Kirk T. Rostron is a co-founder and Managing Partner of The Mt. Vernon Group ("MVG"), an alternative investment placement and advisory firm. Prior to launching MVG, Mr. Rostron served as a Director within Merrill Lynch’s Hedge Fund Development and Management Group, focusing on worldwide private placements of alternative investments. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President for Hovde Capital Advisors where he contributed to the growth of the hedge fund business and the launch of the private equity business. Mr. Rostron came to Hovde from a previous term with Merrill Lynch where he served as Director and Head of U.S. Capital Introduction in the firm’s Global Equity Finance and Services Group which he helped launch on a global basis.

Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Mr. Rostron founded and later sold HedgeCall.com, a service of Investor Broadcast Network that was seeded by Intel Capital Group, Safeguard Scientific, and PaineWebber. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and Economics from Florida State University and a Master’s Degree in International Economic Integration from the University of Birmingham (U.K.). Mr. Rostron was also the founder of the No Greater Sacrifice Foundation, a nationwide charity that provides academic scholarships for children who have lost a parent in the US Armed Forces and also serves as a Trustee on the board of the Florida State University Foundation.

Pete Bilden is a Vice President at Macquarie Capital, where he advises Aviation, Aerospace, and Defense clients on strategic alternatives and capital markets transactions. Prior to Macquarie, Pete was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs. He is based in New York.

Before joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Bilden served the nation as an Army officer and aviator, commanding company and platoon-level scout aviation units in Korea, Egypt, and various stateside assignments. Additionally, he led a special operations aviation training cell at the United States Army Special Operations Command headquarters (USASOC) at Fort Bragg, NC. Mr. Bilden’s awards and qualifications include the Army Aviator badge, Airborne badge, Global War On Terror badge, Multinational Forces and Observers badge, Meritorious Service Medal, and Army Commendation Medal. He was commissioned through Duke University’s Army ROTC program in 1994.

Mr. Bilden holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a BA in History from Duke University. He and his wife Samara, also a Duke undergraduate and business school graduate, have a son Benjamin.

Eugene Sullivan is a Senior Associate at Howrey LLP specializing in Intellectual Property matters, particularly litigation under Section 1337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Before joining Howrey, Mr. Sullivan worked in the London office of a major international law firm, acting for a number of major multinationals in disputes relating to infringement of intellectual property rights, protection of confidential information and licensing.

Mr. Sullivan’s litigation practice has covered a wide range of technologies, including cellular baseband chips, data storage, and wireless communications.  He has extensive experience in matters before the International Trade Commission and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Mr. Sullivan has written articles on topics such as the different approaches taken by the US and EU towards Internet Service Provider liability and privacy and the protection of personal data in electronic communications.

Mr. Sullivan has clerked for Chief Judge H.R. Mayer , United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, from 1999 to 2000, the Honorable Graham Boal Q.C. , Old Bailey, from 1997 to 1998, and Master Michael McKenzie , Royal Court of Appeal, 1997 to 1998.

Mr. Sullivan holds an LLM from Columbia Law School, an LLB in Law (upper-second class honors) from The London School of Economics, and a BA in Political Science and History from Duke University.

Mr. Sullivan and his wife Melissa live in Washington, DC.