Maureen Wolff Sharon Merrill Associates

Video: The Sharon Merrill Approach

What makes Sharon Merrill Associates excel in the world of strategic communications? Trust. Experience. Resilience. Passion. Vision. Perspective. Partnerships. Take a look at our story and see how we leverage these qualities to help you build value.

Sharon Merrill Associates

Video: The Sharon Merrill Associates Approach

What makes Sharon Merrill Associates excel in the world of strategic communications?  Trust. Experience. Resilience. Passion. Vision. Perspective. Partnerships. Take a look at our story and see how we leverage these qualities to help you build value.      

Three Step Approach to Social Media for Investor Relations

By Dennis Walsh, Vice President I recently moderated a webinar hosted by NIRI on social media strategies for investor relations. On the panel with me were David Jackson, CEO, Seeking Alpha; RJ Jones, Investor Relations Officer, Zillow; and Andrew Shapiro, Founder, President and Portfolio Manager, Lawndale Capital Management. The discussion made clear that professional investors…

10 Tips for Dealing with Shareholder Activism

By Maureen Wolff, President and Partner, Sharon Merrill Associates For many companies, a looming activist shareholder is no longer the exception – it’s the rule. One reason is that an increasing number of hedge funds are using activism as a standalone strategy. Assets managed by activist hedge funds increased 42% in 2013 to $93 billion from $65.5…

Notes from a NIRI Annual Conference Attendee

By Dennis Walsh, Senior Consultant & Director of Social Media Last week, I attended the NIRI Annual Conference.  It was very educational and an incredible opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with many of the approximately 1,300 investor relations professionals from more than 20 countries that attended the event in Seattle. NIRI organized more than…

A Curious Tale from the Annals of Shareholder Activism

By Maureen Wolff, President and Partner Nothing has more power to change a boardroom’s dynamics than the election of dissident directors – especially when they arrive as a twosome. I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion on shareholder activism at the National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter breakfast event earlier this…

Activists and Boards Share Common Ground on Communications

When it comes to corporate governance, board members and shareholder activists are usually on opposite ends of the spectrum.  But at separate conferences in New York and Boston this month, the two camps expressed a surprisingly similar view about the most effective way to deal with the anticipated increase in shareholder activism in 2011: better…

Prepare for Proxy Access Now – Avoid an Activist Horror Story Later

Hello again.  We took a bit of a hiatus from blogging this summer, but we are now back to share a Halloween story sure to scare you straight! Unless you are one of the 33 Chilean miners that were trapped underground for the past two months, you have likely been watching the drama unfold on…

Winning the Gunfight at the Proxy Corral – Four Steps to Prepare for Shareholder Activism

The term “shareholder activism” can sometimes send a shiver down your spine and conjure up all kinds of unwelcome events – unhappy shareholders, proxy contests, shareholder proposals, 13D filings and withhold vote campaigns, to name just a few. I recently moderated a NIRI Virtual Chapter webinar on “Shareholder Activism Trends.”  The participants, consisting mainly of IROs…