Blevin Brown is the co-founder at Veridian Strategic Partners, an IR advisory firm that specializes in incorporating direct investor feedback into the IR function. Blevin advises management teams on a full range of investor relations matters, providing executives with a clear, up-to-date understanding of how investors view their business as the company navigates challenges that span from investor targeting to activism prevention.
Prior to founding Veridian, Blevin was an investor relations consultant where his practice included developing strategies and investor communication programs for various corporate actions such as strategic realignments, transactions, and activism defense. Prior to beginning his career as an investor relations consultant, he held roles in Corporate Development at Uniti Group (Nasdaq: UNIT) and in Equity Research at Stephens Inc. Blevin holds a BBA from the University of Arkansas.
Brian Brungardt is Director of Investor Relations for Sunoco, LP, an American master limited partnership headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Brian is responsible for all aspects of communicating with the financial community, including managing the earnings process, engaging with current and potential investors, corporate message development, and ESG initiatives. Brian has over 15 years of finance experience with roles in sell-side equity research and portfolio management.
Brian received a B.S. in Finance from Saint Louis University. He is also a Charter Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. Brian has been a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) since 2021 and was recently recognized as part of the NIRI 2023 Class of Rising Leaders Under 40. Brian, along with the Investor Relations team, has been ranked as one of the best Investor Relations Offers and best IR departments for the Midcap Natural gas and MLP category by Institutional Investor magazine.
Karen David-Green is an Independent Director for DNOW Inc. (NYSE: DNOW), Centerra Gold (NYSE: CGAU), and Phoenix Energy Services (TSX: PHX). She also serves on the board of Paragon ISG, a private equity-backed company, and is a board member of the non-profit organization Small Steps Nurturing Center. Ms. David-Green has over 30 years of experience in senior leadership positions on Wall Street and as a C-Suite executive for multinational companies. She previously held key positions in the Executive Leadership Team at Expro Group N.V. and Weatherford International plc where she served as Sr. Vice President, Chief Marketing, Stakeholder, Investor Relations, Communications and Sustainability Officer. Notably, she previously led the energy service equity research franchise at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Crédit Agricole and Royal Bank of Canada. Ms. David-Green is Directorship Certified by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and NACD Certified in Cybersecurity Oversight.
Erin Drabek is Vice President of Investor Relations at Arcosa, Inc., a provider of infrastructure-related products and solutions. Since joining Arcosa at its spin-off from Trinity Industries in 2018, Erin has played a key role in shaping the company’s investor relations strategy, building strong relationships with the investment community, and enhancing Arcosa’s market presence.
In her current role, Erin leads the development and execution of Arcosa’s investor messaging, helping articulate the company’s financial performance, strategic vision, and growth initiatives to shareholders, analysts, and other key stakeholders. She brings a unique blend of technical accounting knowledge and capital markets experience. Erin is passionate about cross-functional collaboration between finance, accounting, and IR teams to support value creation and build long-term investor trust.
Before joining Arcosa, Erin held positions at Trinity Industries and spent seven years at KPMG LLP, where she provided audit services to large public companies. She holds both an MSA and a BBA in Accounting from Southern Methodist University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Tim Foote is BlackBerry’s Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for internal and external financial reporting and compliance, financial strategy and management, investor relations and treasury.
Tim joined the Company following BlackBerry’s acquisition of Good Technology in 2015 and brings over two decades of experience across a number of senior finance leadership positions in both public and private multinational companies. While at BlackBerry, his roles have included managing the Company’s international finance operations, Vice President of Investor Relations and, most recently, CFO for the
Cybersecurity division.
Tim holds an MBA from Imperial College Business School, London and is a Chartered Accountant.
Kristin Graham is the founder of Unlock the Brain, a platform that explores how neuroscience, psychology, and micro habits influence communication, productivity, and performance. After more than two decades leading culture and communications at global companies including Expedia and Amazon, she now works with organizations around the world to help leaders communicate more clearly in an increasingly noisy information landscape. As a speaker, strategist, and podcaster, Kristin helps smart, busy people turn insight into action. Find her at Unlockthebrain.com, LinkedIn, and on her podcast, Fewer Things Better.
As a part of the next generation of Investor Relations professionals, Caitlyn Hughes focuses on Corporate Strategy & Investor Communications at TrendAI™, a business unit of Trend Micro™ (TYO: 4704), a publicly traded global cybersecurity leader delivering AI-powered security solutions that protect more than 500,000 enterprises worldwide.
In her role, Caitlyn partners closely with TrendAI’s executive leadership team to develop investor communication strategies and the execution of key corporate initiatives. She began her career at TrendAI through the Rotational Leadership Program in Ottawa, Canada and later relocated to Dallas to help build and advance the company’s U.S. investor relations program.
Caitlyn was named a NIRI Rising Leaders Under 40 – Class of 2025, recognizing her contributions to the investor relations profession and her emerging leadership within the industry. She holds the Investor Relations Competency Suite credential and earned an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Canada.
Kelsey is the Practice Manager of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations at High Country Search Group where she was tapped to build the function and team from scratch. She spent the earlier part of her career with Korn Ferry’s Corporate Affairs Practice, leading execution for most of the firm’s IR search engagements. Throughout her career, she has partnered with global clients for executive roles for all company types, varying in stage, size, and industry. Kelsey holds an MBA from The University of Texas at PB and bachelor’s degrees in marketing and political science from the State University of New York. She serves on the NIRI Rocky Mountain Board, as the VP of Education for the Rocky Mountain Association of Recruiters, and as the founder of Colorado Communicators. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, hiking, golfing, and playing with her Bernedoodle, Walter.
Alex is the Vice President of Investor Relations at Caterpillar Inc. Alex has held numerous roles throughout his career at Caterpillar across finance, strategy and operations. He most recently was responsible for strategy and business development for the Electrification and Energy Solutions division where he led a team to drive strategic growth, develop new business opportunities and incubate new business innovations. He also managed a portfolio of Venture Capital investments and served on the board of Lithos Energy.
Alex continuously demonstrates values-based leadership and aspires to be a thought leader for diversity and inclusion. He is an Executive Sponsor for the Caterpillar Korean Resource Group. Alex is a certified management accountant (CMA) and is an Investor Relations Charter (IRC) candidate, and he earned his MBA from Kellogg School of Management.
Heather Kos, CPA, IRC is the Senior Vice President of Investor Relations at Builders FirstSource (NYSE: BLDR), the largest U.S. supplier of building products, prefabricated components, and value-added services to the professional market segment for new residential construction and repair and remodeling. Before joining BLDR, she served as the investor relations and communications officer at Univar Solutions (NYSE: UNVR), Ingredion (NYSE: INGR), and Navistar (NYSE: NAV). Heather also has extensive experience in finance, strategy and operations, having held positions such as director of finance, director of strategy, plant controller, and various finance roles at Navistar.
An experienced investor relations professional, Heather has developed and implemented comprehensive IR programs for four Fortune 500 companies. She has effectively managed high-impact situations including earnings surprises, product recalls, and leadership changes and has skillfully handled the communications of Navistar’s delisting by the NYSE and activist campaigns. Heather has been nominated for several IR Magazine awards and has been recognized numerous times in the Institutional Investor “All-America Executive Team” as well as “Best Investor Day.”
Heather earned a B.A. degree in accounting from Michigan State University and a M.B.A. from DePaul University in Chicago. She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an Investor Relations Charter (IRC).
Heather is an active member of the National Investor Relations Institute’s Senior Roundtable. She is also a board member of NIRI National and Chicago NIRI.
Jason Landkamer is the vice president and head of investor relations for Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR). In this role he is responsible for communicating with the financial community, targeting potential investors, corporate message development and sell-side analyst relations. Jason has over 20 years of experience in finance related roles, including 19 years in investor relations.
Since joining Fluor in 2006, Jason has helped the company increase the level of communication and interaction with the investment community through multiple perception study and outreach initiatives, both domestic and international. Additionally, he serves on Fluor’s sustainability committee and designs and produces the company’s annual report.
Jason, along with the Investor Relations team, has consistently been ranked as one of the best Investor Relations Officers and best IR departments for the Engineering & Construction sector by Institutional Investor magazine since 2008.
Prior to joining Fluor, Jason was with AmeriCredit Corp. for seven years in various investor relations roles, including three years as AVP of investor relations.
Jason graduated from Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Finance. He has been an active member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) since 2000. In December 2016 Jason was elected to the NIRI Board of Directors for a four-year term where he is currently focused on advocacy issues with the SEC.
Marcia is Executive Director, Family Office Coverage – IB, Sales & Trading at Texas Capital. She is primarily focused on family office coverage and regularly produces invite-only conferences for family offices to facilitate networking, relationships and dealmaking in the private dealmaker community.
Marcia joined Texas Capital in December 2025. Prior, she was a Managing Director and Head of the Family Office Division with Freedom Capital Markets, a boutique investment bank. Marcia has also previously served as a Managing Director and Head of Business Development for ShareNett, a members-only global network of professional investors, and at Alberleen Family Office Solutions, an independent investment advisory firm backed by family offices. Over the past 20 years, Marcia has developed a strong network of private families, institutional investors and advisers who are increasingly seeking access to quality direct deal flow from trusted, experienced partners.
Marcia earned a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Utah State College and a Master of Business Administration from the Gabelli School at Fordham University. She holds Series 7 and 63 licenses.
Marcia serves on the global board of the Association of Corporate Growth and the board of ACG’s New York chapter, where she co-chairs the Family Office Committee. She is past chairman of the board of Kinect Capital and serves on the board of University Impact. She is a member of The DealmakeHers and 100 Women in Finance. Marcia received an honorary mention as one of the 2021 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine and was named one of the 2020 Most Influential Women in middle-market dealmaking. She was honored with the 2017 ACG-NY Women of Leadership Award.
Glen is president of Orr Strategic Communications, a firm built on the belief that enterprise value and communications are inextricably linked. He sees IR and communications as a business tool that when well executed can grow the value of an organization and when executed poorly can erode millions of dollars in value. Glen has more than 20 years’ experience in investor relations, corporate communications and crisis management, and he uses that experience to protect and fortify the reputations of client companies and help them achieve their corporate objectives. He has extensive experience coaching senior executives and working hand-in-hand with heads of corporate communications and investor relations during times of significant corporate change including: mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, physical and financial crises, shareholder incongruity, and executive succession.
Glen began his career in IR in San Antonio working for a natural gas utility and recently has counseled clients on implementing IR strategies and tactics to align shareholders with corporate strategies; and developed and implemented sophisticated employee and corporate communications campaigns to maximize the value of hostile and friendly M&A transactions, mitigate the impact of activist shareholder attacks and manage communications surrounding financial and physical crises. Glen also assists companies in nurturing and managing their relationships with media and navigating engagement with them during important corporate announcements.
Glen is a native of South Texas and has been a NIRI member for about 20 years, most recently serving as Executive Vice President. Prior to that he served as Vice President, Membership; Vice President, Programs; and has been a contributor on several committees. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance degree from Texas A&M.
Computer Science Graduate from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2001, where I not only earned my degree but also cultivated a deep-seated passion for coding and technology. Post-graduation, my career trajectory took a significant leap as I joined 10Kwizard, initially as a Software Engineer. My role there involved designing and implementing innovative solutions that streamlined data processing for financial documents, significantly enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of financial reporting. Over time, my contributions helped 10Kwizard grow and merge with Morningstar, a globally recognized leader in investment research. At Morningstar, I continued to refine my skills in software development, focusing on scalability and user experience in financial software solutions.
Currently, I am the CEO and Co-Founder of Kaleidoscope, a venture where I lead a dynamic team of innovators to explore and expand the limits of technology. At Kaleidoscope, we focus on developing cutting-edge software that integrates AI and machine learning to solve complex business challenges across various industries. My leadership philosophy is centered around fostering an environment where creativity and technical excellence are paramount.
Outside of the tech world, I am deeply committed to a balanced lifestyle. Fitness and health are major aspects of my life; I am an avid enthusiast of various forms of exercise, from running to weight training, which not only keeps me physically fit but also mentally sharp. This dedication to health complements my professional life, providing the energy and clarity needed to navigate the fast-paced tech industry.
Jeremy Robinson is the Chief Executive Officer of Cardboard Spaceship, a full-service production agency that specializes in creating high-quality content for brands and agencies. Jeremy leads the overall strategic direction of the company and brings over 15 years of investor relations experience, having served most recently as Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications for multiple public companies.
Jeremy’s recognition of the need for high-quality creative IR work within the industry, coupled with a lack of creatives who truly understood its intricacies, inspired him to start Cardboard Spaceship.
Under Jeremy’s leadership, the company has partnered with global agencies such as Edelman, JP Morgan, ICR, Prosek Partners, and Goldman Sachs to deliver high-impact content for Investor Days, pre-IPO roadshows, and other general corporate communications needs. Their work can be seen on the global stage with renowned brands such as Stripe, Del Monte, IBM, Canon, Lowes, Planet Fitness, Dave & Busters, Brinks, Snapchat, Lundbeck and many more.
Neil Russell is Vice President of Investor Relations. He leads American’s Investor Relations team and partners closely with various other groups to highlight the work happening across American with the company’s financial stakeholders.
Neil joined American from Boston Consulting Group, where he worked in the consumer, corporate finance and strategy practices group advising clients and internal teams on financial strategy, shareholder relations, sustainability and responsible growth, company purpose, executive transitions and business growth objectives. Prior to that, he spent nearly two decades at Sysco Corporation in a number of leadership roles, including Vice President of Investor Relations, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Interim CFO and Chief Administrative Officer. At Sysco, Neil served as a company spokesperson and advisor to the Board and Executive team, providing strategic and business leadership for all facets of corporate affairs while effectively mitigating risks related to financial, social and environmental issues, large-scale M&A activities and investor activism. He also worked at America West Airlines and Delta Air Lines earlier in his career.
Neil earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, Specialization, Travel & Tourism from Arizona State University and holds a Master of Business Administration from the New York Institute of Technology. He was named Best CFO by Institutional Investor Magazine in 2023.
Mac Schmitz is Senior Vice President – Investor Relations for Matador Resources Company (NYSE: MTDR), an independent oil and natural gas exploration company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Mac helped Matador go public in 2012 and has seen the company grow its market cap from less than $500 million in 2012 to over $8 billion during 2024.
His background is in investment banking, working previously for KeyBanc Capital Markets and MarshBerry Capital, LLC. He earned a BBA in Finance, with a focus on Investments, from Ohio University and holds the Investor Relations Charter (IRC) credential. He is a loyal Cleveland and THE Ohio State sports fan and enjoys spending free time with his family and friends.
Suzanne Spera is a senior leader in investor relations and corporate strategy, with over 15 years of experience guiding NYSE-listed energy and technology companies through market cycles, transformational M&A, and major capital programs. She has held leadership roles at Talos Energy, Oceaneering International, Rowan Companies, and Synthesis Energy Systems, building investor confidence, shaping strategic messaging, and aligning corporate narratives with market expectations. Ms. Spera holds an MBA from Texas A&M University and advanced certifications in financial modeling, valuation, and mergers and acquisitions. She is an active member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), including the NIRI Senior Round Table and Virtual Chapter, as well as the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). She is recognized for her collaborative leadership, strategic messaging, and commitment to purpose-driven growth.
Matt Tractenberg has been a senior executive providing finance, communications, and Investor Relations services to public companies for more than 20 years. His experience includes more than 60 M&A transactions and a diverse history of capital market activity including both debt and equity raises. Currently, Matt is a Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations at Shoals Technologies, a leading provider of technology solutions for clean energy projects around the world. Previously, he held senior management roles at companies including Wallbox, WestRock, Belden, and Cisco Systems.
Mr. Tractenberg is a regular public speaker on corporate strategy, financial market structure, and corporate positioning. He is an IRC charterholder, holds a B.S. in Accountancy, and an MBA specializing in Financial Management & Markets. Born and raised in New York, he now lives in Atlanta with his wife Paige and two children.
Most AI experts focus on the how; Russell Warden focuses on the why. With a career spent at the intersection of institutional finance and deep-stack coding, Russell brings a rare “bilingual” perspective to the enterprise AI landscape.
As the CEO of SameDay Auto and founder of Sesio Inc, Russell specializes in building AI workflows that prioritize P&L over hype. He cuts through the technical noise to deliver enterprise-grade systems designed specifically to drive revenue and operational efficiency.
Russell’s approach is defined by restraint: he only deploys AI when it is the best tool for the job. By focusing on business outcomes rather than the technology itself, he ensures that we start with the solution and then determine the proper technology.
Brookii Wootton, MBA, IRC, serves as Senior Director (Head), Investor Relations, for XTI Aerospace (XTIA). Throughout her career, she has guided companies through initial public offerings, acquisitions, and other complex financial transactions. Prior roles include directing investor relations for Albemarle Corporation (ALB), a global mining and chemicals company experiencing a spike in demand for its world-leading lithium resources; for Dallas-based infrastructure services company Primoris Services Corp (PRIM) during a period of active M&A-based growth; and for InfraREIT, Inc. and its external manager, Hunt Utility Services, LLC (HUS), from the novel real estate investment trust’s IPO until its sale in 2019.
Brookii’s previous experience also includes a consulting role with Hill & Knowlton, where she counseled high-profile corporations including Compaq and Continental Airlines. She is a past member of the national board of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and holds the Investor Relations Charter® credential that signifies best-in-class professionalism in investor relations. She is a member of the NIRI Senior Roundtable and currently serves as president of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of NIRI. She received Master of Business Administration and Master of Technology Management degrees from the University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas State University.
