Activism is once again front and center in the news lately with several high-profile situations taking the spotlight, from Trian and Disney (DIS) to Elliott and Salesforce (CRM). Thus it was timely to sit down with one of the experts in the activist landscape Michael R. Levin, founder of The Activist Investor and experienced board director and investor. Michael and David discuss: - Refresher on UPC contested shareholder voting - How have activist contests been affected since the rule chang...
In the latest episode of Know Who Drives Return we sit down with Aria Glasgow, who leads AON's ESG Advisory practice. In her role Aria helps advise companies understand and prioritize their ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) risks. As ESG continues to become top of mind for corporates, Aria discusses several areas that companies should be concerned about including compensation and incentives, DEI initiatives, the need for better data and reporting, and board oversight. Watch the inter...
Boardroom Alpha's David Drapkin is joined by Korn Ferry's Anthony Goodman a lively discussion on board effectiveness, the SEC's new universal proxy card rules, and more. In an era where board scrutiny and accountability are at an all-time high, board evaluations are of the utmost importance. In addition, a renewed focus on the evaluations of individual directors is becoming more front and center, particularly in light of the new Universal Proxy rules. Learn more on universal proxy cards: h...
Sam Zaid , CEO of Getaround, is a technology entrepreneur with an engineering background and a 15 year history in startups. Getaround is a peer to peer carsharing company, that Sam founded about 10 years ago to solve the problem of underutilized cars. Sam joins David Drapkin on the Know Who Drives Return podcast to discuss the macro trends in car ownership and usage, why the ease of carsharing makes sense, and why they have decided to join the public markets via a reverse merger with InterPr...
Bruce Goldfarb, CEO of Okapi Partners, joins David Drapkin to discuss the newly implement Universal Proxy Card process. Bruce and David discuss the changes and impacts including: How we got here and overview of changes?Will universal proxy leads to more activism?What it means for individual directorsAre there any ESG or DEI implications?Who are the winners and losers?Watch the video here: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/universal-proxy-with-bruce-goldfarb-okapi
Ajay Kochar is the co-founder, President, and CEO of lithium ion battery recycling company Li-Cycle (LICY). An engineering expert in the field, Ajay and his co-founder, Tim Johnston, set out to solve the problem of battery recycling as the proliferation of lithium ion has exploded (in large part thanks to EVs). Read more at: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/podcast-li-cycle-licys-ajay-kochar-on-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-and-evs
Boardroom Alhpa's David Drapkin talks to Bruce Ogilvie (Chairman) and Jeff Walker (CEO) from Alliance Entertainment. Both have long history in entertainment distribution industry. Their current company, Alliance Entertainment, has struck a deal to go public via Adara Acquisition Corp. (ADRA). Alliance is a distributor, buying physical entertainment goods from content providers (music companies, gaming companies etc.), and selling to retailers, e-commerce, and even a little D2C. Watch t...
Join David Drapkin as he speaks to Westrock Coffee CEO Scott Ford. Westrock Coffee is going public company via a $1.1B deal with Riverview Acquisition Corporation (RVAC). ** Watch the video or read the report
With tech valuations hammered by rising internet rates, stepping inflation and of course recession fears, we continue to sift through the wreckage for stocks that offer a combination of value and growth. One area that's proven to be a safe haven in the storm: enterprise software. But, for investors who balk at stocks like IBM and HPE, there are plenty of small cap plays. Playing on the theme of cloud computing and data, there's one battered deSPAC on our list that's been largely overlooked: W...
Garrett Smallwood, CEO of Wag! explains why the pet care segment is immune to inflationary fears and poised for post-pandemic growth. Garret joins Joanna Makris on the Know Who Drives Return podcast to go deep on his business and why it might be one of a few SPACs to perform post merger. Watch all the Know Who Drives Return podcast episodes: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/podcast
AMZN stock is performing, but are warehouse workers paying the price? We talk to Assistant NYC Comptroller Michael Garland on the NYC Pension Funds' move to unseat two Amazon board members responsible for human capital management at the tech giant. Joanna Makris and the Boardroom Alpha team sit down with Assistant NYC Comptroller Michael Garland about the NYC pension funds' ESG objectives, how they evaluate boards, the current situation at AMZN, and more. Read the report here: https://www.b...
Voltus is gearing up for a $1.3B SPAC IPO in the coming months. We chat with CEO Gregg Dixon, who shares how the company is leading the charge to decentralize, decarbonize and digitize our energy resources. Our latest podcast gets an up close look at a company that’s at the center of the green energy movement and an interesting name on our radar as a pure-play ESG investment. Boardroom Alpha sat down with Gregg Dixon, CEO of Voltus. View the full report: https://www.boardroomal...
Boardroom Alpha talks with Richard Clayton, Director of Research at the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) Investment Group, walks listeners through how Activision's governance issues may have hurt shareholders as the proposed $68.7B takeover by Microsoft get's voted on this Thursday. Read the full report and watch the interview: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/why-activision-blizzards-board-is-still-failing-msft-richard-clayton
Are public companies really leaning in to a more suitable, socially responsible future? Boardroom Alpha sat down with Andy Behar, CEO of non-profit shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow, to discuss some of the key ESG issues investment managers are tackling today. Read the full report: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/andrew-behar-as-you-sow-esg-revolution
With the movement toward net zero emissions well underway, we continue to take a closer look at the companies that are at the center of this sea change. Our exploration into bioplastics technology continues with our latest podcast. Boardroom Alpha sat down with John Bissell and Rich Riley, co-CEOs of Origin Materials (ORGN). Read the full report: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/origin-materials-podcast-carbon-rich-riley-john-bissell/
Boardroom Alpha talks to Steve Croskrey, CEO of Danimer Scientific (DNMR), on why bioplastics technology is ready for takeoff and how the company is moving the world toward a carbon negative future. Read the Danimer Scientific report: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/danimer-ceo-podcast-steve-croskrey-plastic-pollution See all of Boardroom Alpha's Know Who Drives Return podcast episodes and reports here: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/podcast
Boardroom Alpha sat down with Jon Sabes, CEO of FOXO Technologies. FOXO is an interesting SPAC on our radar, having announced in February an agreement to merge with sponsor Delwinds Insurance Acquisition Corp. (DWIN) in a deal that values the company at an enterprise value of $369 million. The transaction is expected to be completed in Q2. Listen as Joanna Makris and David Drapkin talk to FOXO's CEO Jon Sabes about how he intends to disrupt the insurance industry. Also, see read the report...
Satellogic, founded in 2010 by Emiliano Kargieman and Gerardo Richarte, is a vertically integrated geospatial company. The company operates a 17-satellite imagery constellation. Their mission is touted as “Democratizing access to critical geospatial data” which they do via their satellite images and analytics. Emiliano sits down with David Drapkin and Joanna Makris to discuss what makes SATL special amongst an increasingly crowded space. ** Read the full report at Boardroom Alpha.co...
Boardroom Alpha sat down with Dee Choubey, CEO of fintech MoneyLion (ML). Moneylion is a mobile banking and financial membership platform that went public via SPAC merger with Fusion Acquisition (FUSE). After a career in investment banking, Dee co-founded MoneyLion in 2013 with an ambitious goal: to combine AI, machine-learning technology and behavioral science to bring consumer finance into the future. Does MoneyLion have what it takes to compete with the big guys? Can MoneyLion become...
Relative to 2021, the bloom may be off the SPAC rose. But our latest conversation suggests there are still ways to generate positive returns in SPAC investing. Boardroom Alpha sat down with David Sherman, Founder and Portfolio Manager at SEC-registered investment adviser CrossingBridge Advisors. Based in Pleasantville, New York, with $2.3 billion AUM (Assets Under Management), CrossingBridge specializes in ultra-short duration, low duration high yield and responsible credit strategies in addi...