Michael Cook

SouthernSun Asset Management LLC (SouthernSun) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The firm was founded by Michael Cook in 1989 as Michael W. Cook Asset Management, Inc. SouthernSun primarily provides portfolio management services to high net-worth individuals, corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, Taft-Hartley plans, public pension plans, charitable institutions, foundations, endowments, municipalities, pooled investment funds, registered mutual funds, trusts, banks, and other US and international institutions.

The Thriving Cities Group is a multi-disciplinary organization that aims to transform communities through civic design. The private company is based in Charlottesville, VA and was founded in 2012 by Joshua J. Yates, who has been the CEO since then. The company offers three services to help communities thrive: teaching and training, consulting and advisory, and data and technology. The organization partners with the United Nations Habitat Program to establish an enterprise marketplace with a goal of accelerating progress toward the UN's sustainable development goals for one billion people living in 1,000 cities by 2030.