Thought Leading Speakers
Aaron Atkinson
Partner
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Aaron Atkinson
Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Aaron’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, and corporate governance. Canadian and international businesses, boards and investors spanning a wide range of industry sectors – including mining, technology, infrastructure and financial services – count on Aaron for his business-minded and results-oriented approach to their complex legal issues. A seasoned and strategic practitioner, Aaron has advised bidders and activists as well as targets and target boards in some of the country’s most high-profile domestic and cross-border transactions, proxy contests and hostile takeover bids. Well versed in corporate governance, Aaron is also regularly called upon to advise boards and board special committees on transactional matters as well as internal investigations and complex governance issues.
Patrice Bonfiglio
President
Sarissa Capital
Patrice Bonfiglio
President, Sarissa Capital
Patrice Bonfiglio is the President of Sarissa Capital Management LP, a registered investment adviser focused on constructive shareholder activism in the healthcare sector. Since 2013, Ms. Bonfiglio served in various roles at Sarissa Capital, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. From October 2020 to October 2022, Ms. Bonfiglio served as Chief Financial Officer of Sarissa Capital Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company focusing on the healthcare and biopharma industry (Nasdaq: SRSA). Ms. Bonfiglio began her career in accounting and operations, and held such roles at Arbalet Capital Management, LP, Arrowhawk Capital Partners, LLC, Ridgefield Capital Asset Management and Pequot Capital Management, Inc. Ms. Bonfiglio received her B.S. degree from Temple University. Ms. Bonfiglio currently serves as a director of AmarinCorporation PLC, a pharmaceutical company focused on cardiovascular health.
Daniel J. Cerqueira
Partner
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Daniel J. Cerqueira
Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Daniel J. Cerqueira focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, activist defense and general corporate matters. Mr. Cerqueira has represented numerous companies in connection with shareholder activism campaigns and proxy contests, shareholder activism preparedness and unsolicited M&A.
Mr. Cerqueira is recognized for his work in activism defense by The Legal 500 US. He was named an M&A “Rising Star” by The Deal and has been recognized by Lawdragon as among the “500 Leading Dealmakers in America” and the “500 X – The Next Generation.” Mr. Cerqueira has been a featured speaker at the American Bar Association’s International Law Section Annual Conference, the Cornell Tech Board Institute and PLI’s Mergers & Acquisitions: Advanced Trends and Developments Program.
Sean Donahue
Co-Chair, Shareholder Activism & Takeover Defense
Paul Hastings LLP
Sean Donahue
Co-Chair, Shareholder Activism & Takeover Defense, Paul Hastings LLP
Sean Donahue is Chair of the Public Company Advisory practice and Co-Chair of the Shareholder Activism & Takeover Defense practice of Paul Hastings, and he is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. and New York offices. Drawing on his previous experience as an attorney in the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, his practice focuses on counseling public companies and their boards of directors on securities regulation, shareholder activism defense, capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters.
Jon Feldman
Partner
Goodmans
Jon Feldman
Partner, Goodmans
Jon Feldman is a partner and heads a business law group at Goodmans. His practice focuses on corporate and securities law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Jon has extensive experience acting for buyers and sellers in a wide range of industries in both private and public M&A transactions.
Brendan Foo
Founder and CEO
Forward Risk
Brendan Foo
Founder and CEO, Forward Risk
Brendan M. Foo is a Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Forward Risk, the investigations and intelligence practice of Forward Global. He leads the firm’s corporate contests practice, and his clients include some of the world’s top activist investors. He has also been engaged by issuers and their outside counsel on over 75 proxy contests and hostile takeover defenses. By bringing together his expertise as a practitioner and strategist, he has helped clients to prevail in multiple high-stakes proxy battles.
Slava Fos
Professor and Hillenbrand Family Faculty Fellow
Boston College Carroll School of Management
Slava Fos
Professor and Hillenbrand Family Faculty Fellow, Boston College Carroll School of Management
Vyacheslav (Slava) Fos is a Professor in the Finance Department. He is also the coordinator of the Ph.D. in Finance program.
Professor Fos’s research interests are in the areas of financial markets, corporate governance, and corporate finance. His research studies information transmission in financial markets, insider trading, boards of directors, the role of activist shareholders in corporate governance, the role of stock liquidity in corporate governance, and investment and employment consequences of share repurchases. His research has appeared in leading academic journals, including the Econometrica, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and Management Science. Professor Fos’s teaching interests focus on corporate finance. He has taught courses in corporate finance at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Lindsay Frost
Journalist
Agenda
Lindsay Frost
Journalist, Agenda
I am a reporter, editor, and freelance writer. I have experience writing, interviewing, editing and reporting in both general news, breaking news, features, entertainment, business and finance. Most recently, I built the new environmental, social and governance beat from the ground up at Agenda--covering everything from climate change to diversity, equity and inclusion with a corporate lens.
I graduated from the College of Charleston (Charleston, SC) with a BA in Communications with a concentration in Media Studies. I have over ten years of experience working as a journalist in print and online. I also have data analytics, SEO, graphic design, webcast production and event coordination experience. I am trained in basic HTML coding, the Adobe suite and Microsoft suite.
I enjoy meeting people and writing about their stories. Blogging about day-to-day sights, trying new restaurants, listening to live music, cooking and getting lost in NYC are passions of mine. I am very personable and put my sources at ease.
Bruce H. Goldfarb
President & CEO
Okapi Partners
Bruce H. Goldfarb
President & CEO, Okapi Partners
Bruce H. Goldfarb is President and Chief Executive Officer of Okapi Partners, the proxy solicitation and investor response firm. Bruce works extensively with corporations and investors focusing on investor response strategy and execution for contested election campaigns, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance matters, investor engagement campaigns, and other extraordinary situations.
Prior to establishing Okapi Partners, Bruce was the Senior Managing Director and General Counsel of Georgeson Inc. (now a subsidiary of Computershare Limited), where he headed the Global M&A Advisory Group.
Before entering the proxy solicitation business, Bruce was a Senior Vice President of the investment management firm, Scudder, Stevens & Clark, which is now a part of DWS Group. At Scudder, he was a member of the Legal Department and served as Chairman of the Firm’s Proxy Review Committee. Bruce practiced corporate law with Cravath, Swaine & Moore for more than six years, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions, securities and international matters.
Bruce is a current member of the Board of Visitors of the Columbia University School of Law, the Advisory Board of the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, and the Board of Advisors of the NYU Law School Institute for Corporate Governance and Finance. He was previously a member of the Council of Institutional Investors Market Advisory Council and the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance. Bruce also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the not-for-profit Signature Theatre Company.
Bruce earned a J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law. He received a B.A. in the History of Art from the University of Pennsylvania concurrently with a B.S. Econ., concentration in Finance, from its Wharton School.
Phillip Goldstein
Founder and CEO
Bulldog Investors
Phillip Goldstein
Founder and CEO, Bulldog Investors
In 1992, after working 25 years as an engineer for the City of New York, Phillip Goldstein co-founded what is now Bulldog Investors, a value-oriented investment advisory firm that focuses primarily on closed-end funds, small cap operating companies, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), and special situations. Bulldog Investors often employs activism to unlock the intrinsic value of its investments. Since 1996, Bulldog Investors has conducted more than 50 proxy contests. Mr. Goldstein is currently a director of several listed companies.
Elizabeth Gonzalez-Sussman
Vice-Chair, Shareholder Activism
Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP
Elizabeth Gonzalez-Sussman
Vice-Chair, Shareholder Activism, Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP
Preeminent in her field, Elizabeth Gonzalez-Sussman advises hedge funds and other large investors in activist-related engagements with boards and management teams to maximize shareholder value, including behind-the-scenes engagements, withhold campaigns, proxy contests, and making unsolicited acquisition proposals. She is vice chair of Olshan’s Shareholder Activism Practice and a member of the firm’s Corporate/Securities Law Group.
Glenn Kaufman
Managing Director
D Cubed Group
Glenn Kaufman
Managing Director, D Cubed Group
Glenn Kaufman is the Managing Member of D Cubed Group and an experienced corporate director with a combination of deep expertise in business operations, capital allocation, and financial markets. As a 25-year veteran in private market investing, he has used that experience to bring a private-market performance and results orientation to public market Boards and companies. Mr. Kaufman has served on eight boards – public and private - over the past 20 years, including chairing several finance and operating committees. He has been sought out for Boards needing skills associated with financial transactions, capital allocation and a broad range of financially oriented situations. And having played a meaningful operational role in several companies, he has perspective to help drive both Board and company effectiveness – including assisting company executives with cross-industry best practices, business strategy, talent management and organizational design, operational analytics. Mr. Kaufman is a graduate of the Wharton School and Harvard Law School.
Ele Klein
Partner
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Ele Klein
Partner, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Ele Klein is co-chair of the M&A and Securities Group, co-chair of the Global Shareholder Activism Group and serves as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He practices in the areas of shareholder activism, mergers and acquisitions, securities law and regulatory compliance. He represents activists, investment banks and companies in matters ranging from corporate governance and control to proxy contests and defensive strategies.
His recent representations have included representing Trian Fund Management in The Walt Disney Company; Engine No. 1 in Exxon Mobil; Politan Capital at Masimo Corporation and Centene Corp.; TCI in Canadian National; JANA Partners in Zendesk, New Relic and Mercury Systems; D.E. Shaw in FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc., Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., FedEx and Verisk Analytics; Corvex Management at Anaplan; Starboard Value in RB Global, Inc. (f/k/a/Ritchie Bros.), Papa John’s International and Acacia Research; Elliott Management in Marathon Petroleum, Akamai Technologies and Hess Corp.; Farallon Capital at Exelixis, Inc.; Irenic Capital Management at News Corp.; Greenlight Capital in General Motors; Cevian Capital in Autoliv, ABB and LM Ericsson; Caligan Partners in Knowles Corp. and AMAG Pharmaceuticals; venBio Select Advisor in Immunomedics; Saba Capital in First Trust; Oasis Capital in Stratus Properties; Altimeter Capital Management in United Continental Holding; SRS Investment Management in Avis Budget Group; and Anchorage in connection with board representation at Houghton Mifflin.
Ele works on numerous activist campaigns and related transactions every year for some of the largest private investment groups and investment banks in the United States and abroad. In addition, he advises on private investments in public equity (PIPEs), initial public offerings and secondary offerings, venture capital financing, and indenture defaults and interpretation, and he counsels clients in the regulatory areas of insider trading, short selling, Sections 13 and 16, Rule 144, insider trading and Regulation M/Rule 105.
Ele is recognized as a 2022 Dealmaker of the Year in The American Lawyer for his work at Exxon Mobil for Engine No. 1, the largest proxy fight in history, which resulted in the addition of three directors to the Exxon Mobil board of directors. He is also ranked as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA, The Legal 500 US, New York Super Lawyers – New York Metro Top 100 and Super Lawyers Business Edition. He has served as a moderator and speaker at numerous conferences and events addressing Shareholder Activism, regulatory and reporting issues, PIPEs, M&A deals, the capital markets and other topics of interest to the alternative investment industry.
He is a regular contributor to the Shareholder Activism Insight report and The Activist Investing Annual Review, produced annually by Activist Insight in association with SRZ. Ele received his J.D. from Yale Law School where he was senior editor on The Yale Law Journal.
Adam Kommel
Shareholder Activism Development Lead
Bloomberg LP
Adam Kommel
Shareholder Activism Development Lead, Bloomberg LP
Adam Kommel created and manages the shareholder activism product on the Bloomberg Terminal. Adam also originated Bloomberg's Activism League Tables, and he developed the Bloomberg Activism Model, which scores companies on their likelihood of being targeted by activist campaigns.
Prior to joining Bloomberg, Adam founded Activist Shorts Research, the first-ever database tracking activist short-seller campaigns. Activist Shorts Research was later acquired by Activist Insight Ltd.
Adam has a BA from Bowdoin College, and he received his MBA from Columbia Business School.
Jason Koenig
Partner
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Jason Koenig
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Jason Koenig is a corporate partner in Akin’s New York office. He leads private equity transactions, M&A and shareholder activism matters. Jason also routinely handles special situations, distressed, and corporate governance matters. He has extensive experience with joint ventures, growth equity, venture capital and cross-border transactions.
Jason has executed transactions across a variety of industries, including health care, energy, fintech, industrials, real estate, digital infrastructure, software, and cryptocurrency.
Earlier in his career, Jason was an investment banker on the M&A team at Jefferies Group LLC.
Michael Levin
Founder
The Activist Investor
Michael Levin
Founder, The Activist Investor
Michael Levin is a respected investor, corporate executive, and management consultant, with almost thirty years’ experience in investing, corporate finance, strategy, and risk management.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Comarco, Inc. (Board Chair and Audit Committee chair) and AG&E Holdings, Inc.
Kai Liekefett
Partner and Co-Chair, Shareholder Activism & Corporate Defense Practice
Sidley Austin LLP
Kai Liekefett
Partner and Co-Chair, Shareholder Activism & Corporate Defense Practice, Sidley Austin LLP
Kai Liekefett is a partner in New York and co-chairs Sidley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice. He has over 20 years of experience in corporate law. He spends 100% of his time on shareholder activism campaigns, proxy fights and hostile takeovers. In the past five years, Kai has defended over 100 proxy contests, more than any other defense attorney in the world, and approximately 25% of all late-stage proxy fights in the U.S.
Bob Marese
President
Mackenzie Partners, Inc.
Bob Marese
President, Mackenzie Partners, Inc.
Robert Marese is the President of Mackenzie Partners. He has over 25 years of experience with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. He is skilled in Investor Relations, Corporate Finance, Hedge Funds, Strategic Planning, and Securities. He is a strong business development professional with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) focused in Accountancy from City University of New York-Baruch College.
Kurt Moeller
Managing Director
FTI Consulting
Kurt Moeller
Managing Director, FTI Consulting
Kurt Moeller is a Managing Director in the Activism and M&A Solutions practice within the Forensic & Litigation Consulting segment of FTI Consulting. He is based in Dallas.
Mr. Moeller has extensive experience in equity research, corporate governance and shareholder activist situations, both proxy contests and contested M&A. He brings the perspective of having evaluated activist situations from an investor’s viewpoint.
Mr. Moeller joins FTI Consulting after three years on ISS’ Special Situations Research team, where he analyzed and provided voting recommendations to shareholders on proxy contests and contested mergers. He was ISS’ principal analyst on proxy contests involving ADP, Campbell Soup and Rent-A-Center, each of which generated substantial shareholder value after ISS’ recommendation was realized. He led the analysis of several contested mergers, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene and J. Alexander’s/99 Restaurants. He frequently engaged with company directors, executive officers, activist shareholders and institutional investors.
Prior to ISS, Mr. Moeller served as a buy-side equity analyst for two decades, at firms such as Calvert Investments, Allianz Global Investors and Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. He performed in-depth fundamental research on companies across the globe in the consumer, energy and industrial sectors. Kurt mentored junior analysts and incorporated into his investment decisions research on companies’ Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.
Earlier in Mr. Moeller’s career, he was a daily newspaper reporter, covering business for the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in Cheyenne, the state capital.
Mr. Moeller graduated with a B.A. in Economics and History from Rice University. He earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
Aaron Morris
Partner
Morris Kandinov LLP
Aaron Morris
Partner, Morris Kandinov LLP
Aaron represents investors in cases involving fiduciary misconduct, securities violations, control contests and shareholder rights, with a special focus on matters involving asset managers and activist opportunities. He formerly defended financial services firms and public companies at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He also writes frequently about developments relating to investment funds and corporate governance.
Kristen Oliveri
Editor
Crain Currency
Kristen Oliveri
Editor, Crain Currency
With more than 15 years of experience covering wealth management and family offices for publications such as Institutional Investor, With Intelligence and, most recently, Markets Group, Kristen brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table.
Throughout her career, Kristen has been dedicated to developing thoughtful content for family offices through a variety of media, including articles, video interviews, high-touch events and conferences. At Crain Currency, Kristen's mission is clear: Expand our family office audience, create meaningful content for the community and curate a diverse advisory board of industry experts.
Jason Palmer
Presidential Candidate and Founder/CEO
TOGETHER!
Jason Palmer
Presidential Candidate and Founder/CEO, TOGETHER!
Jason Palmer is a candidate for President of the United States. Prior to his Presidential run, Palmer served in executive and leadership positions at Microsoft, Kaplan Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and leading impact investor New Markets Venture Partners. New Markets focuses exclusively on double-bottom line investments in innovative, high-impact, early- and growth-stage education and workforce technology companies that improve student and worker outcomes.
Palmer has served as a trusted member of the Board of Directors for more than a dozen successful businesses, several of which have been acquired by publicly traded companies. Prior to his work with New Markets, in his three-year service as Deputy Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, he led postsecondary innovation efforts to improve the outcomes of disadvantaged college students by investing in colleges, universities, and entrepreneurs pursuing digital and adaptive learning, student coaching and advising, financial aid innovation, and employer pathways.
Prior to his work with the Gates Foundation, Palmer founded and grew three investor-backed technology and services companies and served as a turnaround leader for three others. He has demonstrated excellence in general manager and president-level positions leading large, diverse teams. Palmer brings twenty-five years of experience in small business and multi-partisan fluency to his political endeavors.
Jason Palmer holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Virginia (1994) and earned his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School (1999). He is a proud resident of Baltimore, Maryland, and a devoted father.
Fred Pletcher
Partner
Borden Ladner Gervais
Fred Pletcher
Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais
Fred has 30 years of experience helping public companies and investment dealers achieve successful outcomes on a broad range of transactions and issues, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate governance, continuous disclosure and general commercial matters.
Adam Pollack
Partner
Joele Frank
Adam Pollack
Partner, Joele Frank
Adam provides strategic counsel and communications support to Boards of Directors and management teams facing complex, high-profile corporate events, including mergers or acquisitions, proxy contests, executive leadership changes, and crisis situations:
Mergers & Acquisitions
Assignments include: Juniper Networks in its pending sale to HPE; Consolidated Communications in its pending sale to Searchlight and BCI; Coupa Software in its sale to Thoma Bravo; Citrix in its sale to Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital; Johnson & Johnson in its spinoff of Kenvue; Aptiv in its acquisition of Wind River; At Home in its go-private transaction with H&F; Umpqua Holdings in its merger of equals with Columbia Bank; Costar in its proposed acquisition of CoreLogic; Teladoc Health in its acquisition of Livongo; Bristol Myers Squibb in its acquisitions of Celgene, Karuna Therapeutics, RayzeBio and Mirati Therapeutics; Fiserv in its merger with First Data; CenturyLink’s merger with Level 3; Agrium and PotashCorp in their merger of equals; Anbang Insurance Group on its unsolicited offer for Starwood Hotels; Norfolk Southern on its successful defense against Canadian Pacific; ACE in its acquisition of Chubb; Depomed on its successful defense against Horizon Pharma; Time Warner on its successful defense of 21st Century Fox; Verizon Communications on its agreement to acquire Vodafone’s interest in Verizon Wireless; and US Airways on its successful merger with American Airlines.
Shareholder Activism
Recent public assignments include: Crown Castle (Elliott), Argo Insurance in its successful defense against Capital Returns; SpartanNash in its successful defense against Macellum and Ancora; Apartment Investment and Management Company (Land & Buildings); Pernod Ricard (Elliott); Bed Bath & Beyond (Legion, Macellum, Ancora); Procter & Gamble (Trian); DuPont on its successful defense against Trian, AOL in its successful defense against Starboard; Avon (Barington); Buffalo Wild Wings (Marcato); Darden (Starboard and Barington); Depomed (Starboard); Emulex (Starboard and Elliott); Herbalife (Pershing Square); Hertz (Carl Icahn); Lowe’s (Bill Ackman and DE Shaw); Newell Brands (Carl Icahn and Starboard); and Sony (Third Point).
Crisis Preparedness and Communications
His assignments include defense against short sellers, data breaches, financial restructurings changes in strategic direction, facility closures and workforce reductions, litigation, regulatory inquiries and unplanned leadership changes.
Investor Relations and Public Relations
He works closely with senior management and outside financial and legal advisors to develop and enhance clients’ IR and PR programs, including quarterly earnings preparation, investor days, and outreach programs to strengthen relationships with key Wall Street opinion makers.
In 2018, Adam received a “Rising PR Star” award from PR News, which recognizes the top professionals in the public relations field for their contributions to the industry and accomplishments in helping organizations achieve their communications goals. Adam joined Joele Frank in 2011. Previously he worked at KCSA Strategic Communications. He received a BBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business.
Douglas A. Rappaport
Partner
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Douglas A. Rappaport
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Serves as a trusted counselor and advisor to numerous highly sophisticated investment managers and their investment professionals regarding their most complex regulatory and compliance needs, as well as achieving successful litigation results.
Leads the firm’s investment funds litigation and shareholder activism practices and is a key partner in the funds regulatory practice.
Advises funds, corporations and individuals on governance issues and in regulatory and internal investigations.
Doug is a leading litigator and regulatory and compliance lawyer serving as head of Akin’s investment funds litigation practice and co-head of the shareholder activism group.
On a daily basis, Doug advises investment fund clients and others on regulatory compliance and corporate governance matters, including those involving U.S. securities laws, trading issues, compliance procedures and fiduciary obligations.
With significant litigation experience advising funds and companies, Doug has served as lead counsel in matters involving disputes over breaches of fiduciary duty, secured assets, Section 16 short-swing trading, partnership interests, securities fraud, options backdating and insider trading. Doug has won numerous dispositive motions, trials and appeals in both state and federal courts.
Doug is Chambers USA-ranked in both securities litigation (New York) and shareholder activism (New York), the only attorney in the United States to be dual listed in both of these disciplines. Clients interviewed by Chambers USA describe Doug as “a fantastic litigator who is always available and most importantly, consistently delivers positive results.”
He also provides advice on activist investing issues, devising strategies regarding the solicitation of board seats, the displacement of existing corporate management and contests for corporate control.
In addition, Doug regularly represents investment funds, corporations and individuals in regulatory and internal investigations. His experience extends to matters before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the New York Attorney General’s office, and other state and non-U.S. securities agencies.
Andrew Shapiro
CEO
Lawndale Capital Management
Andrew Shapiro
CEO, Lawndale Capital Management
Andrew Shapiro is a seasoned corporate leader with a 35+ year track record in finance, investment, and corporate governance. As Founder and CEO of Lawndale Capital Management, he has managed activist/relational hedge funds for over three decades, making him one of the most experienced practitioners of this investment strategy. In this role he has employed a unique combination of corporate governance, finance, investment, legal, investor relations, and turnaround/restructuring skills. In addition to leading Lawndale, Mr. Shapiro has personally served as a Board leader or Advisor to many corporate boards, debt and equity bankruptcy committees as well as non-profit boards.
Michael E. Swartz
Partner
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Michael E. Swartz
Partner, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Michael is Co-Chair of the Schulte Litigation Group, head of the shareholder activism litigation practice and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. He focuses on complex commercial litigation, particularly as it relates to corporate control disputes. Practice includes shareholder activist litigation, private investment fund disputes, M&A litigation, and securities litigation, including class actions.nIn one of the most important activist litigation precedents, Michael prevailed in representing Politan Capital Management in a litigation that, if lost, could have eliminated shareholder activism as an asset class. He represented Politan in its dispute with Masimo Corporation regarding its adoption of preclusive advance notice bylaws, which made it virtually impossible for investment funds to nominate candidates for Masimo’s Board. The judge awarded Politan nearly $18 million in fees for forcing Masimo to abandon its entrenchment tactics ahead of a shareholder election of two Politan-backed candidates for Masimo’s board ̶ a case that the judge also called a “cause celebre” and “consequential” for corporate governance: “I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that Politan blew this case out of the water in terms of achieving pretty much all of the very substantial corporate benefits that it set out to achieve by filing this litigation.” Michael was honored as a runner-up for “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for his work in this landmark case. Michael also represented Engine No. 1 in its proxy contest at ExxonMobil and Trian Fund Management
in its proxy contest at Procter & Gamble – the two largest proxy contests in U.S. history – and achieved a series of victories on behalf of venBio Select Advisor in its proxy campaign at Immunomedics. Among other things, for venBio, he obtained a TRO blocking the closing of a global license agreement, which effectively would have amounted to a sale of the company.
His other recent litigation experience includes cryptocurrency investment fund disputes, representations of several boards and companies in M&A- and proxy-related litigation; and obtaining dismissal of several Section 16(b) actions brought against investment advisers and the funds they manage, seeking disgorgement of alleged short-swing trading profits.
Michael served as trial counsel to the former Vivendi Universal CFO in a four-month securities class action jury trial. The jury returned a verdict of no liability for Schulte’s client. When representing Pantera Capital Management, a leading crypto investment fund, Michael prevailed following an arbitration hearing in obtaining the first publicly reported opinion in the U.S. finding a usurpation of corporate opportunity in the investment management space.
Michael has been recognized by his peers and clients in Benchmark Litigation, Chambers USA and Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America for his work in securities litigation, The Legal 500 US for his work on M&A litigation, and New York Super Lawyers in the area of business litigation. His litigation victories have been featured in The Hedge Fund Journal, Hedge Fund Legal and Compliance Digest and, recently, the Litigation Group, co-chaired by Michael, won Law360’s “Asset Management Practice Group of the Year” for its representations of leading private investment funds.
Clients have described Michael as “an extremely impressive, experienced litigator,” “creative and tenacious,” and “incredibly knowledgeable, client-focused and a subject matter expert in commercial litigation.”
Michael is Co-Chair of the Board of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Crystal Tse
Reporter
Bloomberg News
Crystal Tse
Reporter, Bloomberg News
Crystal Tse is a reporter at Bloomberg News covering shareholder activism and mergers and acquisition with a focus in consumer and retail dealmaking. She joined Bloomberg in 2016 in Hong Kong where she broke news on IPOs in Asia, before moving to New York three years later.
Demetrius Warrick
Partner
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Demetrius Warrick
Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Mr. Warrick regularly advises public and private clients in a variety of corporate matters, including strategic acquisitions, divestitures, auctions, strategic investments, reorganizations, financial advisor engagements and joint ventures. Mr. Warrick also has represented many companies with respect to shareholder activism, takeover preparedness, unsolicited proposals, contested proxy solicitations and other contests for corporate control. In addition, he has advised clients in designing and implementing shareholder rights plans and other corporate protective measures.
In 2023, Mr. Warrick was named a Rising Star by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and honored as a Diversity Initiative Winner by the New York Law Journal in recognition of his “significant contributions to progressing diversity and inclusion efforts in New York’s legal community.” He has been a member of Skadden’s Black and African American Affinity Network since joining the firm in 2011 and served as a member of the Steering Committee from 2015-18.
Gabrielle Wolf
Director
InnisFree
Gabrielle Wolf
Director, InnisFree
Gabrielle E. Wolf is a Director of Innisfree M&A Incorporated. Ms. Wolf advises companies and investors on all aspects of shareholder engagement, with a focus on proxy contests, shareholder activism, hostile and friendly acquisitions and contested shareholder meetings. Ms. Wolf also provides clients with strategic advice in connection with ESG, executive compensation and other proxy solicitation matters.
