New NIRI Program Honors Distinguished Investor Relations Professionals

Kansas City, MO (April 15, 2013) – Don Allen, founding partner of The Allen Group, has been named to the inaugural class of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) Fellows Program. NIRI Fellows are recognized leaders who represent the ideals of the investor relations profession.

The NIRI Fellows Recognition Program is a new honorary recognition program distinguishing those living NIRI members who epitomize the leadership, integrity, involvement, and contributions of investor relations professionals. The 11 individuals named to the inaugural class have made significant contributions to the betterment of the IR profession and NIRI throughout their careers. They are recognized as highly engaged individuals and are called to continued service as content leaders, selection committee participants, authors, and thought leaders in the Institute and field of investor relations.

Allen currently serves as president of the local Kansas City NIRI Chapter. He previously served as president of the Orange County (Calif.) NIRI chapter where he served on its board for seven years. Allen also served for four years on the Board of Directors of the NIRI National organization where he was a member of the Executive Committee and served on its Senior Roundtable.

Allen’s firm, the Allen Group, is based in Liberty, Missouri. Prior to founding The Allen Group, he served as Vice President of Corporate Communications for Incuity Software in Mission Viejo, Calif. Before that he was director of corporate communications and investor relations for Quest Software, Inc., in Irvine, Calif. Allen has also worked for FileNET Corp., and Wonderware Corporation.

Allen began his career as a journalist and bureau manger with United Press International. He holds a BA degree from the University at Albany (N.Y.), has studied for his MBA at the University of Southern California, and has completed the Advanced Investor Relations Program at the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a contributing author of the book, “The New Investor Relations: Expert Perspectives on the State of the Art,” published by Bloomberg Press. He has also published numerous magazine articles on investor relations and corporate communications.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) today announced the inaugural NIRI Fellows class. NIRI Fellows are recognized leaders who represent the ideals of the investor relations (IR) profession.

The NIRI Fellows Recognition Program is a new honorary recognition program distinguishing those living NIRI members who epitomize the leadership, integrity, involvement, and contributions of investor relations professionals. These individuals have made significant contributions to the betterment of the IR profession and NIRI throughout their careers. Those selected as a “NIRI Fellow” are recognized as highly engaged individuals for their contributions to the profession and are called to continued service as content leaders, selection committee participants, authors, and thought leaders in the Institute and field of investor relations. More information about this new program is available here: http://www.niri.org/fellows.

“It gives me great pleasure to recognize these distinguished investor relations leaders, and welcome them into our inaugural class of NIRI Fellows. Nominated by their peers, they truly represent the highest standards in the investor relations profession and NIRI community,” said Jeffrey D. Morgan, President and Chief Executive Officer of NIRI. “I look forward to honoring them at the 2013 NIRI Annual Conference in June.”

Inaugural NIRI Fellows
Mark Aaron, Vice President, Investor Relations, Tiffany & Co.
Don Allen, Partner, The Allen Group
Kay Breakstone, President, Breakstone Group. Inc.
Sally Curley, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, Cardinal Health, Inc.
Mickey Foster, Vice President, Investor Relations, FedEx Corporation
Len Griehs, Retired Member
Jane McCahon, Vice President – Corporate Relations and Corporate Secretary, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.
Dewitt Morrill, Retired Member, NIRI Founding Member
Mark Steinkrauss, Retired Member
Bina Thompson, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, Colgate-Palmolive Company
Karen Warren, Retired Member

About the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI)
Founded in 1969, NIRI (www.NIRI.org) is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial community constituents. NIRI is the largest professional investor relations association in the world with more than 3,300 members representing over 1,600 publicly held companies and $9 trillion in stock market capitalization.

LONDON, May 23, 2011 – BIA Investor Relations, a London-based consultancy, today announced the launch of its Signature International Outreach Service, a two-phase program to assist North American public companies in expanding their shareholder bases through outreach to institutional buy-side investors overseas.

“Small- and mid-cap companies should find this service especially useful for seeking new shareholders among institutional investors in the United Kingdom and Europe,” said Geoffrey Bunting, BIA chairman and Managing Director. “Adding new overseas shareholders can enhance the availability of capital and lower the cost of capital acquisition. It also can help add long-term shareholders to a company’s stakeholder base, which can in turn help reduce stock price volatility and enhance share price over time.

“Our new service starts with preparation of a research study to analyze whether it makes sense for a company to conduct non-deal tours of buy-side institutions in the U.K. and Europe; if so, the second phase develops a strategic plan for tours of major investing capitals where top management can meet with prospective investors they otherwise might never get to know,” Bunting explained.

The custom “International IR Evaluation Matrix” helps guide investor relations officers (IROs) in assessing whether international outreach is a viable opportunity for their companies. The report assesses each company’s industry and marketplace to determine if there will be institutional investor interest in the U.K. and Europe. It will match corporate messaging to institutional investment styles and potential market followings overseas. The report covers typical factors such as peer group analysis; comparative valuations of the same industry in different overseas markets; corporate or brand name awareness in different countries; equity funds managed in cities regularly visited by senior management; appropriate international investment conferences; significance of global banking relationships or bond issues; and assessment of how local competitors are perceived as investments in various national markets.

“Based on these results, BIA can then help IROs plan and conduct tours in the U.K. and Europe, providing complete services for non-deal visits that target institutions at a more granular level to find those that still look for value or growth investments,” Bunting added. “This eliminates issues with ‘routine’ sales tours that only visit a particular brokerage’s regular clients, whether those clients are interested in the company or not – although we’re happy to work with a company’s investment bank if management wishes.”

The new Signature International Outreach Service is built on BIA’s deep experience working closely with buy-side institutions in the U.K. and Europe. Company principals and consultants have the personal knowledge of and relationships with the institutional buy-side and can better target the institutional audience that will likely be more interested in a company’s prospects.

“We prepare only ‘non-denominational’ tour schedules, based on our extensive and proven network of buy-side managers, which means we can provide a high-level point of entry into the institutions visited to bring companies together with more firms that are potential long-term shareholders,” Bunting said.

“In addition, we can make more efficient use of top management time for conducting tours and can schedule custom tours on a regular, periodic basis to update target audiences with a company’s progress,” he noted. “We only use senior IR and investment staff to conduct tours and we assist clients with preparation of handout materials so they’re well- focused on the target audiences. BIA provides excellent cost efficiencies versus the ‘free’ tours offered by brokerage firms.”

About BIA Investor Relations
BIA Investor Relations was founded in 1995 specifically to assist North American public companies in expanding their shareholder bases to include institutional investors in the United Kingdom and Europe. The firm was built on the principals’ experience in senior positions in institutional sales and equity syndication with major investment banks both in The City in London and on Wall Street in New York. The result has been an unparalleled network of effective relationships with U.K., U.S. and European investors that can bring many benefits to client companies.

In its 15+ years BIA has grown from founding offices in London and Edinburgh to add four U.S. locations – in New York, Orlando, Las Vegas and Kansas City – to serve clients anywhere in the country. The firm’s growing staff brings decades of experience in investment banking, brokerage operations, investor relations, finance, corporate communication and marketing – all focused on serving the multiple parallel needs of public companies.

For more information, please visit the company website at www.biainvestorrelations.com.

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Editors & analysts, for additional information please contact:

Geoffrey C. Bunting, Chairman & Managing Director
Email: gcbunting@biainvestorrelations.com
London phone: +44 (0) 1202 823 353
London fax: +44 (0) 1202 823363
In the U.S.: +1 (816) 401-3106
U.S. fax: +1 (816) 429-5926