Global Shareholder Engagement & Activism Summit
SEPTEMBER 28 – 29, 2017
THE OMNI KING EDWARD HOTEL
37 KING STREET EAST
TORONTO, CANADA
AGENDA
The Skytop Strategies team is dedicated to crafting thought provoking
agendas that are diverse, not only in areas of thought and experience,
but in the broad range of attending speakers.
| Time | Agenda Day 1 |
|---|---|
| 7:45-8:05 AM | Registration & Networking Breakfast |
| 8:05-8:10 | Welcoming Remarks Christopher P. Skroupa, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Skytop Strategies |
| 8:10-8:15 | Opening Remarks Presenter: Wes Hall, Executive Chairman and Founder, Kingsdale Advisors |
| 8:15-8:45 | Presentation Activist Strategies for Affecting Board Change Presenter: Jonathan Feldman, Partner, Goodmans LLP |
| 8:45-9:15 | Armchair Chat A View from the Top: A Chairman’s View on Shareholder Engagement Discussants: Maureen J. Sabia, Non-Executive Chairman of the Board,Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited Walied Soliman, Partner and Co-Chair of the Special Situations Team, Norton Rose Fullbright Canada LLP |
| 9:15-9:35 | Keynote Jonathan Litt on Activism Presenter: Jonathan Litt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Land and Buildings |
| 9:35-10:15 | Trump: New World Order or Interim Volatility for Activist Targeted Companies Moderator: Charles Elson, Director, John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance Panelists: Leslie Noble, Principal, StrategyCorp Inc. Megan Vesely, General Counsel, Sigma Analysis & Management Andrew Wallach, Co-Founder and Partner, SpringOwl Asset Management |
| 10:15-10:35 | Networking Break |
| 10:35-11:15 | The Broadening Out of Engagement and Activism: Regional Views on Global Trends Moderator: Ian Robertson, Executive Vice President, Communication Strategy, Kingsdale Advisors Panelists: Jason Frankl, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting Amy Freedman, Chief Executive Officer, Kingsdale Advisors Rich Thomas, Director, Shareholder Advisory Group, Lazard David Trenchard, Founder, David Trenchard Consulting Ltd |
| 11:15-11:45 | Interview Activist Investing, Corporate Governance and the Public Company Board Interviewer: Patricia Olasker, Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP Interviewee: James A. Mitarotonda, Chief Executive Officer, Barington Capital Group |
| 11:45-12:25 | It Only Takes Two: The Latest Tactics Used by Activists to Redirect a Board Moderator: Josh Black, Editor-In-Chief, Activist Insight Panelists: Tom Manning, Member of the Board of Directors, Dun & Bradstreet, CommScope, Clear Media Ltd., & The Demand Institute Willem Mesdag, Founder, Red Mountain Capital Eric Rosenfeld, Chief Executive Officer & President, Crescendo Partners L.P. |
| 12:25-1:25 | Networking Luncheon |
| 1:25-1:50 | Changing Corporate Governance One Company at a Time: The Activist Board Search Discussants: Paul Haggis, Chairman, Alberta Enterprise Corp. & Corporate Director Patricia H. Lenkov, Founder and President, Agility Executive Search LLC |
| 1:50-2:30 | Proxy Contest Tactics: The Bad Things Boards and Activists Do Moderator: Patricia Olasker, Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP Panelists: Phil Evershed, Managing Partner, PointNorth Capital Inc. Naizam Kanji, Director, Office of Mergers and Acquisitions, Ontario Securities Commission Steve Harris, Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP |
| 2:30-3:00 | Modernizing the Proxy System: Different Approaches and Considerations Moderator: Kai Haakon E. Liekefett, Partner, Head of Shareholder Activism Response Team, Vinson & Elkins Panelists: Aneliya Crawford, Partner, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP Brenda Gosselin, Partner, Goodmans LLP Hooman Tabesh, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Kingsdale Advisors |
| 3:00-3:40 | The Role of Institutional Investors in Activist Campaigns Moderator: Aneliya Crawford, Partner, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP Panelists: Phillip Goldstein, Founder, Bulldog Investors Kai Haakon E. Liekefett, Partner, Head of Shareholder Activism Response Team, Vinson & Elkins David Neuhauser, Managing Director, Livermore Partners Catharine Sterritt, Portfolio Management & Research, CIBC Asset Management |
| 3:40-4:00 | Networking Break |
| 4:00-4:40 | Proxy Fight—Canada Style: A Walk Through Corporate and Security Law Rules and Why Canada is an Attractive Market for Activists Moderator: Orestes Pasparakis, Partner and Co-Chair of the Special Situations Team, Norton Rose Fullbright Canada LLP Panelists: Amy Freedman, Chief Executive Officer, Kingsdale Advisors Naizam Kanji, Director, Office of Mergers & Acquisitions, Ontario Securities Commission |
| 4:40-5:10 | Armchair Chat Cultural Sensitivity: An Important Skill for Effective Cross-Border Activism Discussants: David Katz, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz Jonathan Lampe, Partner, Goodmans LLP |
| 5:10-5:50 | Leopard or Jaguar: Short-Term Strategies of Activists and What Boards Should Know About Them Moderator: David Rosewater, Managing Director, Investment Banking Division, Morgan Stanley Panelists: Charles Black, President and Chief Executive Officer, CB Urban Development and Non-Executive Chairman, Board of Trustees, Gramercy Property Trust Inc. Victor Guo, Executive Vice President, Governance Special Situations, Kingsdale Advisors David Katz, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz |
| 5:50-6:10 | Closing Keynote Hedge Fund and Pension Fund Activism: Global Trends and the Evolving Landscape Presenter: Kenneth Bertsch, Executive Director, Council of Institutional Investors |
| 6:10 | Closing Remarks: Day 1 Adjourns, Networking Reception Begins |
| Time | Agenda Day 2 |
| 8:00-8:25 AM | Registration & Networking Breakfast |
| 8:25-8:30 | Welcome Remarks Christopher P. Skroupa, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Skytop Strategies |
| 8:30-8:35 | Opening Remarks Presenter: Wes Hall, Executive Chairman and Founder, Kingsdale Advisors |
| 8:35-9:05 | Presentation Effective Tips and Techniques: How Canadian Managers Have Successfully Responded to Activism Presenter: Fred Pletcher, Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP |
| 9:05-9:45 | The Rise of Activist Short Sellers: Insights for the Issuer’s Playbook Moderator: Ian Robertson, Executive Vice President, Communication Strategy, Kingsdale Advisors Panelists: David Doft, Chief Financial Officer, MDC Partners Stephen Griggs, Chief Executive Officer, Smoothwater Capital Paul Haggis, Chairman, Alberta Enterprise Corp. & Corporate Director Alfredo Porretti, Vice President, Shareholder Activism & Corporate Defense, Morgan Stanley |
| 9:45-10:25 | After the Win: Delivering on Campaign Promises Moderator: Walied Soliman, Partner and Co-Chair of the Special Situations Team, Norton Rose Fullbright Canada LLP Panelists: Josef Vejvoda, Portfolio Manager, K2 & Asssociates Investement Management Inc. Stephen Loukas, Portfolio Manager, FrontFour Capital Tim Lynch, Partner, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher |
| 10:25-10:45 | Networking Break |
| 10:45-11:25 | Canada’s New Take Over Bid Rules: Key Trends and Developments Moderator: Michael Partridge, Partner, Goodmans LLP Panelists: Arthur Einav, General Counsel & Managing Director, Private Equity, Sprott Resource Corp. Jason Koskela, Manager, Office of Mergers & Acquisitions, Ontario Securities Commission Hooman Tabesh, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Kingsdale Advisors |
| 11:25-12:05 | Long Termism: Has It Influenced Activist Engagement Objectives and Strategy? Moderator: David Conklin, Partner, Goodmans LLP Panelists: Cambria Allen, Corporate Governance Director, UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust James Hamilton, Director, Investment Stewardship, BlackRock Claudio Rojas, Director, Hurt Capital Douglas S. Smith, Managing Partner, Blackmoor Investment Partners Limited |
| 12:05 | Conference Adjourns |
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