Chris joined ACCO Brands Corporation (NYSE: ACCO) in June of 2022, and was named Senior Director of Investor Relations, where he is responsible for all aspects of investor relations interactions.  Prior to joining ACCO Brands, Chris spent almost 16 years at Sidoti & Company, where he was a special situations equity analyst, responsible for working with over 60 companies providing equity research coverage and facilitating non-deal roadshows.  Chris also spent five years at a distressed debt and special situations hedge fund.

Peter Sidoti is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Sidoti & Company, LLC. He founded the firm in 1999, to focus on research of companies with small market capitalizations. In 1997, Mr. Sidoti joined Schroders, where he was responsible for research for the healthcare services group and for the Emerging Growth Group. In mid-1995, he began the research team at the Emerging Growth Industry. Prior to that, in 1990, Mr. Sidoti joined NatWest Markets to lead the research effort for the healthcare services and medical supplies industries, and in 1992 assumed responsibility for the REIT industry as well. He started working at Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc. in 1985 and was promoted to Senior Analyst for the healthcare services and medical supplies industries. From 1979 to 1985, Mr. Sidoti was a Financial Analyst at The Value Line Investment Survey, where he was trained as a Fundamental Equity Analyst and subsequently covered stocks in the utilities, healthcare services, medical supplies, and textile, retail and home appliances industries. In 1984, he began managing the two newly formed tax-exempt funds at Value Line. Through the 1990s, he was directly involved with nearly 100 initial public offerings, secondary offerings and mergers in the nursing home, assisted-living and healthcare REIT sectors. Mr. Sidoti received his MBA (Finance) and BS (Accounting) from New York University. He holds FINRA Series 7,24,63,86 and 87 licenses.

Ben Hackman is Head of Investor Relations at Spire Global (NYSE: SPIR). Ben is responsible for communicating the vision and value of Spire’s business with the company’s shareholders and the broader financial community. He maintains relationships with investors and analysts, and assists them in understanding the firm’s business model, long-term strategy, governance, and financial performance.

Ben has 20 years of experience within the Aerospace and Defense industry, having previously spent his professional career working at Boeing in various roles. He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer for the F-15 program, managing a multi-billion dollar annual revenue program. Prior to this role, he was Director of Investor Relations at Boeing and held numerous leadership roles of increasing responsibility across financial planning. Mr. Hackman received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Saint Louis University and his Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University School of Law.

Brian Valerio is a Senior Vice President in the Advisory Group at Alliance Advisors, where he consults with C-suite executives and their teams on various proxy solicitation and corporate governance matters. Brian’s work focuses on shareholder engagement, annual and special meeting solicitations, and retail campaigns.

Prior to joining Alliance Advisors, Brian was an associate in the New York office of a national law firm. Brian began his legal career as a clerk for the Honorable Eugene H. Austin of the New Jersey Superior Court. After his clerkship, Brian joined one of the largest and busiest prosecutor’s offices in the nation where he learned how to aggressively advocate for his clients.

Brian received his B.A. in Government from Wesleyan University and his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law. Brian is a member of the New Jersey and New York State Bar Associations and an active member of the Society for Corporate Governance.”

Conor is the Vice President of Investor Relations at Shattuck Labs. He previously served as Senior Director of Finance and Investor Relations from January 2021 to December 2022 and as Director of Finance from March 2019 to January 2021. Conor joined Shattuck Labs in 2019 and brings over a decade of progressive biotechnology company management and financial experience. Conor is a certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of New York and holds an Investor Relations Charter (IRC®). Conor received a Master of Accounting and Professional Consultancy from Villanova University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia.

Michael Kupinski joined Noble Financial in 2007 as director of research and Media & Entertainment senior research analyst. Before joining the company, he was the vice president and Media & Entertainment analyst for A.G. Edwards for twenty-four years. He was a columnist for the Pulse of Radio, a broadcast radio trade publication, and a trustee of the National Television Academy. The Wall Street Journal selected Mr. Kupinski as a ‘Best on the Street’ All-Star Analyst in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, and in 2004 for his stock picking skills. He has won multiple awards from Starmine for stock picking skills and earnings estimates accuracy and has been II ranked by Investor magazine. Mr. Kupinski is widely quoted in national publications such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, and is a frequent guest on cable news networks CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg TV. In 2011, he received a Mid America Emmy for his support of the broadcast industry. He holds FINRA licenses 7, 24, 66, 86, 87

Ami is a seasoned investor relations (IR) and corporate communications leader with more than 10 years of experience in the field. She is responsible for overseeing Rallybio’s IR and communications efforts, including shaping the company’s IR and communications strategies.

Prior to joining Rallybio, Ami was Director of Investor Relations at Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc., where she oversaw all investor relations activities. Prior to Aerie, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Burns McClellan, a life sciences investor relations and public relations firm, including Vice President of Investor Relations. At Burns McClellan, Ami oversaw day-to-day investor relations and communications activities for multiple biotechnology companies. Ami also has experience as a business development professional at U.K. Trade and Investment, the business development arm of the U.K. government, where she sourced and developed bilateral investment and trade in the U.S. and U.K. life science sectors.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Duquesne University and a master’s degree in public health from The George Washington University.

Mark Fasken is the co-founder and COO of Irwin, a capital markets software company building a better way to manage investor relations. As COO, Mark works daily with global capital markets professionals at public companies, advisory firms, and investment banks to ensure Irwin’s platform helps them achieve their IR goals.

Before Irwin, Mark spent nearly a decade in sales and marketing at high-growth software companies. He led a highly skilled sales team at Influitive that directly supported the company’s rapid revenue growth to $10M ARR+. As Pressly’s former VP of Sales, Mark helped build the sales and marketing team leading up to its acquisition by Vision Critical.

Mark is Vice-Chair of the NIRI 2023 Annual Conference Committee and is passionate about expanding the education and resources available to IROs, to deliver insight and support that will help inform strategic decisions and success.

John Nunziati is an AVP and Investor Relations Partner at Q4.  He has spent much of his career in Investor Relations and also has broad financial and operational experience at a number of Silicon Valley technology firms.  Prior to joining Q4, he managed Corporate Relationships at IEX, the Investors Exchange. He is active in NIRI and currently serves on the  NIRI Virtual chapter board of directors for the Professional Development Committee as Chair of Cafe Chats.

Matthew graduated in 2014 from the University of Delaware and received a B.S. in Finance and a B.S. in Economics.

Following graduation, he worked at S&P Global (formerly IHS Markit) in their Global Markets Intelligence Division, where he developed and maintained advisory relationships with the investor relations and executive teams of mid-cap issuers within the technology sector. Matthew’s primary responsibilities included monitoring his clients’ institutional ownership, trading trends, optimizing investor targeting, and staying apprised of market opinions, attitudes, and reactions to company issues.

After 7 years of working as an external consultant, Matthew made the jump in-house and began working for Gannett’s investor relations team. In his role, he assists in the development and communication of Gannett’s story, as well as the development of relevant metrics—financial and operational—to effectively communicate performance. Additionally, Matthew collaborates with senior management to develop key messages, scripts, press releases, and presentations for investor communications, including quarterly earnings releases, Annual Reports, Proxy Statements, and ad-hoc reporting, as needed.

Outside of work, Matthew enjoys exercising, traveling, and reading.

Jami Taylor is Vice President, Corporate Affairs at Protagonist Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing peptide-based medicines for rare and prevalent diseases. There, her role encompasses Investor Relations, Communications, and Corporate Brand Management. Jami also serves as an independent director on the Boards of Object Pharma and Aneira Pharma, both privately held biotechnology companies, and as an advisor to the Health Innovation Exchange, a U.N.-affiliated network of healthcare innovators worldwide. Jami’s prior experience includes global leadership roles in corporate affairs at Johnson & Johnson, where she pioneered some of the company’s highest-impact ESG initiatives including the establishment of Johnson & Johnson Global Public Health.

Jami holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; an master’s degree from Harvard, where her IR-focused research earned her a Thesis Prize nomination; a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia; and graduate certificates in Executive Leadership and Genetics from Cornell and Stanford, respectively. She lectures regularly at top universities on ESG- and IR-relevant topics, including six consecutive years as a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and two consecutive years as a lecturer and research fellow at Yale.

David is the Director of Investor Relations at Whitestone REIT (WSR), a real estate investment trust that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, convenience focused retail centers.

Prior to joining Whitestone, David spent seven years as Director of Investor Relations for CenterPoint Energy, during which time the company completed a $6 billion acquisition and managed multiple activist engagements.

Mordy has over 15 years’ experience in strategic and financial roles and earned his MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.  He enjoys playing tennis in his spare time.

Ed McGregor, Director of Investor Relations at Vuzix, has been an investment professional for over 40 years with a primary focus on the technology sector. Prior to joining Vuzix in 2018, he held similar IR positions at several other firms. Before switching to IR in 2007, he spent 25 years on the buy-side as an analyst and portfolio manager, most notably at Bessemer Trust and Credit Suisse. Mr. McGregor holds a Bachelor degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Robin is Head of Investor Relations at International General Insurance (IGI) group, a $450 million market cap diversified international specialist insurer and reinsurer.  Robin joined IGI in London in 2020 just prior to its listing on Nasdaq.

Prior to IGI, Robin spent more than 14 years leading Investor Relations at Bermuda-based PartnerRe, a leading global multi-line reinsurer previously listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market cap of $7 billion.

Robin has over 25 years leadership experience in strategic financial communications, public relations,  and investor relations, seeing companies from public listing to delisting, and through significant business, regulatory, and leadership change.

Andrew Posen is the Vice President, Head of Investor Relations at WOW! with over two decades of financial expertise across multiple sectors. He has developed and lead investor relations programs at pre-IPO companies, newly public companies as well as large, well established public companies.  Prior to joining WOW!, Andrew ran Investor Relations at Telaria until it merged with the Rubicon Project.  Before that he was responsible for building an Investor Relations function at AppNexus (a private company), by developing, managing and fostering relationships across both the buy-side and sell-side investment communities. Prior to that, he led investor relations at FXall, Evercore Partners and Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Posen holds a Bachelor’s Degree from McMaster University in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Health Administration from The University of British Columbia.

James Siccardi is Vice President of Investor Relations at Energy Recovery, where he is responsible for ensuring that management’s strategy is understood by the investment community. He serves as a liaison between Company management and Wall Street analysts, and between Company management and Main Street institutional investors. He is responsible for ensuring that Energy Recovery’s Executive management team and its Board of Directors understands, and adequately responds to, the needs of its external stakeholders.

Mr. Siccardi brings extensive equity investment experience, having spent over 20 years on the energy equity research teams of Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, in institutional equity sales at Societe Generale, as portfolio manager and Global Head of Energy for HSBC Asset Management, and in Investor Relations at Occidental Petroleum. Additionally, Mr. Siccardi launched and managed a Natural Resource Hedge Fund at PAW Capital Partner in Greenwich, CT.

Mr. Siccardi’s sell-side, buy-side and corporate background provides him a unique perspective to understand the various needs of the diverse group of ERII stakeholders with whom he regularly interacts. He takes great pride in initiating and building the relationships that have helped ERI surge to record levels, and positioning Energy Recovery’s Investor Relations Department to be recognized as Runner-up in Investor Relation Magazine’s Top Small Cap Investor Relations Department (2020).

Mr. Siccardi earned an MBA in Finance, with a focus in Investments, from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, and a BA in Finance, with a minor in Accounting, from Villanova University.

Judah Sokel joined Sterling as VP of Investor Relations in October 2021, and his role expanded to Head of Treasury and Investor Relations in August 2022. Judah leads Sterling’s global treasury and investor relations programs, responsible for the strategic management of Sterling’s liquidity, capital markets, and investor relations functions.

Prior to joining Sterling, Judah spent 9 years at J.P. Morgan where he was a Vice President in the Equity Research group, covering the Business & Information Services sector. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Judah spent 2 years in public accounting, working at PwC and RSM where he earned his CPA license.

Judah graduated summa cum laude from Touro College with a BS in Accounting, earned an MBA in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and is a CFA charterholder.

Michael Bennett is the VP Investor Relations at Schnitzer Steel Industries.  Schnitzer is one of North America’s largest recyclers of ferrous and nonferrous metals, selling to steel mills and foundries in the US and around the world.  By recycling metal, Schnitzer diverts millions of tons of materials each year that might otherwise be destined for landfills. 

Prior to joining Schnitzer, Michael spent over a decade working in Europe in Investor Relations and Treasury roles at Holcim (formerly Lafarge), Aperam and ArcelorMittal.  Michael has a BA in International Relations from Tufts University and an MBA from London Business School.        

Lauren McDonald is a conference producer at IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary. 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 Corporate Secretary, Lauren is passionate about providing the best experience to all stakeholders and ensuring all events she produces are of the highest quality.

Laurence Taylor is a content researcher and conference producer at IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary where he is responsible for crowd-sourcing intelligence on the big global issues facing public companies. In this role, Laurence creates industry-wide conferences overseeing the event all the way from conception to completion.

Prior to this role, Laurence held similar roles with Westminster insight, A UK-based policy organisation for both the private and public sectors. Laurence also produced events for Metal Bulletin, American Metal Market, and Industrial Minerals market.

Steve Wade is a content researcher and conference producer at IR Magazine where he is responsible for crowd-sourcing intelligence on the big global issues facing investor relations. Steve also creates events where the IROs and the wider financial community can discuss, debate and learn about ways to develop the IR function.

Prior to IR Magazine, Steven’s background has been 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.

Steve has a degree in Event Management and enjoys playing rugby in his spare time.