NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The New York Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI-NY) will hold a practical panel discussion on Tuesday entitled, “Getting Ready for Your 2011 Annual Meeting: What IROs Need to Know.”
A panel of industry experts will weigh in on a variety of proxy and governance-related issues, including how IROs can add value to the proxy voting process, how best to work with the corporate secretary and general counsel, “say-on-pay”, “proxy access”, and virtual annual meetings.
Michael Becker, President of NIRI-NY and Senior Vice President, Financial Product Strategy of Business Wire, said, “With annual meeting season upon us, we are pleased to be able to deliver timely and practical advice on how best to manage what quite often can be a stressful period for many of our members.” “This particular panel was designed to coincide with NIRI National’s emphasis on proxy-related issues, and subsequent best practices,” added Becker.
The panel discussion is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, 2011, at 6:00 pm. The expert panel will feature:
- Moderator: Ron Schneider joined Phoenix Advisory Partners in August 2010 as Senior Vice President. Ron provides thought leadership on emerging governance, proxy and regulatory issues, and advises clients and their advisors on the particular issues they are facing. Ron’s extensive experience in proxy, corporate governance, and investor relations also includes stints at BNY Mellon, The Financial Relations Board (FRB), ADP Investor Communication Services (now known as Broadridge), Morrow & Company, D.F. King, and Georgeson.
- Bess Joffe is a Vice President in Investor Relations at Goldman Sachs and leads the team’s outreach with institutional shareholders on corporate governance policies and practices. In this role, Bess engages with both asset managers and public pension funds, regulators, proxy advisory firms, along with governance thought leaders and academics. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Bess was an associate director at Hermes Equity Ownership Services in London, where she worked on corporate governance and responsible investment, covering client holdings in the Americas. Bess previously worked for Fairvest in Toronto, now ISS Canada, as well as PIRC. In 2008, she was recognized as a Rising Star in Corporate Governance by the Yale School of Management’s Millstein Center.
- Michael Maiolo is the Vice President of Research at Laurel Hill Advisory Group, with over 20 years experience in the Corporate Advisory arena. Michael’s experience is in providing Shareholder Identification, Capital Markets Intelligence and Investor Relations Advisory services to global corporate clients. He has also engaged in Corporate Proxy Solicitation & Advisory services that include hostile and friendly acquisitions, proxy contests and corporate takeover defenses. Prior to joining Laurel Hill, Michael was the Vice President of Corporate Advisory Services at Thomson Financial.
- Lyell Dampeer is currently President, Investor Communication Solutions, North America, for Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., formerly ADP’s Brokerage Services Group. Prior to Broadridge, Lyelle was Senior Vice President Operations for ADP’s Retirement Services Group and Vice President Client Services for ADP’s Investor Communications Services. Before joining ADP, he held senior management positions at large outsourced services providers.
- Rachel Posner, Senior Managing Director and General Counsel at Georgeson, works with clients to help them obtain favorable shareholder vote results on proxy contests, shareholder proposals, compensation plans and other corporate governance matters. Prior to Georgeson, Rachel was an associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in New York, where she advised Fortune 50 companies and others on proxy contests, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance matters. Rachel has appeared on industry panels, including The Deal’s M&A Outlook 2009 and The Corporate Dealmaker Forum, and regularly speaks at law firms and investment banks to provide insight on governance issues.
Sponsored and hosted by the InterContinental New York Times Square Hotel, the panel discussion will take place at the hotel, at 300 West 44th Street (at 8th Avenue). Registration and networking begins at 5:30 pm, with the program beginning promptly at 6:00 pm. A networking reception will follow at 7:00 pm. Please register in advance by emailing cleanlists@mindspring.com.
ABOUT NIRI-NY
NIRI-NY, the founding chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), is also its largest with over 400 members. Founded in 1969, NIRI is a professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, the investing public and the financial community. NIRI members represent the majority of the largest publicly held corporations in the U.S. as well as many small and mid-sized companies. With over 4,300 members in 35 chapters around the country, NIRI sets the highest standards in education to advance the practice of investor relations and meet the growing professional development needs of those engaged in the field. For more information, visit www.niriny.org.