Michelle Applebaum
Northwest Pipe (NWPX)
View Biography
Michelle Applebaum - Independent Board Director , Northwest Pipe (NWPX)
Michelle Applebaum is currently a Board member at Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ: NWPX) the country's largest steel water pipe company. She is a Financial Expert on the Audit Committee, is the Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee, and has also served on the Comp Committee. For 22 years she was at Citigroup/Salomon Brothers, where she became the #1-ranked steel equity analyst and Managing Director.
Mrs. Applebaum co-founded the firm's steel investment banking unit and under her tenure, Salomon held the #1 positions in research, trading and investment banking for over a decade. Under Michelle's leadership, the firm maintained the most rigorous underwriting standards in the industry, and never did a single bad deal.
After Salomon and until her retirement in 2014, she led a very profitable ($2+M/year) capital markets advisory boutique where she competed with bulge bracket firms providing equity research to money managers and advising public/private companies and PE firms.
Mrs. Applebaum was recently honored with the "Steel Industry Advocate of the Year" award given by a group of industry leaders convened by American Metal Market; she is now serving annually as a judge for the same award. Mrs. Applebaum is from Chicago, IL and currently splits her time between Chicago and Arizona. She graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Economics and an MBA in accounting/finance from the Kellogg School. She has been married for over 30 years to David Applebaum, a retired tax lawyer, and has three grown children.
Amy Borrus
Council of Institutional Investors
View Biography
Amy Borrus - Deputy Director , Council of Institutional Investors
Amy Borrus plays a major role in developing CII policies on corporate governance and shareholder rights issues and in positioning the organization to achieve its strategic goals. She works closely with the Board of Directors and executive director to craft CII's strategic plan and execute its mission, has responsibility for developing and planning CII conferences and speaks for CII at investor, corporate, academic and other forums. She leads CII's efforts to communicate its positions effectively to members, other stakeholders, policymakers and the media. She also manages CII's Proxy Voter Group, a forum for senior governance professionals at more than 75 leading institutional investor organizations, and staffs the CII board Audit Committee.
CII, founded in 1985, is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association of public, union and corporate employee benefit funds and endowments with combined assets that exceed $3 trillion. CII's has Associate (non-voting) Members include a range of asset managers with more than $20 trillion in assets under management. CII's mission is to educate its members and the public about effective corporate governance, shareowner rights and related investment issues, and to advocate on its members' behalf.
Before joining CII in 2006, Amy Borrus was a correspondent for BusinessWeek for 25 years. She researched, wrote and edited stories about business, finance, politics and other issues, from Washington, D.C., London and Tokyo.
She earned a B.A. in English and history from the University of Pennsylvania, a master's degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Claritas Investment Certificate from the CFA Institute.
Peter M. Clausi
CBLT Inc.
View Biography
Peter M. Clausi - CEO , CBLT Inc.
A graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School called to Ontario's bar in 1990, Mr. Clausi has extensive experience as a strategist and front-line team member in complex board - management - shareholder relationships, having participated in 17 board transitions over the past 5 years. He is a frequent speaker on governance and shareholder rights, providing practical insights gained from the front lines of the battle fields.
Aneliya Crawford
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
View Biography
Aneliya Crawford - Partner , Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Aneliya S. Crawford is a partner at Schulte Roth & Zabel, where she represents hedge funds and other large investors in matters concerning shareholder activism, proxy contests, hostile takeovers, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. Aneliya is one of the leading attorneys representing activist investors globally with close to 200 major shareholder activism contests, including campaigns in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Latin America. Aneliya has extensive experience providing strategic guidance to investors on activist strategies, including proxy contests, settlement negotiations, corporate governance, consent solicitations, letter-writing campaigns, hostile takeovers and M&A transactions. She provides counsel to clients on their equity investments in public companies, and she also represents public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions and asset purchase and stock purchase transactions. Aneliya continues to appear on the annual New York Super Lawyers list for her shareholder activism and M&A practices. Aneliya received her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and her B.A. from American University in Bulgaria.
Paul Davis
McMillan
View Biography
Paul Davis - Co-Chair, Capital Markets and M&A , McMillan
Paul has a practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, proxy fights, corporate governance, corporate finance, business restructuring and start-ups, and a broad range of securities and business law matters for both private and public issuers.
His solid experience in securities and business law was gained through his years in the private sector as a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions; head of investment banking at a Toronto based brokerage firm; and a senior officer of public and private companies. He has also been on a secondment with the Ontario Securities Commission.
His extensive M&A and corporate finance background includes leading roles in the purchase and/or sale of numerous businesses (both public and private) and capital raising for public and private companies across key industry sectors, including financial services, technology, natural resource and manufacturing.
Paul also advises shareholders as well as boards of directors in connection with proxy fights. He is highly experienced in successfully dealing with boards of directors, management teams, stakeholders and regulatory bodies; and has served as a director of ten (10) public companies, including being Chair or a member of the audit, corporate governance and special committees. Paul is highly regarded for providing trusted counsel on numerous major proxy fights and precedent setting contested transactions and is known as one of Canada's leading practitioners in this area.
Ali Dibadj
AllianceBernstein (AB)
View Biography
Ali Dibadj - Partner , AllianceBernstein (AB)
Ali Dibadj is a Partner at AllianceBernstein (AB), the Portfolio Manager of AB's Concentrated Engagement fund, and the Senior Analyst covering U.S. Beverages, Household, and Personal Products for the sell-side. He has been regularly recognized in the Institutional Investor and Greenwich sell-side surveys, including being repeatedly ranked the #1 analyst and team. As Portfolio Manager, he has engaged with companies to analyze and improve operational, capital allocation, and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance. Previously, at McKinsey, Ali advised senior management of energy, financial services, industrial, healthcare, and especially consumer companies on topics such as corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, pricing, innovation, cost-cutting, governance, and organizational structure. Prior to McKinsey, Ali worked at Mercer Management Consulting and Skadden, Arps. He holds an S.B. from Harvard College (engineering) and a J.D. from Harvard Law School (corporate).
Seth Duppstadt
Proxy Insight
View Biography
Seth Duppstadt - Senior Vice President , Proxy Insight
Seth Duppstadt is Senior Vice President at Proxy Insight Ltd, a global shareholder voting data provider. Seth manages the North American business from the New York City office. Proxy Insight provides a range of voting analysis tools to issuers and their advisors as well as asset owners and fund managers. Prior to joining Proxy Insight, Seth was head of US law firm sales at FactSet SharkRepellent.
Zachary George
FrontFour Capital
View Biography
Zachary George - Co-Founder & Portfolio Manager , FrontFour Capital
Zachary George is a co-founder and Portfolio Manager of FrontFour Capital Group LLC and a co-founder and Principal of FrontFour Capital Corp. Prior to FrontFour, Mr. George served as a Senior Investment Analyst for Pirate Capital LLC, a $1.8 billion hedge fund. He had a generalist focus, evaluating catalyst based investment opportunities across the capital structure in small and mid-cap North American companies. Mr. George was responsible for the sourcing and coverage of positions worth approximately $500MM. Mr. George has worked in the management capacity and with numerous corporate boards to turnaround operations, effect corporate action, and implement governance policies in order to maximize shareholder value. Earlier in his career, Mr. George served as a credit analyst for Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd and as an Analyst for CIBC World Markets in the Global Energy and Power Technology Investment Banking division.
Stephen J. Griggs
Smoothwater Capital
View Biography
Stephen J. Griggs - CEO , Smoothwater Capital
Stephen J. Griggs, CEO, is one of Canada's leading corporate governance experts with extensive senior executive experience in the investment management industry and is also a corporate lawyer. He was most recently the President and CEO of OPTrust, a major Ontario public sector pension plan, leading OPTrust's integrated investment and administrative operations. Prior to joining OPTrust in mid-2011, Mr. Griggs served for three years as Executive Director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, representing the interests of leading Canadian pension plans and other institutional shareholders. As Executive Director, Mr. Griggs was instrumental in developing and implementing the Coalition's guidelines on board engagement, proxy circular disclosure, majority voting, executive compensation and "say on pay". He also served during this time as Chairman and Partner of Investeco Capital Corp., Canada's first environmental investment company.
Griggs was the President and CEO of Legg Mason Canada Inc. from January 2003 to June 2007, with responsibility for the Canadian operations of Legg Mason, Inc., one of the world's largest global investment management firms, and has been Chief Operating Officer of two leading Canadian mutual fund companies (AIC and BPI).
Mr. Griggs is an active corporate director and is on the board of Genesis Land Development Corp., Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Toronto Pearson International Airport, is on the Independent Review Committee of ING Mutual Funds, is Chair of the IRC of IA Clarington Funds and is on the board of several charitable organizations.
Griggs is also the General Counsel and Secretary of Smoothwater Capital and is an active writer and commentator about Canadian corporate governance matters.
Dexter John
D.F. King Canada
View Biography
Dexter John - Executive Vice President , D.F. King Canada
Dexter is Executive Vice President of D. F. King Canada and is responsible for sales across the Canadian enterprise. He also manages the development of the corporate governance platform within the business line. Dexter has over 15 years of experience in capital markets, spending over six years in structured finance in which he executed over $4 billion in transactions. He has a strong knowledge of corporate law and a thorough understanding of the financial markets.
Naizam Kanji
Ontario Securities Commission
View Biography
Naizam Kanji - Director, Office of Mergers & Acquisitions , Ontario Securities Commission
Mr. Kanji is Director of the Office of Mergers & Acquisitions at the Ontario Securities Commission. The Office of Mergers & Acquisitions is responsible for compliance and policy-making in the areas of take-over bids, issuer bids, business combinations, shareholder rights and the securities regulatory aspects of proxy voting and proxy contests. Naizam obtained his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, in 1996 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1998. In 2003, he graduated from the LL.M. (Securities Law) program at Osgoode Hall Law School. Prior to joining the Ontario Securities Commission in 2000, he completed his articles as a law clerk to the judges of the Commercial List of the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) and practised law as an associate with the Insolvency and Restructuring Group of McCarthy Tétrault in Toronto. Naizam has had primary responsibility for the mergers and acquisitions since 2006. Naizam has been a frequent speaker on mergers and acquisitions at conferences and law schools in Canada and the United States. He has also written papers on regulatory aspects of mergers and acquisitions law.
Riyaz Lalani
Bayfield Strategy, Inc.
View Biography
Riyaz Lalani - Chief Executive Officer , Bayfield Strategy, Inc.
Riyaz Lalani is the CEO of Bayfield Strategy, which offers specialized communications advice and strategic expertise to public companies, professional activists, private equity firms and individuals. Riyaz has been involved in over 75 proxy contests in the US and Canada, including some headline-capturing boardroom battles. Before founding Bayfield he was the COO of the largest proxy firm in Canada for three years. Prior to that he was the head of research for a multi-billion asset manager based in New York and Toronto for 10 years. Riyaz has also served as a board member of three public companies and is active in Canadian politics.
W. Scott Leckie
Takota Asset Management Inc.
View Biography
W. Scott Leckie - Principal, Portfolio Manager , Takota Asset Management Inc.
Scott Leckie has more than 30 years of experience managing and structuring investment portfolios for investors seeking capital accumulation, and for those seeking income or a combination of capital accumulation and income.
In his main duty as Portfolio Manager, Mr. Leckie has been involved in identifying, evaluating and valuing securities that might become a part of such portfolios.
Managing these portfolios and evaluating these investments have led Mr. Leckie to be involved in a range of related business activities aimed at extracting fully the inherent business value in each situation, including seeking and accepting board memberships in companies he has invested into.
Mr. Leckie is Principal of Takota Asset Management which he founded in 2012, after having co-founded Aquilon Capital in 1990.
Kern McPherson
Glass Lewis
View Biography
Kern McPherson - Senior Director, North American Research , Glass Lewis
Kern McPherson joined Glass Lewis in 2009 and leads the North American research teams covering corporate governance, executive compensation and environmental & social issues at over 6,500 companies traded in Canada and the U.S. Kern specializes in issuer and shareholder engagement, corporate governance analysis, research operations, and is an active participant in Glass Lewis' policy and product development. Prior to joining Glass Lewis, Kern served as a senior account manager and business analyst for large corporate retailers. He holds a bachelor's degree in English and History of Art & Architecture from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Patrice Merrin
Arconic; Glencore, plc; Kew Media Group
View Biography
Patrice Merrin - Director , Arconic; Glencore, plc; Kew Media Group
Ms. Merrin has served as a non-executive director of Glencore plc (LON:GLEN), a multinational commodity trading and mining company, since June 2014, and is a member of the Environment, Health, Safety and Communities Committee. In March 2017, she joined the Board of Kew Media Group (TSX:KEW) as Lead Independent Director. She was elected to the Board of Arconic Inc. (ARCN:NYSE) in May 2017.
From May 2013 - May 2017, Ms. Merrin was a director of Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE:SWC), a palladium and platinum mining, refining and recycling company. She was a director of Novadaq Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:NVDQ), a developer of fluorescence imaging solutions, from March 2015 - August 2017. She served as Chairman of the board of directors of CML HealthCare Inc., a leading provider of private laboratory testing services, from 2011 until October 2013, where she had served as a director since 2008. She served as a director of Ornge, Ontario's air ambulance service, from January 2012 to January 2015, and was a director of Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation, created to support Alberta's initiatives on climate change and the reduction of emissions, from 2009 to 2014. From October 2009 to June 2011, Ms. Merrin served as a director of Enssolutions Group Inc. and was a director of The NB Power Group, which generates and distributes electricity from nuclear, hydro, wind and oil, from 2007 to 2009.
From 2005 to 2006, Ms. Merrin served as President, CEO and a director of Luscar Ltd. ("Luscar"), Canada's largest producer of thermal coal, and as Executive Vice President from 2004 to 2005. Luscar was then owned equally by diversified international natural resources company Sherritt International Corporation (TSX:S) and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board. From 1999 to 2004, Ms. Merrin was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Sherritt.
Ed Mullane
Activistmonitor
View Biography
Ed Mullane - U.S. Editor , Activistmonitor
Ed Mullane is the US editor of the Mergermarket Group's Activistmonitor news service which was launch in the spring of 2016. Activistmonitor provides predictive intelligence and behavioral data on shareholder activism to the advisory and investment community. Ed is also the editor of the technology, media and telecom sectors for the Mergermarket product. He has been reporting for this news service since 2006, covering M&A, activism and regulatory matters. Ed has been writing about business and technology since 1986, both as a journalist and as an analyst.
Gilbert Palter
EdgeStone Capital Partners
View Biography
Gilbert Palter - Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer , EdgeStone Capital Partners
Gil joined EdgeStone in May 1999 as a co-founder. Prior to joining EdgeStone, he was the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Eladdan Capital Partners, a Toronto-based private equity fund targeting middle-market Canadian and U.S. companies. He also founded Eladdan Enterprises, a boutique investment bank specializing in providing buy side mergers and acquisitions advice to Canadian and U.S. companies, particularly on cross-border acquisitions and investments. Gil has previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, McKinsey & Company and Clairvest Group Inc.
Gil currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aurigen Capital Limited, Chairman of Specialty Commerce Corp. and Stephenson's Holdings Inc., and is also a member of the Board of Directors of Eurospec Manufacturing. He is a former Chairman of Hair Club Group, Continental Alloys & Services, BFI Canada, Mitel Networks Corporation and Farley Windows and was previously a director of Alliance Films, Trimaster Manufacturing and Xantex Technology.
Gil holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he attended on a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship and graduated as a Baker Scholar and winner of the John L. Loeb Fellowship in Finance. He was the Gold Medalist in his graduating class at the University of Toronto where he attended on the J.W. Billes Scholarship earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Economics. Gil is involved in a number of philanthropic organizations. He was a 2003 recipient of "Canada's Top 40 Under 40" award, a recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award 2006, and is a member of the World President's Organization (WPO).
Fred Pletcher
Borden Ladner Gervais
View Biography
Fred Pletcher - Partner , Borden Ladner Gervais
Fred R. Pletcher is Chair of our National Mining Group and a partner in our Securities and Capital Markets Group. Based in Vancouver, Fred advises public companies and underwriters in connection with a broad range of transactions and issues, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate governance, continuous disclosure and general commercial matters. He is recognized as a leading lawyer in these areas by the foremost national and international legal ranking publications.
Although Fred acts for clients across a diverse range of industries, he has a particular focus on mining. In the mining field, Fred acts for Canadian and international mining companies in connection with: acquisitions and dispositions of mines, development projects and exploration properties; option agreements; joint venture agreements; project finance; royalty, streaming, off-take and ore sales agreements; confidentiality agreements; tenure issues; permitting; expropriations; and NI 43-101 reporting obligations.
Fred frequently advises boards of directors and special committees of public companies. He also has considerable experience in the field of shareholder activism.
Penny Rice
Shorecrest Group
View Biography
Penny Rice - Co-Founder & Managing Director , Shorecrest Group
Rice is a highly knowledgeable securities industry professional with more than 25 years of multifaceted experience in shareholder relations for publicly traded companies. A leader in advisory services, she is responsible for leading a range of shareholder communication, including shareholder identification, proxy solicitation and information agent services. Rice, a corporate governance specialist, was previously entrusted with progressively expanding responsibilities in proxy fights and unsolicited tender offers. She was notably instrumental in countless high-profile transactions such as the Shoppers Drug Mart plan of arrangement with Loblaw, and in the contested meeting between TELUS and Mason Capital. Rice obtained her H.B.A. from the University of Guelph, majoring in economics and business administration. She also completed the Canadian Securities Course and obtained the designation of Member, Trust Institute (MTI).
W. Graeme Roustan, ICD.D
Roustan Capital
View Biography
W. Graeme Roustan, ICD.D - Chairman and CEO , Roustan Capital
Mr. Roustan is the Chairman and CEO of Roustan Capital. He is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors, Directors Education Program and was class valedictorian, held at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto and earned his ICD.D credentials. In addition, he graduated from the National Association of Corporate Directors Masters Class and earned his Board Leadership Fellow credentials.
Mr. Roustan led the acquisition of Bauer Hockey from Nike in 2008 as its Chairman and oversaw the additional acquisitions of Mission Itech, Cascade Lacrosse, Maverik Lacrosse and Combat. He then led the company as its Chairman of the Board through its Initial Public Offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in March of 2011 and left the Board near the end of 2012 after five years of involvement.
Mr. Roustan has been known for his pursuit for a second NHL team for Toronto and his role as Governor of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. In 2015 Mr. Roustan held almost two percent of Performance Sports Group common stock when he discovered a dramatic change in the company's strategy from his time as Chairman which caused him grave concern. Mr. Roustan launched a campaign which in part called on the Board to replace the CEO, which was successfully accomplished in March 2016. Mr. Roustan has called on the current Chairman to resign and for Board renewal and continues his efforts to get the company to return to its previous successful strategy.
Philippe Tardif
Borden Ladner Gervais
View Biography
Philippe Tardif - Partner , Borden Ladner Gervais
Philippe Tardif is a business law partner in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. He is the Toronto regional leader for our Securities and Capital Markets Group.
Philippe's practice focuses on corporate finance, with an emphasis on public and private equity and debt financings, including cross-border financings; mergers and acquisitions involving public companies; and corporate governance matters, including board and special committee advisory roles.
Philippe is recognized for his expertise in his field and was appointed as adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Courtenay Wolfe
Eco Oro Minerals Corp.
View Biography
Courtenay Wolfe - Co-Executive Chair , Eco Oro Minerals Corp.
Courtenay Wolfe is the former Executive Chair of FCF Capital, a publicly listed investment company. Upon joining the company in 2013, Courtenay undertook a massive restructuring and turnaround of the company that resulted in an increase in the share price by almost 1,000% in under 18 months. Under her tenure, the market cap of the company grew from approximately $7 million to over $100 million in 2.5 years. It was the #1 performing stock on the TSXV in 2014.
Courtenay has been active in the areas of venture capital and private equity in a diverse range of sectors. She is also an accomplished board member.
Courtenay is the former President and CEO of Salida Capital, a private investment management firm with assets in excess of a billion dollars. Courtenay was also the President and CEO of SCM Securities. In 2011, Courtenay was recognized as one of the top 50 global Leading Women in Hedge Funds. Prior to this, Courtenay was SVP at Tricycle Asset Management, an investment company with assets over $1 billion dollars.
Courtenay spent a number of years in technology, notably founding Dell Canada's online business and growing it into Canada's largest e-commerce business.
Courtenay is an avid public speaker and a passionate philanthropist, founding the Salida Capital Foundation in 2009 and establishing a philanthropic partnership with the William J. Clinton Foundation. Courtenay sits on the board and audit committee of ONEXONE, an international charity focused on children's causes.