Mark your calendar. Clear your desk. It’s time to FOCUS FORWARD.
Recent global events have made one thing certain: the old status-quo isn’t fit for the future of corporates worldwide.
Today’s governance and investor relations professionals need new thinking and forward options to manage evolving corporate governance needs and dynamic stakeholder audiences — the board, investors, employees, regulators, and clients.
Join us, and similarly scoped professionals like you from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Ireland and Africa to hear from industry experts — and each other — on current and emerging corporate governance and investor-related topics.
Together, from the comfort of your office, home, or recently renovated happy place, we’ll focus on addressing today’s needs and prepare for tomorrow’s evolving challenges.
 | Focus |
 | Forward |
FOCUS FORWARD
- Ability to apply energy now to what will likely determine future success.
- A first-of-its-kind virtual event for the world’s best clients, hosted by Computershare
Look forward to these captivating speakers:
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Molly Bloom
Top inspirational keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and the bestselling author of "Molly’s Game," which was adapted into an award-winning film by Aaron Sorkin. Power story of elite skiing, high-stakes poker, Hollywood royalty and overcoming incredible adversity to focus forward on a reimagined future.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Rohit Talwar
Global futurist, inspirational speaker and strategic advisor to business, government and NGO leaders all globally, to share key drivers and scenarios on the world to 2030 and beyond. From standing in for Arnold Schwarzenegger to being on Interpol’s most wanted list, Rohit embodies a life lived is never dull.
DISCUSSIONS
Topical Roundtables
Join virtual roundtable discussions with your peers. Build your own agenda by selecting your favorite topic and exchange ideas and experiences.
Agenda
Wednesday, October 6
9:00 a.m. EDT | 2:00 p.m. BST
General Session: Warm Welcome with Naz SarkarSpeaker:Naz Sarkar
9:10 a.m. EDT | 2:10 p.m. BST
Session A: Annual Meetings: Attitudes, Images and Changing Global Expectations A reflection on the experience of 2021 and discussion on the future outlook for company general meetings. What’s worked well, and not so well, including lessons learned from running hybrid meetings. Speaker: Maureen Beresford Lawrence Lewin Michael Sansom John Britton David Adamson Kirsten van Rooijen
Session B: Subsidiary Governance: The Good, the Bad, the UglyGetting across the various moving parts that constitute your subsidiary governance framework is no easy task. It can be a burden on time, budget and resources. And getting on top of compliance is a vital yet only one part of the puzzle. Drawing on our experience from working with clients across the globe, and supported by external experts, we’ll provide some examples of what works well, what doesn’t, and give suggestions as to how you can avoid common pitfalls.Speakers:Katherine RoseveareFabian WallaLoretto Leavy
Session C: Driving Enhanced Engagement Forward Across ShareholdersIn a world where ‘relevance’ is front of mind, whether it’s driving better digital adoption, enhancing Annual Meeting experiences and outcomes, or telling a compelling ESG story to important shareholder segments, hear how we are addressing what this means, from an Issuer and Shareholder perspective.Speakers:Irfan MotiwalaJason StoutAlex Brooks
10:15 a.m. EDT | 3:15 p.m. BST
General Session: KeynoteSpeaker:Molly Bloom
11:35 a.m. EDT | 4:35 p.m. BST
Roundtable Discussions: Shareholder Meetings, Proxy Disclosures, Entity & Subsidary Management, Shareholder Activism, Evolving Role of the Company Secretary
12:40 p.m. EDT | 5:40 p.m. BST
Session A: Trends Across Global Capital MarketsThis 40-minute, info-packed session will give attendees an update on important and recent market structure changes, including cross border transactions that impact the market and other new related initiatives coming into focus. A must attend!Speakers:Claire CorneyCharlie Hodge
Session B: Important Considerations for Navigating Your Next Corporate ActionCorporate actions – from stock splits to complex cross-border tender offers, they are a critical area of the securities industry and an important part of supporting your company’s growth strategy. A single M&A corporate event has a multitude of moving parts, and may involve thousands of market participants, ultimately cascading down to millions of investors around the globe. Even the most basic corporate action can prove challenging and requires precision execution to mitigate financial, regulatory, operational, and reputational risk.
Join us for this session to learn the top ways you can navigate your next corporate action and avoid pitfalls by anticipating potential scenarios and reducing your risk.
1:25 p.m. EDT | 6:25 p.m. BST
General Session: Computershare Now & Next: Perspectives from Purple People
Thursday, October 7
9:00 a.m. EDT | 2:00 p.m. BST
General Session: Welcome — A Cuppa with Mark ClelandSpeaker:Mark Cleland
9:10 a.m. EDT | 2:10 p.m. BST
Virtual Meeting Crash CourseAs organizations shift to remote work and virtual cultures, it’s not the technology but the people and teams who will determine success. Whether you are new to conducting work virtually or ahead of the curve, how will you keep your team connected and engaged as they are experiencing changes and distractions at home? In this 60-minute highly interactive Virtual Meetings Crash Course session you’ll learn best practices and proven techniques that improve virtual engagement and efficiency. Whether you’re leading a meeting, teaching, or giving a presentation, you’ll get the essential skills to exude executive presence on-screen, hook listeners from the beginning, and keep everyone motivated -- even when you aren’t in the same room
10:15 a.m. EDT | 3:15 p.m. BST
General Session: KeynoteSpeaker:Rohit Talwar
11:35 a.m. EDT | 4:35 p.m. BST
Session A: Environmental, Social and Governance: Lead or Be LedWhat drove Environmental & Social disclosures and shareholder proposals in 2020 proxy season? We’ll discuss what's driving investor focus, environmental sustainability, what you should report, how companies are tackling voluntary disclosure, and what director election considerations are driven by E&S issues.Speakers:Daniele VitaleHannah OrowitzCas Sydorowitz
Session B: Future Board Developments: Reassessing Director DevelopmentBoards have been stretched as never before. Coping with business and regulatory change is “business as usual, but doing so while operating through a global pandemic has added extra pressures. As we start to come out the other side, it’s a chance to take a step back, and look at what directors need in terms of their development and training, helping them be “match ready” for the next chapter. In this session, we’ll bring together expert viewpoints, discuss the issues and make practical suggestions.Speakers:Amanda MellorJim KillerlaneOliver Zeihn
Session C: The Company Secretariat: Evolution and RevolutionWith next to zero notice, your organization’s workforce normalcy was flipped upside down. You quickly had to adapt to an entirely remote environment — all while ensuring your systems and processes remain consistent everywhere you do business. Your world of corporate compliance today just doesn’t look like it did yesterday. The processes that used to work, might seem dysfunctional in today’s new digital office. How are other cosec teams adapting: people/process/technology? How are teams bringing together their capabilities and how is tech enhancing? What new methodologies or processes have been implemented as a result of COVID that will continue and evolve beyond 2021?Speaker:Jennifer E. Bennett
12:40 p.m. EDT | 5:40 p.m. BST
Session A: Proxymity - Transforming Institutional Proxy Voting & Investor CommunicationsJust 18 months after being funded by industry and spun out of Citibank, fintech start-up Proxymity — now backed by some of the world’s largest financial institutions, including BNYMellon, Citibank, Clearstream, Computershare, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan and State Street - is delivering on its promise to transform the institutional proxy voting process, improving transparency to issuers. Join this session to learn what Proxymity has been up to in UK & CE and elsewhere and hear about its future plans to expand even further afield.Speaker:Dean Little
Session B: Fireside Chat with Corporate Governance LeadersJoin us for a fireside chat featuring corporate governance leaders from Amazon, Bank of America, and Davis Polk sharing their unique perspectives on recent transformational initiatives that have helped their firms stay ahead of ever-changing market dynamics.Gale Chang, Associate General Counsel - Bank of AmericaTessie Petion, Head of ESG Engagement - AmazonNing Chui, Partner, Corporate Governance - Davis PolkModerated by Chris Hayden, Chief Operating Officer, Georgeson US
1:25 p.m. EDT | 6:25 p.m. BST
General Session: CEO Hours with Naz and Mark — Closing RemarksJust 18 months after being funded by industry and spun out of Citibank, fintech start-up Proxymity — now backed by some of the world’s largest financial institutions, including BNYMellon, Citibank, Clearstream, Computershare, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan and State Street — is delivering on its promise to transform the institutional proxy voting process, improving transparency to issuers. Join this session to learn what Proxymity has been up to in UK & CE and elsewhere and hear about its future plans to expand even further afield.
Countdown to the 2021 Virtual Client Conference:
October 6-7, 2021
“I enjoyed the content. It was very well timed with the industry changes.”
What clients say about Computershare events
“Allowed me to be part of Computershare and hear about the future plans.”
What clients say about Computershare events
“Relevant topics and good panelists.”
What clients say about Computershare events
“A good range of topics. I thought the virtual event was set up very well. I liked the technology.”