Speakers Bureau
Our presenters have many years of experience and considerable expertise on a wide variety of topics related to investor services, corporate governance, proxy solicitation, corporate actions, bankruptcy and class action litigation. A short summary of their qualifications and background is provided below (listed alphabetically).Jennifer Baehr, CEP
Financial Reporting and Compliance Manager
Transcentive
Jennifer Baehr, Financial Reporting and Compliance Manager, works with clients to meet the complex equity compensation reporting requirements set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A member of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals, Jennifer earned her Certified Equity Professional designation in November 2005 and has served as a volunteer for the Certified Equity Professional Institute.
Jennifer earned a BS in Accounting from Central Connecticut State University and graduate degrees in Management and Business Administration from Albertus Magnus College.
jennifer.baehr@computershare.com
Rhonda L. Brauer
Senior Managing Director, Corporate Governance
Georgeson, Inc.
Rhonda joined Georgeson in May 2008 to work with senior management and boards to analyze corporate governance-related issues and to assist them in their communications with shareholders and third-party opinion-makers.
Prior to joining Georgeson, she was the Secretary and Corporate Governance Officer at The New York Times Company, where she held a variety of legal positions over 15 years. Before that, she was a corporate securities and transactional lawyer at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. Rhonda is a regular speaker at conferences on corporate governance issues. She remains an active member of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, for which she has served, since 2006, as the Chair of its Corporate Practices Committee.
rhonda.brauer@computershare.com
Robert A. Buckley Jr.
Senior Vice President
Computershare Investor Services
As Senior Vice President in charge of relationship managers in Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco, Rob’s ultimate responsibility is the satisfaction of corporate clients, ensuring Computershare’s solutions and services meet their expectations.
Rob joined Computershare in 2001 as a relationship manager handling many large client relationships. In 2005, with Computershare’s acquisition of EquiServe, Rob served as the client integration manager coordinating the efforts of the technology, operations, and client services departments during the transition of 1,400 clients to Computershare’s systems.
In 2006, Rob transitioned to his current role as Senior Vice President of Investor Services. Prior to joining Computershare, Rob held relationship management positions in the financial services industry. Rob managed Defined Contribution plan sponsor and plan provider relationships at Morningstar, Fortune 500 Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit relationships at The Northern Trust Company and Indenture Trustee and Custody relationships at American National Bank.
Rob received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Bradley University. rob.buckley@computershare.com
John Burns
Director
Computershare Investor Services
John Burns, director, has over 30 years of experience in the securities transfer industry with various firms such as J P Morgan, First Chicago, EquiServe and now Computershare. His operations management career has covered stock transfer, corporate actions and shareholder relations. He has also served as a client relationship manager in both multiple client relationship environment and single large client responsibility.
At one juncture he had an integral part in the creation, design and securing of the SEC’s approval of the Direct Stock Purchase Plan. He then provided product expertise for the implementation and roll-out of investment plan programs, for our clients, with a focus on those offering a capital raising opportunity, and has been a speaker at industry conferences on the topic of shareholder investment plans. Most recently his responsibilities are in the area of client retention and new business sales of various Computershare products, including conventional stock transfer services, mutual fund recordkeeping services and investment plan services.
john.burns@computershare.com
Paul R. Capozzi
Quality Manager and Customer Advocate
Computershare Investor Services
Paul R. Capozzi, Quality Manager and Customer Advocate, drives Computershare’s continuous quality improvement, customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention programs. He works directly with clients to help ensure that our service quality meets and exceeds expectations.
A Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence from the American Society of Quality, Paul has a solid background in customer research and quality disciplines, including Total Quality Management and Lean Six Sigma.
Paul earned a BS degree in Operations Research from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
paul.capozzi@computershare.com
Jonathan Carson
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Kurtzman Carson Consultants
Jonathan Carson serves as co-founder and managing director of Kurtzman Carson Consultants (KCC), a leading claims and noticing agent serving companies engaged in corporate restructuring, class action litigation and other complex legal matters. As KCC’s primary thought-leader, Mr. Carson serves as a source to industry associations, news media and other audiences providing commentary on trends and developments within corporate restructuring and the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. An avid industry observer, he draws upon his years of experience practicing as a former corporate restructuring attorney with Kirkland & Ellis and from KCC’s numerous client engagements.
JCarson@kccllc.com
Tom Coons
Vice President, US Sales
Computershare Communication Services
Tom Coons, Vice President of US Sales, works with clients to provide specialized communication solutions that enhance and maximize the value of their relationships with customers, employees and intermediaries.
Prior to joining Computershare, Tom was a sales executive at DST Output and Midwest sales manager at Moore North America.
Tom earned a BA degree in Administration from Nazareth College of Rochester and an MBA from Indiana Institute of Technology.
tom.coons@computershare.com
Christopher G. Dowd
Senior Managing Director
Georgeson, Inc.
Christopher Dowd is Senior Managing Director at Georgeson Inc. He has over nineteen years experience consulting with Fortune 500 and small-to-mid cap corporations in the fields of corporate governance, equity compensation and proxy solicitation. Prior to joining Georgeson, Chris was a Director at Kissel-Blake Inc. where he managed the corporate governance consulting, mergers/acquisitions, and proxy solicitation divisions.
Chris holds a BA and an MBA in business from St. John’s University and was awarded his CCP certification in executive compensation from the American Compensation Association. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, SSA (a National Shareholder Services Association), where he currently serves as Treasurer/Director. He is also a member of the American Compensation Association and The Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals. He has been a featured speaker at St. John’s University, industry seminars, and conferences discussing corporate governance and executive compensation.
chris.dowd@computershare.com
David Drake
President
Georgeson, Inc.
David supervises a staff of seasoned professionals, many with more than 20 years of industry and other professional experience. He also works directly with clients to help them obtain favorable shareholder vote results on friendly mergers and acquisitions, unsolicited takeovers, proxy contests, restructurings, shareholder proposals, compensation plans and other corporate governance matters.
Prior to joining Georgeson in 1997, David served as Vice President and Director of U.S. Research and Senior Analyst for Institutional Shareholder Services (or ISS; now renamed as RiskMetrics). There he led a team of research analysts producing proxy research reports for institutional clients, advising them on corporate transactions, proxy contests and other shareholder issues.
David is a frequent speaker and writer on proxy fights, investor activism, corporate governance and compensation issues. His recent articles include “Seeking Shareholder Approval of Option Plans Under the New NYSE/NASDAQ Listing Standards” and “Are You Ready for the Ratings Game: The Corporate Governance Ratings Game.”
In addition, David is a member of the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals, the Council of Institutional Investors, the National Investor Relations Institute and the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals.
David earned a B.A. in Political Science from George Washington University and an M.B.A. in Finance from The American University in Washington, DC.
david.drake@computershare.com
Tyler Haynes
Manager
Computershare Investor Services
Tyler Haynes, has responsibility for managing closed-end fund clients. He has also worked with Computershare’s compliance group to develop a compliance program to help the closed-end fund clients comply with Rule 38a-1.
Tyler has more than 20 years experience in the stock transfer business and is member of The National Investment Company Service Association. Tyler earned a BA in Mathematics from Kenyon College.
tyler.haynes@computershare.com
Mary Kelly
Vice President, Sales
Computershare
Mary has worked in the securities industry for more than 20 years, with experience in operations, compliance, product management, relationship management, business implementation and customer service.
Before joining Computershare in 2000, Mary was a consultant to Harris Bank, responsible for the system conversion of more than five million shareholders in their stock transfer division. Also as a consultant, she began managing the operations team responsible for one of the largest employee plans administered by the bank. Prior to her consulting career, Mary worked for First Chicago in corporate trust, operations and compliance.
Mary is a member of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals. She received her BA from Aurora University and her MBA from DePaul University. She also holds Series 7, 63 and 24 Securities Licenses and is a Certified Equity Professional (CEP) Level 1.
mary.kelly@computershare.com
Jennifer LaGrow
Senior Vice President
Computershare Investor Services
Jennifer LaGrow, Senior Vice President, is responsible for managing the transfer agent sales team and business development efforts in the US.
Prior to joining Computershare in 2001, Jennifer was Vice President of the Business-to-Business Group of BUYandHOLD, Inc. and Director of Shareholder Services and Investor Relations for The Walt Disney Company.
Jennifer earned a BS in Finance and MBA from University of Southern California.
jennifer.lagrow@computershare.com
Cynthia Nisley
Senior Vice President
Computershare Investor Services
Cynthia Nisley, Senior Vice President, is responsible for corporate actions, small shareholder programs and post-merger clean-up programs.
Prior to joining Computershare in 2000, Cindy was a systems consultant for nine years to companies in the securities industry. She also worked for Harris Trust and Savings Bank and Arthur Andersen.
Cindy earned a BS in Business Administration/Management Systems Analysis from California State University Northridge. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the Business Honor Society.
cindy.nisley@computershare.com
Bernie O’Connor
President
Computershare Communication Services
As President of Computershare Communication Services, Bernie O’ Connor is responsible for print and mail operations in the United States.
Bernie began his career at what was then Chase Manhattan Bank and spent eight years in the security check printing business. From 1991 to 2004, Bernie was with DST Output, a leading provider of communication solutions to brokerage, banking, mutual fund, insurance and health care firms. He was instrumental in driving the company from its $10 million early stage operation to a $500 million market leadership position, while advancing to Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Bernie holds a BA in Business Administration from St. Bonaventure University.
bernie.oconnor@computershare.com
Rachel Posner
Senior Managing Director and General Counsel
Georgeson, Inc.
Rachel Posner, Senior Managing Director and General Counsel, 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 joining Georgeson in 2008, 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. Rachel regularly speaks at law firms and investment banks to provide insight on governance issues. She has also contributed to various industry publications.
A member of The Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals and the National Investor Relations Institute, Rachel earned a BA in Religious Studies from Columbia University in 1999 and a JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2002.
rposner@georgeson.com
Joseph F. Purdy, Jr., CEP
Manager, Financial Reporting Resources
Computershare Technology Services
Joe Purdy, Manager, Financial Reporting Resources, manages the financial reporting technical department that creates specifications for, tests, and supports the financial reporting features in Computershare's equity compensation platforms.
Prior to joining Computershare in 2000, Joe worked at various software companies serving in a software and hardware support roles.
Joe earned his CEP designation in 2005. He is a member of National Association of Stock Plan Professionals. He attended Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
joe.purdy@computershare.com
Charlie Rossi
Executive Vice President, Client Services
Computershare Investor Services
Charlie Rossi is the Executive Vice President of Client Services at Computershare Investor Services. Charlie’s role at Computershare includes a focus on client relationships, prospects and industry issues. He has over 25 years of experience in corporate stock and mutual funds operations management at Boston Financial, Shawmut Bank, BankBoston and EquiServe.
Charlie maintains a high profile in the stock transfer industry. He is the current President of the Securities Transfer Association (STA), which is a member of the Shareholder Communications Coalition. Charlie is also an active member of the industry’s Joint DRS Committee and is a past president, director and national representative of the Northeast Securities Transfer Association (NESTA).
charles.rossi@computershare.com
Paul Santamaria
Senior Vice President, Communication Centers
Computershare
Paul Santamaria, Senior Vice President, develops and leads the Computershare enterprise contact center network, working closely with clients, business lines, technical partners and local contact center managers to develop and deliver strategic contact center commitments.
Prior to joining Computershare in 2002, Paul served in senior and general management roles for Macquarie Bank, Primus Telecom, the IPA Group and Link Telecommunications (Bell South) in Australia.
During Paul’s tenure, Computershare’s Australian call center won the State Call Centre of the Year Award in 2004 and 2005 and the National Call Centre of the Year award in 2005.
paul.santamaria@computershare.com
Debra Spearin
IPO Closing Specialist
Computershare Investor Services
Debra Spearin, IPO Closing Specialist, is primarily responsible for the on-boarding of IPO’s and managing client relationships.
Debra has more than 15 years experience in the stock transfer industry, with experience in areas including call center, options, and relationship management.
debra.spearin@computershare.com
Jason Stout
Director
Computershare Investor Services
Jason Stout, Director, has worked in the financial services sector for 14 years. His corporate actions experience spans relationship management, back office operations management, custody operations management, abandoned property services and technical project management and support.
Prior to joining Computershare, Jason held management positions at Investors Bank and Trust, EquiServe, The Colbent Corporation and JP Morgan.
Jason is a member of the Corporate Actions Division of the Securities Industry Association and regularly participates and contributes to industry working groups.
jason.stout@computershare.com
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