Roger A. Freeman, CFA, serves as the Co-Head of the Data Science Team at Neuberger Berman, leveraging his two decades of experience in the financial industry. Specializing in fundamental financial analysis, advanced data analytics, and process automation, Roger has played a key role in enhancing the team’s capabilities. His expertise in implementing advanced Large Language Model (LLM) processes has significantly enriched the team’s abilities and the firm’s overall productivity. Before his tenure at Neuberger Berman, Roger served as a Senior Analyst at both Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers, where he was recognized as a leading analyst and top stock picker by top publications such as Institutional Investor and The Wall Street Journal.

Currently, acting as the primary liaison between the Data Science Team and investing teams, Roger advocates for integrating data science methodologies into the investment process. His efforts have resulted in a substantial increase in data-driven engagement. A proven leader, Roger leverages his extensive expertise in a broad range of cutting-edge technologies to drive innovation and success. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Roger was also a Founding Partner, CEO, and Head of R&D at FreeBird Flight, LLC, where he designed and manufactured a unique commercial UAV, further demonstrating his innovative spirit. Roger holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in International Economics from Georgetown University.

R.J. Hottovy, CFA is Head of Analytical Research for Placer.ai. He has covered the restaurant, retail, and e-commerce sectors for nearly 20 years. He has held several analyst positions in the past, including Global Consumer Equity Strategist at Morningstar and equity analyst roles at William Blair & Co. and Deutsche Bank. Hottovy also brings a wealth of experience with early-stage investments as an investor and member of the investment committee for the IrishAngels Venture Capital group. He has worked with more than 100 early-stage consumer and technology companies, advising on more than $200 million in capital raises and other buy- and sell-side M&A transactions. Hottovy is also a member of the Chicago Seed Co. network, a group of Chicago-area investors focused on early-stage food & beverage companies.

Hottovy’s efforts have been recognized by several financial and trade publications, including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, Barron’s, BusinessWeek, Forbes, and The Economist. He is an active member of the CFA Society of Chicago and maintains a regular teaching schedule through the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business and the Girls Who Invest program. He was also a finalist for Crain’s Chicago “40 Under 40” award in 2011. Hottovy graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame with a BA in Finance and a second degree in Computer Applications.

Grant Bartucci has more than a decade of experience on the buy side having previously led the corporate access origination function at Point72. In this role Mr. Bartucci was responsible for the Firm’s corporate access origination program, including establishing and promulgating the Firm’s external branding narrative, developing relationships and partnering with investor relations officers and C-Suite executives, analyzing company research and financial models, and improving the quality of corporate access interactions for the Firm’s investment professionals.

With deep capital markets expertise and unique insights from the buy side, Mr. Bartucci is a thought leader in the investor relations industry on the topic of hedge funds and their investment platforms, investment strategy, corporate access strategy and the evolving dynamics between the buy side, sell side and corporate investor relations community.

Mr. Bartucci also worked in internal audit for The Goldman Sachs Group and in financial consulting for EY.

Mr. Bartucci earned both his Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Science in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business. He currently is a CFA Charterholder, Certified Public Accountant, and Certified Fraud Examiner.

Chris Blake is an Executive Director of Advisory Innovation & Technology, within the Investor Relations Solutions team at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Chris has over a decade of experience working with Investor Relations teams in various roles across IPREO, IHS Markit, and now S&P Global Market Intelligence. Throughout his career he has provided insights and thought leadership to investor relations teams, through shareholder surveillance, targeting, and digital solutions. In his oversight of innovation for investor relations advisory services, he has helped to evolve the tools, content, and workflow across the S&P Investor Relations businesses. In this role he has helped to build and develop tools in the that leverage machine learning, data science, and natural language processing & generation. He also currently authors a monthly Insights Report on Capital Flows across the capital markets. Chris has contributed investor relations research for IR Magazine, Bloomberg and Institutional Investor.

Sherif El-Azzazi is a seasoned and versatile investor relations and corporate communications professional with 12 years of experience. In his recent role at Brookfield Renewable, a leading global renewable power operator, he excelled in managing relationships with investors and analysts, overseeing the quarterly earnings process, and enhancing the company’s ESG profile.

Previously, Sherif served as the Head of Investor Relations, Media Relations and ESG at TerraForm Power, a global renewable energy producer. During his tenure, he successfully led communications for equity and debt issuances and played a key role in communicating material transactions.
Prior to his role with TerraForm Power, Sherif was a Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Brookfield Property Group, where he supported the investor relations function for their largest public real estate business and led investor relations for a Canadian Office REIT subsidiary.

His diverse experience includes working as a Consultant at the Ruth Group, a strategic communications agency, where he supported investor relations programs for healthcare and technology clients.
Sherif holds a Master’s degree in Investor Relations from Fordham University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Cairo University. Additionally, he holds both the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation and the Investor Relations Charter (IRC)®.

Mike Stiller is currently focused on New Initiatives for Nasdaq’s Capital Access Platforms business, launching new products with an aim to accelerate business segment growth and expand buyer personas. Prior to this role, Mike ideated and launched Nasdaq’s ESG Advisory practice and was responsible for the day-to-day management and strategic direction of the group. Outside of these recent roles and responsibilities, Mike’s has spent the last 11+ years with Nasdaq in various leadership capacities, including business development, strategy, and leading teams advising corporates on institutional investors and capital markets topics. Prior to joining Nasdaq, Mike spent time on the buy-side at a technology, media, and telecom (TMT) hedge fund and a macroeconomic volatility arbitrage fund.

Visionary technologist Sean Austin is pioneering the future of finance with Markets EQ, merging his lifelong passions for entrepreneurship, audio science and AI into a category-defining conversational platform. As former CPO of aptihealth, Sean led the product to over $100M in enterprise value and revolutionary impact for behavioral telehealth through the nuance of human behavior. Now with Markets EQ, he is writing the next chapter on a bold mission to empower understanding between leaders and investors through conversational intelligence — combining his track record of building audio and ML innovation at Spotify, Klarna, and Helios with the limitless possibilities of today’s exponential technologies.

Dan is a seasoned IR professional, specializing in elevating the core elements of investor relations’ people, processes, and technology. In his previous role, he served as a dedicated investor relations analyst at ITT, contributing significantly to the team’s success. Before his tenure at ITT, Dan held key positions as a Small-Cap Equity Investment Analyst at both Legg Mason and GAM. Dan began his career in the Systems Engineering team at the SAS Institute, where he played a crucial role in implementing machine learning applications for federal agencies. Dan holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of St Andrews.

Jason Fooks has over 20 years of investor relations experience. He currently serves as head of investor relations for Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM), a leading global alternative asset manager with $850 billion of assets under management across renewable power and transition, infrastructure, private equity, real estate, and credit. In this role, Jason is responsible for communicating corporate strategy, growth opportunities, and financial position to public investors, research analysts and other key stakeholders.

Previously, he was head of investor relations for Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE) and iStar Inc. (NYSE: STAR). He has twice been the recipient of an IR Magazine award. Jason received an MBA from the Columbia Business School at Columbia University and received a BA in Economics from Brandeis University.

Quentin Weber oversees investor relations at WSP and joined the organization in December 2019. In this role, Quentin leads the complete investor relations program. Before joining WSP, Mr. Weber spent several years with a global financial organization working on corporate transactions, private placements, and IPOs. Mr. Weber holds a master`s degree in finance, is a Certified Professional in Investor Relations (CPIR) from the Rotman School of Management, completed several certifications related to sustainability from Harvard Business School, and holds the ESG Global Competent Boards Designation.

Adam Borgatti is Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations, responsible for leading Aecon’s Investor Relations, Sustainability, Indigenous Relations, Corporate Affairs, Corporate Communications and Marketing functions, as well as supporting the leadership team with developing long-term business plans, evaluating strategic initiatives, and leading the assessment and execution of Aecon’s acquisition opportunities. Mr. Borgatti brings a depth of experience and knowledge of both capital markets and the construction industry.

Prior to joining Aecon in 2009, Mr. Borgatti held leadership roles in the financial industry, including Vice President, RBC Capital Markets, and Vice President, National Bank Financial. Before assuming his current position at Aecon – in 2017-18, he served as Vice President, Investor Relations, at Scotiabank and was responsible for leading all aspects of investor relations, providing strategic direction, leadership and oversight for the company’s investor relations portfolio globally.

Over his career at Aecon, Mr. Borgatti has held leadership roles in the Concessions, Energy and Infrastructure segments, and previously served as Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Mr. Borgatti holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship from McGill University as well as CFA, CPIR and ICD.D designations. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) where he serves as Board Chair.

Erik Carlson is chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Notified, a technology partner for investor relations, public relations and marketing professionals. He brings over 10 years of M&A, strategic finance and business transformation experience across private equity portfolio companies in technology, media, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Prior to Notified, he was senior vice president of M&A integration at Intrado and director of M&A and strategy advisory at PwC.

Kam is responsible for the investor relations program and working with the NEXE team to develop and implement the corporate strategy. Kam has over 20 years of experience across a range of roles in finance, including working at a consulting firm covering some of the largest U.S. and Canadian pension plans and as a sell side equity analyst.

Darrell Heaps is a serial entrepreneur who has spent his career building innovative software companies. As the Founder and CEO of Q4, Darrell has led the company’s vision and unique strategy, most recently leading Q4 through its $100m CAD IPO and driving Q4’s leadership position in the capital markets. Together with the global Q4 team, Darrell is transforming the way public companies, investors and investment banks discover, engage and communicate with each other resulting in more effective and efficient interactions. Darrell studied Business and Computer Science at York University.

Michael Marks has served as VIZIO’s Head of Investor Relations since January 2021. Prior to joining VIZIO Holding Corp, Mr. Marks was a part of the partnerships and strategy team at Fox Corp. Mr. Marks held roles in corporate strategy and development at Showtime Networks Inc. and finance at Bloomberg L.P. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Monmouth University.

Emily is an accomplished investor relations professional with nearly 20 years of experience in the shipping industry, as well as recent experience in the media sector. Her journey with Enthusiast Gaming commenced in 2022, where she is responsible for investor relations of the company. Prior to this, Emily held the position of Head of Investor Relations at Pacific Basin Shipping Limited, a Hong Kong-based company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, for an impressive 16 years. During her tenure, she and her team were recognized with multiple awards in the fields of investor relations and corporate governance by the investment community. In addition to her extensive experience, Emily also contributed her expertise to MBC as an Investor Relations Consultant and joined the IT Risk team of Mackenzie Investment during 2021-2022.

Emily’s academic qualifications include a Master of Financial Accountability from York University, a Master of Applied Accounting and Finance from the Hong Kong Baptist University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and History from the University of Hong Kong. Emily is now based in Toronto, Canada.

Gregg Lampf has worked in Investor Relations approaching 30 years, mainly in the high technology industry. Besides his core role, Gregg has been responsible for media and public relations, corporate communications, industry analyst relations, and competitive and market intelligence.
Lately, Gregg has been involved in the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Investor Relations. He is a member of Ciena’s AI Steering Committee and IR Magazine’s AI Working Group, contributes to think tanks, and has been interviewed for articles and joins webinars and seminars as a panelist on the topic.

He is currently the Vice President of Investor Relations for Ciena, a mid-cap company, global leader in next-gen telecommunications solutions and services worldwide.

Gregg has been ranked as a top IR Professional in Institutional Investor (II)’s surveys for most of 2014 to 2023 and is part of the All-America Executive Team. Some of his recent II recognitions include sweeping his sector along with his executive team members with whom he is proud to share these honors.
He enjoys sharing his experiences in different ways, such as speaking to university business students about the investor relations profession, where he also frequently discusses AI.

Gregg is married, has two children (one of whom works in the IR field), and a young Labrador Retriever, Sylvia, who is teaching him the importance of patience.

Steve Wade is the head of content at IR Media Group. As a content researcher, conference producer, and event host for IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence, Steve is responsible for gathering intelligence on public companies’ most significant global issues. Steve’s team develops events that promote excellence in investor relations, governance, and sustainability for issuers and investors.

Prior to Corporate Secretary, Steve’s background was in corporate social responsibility and responsible investment. During his time at Ethical Corporation (now Reuters Events), Steve launched the ESG symposium; an event focused on connecting the socially responsible investment community with corporate sustainability leaders at listed companies. Steve was a judge for the Deloitte Green Frog Awards, celebrating the best corporate reporting in Eastern Europe. Steve also presented research at the Global Sustainable Event Summit in London and has spoken about extra-financial reporting with the United Nations Global Compact, the World Bank, and the Polish Ministry of Finance.

Lauren McDonald is a conference producer at IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence. She brings a wealth of experience from her past roles in campaign organising for The Labour Party in Leeds and Tower Hamlets.

Lauren holds a Masters degree in the History of Race & Resistance and a Bachelors degree in American History & Politics, both from prestigious universities. She uses her expertise and knowledge to inform her current work and ensure high quality outcomes.

In her free time, Lauren is actively involved in a number of charitable causes. She has volunteered with the Girl Guides, the Los Angeles LGBT Centre, and regularly donates her time to political campaigns in and around London.

In her role as conference producer at IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence, Lauren is passionate about providing the best experience to all stakeholders and ensuring all events she produces are of the highest quality.