Strengthens M&A, Activism and Investor Relations Capabilities
Edelman recently announced several senior hires to its growing Financial Communications & Capital Markets team:
Hitesh Balwada, executive vice president, Chicago – Balwada will lead investor relations, M&A and special situations work in the Midwest. Previously, he was director in investment banking at William Blair where he was responsible for executing M&A and equity deals across multiple sectors. Balwada has deep expertise in investor relations, equity transactions and capital markets.
Lisa Leiter, senior vice president, Chicago – Leiter is an award-winning financial content creator. Previously, she was an anchor/reporter for Crain's Chicago Business, a correspondent for Bloomberg Television, a correspondent for CNN Financial News and a senior producer for Moneyline. Most recently, she was chief content officer at the Executives’ Club of Chicago.
Stacy Turnof, senior vice president, New York – Turnof will play a critical role within the team’s investor relations engagements. She joins from Ascena Retail Group where she was head of Investor Relations. Previously, Turnof was a vice president and senior research analyst at BlackRock, and prior to that she spent 10 years as a sell-side analyst at Merrill Lynch.
Ira Gorsky, senior vice president, New York – Gorsky has more than 25 years of capital market experience specifically in M&A and contested situations. He most recently was a managing member of Arch Research Inc., where he developed analytical research on M&A, activist campaigns, financial restructurings and regulatory and policy shifts. Prior to that, he spent over a decade in M&A arbitrage investing.
Shannon Susko, senior vice president, New York – Susko will lead the team’s healthcare financial communications offering. She brings more than 15 years of healthcare and financial communications experience and most recently served as interim head of Edelman’s corporate healthcare practice. Previously, she worked at Global Strategy Group where her work focused on public affairs and strategic communications related to M&A, shareholder activism, CFIUS approvals and reputation management.
“We have a powerhouse M&A, contested situations and investor relations team that can add unique value to our clients,” said Lex Suvanto, global managing director, Financial Communications and Capital Markets, said. “Our financial communications team now comprises over 70 specialized executives in the U.S. alone, focused on high profile and complex situations for companies across industries. We are delighted to welcome these individuals to our growing and specialized team.”
Edelman also announced several senior appointments on its Financial Communications & Capital Markets team:
- Laurie Hays has been appointed to managing director, Special Situations
- Renee Calabro has been appointed to executive vice president, head of Capital Markets Communications, New York
- Josh Hochberg has been appointed to executive vice president, deputy general manager, New York
- Ted McHugh has been appointed to executive vice president, head of U.S. Investor Relations
- Chad Tendler has been appointed to executive vice president, Cross Border lead
- Arielle Patrick has been appointed to senior vice president, Transaction director
- Joe Scannell has been appointed to vice president, Digital lead
These new additions and recent appointments will strengthen Edelman’s Financial Communications & Capital Markets offing with broader capabilities to advise on healthcare industry situations, capital markets communications, digital financial communications, transactions and activism defense communications and investor relations.
About Edelman’s Financial Communications expertise
Edelman’s Financial Communications & Capital Markets team helps public and private companies promote and protect their reputations as well as navigate complex financial issues and situations with unmatched global scale.
We position clients within the financial community during normal-course business and in transformative periods – including M&A, IPOs and spin-offs, crises, and shareholder activism.
We also serve as a strategic communications partner to investment banks, brokerage firms, real asset investors, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital funds, exchanges, and other institutional market participants. Our work is designed to inform investors, manage issues, and bridge divergent stakeholder needs with an aim of building trust and enterprise value.
About Edelman
Edelman is an independent global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations — long-established and just-emerging — to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. Our global network comprises 6,000 practitioners in more than 60 offices whose work spans brand, reputation, digital, and advisory and is powered by analytics, planning, creative and media relations. Among our many honors are the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for PR; the Holmes Report’s 2018 Global Digital Agency of the Year; Advertising Age’s “Agencies to Watch 2018;” and, five times, Glassdoor’s “Best Places to Work.” Since our founding in 1952, we have remained a family-run business. Edelman also owns specialty companies Edelman Intelligence (research) and United Entertainment Group (entertainment, sports, lifestyle)