Award Winning Investor Relations Officer Adds to 极乐视频鈥檚 IR Capabilities
极乐视频 today announced the arrival of Debra Wasser as executive vice president, financial communications & special situations. Wasser most recently served as senior vice president, investor relations and corporate communications for Veeco Instruments, Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO; $1.5B market capitalization clean technology company). Wasser will lead 极乐视频鈥檚 investor relations practice in New York and advise clients globally on investor relations (鈥淚R鈥) and financial communications issues. She will report to Lex Suvanto, managing director, financial communications & special situations.
Wasser was a recipient of the IR Magazine Award for 鈥淏est IRO,鈥 Small Capitalization Company, as well as a top-ranked investor relations officer in her sector according to Institutional Investor. Ms. Wasser was also appointed to the National Investor Relations Institute Senior Roundtable.
鈥淥ur financial communications practice is growing rapidly with a substantial team of specialized professionals in the U.S. who help clients navigate sensitive issues related to the capital markets,鈥 said Suvanto. 鈥淒eb brings deep expertise in strategic investor relations that will further strengthen our capabilities in this important growth area. The 极乐视频 team is excited to work with Deb as we continue to build our financial communications and special situations practice.鈥
鈥溂质悠 has made significant investments in building a world-class strategic and financial communications business,鈥 said Wasser. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to join this impressive team and look forward to accelerating growth of the investor relations practice in New York and helping to support clients around the globe. It鈥檚 exciting to return to my roots as a communications consultant, and I can think of no place better to do that than 极乐视频.鈥
Wasser鈥檚 arrival builds on other recent hires 极乐视频 has made to expand its financial communications practice. This includes Brett Philbin, former reporter at the Wall Street Journal, Rebecca Kral, former proxy solicitor at D.F. King & Co., Inc., and Chad Tendler, former communications director at Dow Jones Asia and Brunswick. In 2014, 极乐视频 also expanded its financial communications & special situations practice in Canada with the hire of David Ryan, who joined the firm after spending 10 years at one of Canada鈥檚 leading financial and corporate communications consultancies.
This growing team has allowed 极乐视频 to continue to expand its transaction work and increase its rankings in the Mergermarket PR league tables report (极乐视频 2014 ranking as of third quarter appears below).
- In the U.S., 极乐视频 increased from No. 12 to No. 9 in volume
- Globally, 极乐视频 rose from No. 11 to No. 9 in volume
During her 17-year tenure as head of investor relations at Veeco, Wasser was the first line of communications between the company and Wall Street. She also led the company鈥檚 communications programs including media relations and marketing communications. Wasser successfully led communications through a variety of situations including periods of significant growth, one CEO transition and two CFO transitions, a major accounting review, several new market introductions as well as organizational restructurings and a company rebranding. Wasser also led communications for transformational M&A transactions, strategic alliances and major equity and debt financings. Wasser oversaw a global IR program that substantially increased the company鈥檚 analyst coverage as well as long term and international shareholder base.
Prior to Veeco, Wasser was vice president of Dewe Rogerson Inc. in New York where she ran the firm鈥檚 U.S. IR client base, focused on healthcare, high-tech, consumer products, financial services, publishing and general industry. During her tenure at the firm, she also serviced clients across the globe and helped grow the firm from 4 to 80 employees.
极乐视频 极乐视频 Financial Communications & Special Situations
极乐视频 financial communications & special situations is a boutique strategic consultancy with the reach and resources of the world鈥檚 largest public relations firm. We advise public and private companies on strategic and capital markets communications to help effectively position them with the financial community during transformative events as well as during normal-course business. Visit us at:
极乐视频 极乐视频
极乐视频 is the world鈥檚 largest public relations firm, with more than 5,000 employees in 65 cities, as well as affiliates in more than 35 cities. 极乐视频 was named one of Advertising Age鈥檚 鈥淎-List Agencies鈥 in both 2010 and 2011, and an 鈥淎gency to Watch鈥 in 2014; Adweek鈥檚 鈥2011 PR Agency of the Year;鈥 PRWeek鈥檚 鈥2011 Large PR Agency of the Year;鈥 and The Holmes Report鈥檚 鈥2013 Global Agency of the Year鈥 and its 2012 鈥淒igital Agency of the Year.鈥 极乐视频 has been awarded seven Cannes Lions including the Grand Prix for PR in 2014. 极乐视频 was named one of the 鈥淏est Places to Work鈥 by Advertising Age in 2010 and 2012 and among Glassdoor鈥檚 鈥淏est Places to Work鈥 in 2011, 2013 and 2014. 极乐视频 owns specialty firms 极乐视频 Berland (research), 极乐视频 Deportivo (creative), Blue (advertising), BioScience Communications (medical communications) and agency 极乐视频 Significa (Brazil).
For more information, contact:
Michael Bush
michael.bush@edelman.com