Diane L. Merdian is the former Chief Financial Officer of Redwood Trust, Inc., a position she held from 2010 to 2012, having previously served on Redwood’s board of directors from 2008 to 2009. From 1984 to 2008, Ms. Merdian was an equity analyst covering financial companies, working at Investment Banking firms and Institutional Investment firms. She primarily analyzed banks, focusing on valuation, strategy, and economics vs. accounting. As a Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from 2003 to 2008, Ms. Merdian led Bank Strategy and was head of Large-cap banks. She led the bank research effort at Morgan Stanley from 2000 through 2001 and led the bank research team at Montgomery Securities from 1995 to 2000. Ms. Merdian has also held equity analyst positions at Salomon Brothers, Kemper, Wellington Management, and Salomon Smith Barney. She began her financial career as an Economic Research Associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, focused on monetary policy. Ms. Merdian’s qualifications to serve as a director include her c-suite leadership and over 20 years of experience as an equity analyst in the financial industry. Her strengths include her insight into strategy, valuation, management, and economics vs. accounting, with additional experience in Audit and Compensation matters.