ICR Establishes Corporate Governance Practice.

Former ISS team will focus on risk mitigation practices through enhanced corporate governance 

WESTPORT, Conn. -- ICR Inc., a leading financial communications consulting firm specializing in strategic investor relations, corporate communications and digital media, today announced that it has established a new corporate governance consulting unit that will provide senior-level support to public and soon-to-be-public companies regarding all aspects of corporate governance. Leading the group are two former members of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the leading proxy advisory firm in the country, Brandon Meyer and Robin Mayns Cowles.

Don Duffy, President of ICR stated, "Corporate governance is a critical area of interest for our clients and all public or soon-to-be-public companies. As a firm with a unique focus on managing a company's perception on Wall Street, being able to provide truly expert advice and analysis in the area of corporate governance will be a significant asset for our business. Moreover, having two former senior ISS analysts join our team of capital markets and PR professionals, ICR will have a unique platform to provide transactions and activist defense services."

As corporate governance increasingly takes center-stage in the global markets, ICR believes it is imperative that issuers correct flaws in their existing practices and communicate to all shareholders that governance is a key part of their overall corporate reputations. In that regard, Corporate Governance has become a tool that issuers use to differentiate themselves from their peers. In addition, governance has evolved as a key issue that capital markets professionals use to determine risk and ultimately valuation. Effective corporate governance policies drive significant non-financial benefits, materially reducing attention from activists while increasing attention from long term shareholders - the most coveted group of investors.

Brandon Meyer and Robin Mayns Cowles, the co-heads of ICR's Corporate Governance unit, stated, "Without question, corporate governance is a value enhancing tool, not simply as a means to comply with regulations but as a structural method of reducing overall costs. Good governance also increases the likelihood that companies will access capital quickly and less expensively than otherwise may have been the case. With ICR's extensive client base and highly-differentiated approach to financial communications, we see this as the perfect platform for establishing a robust corporate governance practice."

The new unit, which will be based in Washington, DC, will help clients proactively and successfully manage all of their corporate governance needs, from performing corporate governance audits, to designing shareholder friendly proposals that incorporate corporate governance best practices and improving their ratings from the proxy advisory firms. The Corporate Governance team will also support ICR's robust merger & acquisition and activist defense services.

Brandon M. Meyer is co-head of ICR's Corporate Governance unit and has committed his career to Corporate Governance. Brandon joined ICR from Institutional Shareholder Services, the preeminent proxy advisory firm. During his time with ISS, Brandon gained experience as a research analyst, manager of the Global Corporate Governance Quotient (GCGQ) product, and as a Corporate Governance Advisor. He has worked on a variety of projects such as research policy formulation, product enhancement and strategy, as well as developing client relationships through his advisory work. Brandon graduated from Muhlenberg College with a Business Degree and a concentration in Entrepreneurship.

Robin Mayns Cowles is co-head of ICR's Corporate Governance unit. Robin has diversified experience in the research and analysis of corporate governance practices, executive compensation, and equity plans first as the Director of Research at JMR Financial where she formulated proxy voting policies for institutional investors and assisted activist shareholders in drafting shareholder proposals. Then at Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) where she concentrated on equity plan and M&A analysis. Robin was most recently with Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) where she first sat on the US Research Helpdesk and was responsible for all internal and external communications with ISS' Research department and later as the Manager of Strategic Alliances where she was responsible for initiating and developing relationships with ISS' partner firms. Robin holds an MBA from The George Washington University and has an additional 20 years of experience in executive recruiting, management consulting, and small business management.

About ICR

ICR is a leading financial communications firm specializing in investor relations, corporate communications, digital media, and corporate governance. Established in 1998, ICR represents more than 225 publicly-listed companies and maintains offices in Westport, CT, New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Bejing. ICR is one of the industry's fastest growing consultancies, and is consistently listed among the nation's top independent communications consulting firms. www.icrinc.com.