James Beech joined IR Media Group as Editor in Chief in January 2022. He was a multimedia journalist, editor, client relationship manager, awards host and public speaker at Campden Wealth, for and about the global ultra-wealthy multigenerational family business and office community, in 2016-21.

The Englishman reported and photographed news and features for daily and weekly regional newspapers and websites, in New Zealand and Australia, including the Otago Daily Times and Canterbury-Bankstown Express, in 2006-15.

He wrote and edited market-leading consumer magazines and websites in Bournemouth then worked in public relations and media communications in London, in 1999-2006.

He graduated Bournemouth University with a BA (Hons) in Multimedia Journalism in 1999.

As the Vice President, Investor Relations at Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) (NASDAQ: CENTA), Friederike is responsible for the company’s investor relations program. Prior to that, she was Director of Investor Relations at Criteo, a French Nasdaq-listed company in the advertising technology industry. Before joining Criteo, she worked in investor relation roles at cybersecurity firm Finjan Inc, global beauty company Coty Inc., and enterprise software company SAP SE.

With 20+ years of global investor relations experience in divergent industries and complex organizations ranging from Mega Cap to Microcap, she has extensive understanding of investor needs on both sides of the Atlantic. A quadrilingual, she brings unique ideas and new perspectives to the IR role. Her deep understanding of valuation and modeling techniques is paired with the ability to effectively analyze and present complex financial information to internal and external audiences. Friederike is a high-energy, results-oriented leader with strong interpersonal skills.

She served on the Annual Conference Planning Committee for NIRI, the SASB Standards Advisory Board and is a featured speaker at national and global IR events.

Friederike is passionate about endurance sports and is a philanthropic and volunteer supporter of Achilles International, IRONMAN Foundation and Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Seth R. Frank is a strategic financial communications professional with over 25 years’ experience in equity research, capital markets and investor relations. He specializes in the healthcare industry, specifically healthcare services, managed care and digital healthcare.

Since November 2021, he has served as Vice President of Investor Relations at Evolent Health, a leading provider of clinical and administrative solutions to payers. Prior, from 2018, he was Vice President of Investor Relations at Hanger, the leading provider of orthotic and prosthetic healthcare services, based in Austin, Texas. From 2009 through 2017 Seth was Vice President of Investor Relations at Allscripts, a Chicago-based global leader in healthcare information technology. Seth began his investor relations career in strategic financial communications at Sard Verbinnen & Co, and Kanbay International (Capgemini).

Prior to investor relations, Seth worked on Wall Street in equity sales and as an equity research analyst at A.G. Edwards and Sons (Wells Fargo), SunTrust (Truist) and Morgan Stanley. He received an undergraduate degree from Emory University and a graduate degree from The University of Colorado and attended the Masters of Public Health program at Yale University.

Adam Frederick joined Morrow Sodali in June 2021 as Global President.  In this role, Adam is responsible for leading the business and growth strategy with a priority focus on the US and Morrow Sodali’s global business lines including M&A/Activism and Debt Services.  Adam most recently served as Co-founder and CEO at Samurai Data Analytics, where he led the firm’s launch and expansion of an award-winning, AI-driven, financial technology platform that provides proprietary data and analytics to global financial institutions.  Prior to founding Samurai Data Analytics, Frederick was Head of Global Market Intelligence for Q4, Inc., where he led innovations in Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning and successfully grew revenue. As Co-Founder and CEO of Oxford Intelligence Partners, Frederick built an innovative FinTech and Advisory firm which was acquired by Q4.  Prior to Oxford, Frederick was a Managing Director, Corporate Solutions, for Nasdaq and held leadership positions with Bloom Partners and Thomson Reuters.  Adam holds a Bachelor of Science in finance from Miami University’s Richard T. Farmer School of Business.

Joon Huh is a Vice President of Finance at Freshworks, a leading software company empowering businesses to delight their customers and employees, where he leads Investor Relations, Treasury and other finance functions.  He joined Freshworks in 2020 to help prepare the company in its initial public offering and to develop finance functions within the company. Prior to joining Freshworks, he was Vice President of Finance at Zuora, and established the Investor Relations program pre IPO.  Before joining Zuora, Joon was Vice President of Investor Relations at Visa and prior to that, he held financial leadership positions at Yahoo, including Investor Relations and Corporate Finance. Earlier in his finance career, Joon spent several years in financial services at Mesirow Financial, Deloitte and Bear Stearns. He began his career as an engineer at General Electric. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business and his Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Washington.

Kristin is a conscious investor empowering individuals, families and organizations to invest in alignment with their values, for the world they want to see. Kristin launched Nia Global Solutions in 2013 to bring activism and impact investing into the public markets. In doing so, she developed Nia’s six solutions-focused investment themes, weaving a gender-lens throughout the investment thesis.

​Kristin founded Nia Community Investments in 2010, a 100% mission-aligned investment fund focused on social justice and environmental sustainability in Oakland. Prior to Nia Community, Kristin served as President and Chair of the Board of the Hull Family Foundation from 2007 to 2011, where she oversaw all of the investment efforts, transitioning the endowment from a traditional investment portfolio to one of the country’s first 100% mission impact invested portfolios. Kristin is also a co-founder of Impact Hub Oakland, a co-working space nurturing entrepreneurs and social change makers.

​Prior to dedicating her career to conscious investing, Kristin served as an educator and classroom teacher. In 1997, Kristin co-founded the North Oakland Community Charter School, and served on the founding board of the George Mark Children’s House, the first free standing children’s hospice and palliative care center in the U.S.

​Kristin is devoted to promoting inclusion and diversity in leadership, to re-envisioning capitalism and to changing the face of finance. She serves on the board of directors for the Mosaic Project and Community Action Fund for Women of Africa (CAFWA) and is an advisor to Playworks, the Nicholson Foundation, and ToSomeone.

​Kristin holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education from the University of California at Berkeley, an MA in Research in Bilingual Education from Stanford University. She earned her BA and teaching credentials at Tufts University.

Victoria is Vice President, Investor Relations at Informatica (NYSE: INFA), a leader in enterprise cloud data management. She joined Informatica to establish the company’s global IR function prior to the company’s successful IPO in October 2021. Before joining Informatica, Victoria was Head of Investor Relations for 8×8, Inc. (NYSE: EGHT), a global software-as-a-service provider of cloud communications and contact center solutions from 2017 to 2021. Prior to joining 8×8, she served as Senior Director of Investor Relations for Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), a leader in digital payments from 2007 to 2017. Victoria joined Visa in 2007 to establish the company’s global IR function prior to the company’s successful IPO in March 2008. Prior to Visa, she held an Investor Relations role at McAfee Inc. (acquired by Intel) from 2005 to 2007, and Investor Relations and Treasury roles at Providian Financial (acquired by Washington Mutual/ JP Morgan Chase) from 1999-2005. Victoria is a board member for the NIRI San Francisco chapter since 2016 and served on the NIRI Silicon Valley board from 2007 to 2011. She has held the positions of Treasurer, Sponsorship, Advocacy, Membership, and Programs throughout her board experience. Victoria has been recognized by IR Magazine (Best Investor Relations Officer, Large-Cap 2017) and is an Institutional Investor Magazine, All-American Executive. Victoria has an MBA and B.A., Finance from the University of San Francisco.

Lloyd Kurtz is a senior portfolio manager and head of the Social Impact Investing team, a unit within Managed Solutions (MS). MS is a division of Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Inc. (WFII). Units within Managed Solutions manage investment products and services and include Equity Optimization, the Fixed Income Strategies Team, the Option Strategies Group, and Social Impact Investing.

Lloyd joined Wells Fargo in 2016. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, he worked for Nelson Capital Management (an investment forum owned by Wells Capital Management), where he served as chief investment officer. He has 31 years of experience in the investment industry.

Lloyd earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology from Vassar College and a Master of Business Administration in International Finance from Babson College. He is a CFA charterholder. He is located in San Franciso, California.

Myesha joined Arcellx, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company in June 2021, bringing more than 25 years of experience as a communications professional providing strategy, development, and execution of internal and external communications programs for publicly traded pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Most recently, Myesha was Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Adverum Biotechnologies, an ocular gene therapy company. Prior to this, Myesha held the same role at Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on treatment options for blood-based disorders. Previously, Myesha led the integrated communications function at ZS Pharma, Inc., (acquired by AstraZeneca PLC), and Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc., (acquired by Horizon Pharma). Earlier in her career, Myesha served in various communications roles with increasing responsibility at other publicly traded biotechnology companies. Myesha earned a BA in Business with a concentration in Communications from Holy Names University.

Linda Pazin is Head of Strategic Communications for Sempra. She brings over 20 years of executive experience in corporate communications, marketing, public relations, and investor relations. Linda is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Sempra’s award-winning communications efforts, including external and internal communications, reputation, stakeholder engagement, thought leadership, financial communications, social media, content strategy, sustainability communications and media relations.

During her career, Ms. Pazin developed, managed and executed comprehensive, integrated communications programs at both high-growth startups, and established Fortune 1000 companies undergoing major transition. Her diverse sector experience spans technology, energy, media and entertainment, financial services, retail, real estate and more. She develops high-performing cross-functional teams with customer-driven vision and strategy. Linda’s strategic communications programs have addressed some of the most challenging business situations while protecting reputations, increasing brand visibility and maximizing valuation.

Ms. Pazin’s broad experience encompasses initial public offerings, M&A, corporate brand and reputation management, public and media relations, crisis and issues management, integrated marketing communications and public affairs. Linda has worked on over 50 initial public offerings and transactions throughout her career. She has helped senior management teams deliver compelling corporate and investor communications messaging, while articulating transparency and accountability.

In addition to founding her own management consulting firm, she also served as NYSE’s Head of Listings for the Western Region. She contributed to over 200+ global marketing campaigns during her tenure. Working directly with senior management teams and board members at some of the most high-profile publicly traded companies, she provided counsel on financial communications issues, capital markets strategy, corporate governance best practices and ESG.

Ms. Pazin previously served as Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations at Deckers Brands, a $5 billion global leader in designing, marketing and distributing innovative footwear, apparel and accessories. She built an award-winning integrated communications program from the ground up to support the company’s global expansion and omni-channel strategy.

Prior to Deckers, she was Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations for Live Nation Entertainment, a $10 billion global organization, where she had worldwide responsibility for communications and investor relations and acted as chief spokesperson for the media and investment communities. Ms. Pazin played an instrumental role in the high-profile Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger where she led all integration efforts and developed and implemented pre- and post-merger communications strategies for the company and all its five divisions in North America and 47 countries internationally.

Prior to joining Live Nation, Ms. Pazin served as Director, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications for Fremont General Corporation, a $7 billion commercia/residential real estate company, during one of the worst mortgage crises on record. She was able to build and strengthen alliances, manage public perception and expectations and maximize support for the business during a critical cycle in the financial markets. Ms. Pazin also served as Director, Investor Relations for SouthWest Water Company where her team was awarded for outstanding performance from Institutional Investor.

Ms. Pazin earned a Master of Arts degree in Business and Economics with honors from Claremont Graduate University and Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Arizona. She is a frequent speaker and active member of the VP Communications Forum, National Investor Relations Institute, Financial Executives International and Public Relations Society of America.

Katrina Rymill is the SVP of Corporate Finance & Sustainability at Equinix, a global interconnection and data center provider. Joining Equinix in 2011, she spearheaded the effort of re-architecting the company’s IR messaging and communication strategy. Projects have included establishing long-term financial targets, setting up Equinix’s first share buyback program, investor targeting, and communicating Equinix’s transition to a REIT structure. Prior to Equinix, Katrina was Director of Investor Relations at CyberSource, an ecommerce payment gateway, which was acquired by Visa in 2010. In 2009, CyberSource Investor Relations was ranked 2nd by Institutional Investor Magazine. Previously, Katrina was the Head of Investor Relations at Redback Networks. There, she created the IR program after Redback emerged from a Chapter 11 debt restructuring, and worked to build a diversified investor base, including a $200 million Secondary Offering. Katrina started her career at Merrill Lynch in Investment Banking, where she worked on various leveraged finance and debt deals.

Katrina earned an M.B.A. from MIT Sloan and a B.A. in Biology from Harvard University.

Peter Salkowski brings more than 22 years of financial market experience to Fortinet, with a strong track record in equity research and investor relations.  Peter is responsible for crafting and communicating Fortinet’s investment thesis to investors. Prior to Fortinet, Peter was the head of investor relations for GoPro.  Previously, Peter was a managing director at The Blueshirt Group, and the head of investor relations at DreamWorks Animation.  Before becoming an investor relations professional in 2009, Peter was an Institutional Investor-rated equity research analyst at Goldman Sachs. Before working on Wall Street, Peter taught high school-level mathematics. Peter is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, where he earned an M.B.A. as well as M.S. and B.S. degrees.

Greg Secord is Vice President of Investor Relations for Open Text Corporation and recipient of the 2018 IR Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award (Canada). With over 20 years of IR experience in both the North American and European capital markets, Greg has managed IR through over 50 acquisitions. Greg has consulted, advised and counselled many industry leaders including some of the largest technology and insurance companies in Canada. He has created presentation materials for the Toronto Stock Exchange to educate executives of newly listed companies on the fundamentals of IR best practices. He has been quoted in several industry trade publications and is a published contributor to post-secondary textbooks on business. Greg is a former National Board member for NIRI.  Ranked as “IR Top Gun” three times by the Brendan Woods, survey, Greg has also been the recipient of numerous IR Magazine Awards in Canada including for Best Investor Relations Officer, Best Overall Investor Relations, Best Use of Technology and Best Investment Community Meetings.

Chad Spitler is the Founder and CEO of Third Economy, a sustainable investment research and advisory firm. Chad was formerly a Partner at PJT CamberView, an advisory firm specializing in helping public companies engage with their investors particularly around complex or contested shareholder matters. He is most widely known for his role building what are now BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship and Sustainable Investing teams. As a Managing Director at the world’s largest asset manager, Chad led the team responsible for analyzing how environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors may impact financial performance, and integrating that analysis into investment decisions, proxy voting, corporate engagement and product development. His work facilitated billions of dollars of capital into sustainable investments and hundreds of public companies to integrate long-term thinking into their business strategies.

Chad speaks both publicly and privately with regulators, policy makers, non-profits, academics and the largest global companies and investors, to further the field of sustainable investing and transition the capital markets to a lower carbon economy. With over 20 years of institutional investing and sustainability experience, he sits on the Finance Working Group of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, is a Senior Advisor to UK-based Affirmative Investment Management (AIM), is a lecturer on Sustainable Finance at San Francisco State University, and is on the Dean’s External Advisory Board of the University of Michigan’s School for the Environment and Sustainability. He holds an M.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a B.S. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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.

John Walcott is a Portfolio Manager at Point72 Asset Management based in San Francisco focused on the healthcare sector.  He joined the firm in 2019 from Citadel where he was a Portfolio Manager since 2012.  Prior to Citadel, John was a Founding Partner, Analyst and the Healthcare Sector Head at PFM LP.  John has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA in Biology from Wesleyan University.

Sam Wallace is a research analyst at the Value Reporting Foundation, covering the technology and communications sector of the SASB Standards. He works with companies, investors, and subject matter experts to develop and drive the adoption of market standards for reporting financially material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Prior to joining the VRF, Sam worked in a number of roles in the technology industry, most recently as a policy and communications specialist on Microsoft’s newly launched UN Affairs team. Prior to that, he worked at a technology-focused PR agency, leading communications programs for early-stage startups in fields like autonomous driving, digital manufacturing, blockchain-based cybersecurity, and medical VR, as well as in the legal department at Google. Sam holds an MBA from NYU Stern and a BA from Williams College.

DEREK ZABA is a partner in the Palo Alto and New York offices and co-chairs Sidley’s Shareholder Activism practice. He counsels companies on a variety of matters, including activism defense/proxy contests, activism preparedness, takeover defenses, shareholder engagement and corporate governance. Over the past two decades, he has been involved in dozens of activist campaigns and proxy contests in various advisory and principal capacities. Prior to Sidley, Derek was the head of the activism defense practice at a leading shareholder engagement and corporate governance advisory firm. He also served as a Partner and investment professional at activist and event driven hedge funds. Derek began his career as a corporate associate at a New York-based law firm.

Derek has been recognized in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Corporate/M&A:
Takeover Defense with clients noting, “He speaks to the board in a way that makes sense. He’s really good.” Derek is a highly sought after speaker for panels on the topics of shareholder activism and related matters, is frequently quoted and regularly speaks on the topic of shareholder activism, including at Stanford University Law School and on public radio.

He holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he graduated Order of the Coif; an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, concentrating in Finance; and a bachelor’s degree in Systems Science and Mathematics, cum laude, from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis. While at Washington University, he led university teams that won the highest award at the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) international Mathematical Contest in Modelling in consecutive years.

Derek is a member of the State Bars of California and New York.

As VP of Marketing & Partnerships, RZ supports marketing, strategic partnerships and research initiatives for Investis Digital. She has been part of the performance marketing, communications and digital experience industry for 20 years, with roles in account management, strategy, business development and now, research and strategic partnerships. Previously with ZOG Digital, Sarkissian Mason and other firms, she has worked with brands like Nike, Mazda and Boeing – both big and small – simple and complex.

Growing up as a preacher’s kid on a farm in southern Virginia, she learned the value of hard work, making your bed in the morning, and true grit – virtues that she still brings to the office every day. When she’s not working around the clock, you’ll find her trying to fit 32 hours of ‘stuff’ into a 24 hour day; traveling with her kids, growing a garden in the desert or playing pickleball in the pines.

With bachelor degrees in Corporate Communications and Marketing Information Systems from James Madison University, RZ continues to pursue her passion for truth, beauty and goodness in the field – she loves a great story, a worthy challenge and any new adventure.