Mr. Chester A. Gougis, president and chief executive officer of Duff & Phelps, LLC, will speak at the Chicago Venture Capital Financing Conference sponsored by CLE International on March 18-19, 2002, in Chicago, Illinois, and the Dream Makers Forum III sponsored by The Northern Trust Bank on March 12-13 in Naples, Florida.

Chester A. Gougis, president and chief executive officer of Duff & Phelps, LLC, joined the firm in 1979 from the corporate finance group of Harris Trust and Savings Bank.

Mr. Gougis graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1974 with a B.A. in economics. He received his M.B.A. in finance and accounting, with honors, in 1976 from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Economics Club of Chicago, The ESOP Association, National Center for Employee Ownership, Valuation Study Group, and the Business Valuation Association. He sits on the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Network Chicago, and the Greater Chicago Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He also sits on the Board of Directors of The Night Ministry and is affiliated with the Chicago Urban League.