National Investor Relations Institute Appoints Gary A. LaBranche as CEO

2/1/17

Gary A. LaBranche

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) today announced that its board of directors has appointed Gary A. LaBranche, FASAE, CAE, as president and CEO effective March 17, 2017.

Mr. LaBranche, 58, is currently president and CEO of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), a global organization of 59 chapters in 10 countries, $29 million in revenue and 160 staff. ACG serves 90,000 investors, lenders, executives and advisors to middle market companies, including 14,500 global members and 1,000 private equity firms.

An association executive for more than 35 years, Mr. LaBranche has served as CEO for three organizations. A leader in the association community, he was named a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) in 1995, and was the ASAE Key Award winner for 2007, the highest award in the profession. ASSOCIATION TRENDS named him the 2012 Association Executive of the Year. He is also a member of the U.S. Chamber’s Association Committee of 100.

NIRI board chair Valerie Haertel said, “We are thrilled to welcome Gary LaBranche to the NIRI community. Gary is a visionary leader with a stellar record of strengthening, growing and transforming professional associations. Through the course of his successful career he has proven to be thoughtful, inclusive and collaborative in working with all stakeholders for the betterment of the associations he has led. We will benefit from his financial markets and association industry knowledge as we continue to reimagine NIRI to ultimately serve our members in new and innovative ways.

“The search committee and our board were very impressed by Gary’s experience in shaping his associations’ strategies, globally expanding chapters and membership, and improving member benefits. We look forward to, among other things, leveraging Gary’s advocacy experience to articulate and continue raising awareness of the key role the investor relations profession plays in ensuring effective capital markets.”

“I am very honored and excited by this opportunity to lead NIRI in its next stage of growth as the leading global investor relations professional association,” said Mr. LaBranche. “My key initial priorities will be quickly getting to know NIRI, its members, chapter leaders, NIRI Fellows, NIRI Senior Roundtable members and staff, and working with the media, regulators, sponsors and other important stakeholders. NIRI is widely respected with a stellar reputation as the investor relations association, and I am eager to begin building on this excellent foundation. I look forward to engaging NIRI members and leaders to learn their aspirations for the future of the IR profession, and to working with them to advance toward that envisioned future, transforming NIRI for the benefit of all members.”

NIRI’s board of directors and the designated search committee worked with executive search firm Korn Ferry to assist in recruiting Mr. LaBranche. The search committee received feedback from a broad cross-section of the membership and service providers to understand the attributes most important in the next NIRI leader. The committee reviewed more than 300 candidates, including investor relations professionals, association executives and other executives with broad capital markets experience. The field was then narrowed to a smaller pool of candidates who were then vetted in a lengthy and thorough process, culminating with extensive interviews with several final candidates. The CEO search committee comprised:

  • Liz Bauer, Senior Vice President Investor Relations, CSG Systems International, Inc.
  • Sally Curley, IRC, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, Cardinal Health, Inc.
  • Felise Kissell, Vice President, Investor Relations, HSN, Inc.
  • Valerie Haertel, IRC, Global Head of Investor Relations, BNY Mellon
  • Keith Mabee, Group President – Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Falls Communications
  • Nils Paellmann, Vice President IR and Head of Investor Relations, T-Mobile US
  • Ron Parham, Senior Director Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, Columbia Sportswear Company.

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 3,200 members representing over 1,600 publicly held companies and $9 trillion in stock market capitalization.

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