Global Advisory: Rothschild & Co launches Investor Advisory and appoints James Laing and Alice Squires as co-heads of Shareholder Engagement
Rothschild & Co launched its Investor Advisory practice today, announcing the appointment of James Laing as Managing Director and Co-Head of Shareholder Engagement. Mr Laing will co-lead Shareholder Engagement alongside Managing Director, Alice Squires.
Rothschild & Co's Investor Advisory business, which sits within its Global Advisory division, has been established to respond to the increasing demand for improving engagement between corporates and their investor base. Regulatory and technology changes, the rise of responsible investing with increasing focus on stewardship, and activists exploiting weaknesses in corporate governance, all combine to create a requirement for a new approach to shareholder engagement.
Rothschild & Co has built a powerful investor advisory platform that offers unique shareholder data analytics, corporate access and non-deal roadshows, and in-depth investor opinion surveys. James and Alice will augment this platform with the capability to advise corporates on stewardship issues from an investor perspective.
Robert Leitão, Managing Partner at Rothschild & Co, said, “Currently we have a leading Global Advisory business that provides independent strategic advice to corporates. Combining this expertise with an effective investor advisory platform enhanced by data, and the ability to advise on all stewardship issues, provides an ideal combination with which to advise corporates on engagement with their investor base.”
Mr Laing joins Rothschild & Co from Standard Life Aberdeen Asset Management, where he was Head of Corporate Governance UK and Europe. James brings with him a deep network of relationships with Board Directors across FTSE companies. He has experience working alongside corporate activists, and is an authority on corporate governance, having been a fund manager for 25 years and a member of the All Party Parliamentary Committee for Governance Group in the UK for over five years. James is also a Code Committee Member on the Takeover Panel, and on the FCA's Listing Authority Advisory Panel.
Alice Squires is a Managing Director in Investor Advisory and former Head of Deutsche Bank European Mid Cap Equity Sales. She has co-authored two Rothschild & Co studies on corporate governance and investor engagement, and worked with a wide range of European FTSE 100, 200, and small and mid cap clients supporting them across a variety of mandates, including remuneration and Board engagement. Previously, Alice has led investor engagement on the hostile defence of Braas Monier, as well as numerous IPO investor engagement and fund raisings.
Commenting on Mr Laing's appointment, Mr Leitão said, “James' experience will be invaluable to clients seeking to engage with shareholders in today's environment. James and Alice are leaders in their fields and I have great confidence that our comprehensive Shareholder Engagement offering will provide Boards with the critical information they need to make informed decisions.”
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For further information
Global Advisory
Kim Nicholson
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7280 5422
Kim.Nicholson@Rothschildandco.com
Brunswick Group
Simone Selzer
Tel: +44 (0) 207 936 7438
sselzer@brunswickgroup.com
About Rothschild & Co, Global Advisory
Rothschild & Co is family-controlled and independent and has been at the centre of the world's financial markets for over 200 years. With a team of c.3 500 talented financial services specialists on the ground in over 40 countries, Rothschild & Co's integrated global network of trusted professionals provide in-depth market intelligence and effective long-term solutions for our clients in Global Advisory, Wealth & Asset Management, and Merchant Banking.
Global Advisory, a division of the Rothschild & Co group, designs and executes strategic M&A and financing solutions, providing impartial, expert advice to large and mid-sized corporations, private equity, families and entrepreneurs, and governments.
Through its unrivalled network of 1,000 industry and financing specialists in over 40 countries, Rothschild & Co's Global Advisory business combines the breadth of its advisory offering with a high volume of transactions to achieve a unique understanding and perspective into markets and participants worldwide.