of the American Red Cross.

John Geelan is general counsel and secretary of Piper Jaffray Companies. Geelan joined Piper Jaffray in 2005, most recently serving as assistant general counsel, responsible for managing the corporate secretary function and working with the board of directors and senior management across a number of areas, including governance, public company reporting, corporate development and treasury.  From September 2006 to November 2007, he served as principal counsel to the firm’s public finance services business line.

Prior to joining Piper Jaffray, Geelan was in private practice at Faegre & Benson LLP, where he worked in the corporate finance group for four years.

Geelan serves on the board of directors for The Playwrights’ Center and member of the executive committee. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and music from the University of St. Thomas and a law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Jeff Klinefelter is a managing director and head of the Piper Jaffray equities business. Klinefelter joined Piper Jaffray in 1997 as a research analyst and served as head of equity research from 2010–2012.

As a research analyst, Klinefelter focused on specialty retailing, youth and teens, mass merchandising, and apparel and footwear brands. He was ranked the No. 1 stock picker for 2005, 2006 and 2008 in textiles apparel and luxury goods by StarMine and the No. 2 stock picker in clothing and accessories for 2005 in The Wall Street Journal survey. He also received The Wall Street Journal “Best on the Street” award for the clothing and accessories category in 2006. Klinefelter was also nationally recognized for conducting proprietary teen retail research with high schools across the country.

Prior to joining Piper Jaffray, Klinefelter worked for Universal Asset-Based Services, Inc. and Target Stores.

Klinefelter received a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. and a Master in Business Administration degree from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Scott LaRue joined Piper Jaffray in 2003 and serves as global co-head of investment banking and capital markets. Prior to assuming his current responsibilities, LaRue was based in Hong Kong, where he served as global co-head of the consumer and industrials investment banking groups. He has spent much of his career as an investment banker covering the consumer sector, ultimately serving as co-head of the Piper Jaffray consumer investment banking in the U.S. LaRue was also the founding member and continues to serve on the investment committee of the Piper Jaffray merchant banking group. He has more than 25 years of experience in the investment banking industry.

Scott has completed numerous transactions across a wide range of industries including packaged goods, food and beverage, agribusiness, retailing, real estate, gaming, lodging and diversified industrials. His extensive background in corporate finance includes mergers and acquisitions, public stock offerings, leveraged finance, asset securitizations and public and private debt offerings.

Prior to joining Piper Jaffray, LaRue led the food and beverage industry team at CSFB/DLJ and was the firm’s senior consumer products banker on the West Coast. Before that, he was a managing director at Bank of America Securities.

LaRue is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Brien O'Brien is head of asset management at Piper Jaffray and serves as CEO of Advisory Research, Inc (ARI). Prior to joining ARI, he was the founder of Marquette Capital, an investment advisory firm that merged with ARI in 1996. A former vice president at Bear Stearns, O'Brien began his career with Oppenheimer & Co. He is a member of the board of trustees of Boston College, a member of the board of trustees of the University of Chicago Medical Center and a member of the board of trustees and chairman of the endowment committee of the Westminster School in Simsbury, CT.

O'Brien graduated with honors from Boston College with a bachelor's degree in finance and theology.

Shawn Quant is the chief information officer for Piper Jaffray Companies and chief operating officer for Piper Jaffray Investment Management. He is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the firm’s business information systems, trading and technology infrastructure, global securities clearance and settlement, and middle office. Quant also serves as chief operating officer for Piper Jaffray Investment Management.

Prior to joining Piper Jaffray in 2004, Quant was a consultant working with financial services clients on system conversions, operations efficiency assessments, technology platform selection and strategic planning. He has also held positions in operations and information technology with American Express Financial Advisors, Norwest Investment Services and Wells Fargo Brokerage Services, and was chief information officer for a regional broker dealer providing retail, institutional and correspondent clearing services.

Quant earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

Thomas Schnettler is vice chairman of Piper Jaffray & Co., managing director in the merchant banking group and member of the general partner. He initiated the merchant banking practice at Piper Jaffray in 2007 and has overseen the business since that time. Schnettler previously served as president and chief operating officer of Piper Jaffray from 2008 to 2011, and as vice chairman and chief financial officer from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, he served as head of the Piper Jaffray corporate and institutional services business beginning in 2002, and as head / co-head of investment banking beginning in 2000. From 1989 to 2000, he co-founded and led the healthcare investment banking group. Schnettler joined the Piper Jaffray investment banking group in 1986.

Schnettler serves on the St. John’s University board of trustees and on the advisory board for the Lillehei Heart Institute at the University of Minnesota.

Schnettler graduated from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. and holds a Juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.

Debbra L. Schoneman is the chief financial officer for Piper Jaffray Companies. She joined Piper Jaffray in 1990 in the firm’s accounting department, and has held several senior finance management positions, including finance director of both equity and fixed income capital markets and, most recently, treasurer. She is on the Allina Hospitals & Clinics finance committee and serves as vice chair on the board of BestPrep, a nonprofit focused on business, career and financial literacy skills.

Schoneman earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Minnesota State University Mankato in Mankato, Minn. and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. In addition, Schoneman holds the Certified Treasury Professional designation.

Tom Smith leads corporate development activities for Piper Jaffray, including strategic planning and execution of development initiatives. He joined the Piper Jaffray technology investment banking group in 1998 as an officer covering software, internet & media, and semiconductors.

Smith joined the company from Waste Management International, where he was vice president of business development and led its entry into the Asian markets. Prior to joining Waste Management, Smith was with Santa Fe International, where he engaged in M&A, joint venture formation and new market development.

Smith is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the American Graduate School of International Management.

Brad Winges is the head of Piper Jaffray fixed income sales, trading and underwriting, head of Piper Jaffray strategic trading and president of Piper Jaffray Investment Management.

Winges joined the firm in 1991 in municipal institutional sales and served as head of municipal sales, trading and underwriting from 2003 until 2007. Since 2007, he has held his current position as head of fixed income services. In 2011, he additionally became president of Piper Jaffray Investment Management.

Winges currently serves as chairman on the board of directors for the Bond Dealers of America. Prior to joining Piper Jaffray, Winges was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Winges graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison with a bachelor’s degree in economics.