The SEC's New Universal Proxy Rules for Contested Director Elections: Implications for Shareholder Activism

Mr. Ball is a Senior Vice President in the Proxy Solicitation Group at Alliance Advisors. He is a recognized expert with extensive experience in corporate control transactions, proxy solicitations and corporate governance. During his career Mr. Ball has specialized in activism and contested situations, strategic consultation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, proxy solicitation, SEC and state proxy regulations, REITs, rights offerings, equity and debt tender offers and complicated transactions requiring shareholder action.

Mr. Gottfried is the founder and CEO of Gottfried Shareholder Advisory LLC, a boutique strategic advisory/consulting firm that advises public companies, the C-suite, and boards of directors on shareholder activism preparedness and defense. Mr. Gottfried is an experienced and sought-after advisor to public companies and their board of directors in connection with shareholder activism, preparedness and defense. Over the course of a career that spans nearly 30 years, Mr. Gottfried has advised numerous public companies in connection with high-profile proxy contests, special meeting demands, consent solicitations, and withhold vote/vote no campaigns, as well as unsolicited acquisition offers and negotiated and contested M&A situations. Mr. Gottfried’s work with public companies and boards of directors has been recognized on numerous occasions. In both 2018 and 2019, Mr. Gottfried was named by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) to its list of Directorship 100 honorees, which recognizes the most influential people in the boardroom community, including directors, corporate governance experts, regulators, and advisors.

Mr. Stronski concentrates in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, securities law and general corporate matters. He has represented acquirers, targets and financial advisors in a number of significant U.S. and international mergers and acquisitions, including public and private transactions, negotiated and contested acquisitions, and other corporate matters. Mr. Stronski also has advised Skadden’s investment banking clients in financings and transactional work, and he has represented both issuers and underwriters in equity and debt offerings.