Dan Aldridge III is Vice President of Investor Relations for Academy Sports + Outdoors and a recognized leader in the investor relations profession. With more than 20 years of experience spanning Fortune 100 companies, large-cap retail, financial services, and industrial sectors, he has led investor relations programs for Academy Sports + Outdoors, Intercontinental Exchange, CF Industries, and The Home Depot. A CPA, CIA, and NIRI Fellow, Dan is known for developing innovative shareholder engagement strategies, advancing investor communications, and advising executive leadership on capital markets and shareholder sentiment.

Pete Asch is the Director of Programming & Production for NYSE. In that role he oversees teams of producers, editors, and the NYSE’s video team who create and disseminate original content for the NYSE media network, including 2 live shows, podcasts, videos, broadcasts, as well as support the 3000+ events held at 11 Wall. Asch is also ultimately responsible for the audiovisual and multimedia operations across the iconic 11 Wall Building, ensuring that the NYSE’s events, broadcasts, and digital screens are delivered with the highest quality and standards.

As the Chief Historian, Pete focuses on utilizing the Exchange’s heritage and history. In that role, he manages the team responsible for the New York Stock Exchange Archives which chronicles the activities of the Exchange from its founding in 1792 to the present day. Pete is also regularly interviewed by major news outlets on the history of Wall Street as seen on CNN, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal.

Pete holds a MA in History with a Certificate of Archival Management from New York University and BA from Rutgers University.

Chanda was named Cinemark’s Senior Vice President Investor & Public Relations, Corporate Communications in 2021 after serving more than 10 years with the company in various roles of increasing responsibility. During her tenure, she successfully brought the investor relations function in-house, played a key role in debt and M&A transactions, and assisted in capital allocation priorities.  Chanda also enhanced employee communication and engagement, increased the company’s exposure through national and local media outreach, and strengthened employee engagement, as well as vendor and charity relations, with her oversight of corporate events.  Before joining Cinemark, Chanda held senior accounting positions at Blockbuster following her early career with Deloitte.

Chanda serves as a board member for Variety – The Children’s Charity of Texas, providing strategic value and helping further the organization’s mission to provide resources and empowering experiences to children with special needs. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from Texas Tech University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Chanda resides in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, Brad, and their children, Benton and Emory.

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.

Matt Brusch is President and CEO of NIRI: The Association for Investor Relations. He was previously COO, led professional development programs, credentialing, publications and communications for NIRI. Prior to this, he led the investor relations and corporate communications functions for several public companies, and he served in regulatory and marketing roles with the Nasdaq Stock Market. Brusch began his career as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy and received the Navy Achievement Medal for superior performance. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland, a B.S. from the Pennsylvania State University, and he is a Certified Association Executive.

Mike Coffey is Vice President of Business Development, Investor Relations at Broadridge, where he helps public companies navigate the evolving landscape of shareholder engagement, corporate governance, and investor relations.

Prior to joining Broadridge, Mike held senior leadership roles at Amazon Web Services, Nasdaq, Thomson Reuters, Q4 Inc. and Northern Trust Bank and has a strong track record across startups, public companies and growth-focused commercial strategy.

Danielle Collins is the Head of Investor Relations at Southwest Airlines, where she leads the company’s engagement with investors and analysts and advises senior leadership and the Board of Directors on capital markets strategy, shareholder sentiment, financial communications, and long-term investor positioning.

Prior to joining Southwest, Danielle held leadership roles at Shell across both Canada and the United States, with experience spanning finance, strategy, executive communications, and organizational transformation. In addition to corporate leadership roles, she also spent time working directly within operating environments, including rotational assignments supporting frontline operations in remote industrial sites. That experience provided firsthand exposure to the operational, logistical, and leadership realities of managing large-scale organizations beyond the corporate office environment.

Danielle is particularly passionate about helping organizations communicate complex stories in clear and credible ways, especially in industries undergoing transformation and heightened public scrutiny. Known for her candid communication style and strategic perspective, she focuses on connecting operational realities, corporate strategy, and stakeholder expectations in a way that builds long-term trust and understanding.

Bryan Daniel is the President of NYSE Texas, part of NYSE Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE). NYSE Texas is a fully electronic equities exchange, headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Prior to joining NYSE Texas, Daniel served as Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission and as Executive Director for Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism. He previously served as the Texas State Director for Rural Development and Chief Administrator for Trade and Business Development at the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Communications and a Master of Science in Agricultural Education both from Texas Tech University.

Hala Elsherbini leverages more than 25 years of investor relations experience managing comprehensive IR strategies to leading the internal IR role in her current position as Senior Director, Investor Relations at Tyler Technologies. As a strategic advisor and trusted resource to senior leadership, she is a key liaison to the investment community and manages message development, investor targeting, sell-side analyst relations, and managing Tyler corporate responsibility disclosure initiatives. Hala graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.A. in Communications, majoring in public relations. She has been a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) since 2005, serving on various committees and board seats, both on a national and local chapter level. In 2015, she served a four-year term on the NIRI National Board and was a member of the IR Update editorial committee. She was recognized as a part of the NIRI 2020 Class of Fellows.

Brad Foster represents clients in securities litigation and other complex business disputes. He has extensive experience in federal class actions, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) litigation, shareholder derivative litigation, corporate governance disputes and internal investigations, SEC and FINRA investigations, bankruptcy and receivership litigation, securities arbitration proceedings, accounting malpractice claims and regulatory investigations, and myriad other business litigation and arbitration proceedings. He also has substantial federal and state appellate experience, including at the U.S. Supreme Court, and he has handled a wide variety of business disputes in state and federal courts nationwide, including the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Brad has decades of experience defending clients in “bet the company” litigation, including a recent multibillion-dollar class action arising from the Stanford Ponzi scheme. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America published by Woodward/White, Inc. (2024 – 2027), nationally recognized in securities litigation by The US Legal 500 (2015-2021), listed as a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters (2012-2021), and named as one of Texas’ “Top Rated” securities lawyers by American Lawyer (2013). He also has been honored as a “Legal Lion” by Law360’s Weekly Verdict in 2013 and as
“Appellate Lawyer of the Week” by Texas Lawyer in 2014.

In addition, Brad regularly advises corporate boards, special committees, and senior executives on M&A transactions, fiduciary duties, and disclosure issues. He routinely defends corporate clients in disputes with shareholder activists, and he has conducted numerous internal investigations for corporate boards and audit committees on accounting and financial reporting issues.

Brad is a member of the Firm’s Texas Corporate Governance Group, which advises clients considering a potential reincorporation in Texas. He is also a member of the Firm’s Texas Business Courts Task Force, and he is a frequent speaker on Texas corporate governance issues.

Brad earned his J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he was Valedictorian of the Class of 1990.  He also is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. Brad passed the Uniform CPA Exam in May 1987, receiving the Elijah Watt Sells Award for performance with high distinction, which is given to candidates who earn one of the top overall scores in the nation.

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.

Andy Detwiler is Vice President of Strategy and Outcomes at Q4. Previously, he was CEO and co-founder of Virtua Research. Before that, he served as President and Director of the regional investment bank Detwiler, Mitchell & Co., as well as President of its broker-dealer subsidiary, Fechtor, Detwiler, Mitchell & Co.

Throughout his career, Andy has been an active leader in the investor relations community. He has served as a committee member for NASD District 11, Vice Chair of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) 2020 Annual Conference Committee, and a member of the NIRI National Board of Directors. He is also a NIRI Fellow.

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.

Dr. Gregory Echt has spent his career building wealth for his healthcare constituents in highly competitive and regulated marketplaces. Dr. Echt has decades of experience investing across a broad variety of asset classes including: value, world/US growth, health sector, alternative investment, private equity and venture capital. A student of Warren Buffett, Dr. Echt has made annual trips to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting since 1986. Echt Capital, LLC was founded to focus on value investing on behalf of his clients.

Dr. Echt’s background as entrepreneur and investor reads differently than most investment managers. He is educated and trained as a doctor and radiation oncologist. Dr. Echt built, directed and eventually sold his multi-specialty oncology practice, one of the largest in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. This achievement included five oncology-based limited partnerships, 75 physicians and staff, seven locations, and national recognition in research and treatment of prostate cancer and brachytherapy. Throughout his career, Dr. Echt cared for approximately 20,000 oncology patients personally, proving his commitment to unparalleled patient care. Echt Capital, LLC was founded after the sale of his practice.

Dr. Echt understands the complexities of the medical industry: from research to practice, devices, software, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and innovation. Health care represents 20% of the United States GDP. While not limiting investments to the medical field, Echt Capital is uniquely prepared to examine opportunities in this dynamic arena.

Loyal to his roots, Dr. Echt cheers for the Hoosiers  and the Indianapolis Colts. He is a “learner”—a  voracious reader, a fan of many musical genres, and a lifelong investor.

Indiana University, BA in Biology,  BA Chemistry
Indiana University, Doctor of Medicine
Diplomate, The American Board of Radiology, Radiation Oncology
Columbia Business School, Executive MBA

Brendan is a leading expert in the field of investor targeting. Over his 30-year career, thousands of executives have relied upon his work to inform and improve their investor engagement efforts. In 2024, Brendan launched Fitzcores – a next generation investor targeting platform that emphasizes accuracy, transparency, and ease-of-use – which he sold in May of this year to Computershare Georgeson. Previously, Brendan created BuysideIQ – an investor targeting platform that scores and ranks the alignment between a company’s fundamental attributes and the investment tendencies of institutions and funds. In 2010, Brendan sold BuysideIQ to Ipreo (S&P Global), where he served as Director of Online Targeting for the following 13 years.

Brendan received an MBA and a Masters in Public Policy, both from the University of Michigan.

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.

Collin Grady is a Senior Director with Nasdaq, helping corporates achieve their IR initiatives. He has been with the company for 6 years, based in Dallas and works with issuers across Texas and Georgia – both Nasdaq and NYSE listed companies. He holds a B.A. in Business Management and Finance from Manhattan College.

Peter Giacchi is Head of DMM Floor Trading at Citadel Securities, where he oversees IPO execution and supports issuers through some of the market’s most significant capital markets events. With more than 20 years of experience on the trading floor, Peter serves as Citadel Securities’ IPO Captain, leading the firm’s involvement in public offerings and direct listings. Throughout his career, he has worked on many high-profile transactions, including the IPOs of Uber and Snowflake, as well as NYSE direct listings for Spotify, Slack, Palantir, Asana, ZipRecruiter and Squarespace. Peter also serves as Designated Market Maker (DMM) for several leading public companies, including Intercontinental Exchange, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. His expertise spans IPOs, secondary offerings, lock-up expirations, index inclusions, rebalancings and other key liquidity events that shape public market performance.

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.

Rob Hays is the former President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors of Ashford Hospitality Trust, a publicly-traded hotel ownership company with hotels across the United States. Mr. Hays worked at Ashford for nearly 20 years before retiring from the company in 2024.  During that time he also held senior leadership roles at Ashford Inc., Braemar Hotels & Resorts, and Ashford Investment Management.  He currently is a private investor in numerous companies and a board member at ExoStat Medical and Presidio Healthcare.

Mr. Hays is involved in several charitable, formative, and faith organizations. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life at Princeton University and the Chairman of the Board of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) in Washington, D.C.  He co-founded the Dallas Business Ethics Forum, which meets quarterly to provide business leaders regular formation in Christian ethics, philosophy, and natural law. Every spring in Dallas he hosts the annual Successful Fathers Conference, now in its 27th year. He and his wife Alicia have hosted over 50 lectures over the past decade in their home, called the Cottonwood Lectures, on topics of faith, family, and culture.

Mr. Hays earned his A.B. in Politics with a certificate in Political Economy from Princeton University and later studied philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy. He and his wife, Alicia, have been married for 22 years and are blessed with 7 children.

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.

Christina Kao is a DMM Capital Markets Floor Trader at Citadel Securities, where she works with public and private companies on trading dynamics, liquidity and market structure. She leads market intelligence and trading analytics initiatives for issuers, providing insights into retail investor participation, liquidity, trading activity, spreads and volatility. Christina has experience supporting companies through a wide range of capital markets events, including IPOs, secondary offerings, lock-up expirations, exchange transfers, uplistings, dual listings and index rebalances. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale University and is passionate about helping issuers better understand trading behavior and investor engagement in today’s evolving market environment.

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.

Jeff brings more than three decades of experience in U.S. equity markets and international equity research. Prior to joining TXSE, Jeff spent led the listings business at the New York Stock Exchange in the southeast. He joined NYSE after spending almost 30 years working in capital markets in a variety of roles. Jeff has recently joined the Board of Directors for Visit Dallas, is President of the Atlanta Chapter for the National Investor Relations Institute and a Board Member of PurTera-IT, a privately held IT infrastructure services provider. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, BBA Finance.

Dr. Stephen Kiser is the Dallas Regional Manager with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Division of Insurance and Research.  In this role, Stephen manages the research and analysis of a talented group of economists and financial analysts. Stephen has worked at the FDIC for over 25 years and has extensive experience identifying, monitoring, and addressing existing and emerging aggregate risks to the U.S. banking industry.  Stephen has authored several articles that have appeared in the Journal of Cooperatives and the Journal of Agricultural Lending as well as numerous industry specific publications.

Stephen has been teaching at the university level for more than 15 years. He currently teaches in the executive education department at the University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management where he has been named teacher of the year five times since 2016.  His expertise and entertaining lecture style make him a favorite speaker at many state and national conferences each year.

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.

Julia Landrum is a Listing Director for NYSE and NYSE Texas, based in Dallas, where she supports listed companies across the Lone Star State.

Julia brings nearly two decades of experience at NYSE-listed companies, including The Home Depot, and most recently served as Vice President of FP&A and Vice President and Head of Investor Relations at Southwest Airlines, giving her a well-rounded perspective on the financial and investor-facing demands that public companies navigate daily. She draws on that experience to work alongside her listed companies to address challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and fully leverage the resources available to them as NYSE and NYSE Texas listed companies.

Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from SMU and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She also serves on the Advisory Board for SMU’s Women in Leadership program.

Larry Larsen is the managing partner of Lincoln Churchill Advisors (“LCA”), a financial communications, investor relations, and crisis communications firm that provides strategy and execution to move stakeholders, capital, and outcomes forward. Lincoln Churchill Advisors guides and supports companies in telling their stories during important moments.

LCA offers sophisticated financial communications and investor engagement services across the full company lifecycle, from required reporting and public-company investor communications to private-company capital raises, negotiated transactions, and liquidity events.  We support routine programmatic work, proactive messaging, targeting, and outreach, as well as high-stakes situations like Mergers & Acquisitions, Series rounds, IPOs, and SPACs. We help clients communicate with confidence and consistency across the capital markets, protecting reputations and supporting valuations at every step.

During his 30-year career, Larry has worked closely with approximately 150 senior leadership teams in various complex companies, helping them achieve their business objectives through strategic communications efforts both during the normal course of business and in times of crisis.

Mark is a seasoned leader with extensive experience in the financial sector. Mark’s vision for OpenExchange is driven by his ability to see where traditional financial services are enhanced by technological advancements. He was previously CEO of Soundview Technology Group and, through its acquisition of Soundview, an EVP of Charles Schwab Corp. Before Soundview, Mark was the head of investment banking of the firm’s predecessor, Wit Capital, the first online investment bank, known for pioneering innovation to the distribution of IPOs. Earlier in his career, he was with Smith Barney, and was president of Smith Barney Pacific, head of global equity sales and head of equity capital markets. Mark currently serves on the board of Proctor Academy. He earned his BA in economics from Cornell University.

Rob Main, CFA is a managing partner and COO at Jasper Street. Rob focuses on board related matters, investor engagement, executive compensation, ESG strategy, and issue & financial activism. Rob helps our clients with critical ESG strategy issues, board composition & disclosure, compensation governance, and how to optimize engagements with key investors and other stakeholders. He is an active industry thought leader and regularly speaks with executives, directors, investors, and other market participants on important corporate governance and sustainability topics.

Before founding Jasper Street, Rob was the Head of Investment Stewardship for the Americas and Asia at Vanguard. His responsibilities included company engagement, corporate governance research, policy development, proxy voting, and ESG integration. He spoke on behalf of the firm’s stewardship program regularly at industry conferences and events, and actively contributed to thought leadership discussions and publications in industry. Rob’s prior asset management industry experience included roles as director within Vanguard’s investment manager due diligence team, head of active equity product management, and leader of the firm’s new product development efforts.

Rob earned a B.S. from the University of Richmond and an M.B.A. from Villanova University. He is a CFA charterholder and is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia. He has served as adjunct faculty in Villanova University’s M.B.A. program and has guest lectured at Harvard University, Columbia University, Drexel University, and at Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law. He currently serves on the advisory board for the Vinyl Sustainability Council and practicalesg.com and formerly served on the Markets Advisory Council of the Council of Institutional Investors (CII). He enjoys racquet sports, is active in the Unionville youth sports community, and once served as a ball boy for Martina Navratilova.

Najy carries more than 20 years of experience in Capital Surveillance and Targeting advisory services. He is the Director of the Healthcare Capital Surveillance and Targeting Advisory team within S&P Global Market Intelligence. Najy has vast expertise in IR best practices and possesses a deep knowledge of capital markets with a focus on investor relations. Najy is also experienced in identifying and tracking activist investors through broker accumulations, cash-settled swaps, and other derivative instruments.

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 Orr is the Director of Communications and Investor Relations for enCore Energy, where he leads the company’s corporate communications, investor relations, and community engagement. He believes investor relations and communications are business drivers inextricably linked to corporate and shareholder value.

Throughout his career, Glen advised executive teams on building trust with investors, employees, communities, regulators, and the media. His expertise includes counseling senior executives and communications leaders through corporate changes, including mergers and acquisitions, A&D, executive transitions, financial and operational crises, and other high-profile events.

Glen began his investor relations career with a publicly traded natural gas utility in San Antonio and has since developed and led strategic communications programs for publicly traded and privately held companies across the energy, industrial, healthcare, technology, and professional services sectors. His work includes aligning investor communications with corporate strategy, supporting capital markets initiatives, leading crisis communications, maximizing value during mergers and acquisitions, and helping organizations communicate effectively during periods of significant change. He also works closely with executive teams to strengthen media relationships and communicate effectively during market-moving corporate announcements.

A native of South Texas, Glen has been an active member of NIRI for more than two decades, previously serving as President of NIRI DFW and in other board roles.

Shannon Otwell currently serves as Senior Vice President and Managing Director for the Central Region at Toppan Merrill, a global leader and trusted partner to the corporate legal, financial reporting, investor relations and law firm sectors. He is committed to simplifying the complexity of regulatory disclosure and communications.

Since 2000, Shannon has directly collaborated with numerous public and private companies, providing technology and consulting services aimed at maximizing efficiency and streamlining processes related to SEC disclosures, filings, and proxy/annual meeting requirements. Shannon and his team of solutions experts play a key role in the process of creating compliant communications supporting capital markets transactions, regulatory disclosure filings, shareholder communications, proxy advisory/design services and sustainability reporting.

Dipesh Patel is President & COO of CoPoint AI, a Dallas-based firm that helps large enterprises turn AI investment into measurable business results. He has over 25 years in technology consulting experience. Dipesh held senior roles at Deloitte Consulting and Pariveda Solutions before founding Solvegy recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Dipesh has spent his career helping executive teams separate real AI capability from marketing hype.

At CoPoint AI, Dipesh runs C-suite workshops that help leadership teams spot practical AI use cases while building responsible governance and guardrails around them. That same vantage point, sitting at the intersection of what AI can build and what it can be misused to fake, informs his perspective on the risks now facing public companies: synthetic media, coordinated disinformation, and AI-generated narratives designed to move markets. He works with IR, legal, and executive teams to think through practical readiness, not just awareness.

Dipesh holds a BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Texas at Austin and is a certified Project Management Professional. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Sheetal, and their two children. Together they’ve traveled to more than 50 countries, and Dipesh is a self-proclaimed sneakerhead and cocktail connoisseur.

Kathleen Perley is the founder and CEO of Adair, a capital markets intelligence firm that measures the distance between what companies intend to say and what the market hears, across the moments that move valuations most: earnings calls, M&A and activist engagement. Her team builds the
proprietary frameworks behind that work, including its C3 Communication Index and behavioral “digital twins” of the analysts most likely to move a stock, the measures Fortune 500 IR teams use to protect market cap. Her starting point was language, not finance. A Fulbright Scholar, she holds degrees in linguistics and Spanish from Texas Christian University and an Executive MBA from Rice University. That training, in how people actually process and interpret words, is the foundation for how Adair quantifies communication risk in markets that now price every sentence. Before Adair, she built and sold DECODE, a healthtech company, to private equity. It is a consistent pattern in her work: take what people treat as soft, language and judgment, and make it measurable enough to act on. Perley has been candid that the way her mind works, nonlinear and pattern-first, is the same thing that lets her see structure in language others read past. She frames it as an edge, not an exception. She lives in Houston with her husband and children and gives her time to the Sacred Heart schools
and MD Anderson.

AT R I C E U N I V E R S I T Y
Perley is on the faculty at Rice Business, where she teaches courses on Generative AI and on AI Strategy and Implementation across the Jones Graduate School of Business, the Virani Undergraduate School of Business and Rice Business Executive Education. She also serves as AI Strategy Advisor to the Deans of Rice Business.

TIm Quast is Founder, President & CEO of ModernIR. He is a NIRI Fellow and former board member, former investor relations officer, thought leader and frequent commentator in press and TV, expert on equity market structure.

Rob joined Aerospace & Defense standout ATI in June of 2026 as head of Investor Relations. He has a proven track record of building strong relationships with investors and communicating complex business strategies to drive understanding and long-term shareholder value. Previously, Rob spent 19 years at Caterpillar Inc. During his tenure, he helped advance investor relations through targeted engagement and clear communication of the company’s strategy and performance during a period of strong shareholder value creation.

Prior to his roles in Investor Relations, Rob held numerous finance leadership positions across Caterpillar during a 19-year career, including in corporate financial planning and analysis, treasury, debt capital markets and funding, risk management and dealer finance. Rob holds the Investor Relations Charter (IRC) from the National Investor Relations Institute and is an Illinois Bar-licensed attorney. Rob earned a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law and a B.A. in Finance and Economics from Saint Louis University.

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.

Patrick Ryan is an Executive Vice President on Edelman Smithfield’s Special Situations & Investor Relations team. He advises public company boards and management teams on shareholder activism, corporate governance, and related reputational issues and crises across a range of industries. Before joining Edelman Smithfield as an intern in February 2014, Patrick was a US Marine Corps Officer. He was last stationed at 3rd Intelligence Battalion in Okinawa, Japan. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University.

Prab is a Senior Director within Nasdaq’s Investor Relations Intelligence department; with 20 years of experience in global investors relations practices that has entailed work with U.S., European and Canadian publicly listed issuers.

Prab’s work focuses on helping investor relations professionals best understand the scope of their shareholder priorities, strategic initiatives and an accurate picture of their place in the capital markets.

Binit Sanghvi is Vice President, Capital Markets & Treasurer at Beacon Building Products, where he leads the company’s investor relations, capital markets and treasury functions. Since joining Beacon in 2021, he has been responsible for managing relationships with the investment community while overseeing the company’s capital structure, liquidity and treasury strategy.

Prior to Beacon, Binit served as Head of Investor Relations at Builders FirstSource and previously held investor relations and treasury leadership positions with ABB and Holcim. Earlier in his career, he held finance roles in transaction advisory and banking. He earned both his Bachelor of Arts and MBA from the University of Michigan and completed executive leadership studies at IMD Business School

Michael Sarner has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since February 2025. He previously served as our Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Secretary since October 2015, our Treasurer from October 2015 through April 2024, and as a Senior Vice President from July 2015 to October 2015. Prior to joining Capital Southwest, from 2000 to 2015, Mr. Sarner was the Senior Vice President, Treasury at American Capital, Ltd., a publicly traded BDC and global asset manager. Mr. Sarner was responsible for capital raising, debt capital markets, corporate restructurings, financial planning, corporate development of strategic initiatives, and system implementations of budget and treasury solutions. During the course of his career, he has raised over $6 billion in debt capital in term securitizations, secured revolving lines of credit, unsecured notes, and term loans to support middle market platforms. Mr. Sarner has also led both corporate and debt restructurings, serving as both the strategic lead internally and the external liaison to over 20 financial institutions involved in the negotiations. Prior to joining American Capital, Mr. Sarner served in various roles in the accounting and finance fields performing and managing due diligence, raising debt and equity capital, and performing audits in public accounting. Mr. Sarner holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from James Madison University and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance from George Washington University. Mr. Sarner holds an inactive Certified Public Accountant License in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Christina M. Sautter is Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Law at SMU Dedman School of Law and Co-Founder of the Center for Retail Investors & Corporate Inclusion (the RICI Center), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing financial and corporate governance literacy so that retail and smaller shareholders have a meaningful voice in corporate America. She writes about retail investors and their role in corporate governance. Her article “Corporate Governance Gaming: The Collective Power of Retail Investors” analyzed the GameStop episode and introduced the “wireless investor,” a generation of retail shareholders who invest through digital platforms and source most of their information online.

Professor Sautter’s M&A scholarship centers on the sale process of public companies and the intersection of fiduciary duties and deal terms, and she co-authored Mergers and Acquisitions Law, a hornbook published by West Academic. Before entering the academy, she practiced in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Shearman & Sterling LLP (now A&O Shearman) in New York and clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She is a regular source for journalists at The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Bloomberg, and NPR Marketplace, and serves as an expert witness in matters involving corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions.

Lee Anne is a Managing Director at Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN), a leader in risk and compliance solutions for global clients. With over 24 years of experience in the capital markets and compliance industry, she provides financial communication solutions for public and strategically growing private companies, supporting them in IPOs, M&A, compliance, reporting, due diligence, ESG and fundraising.

She leverages her industry expertise, data insights, and technology solutions to help her clients work more efficiently, make confident decisions, and prepare for the future. She has a passion for connecting deal makers and a knack for strategic thinking, enabling her to successfully help her client successfully navigate complex transactions daily. She joined DFIN in 2010 after a successful merger and has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth and innovation.

Hayden Smith is a Strategic Advisor to Kramlich Family Investments, the family office of the Kramlich family, one of Silicon Valley’s pioneering venture capital families. He advises on strategic initiatives and investment opportunities across venture capital, private equity, real estate, and other alternative investments, working closely with family members, investment managers, and trusted advisors to support long-term capital allocation decisions.

Previously, Hayden helped build and manage Bon Voyage Management, a Dallas-based single-family office established following the sale of Hornblower Cruises & Events. There, he developed the family’s operating model, coordinated legal, tax, estate planning, and investment advisors, and helped establish the infrastructure to preserve and grow multi-generational wealth.

Drawing on experience both inside a single-family office and alongside one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capital families, Hayden brings a practical perspective on how family offices source opportunities, evaluate investments, and allocate capital across private markets. In addition he also serves as Senior Vice President, Family Office Practice at Howden, where he advises family offices, founders, and privately held businesses on risk and enterprise value.

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.

Hunter Stenback is a Managing Director on Edelman Smithfield’s Special Situations & Investor Relations team. He has more than a decade of experience advising boards and management teams on their ongoing Investor Relations programs, as well as during transformative strategic moments, including shareholder activism defense, M&A, IPOs, investor days, and leadership transitions. Before joining Edelman Smithfield, Hunter spent several years on the Investor Relations team at PNC Financial Services Group. He was named to the National Investor Relations Institute’s ‘40 Under 40’ class of 2021

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.

Russell Warden is the Chief Executive Officer of SameDay Auto Finance and the founder of Geocraft, an AI and operational consulting firm. With a diverse career spanning banking regulation to public equities, Russell has spent years mastering the intersection of business operations and financial technology. Today, his work focuses on driving efficiency by solving complex operational challenges. By pairing robust, foundational technology with strategic, high-impact AI integration, Russell designs practical automation solutions that deliver measurable business results.

Heather Wilson is a Senior Managing Director and Head of the West, Strategic Communications for FTI Consulting. She is a trusted advisor to CEOs, boards of directors, senior executives and noteworthy individuals facing high-stakes, complex situations, transactions, sensitive litigation, and other strategic investor relations and communications challenges. Heather has more than three decades of experience working with clients across a variety of industries. She has advised numerous entities on reputation management and financial matters including Snowflake, Southwest Airlines, Mattel, HP, Fastly, IBM, Microsoft, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop brand. Heather has been named a 2025 Woman of Distinction by PRWeek and a Top Women in PR by PR News. Additionally, she is on the board of the NIRI Los Angeles Chapter. Prior to joining FTI, Heather was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for AccentCare, a national post-acute healthcare company. Additionally, she has served in leadership positions at Abernathy MacGregor (now H-Advisors Abernathy), SKDK and Weber Shandwick. Earlier in her career, Heather worked as a journalist with CBS MarketWatch in San Francisco and at several news outlets in Los Angeles, including CNBC and FOX. Heather holds a B.A. in Political Science from Southern Methodist University and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

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.