Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine
Ben Ashwell is the editor at IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary, covering investor relations, governance, risk and compliance. Prior to this, he was the founder and editor of Executive Talent, the global quarterly magazine from the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants. Before moving to the US, Ben was the vice president and editor at Executive Grapevine, overseeing a daily news website, ten annual supplements and HR Grapevine, the UK’s leading HR and talent management magazine. In his spare time, Ben writes fiction, poetry and arts and culture reviews. Eyewear Publishing recently named him in their list of the Best New British and Irish Poets.
Jonathan Paterson, managing partner, Harbor Access
Jonathan Paterson is a founding managing partner at Harbor Access. Harbor Access is a Strategic Investor Relations and Investor Access Advisory firm. Jonathan and his team advise/support small and mid cap companies in all facets of Investor Relations. Jonathan has worked on both the Buyside and Sellside, at firms such as Coutts, HSBC and J.P. Morgan. On the Sellside, he was involved with U.S. Investors for over 19 years in various capacities, including running several successful Corporate Access desks. During this time, Jonathan developed a virtually encyclopedic knowledge of the U.S. investor base. He is also involved in Cpoint, a company that provides digital roadshow itineraries.
Elizabeth Saunders, partner, Claremont Partners
Elizabeth Saunders is a Partner of Clermont, one of the only 100% women-owned investor relations and strategic communications firms in the country. Beth has served as senior counsel for business transformation assignments and has actively worked on initial public offerings, pre- and post-merger communications, CEO transitions, and restructurings for Fortune 500 Companies including the Coca-Cola, The Dow Chemical Company and Transocean.
Prior to Clermont, Elizabeth was the Americas Chairman of the Strategic Communications segment at FTI Consulting. The Strategic Communications segment she chaired was a global, financial and corporate communications firm. It is consistently ranked by Merger Market as one of the top M&A firms globally and was named the 2012 “Corporate Agency of the Year” by The Holmes Report.
Renowned for her expertise in the area of corporate governance, Elizabeth has published numerous articles; lectured throughout the U.S. on shareholder activism strategies; and been quoted in Board & Directors Magazine, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. She was also named to the prestigious National Association of Corporate Director (NACD) “Directorship 100” and Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40”; and has spoken to the NACD and Women Corporate Directors (WCD).
Earlier in her career, Elizabeth was a co-founder of Ashton Partners, one of the top-15 independent IR firms in the U.S. FTI Consulting acquired Ashton Partners in 2008.
Elizabeth holds a law degree from DePaul University, with a concentration in Securities Law, and a BBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. She is on the Executive Board of Big Shoulders and a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Investor Relations Institute, and head of its Emerging Issues Committee.
Matt Tractenberg, IR partner, Q4
Matt Tractenberg has been a senior executive providing finance and Investor Relations services to public companies, including Cisco Systems and Belden, for more than 20 years. Currently, Matt is an Investor Relations Partner at Q4, delivering IR advisory services to clients through an innovative solution titled The IR Success Platform. Previously, he served as the Vice President of Investor Relations at WestRock, a U.S. based provider of paper and packaging solutions with sales exceeding $20 billion annually.
Mr. Tractenberg has held a variety of finance roles and IR roles at companies across a variety of sectors including technology, industrial, and basic materials. He is a regular public speaker on corporate strategy, financial market structure, and corporate positioning. He holds a B.S. in Accountancy and an MBA specializing in Financial Management & Markets. Born and raised in New York, he now lives in Atlanta with his wife Paige and two children.
