How A Trump Presidency May Impact Shareholder Activism (Webinar On-Demand)

Webinar Overview 

With less than sixty days remaining until a new U.S. president is inaugurated and a new administration takes over the executive branch of the U.S. government, it remains far from clear how activists will fare under a Trump administration and whether a Trump administration will foster a climate that is more or less friendly to shareholder activism.For this webinar, we have assembled a panel that combines experts from the political and shareholder activism arenas to discuss how a Trump administration and its policies could impact the climate for shareholder activism, the types of campaigns that activists look to pursue and the companies and industries that are targeted.

Moderator

Keith E. GottfriedPartner & Shareholder Activism Defense Practice LeaderMorgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Keith E. Gottfried, a corporate partner with the global law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and the leader of its market-leading shareholder activism defense practice. Morgan Lewis was recently ranked No. 1 among all law firms for legal defense of public companies against activist shareholders, both in the Thomson Reuters Global Shareholder Activism Scorecard for the first half of 2016 and in the Factset SharkRepellent 2016 year-to-date activism defense league table. Over the course a legal career that spans almost 25 years, Keith has been involved in defending numerous public companies against high-profile proxy contests, special meeting demands, consent solicitations and unsolicited acquisition proposals. Frequently quoted by the national business media on issues relating to shareholder activism, Keith publishes and presents regularly on the strategies companies and their boards of directors can apply to make themselves less vulnerable to activist investors as well as strategies for shareholder engagement. Keith is listed in Chambers USA which ranks him as a leading corporate/M&A lawyer. As activist campaigns closely resemble political campaigns, Keith also brings to his activism defense clients substantial political insight gained as a U.S. Senate confirmed political appointee in the administration of President George W. Bush. 

Panelists

Steven BaletManaging Director – Strategic CommunicationsFTI Consulting, Inc.

Steven Balet is a managing director in the FTI Consulting Strategic Communications segment and is based in New York. He is part of the Financial Communications and Capital Markets practices.For the past 20 years Mr. Balet has advised public companies and hedge funds of all sizes on mergers & acquisitions, contested proxy campaigns and corporate governance issues. Mr. Balet’s experience includes providing strategic counsel to both corporates and dissidents in proxy contests all around the world.  He has also worked on many contested cross border mergers and acquisitions transactions.Mr. Balet has extensive experience working with issuers to develop the most effective message for delivering the vote. He routinely counsels issuers on how to engage third party advisory groups such as Institutional Shareholder Services as well as providing background information on various activist stockholders and the techniques they employ. Mr. Balet has spoken on numerous panels discussing shareholder activism as it relates to both merger activism and board proxy fights.Mr. Balet has been involved in some of the largest contested situations in the past decade including representing Sanofi-Synthelabo in their acquisition of Aventis, Rio Tinto in its defense of BHP Billiton’s hostile tender, and Oracle in its hostile acquisition of Peoplesoft. Most recently, Mr. Balet advised in tow large hostile defenses: Allergan in its defense against Pershing Square Capital Management and Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Perrigo Company in its defense against Mylan N.V.; and he currently advises Monsanto Company.Mr. Balet joined FTI Consulting in April 2013. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Balet’s experience included 15 years at MacKenzie Partners, including three years as head of their London Office. 

Stephen L. BrownSenior AdvisorKPMG Board Leadership Center

Stephen L. Brown, a Senior Advisor at KPMG Board Leadership Center, is a globally recognized governance expert, thought leader and trusted adviser to corporate boards and C-suites.  Mr. Brown founded The Edgerton Group, a boutique consulting firm that advises boards and management on critical corporate governance issues.  Formerly, he was the CEO of the Society of Corporate Governance.  Prior to the Society, he led the corporate governance group at TIAA.  Prior to TIAA, Mr. Brown practiced securities law at WilmerHale and Skadden and was an analyst with Goldman Sachs.  Named by NACD as one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance and the boardroom, he is also an adjunct professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown, Yale College, and the Colin Powell School at CCNY.   Mr. Brown received his B.A. with honors from Yale and his J.D. from Columbia University Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. 

Arthur B. CrozierChairmanInnisfree M&A Incorporated

Arthur B. Crozier, the Chairman of Innisfree M&A Incorporated of New York and of Lake Isle M&A Incorporated, Innisfree’s wholly-owned UK subsidiary. Art’s practice includes the representation of U.S. and international clients in a wide variety of transactions and proxy contests, as well as annual and special meetings. In addition, he counsels an international roster of clients on corporate governance and executive compensation issues. Art has written numerous articles and spoken extensively on the subjects of corporate governance, proxy contests, hedge fund activism, executive compensation and international voting practices.  

Daniel Kerstein Managing Director M&A Global Head of Strategic Finance Group Barclays

Daniel is the Global Head of Barclays’ M&A Strategic Finance Group. He is based in the New York office and directs teams in New York and London.  Strategic Finance is responsible for delivering strategic advice to the firm’s corporate clients with regards to shareholder activism and defensive situations.  The group works closely with management teams and Boards of Directors to prepare for and defend against the involvement of activist investors.  Notable engagements include the defense and financial advisory to Hertz, defense and capital structure advisory to Juniper Networks, and defense and financial advisory to Axiall.Daniel joined Barclays from Lehman Brothers in 2008 and was previously the head of the Product Development Group, where he assisted on structuring the IPOs of several alternative asset managers, including Blackstone and Fortress.  Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Daniel was a Vice President in Corporate Finance at Merrill Lynch, where he worked on and developed a number of convertible bondproducts, including contingent convertible and contingent payment bonds.Daniel has a B.A. in English Literature from Queens College and J.D. from Harvard Law School.

 

Andrew S. RicciVice PresidentLEVICK

Andrew S. Ricci, a Vice President at LEVICK, a Washington, DC based communications and public affairs firm. Andrew is an experienced media relations expert, content-creation specialist, and public affairs strategist who helps brands, organizations, companies, and foreign governments tell their story to the audiences that matter and in a way that maximizes impact. Prior to joining LEVICK, Andrew served as a senior communications aide to Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) in his Capitol Hill office and during the reelection campaign. He developed the overall communications strategy and messaging; produced all written materials; engaged national, state, and local media; and served as the Congressman’s official spokesman. He also served as an aide to Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.). 

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