Moderator: Steve Wade, head of event content, Corporate Secretary
Steve Wade is a content researcher and conference producer at IR Magazine where he is responsible for crowd-sourcing intelligence on the big global issues facing investor relations. Steve also creates events where the IROs and the wider financial community can discuss, debate and learn about ways to develop the IR function.
Prior to IR Magazine, Steven’s background has been in corporate social responsibility and responsible investment. During his time at Ethical Corporation (now Reuters Events), Steve launched the ESG symposium, an event focused on connecting the socially responsible investment community with corporate sustainability leaders at listed companies. Steve was a judge for the Deloitte Green Frog Awards, celebrating the best corporate reporting in Eastern Europe. Steve also presented research at the Global Sustainable Event Summit in London and has spoken about extra-financial reporting with the United Nations Global Compact, the World Bank and the Polish Ministry of Finance.
Steve has a degree in Event Management and enjoys playing rugby in his spare time.
Heather Houston, SVP, chief counsel, corporate & secretary, Empire State Realty Trust
Heather L. Houston is the Senior Vice President, Chief Counsel, Corporate & Secretary for Empire State Realty Trust. Mrs. Houston is co-head of the legal department and responsible for overseeing all facets of corporate governance, public company reporting, securities law matters, corporate transactions, compliance matters, HR matters, IP matters and commercial contracts.
She joined ESRT in 2020 after growing her career at Cognizant Technology Solutions and Skadden, Arps, Slate, and Meagher & Flom LLP.
She received a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Washington College and has a J.D. magna cum laude from Washington and Lee University School of Law.
Mehgan Peetz, Chief legal officer, corporate secretary & head of ESG, Shoals Technologies Group
Mehgan Peetz, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Shoals Technologies, a publicly traded renewable energy company in Tennessee. She was formerly the Deputy General Counsel, Assistant Corporate Secretary at SmileDirectClub, a publicly traded oral healthcare company, based in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to this role, Mehgan was an Executive at General Electric, working at GE Lighting and Current, based in Boston and Cleveland. Before the foray into company counsel, Mehgan practiced at the law firms of Ropes and Gray in Boston and Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago, primarily in private equity mergers and acquisitions and finance. Mehgan graduated cum laude from University of Michigan Law School and cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, studying psychology and pre-medicine.
Gregory Reppucci, senior director, sustainability & corporate governance, Morrow Sodali
Greg Reppucci is Senior Director of Sustainability and a member of Morrow Sodali’s Corporate Governance Consulting Group. He analyzes companies’ environmental and social issues through a governance lens, helping ensure a holistic approach to environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) topics.
Greg provides guidance on best approaches to ESG issues by identifying relevant topic areas for disclosure and advising on different reporting frameworks and standards, responses to stockholder proposals, and preparations for stakeholder engagements. He is a SASB Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) credential holder, is versed in relevant reporting standards and frameworks, and helps structure disclosures to address shareholder and key stakeholder concerns.
Previously, Greg was a member of the Sustainability Office at PepsiCo and focused on the annual development of their sustainability reporting suite. Earlier in his career, Greg was involved in climate and agriculture-related research at Columbia University’s Center for Climate Systems Research and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
William Ultan, managing director, corporate governance, Morrow Sodali
Bill Ultan is a Managing Director at Morrow Sodali and a member of the firm’s Senior Leadership Team. As manager of the firm’s Corporate Governance Consulting Group with over 30 years of experience in the field, Bill has guided companies through a wide range of governance and takeover challenges, including contentious shareholder proposals and compensation-based initiatives, proxy contests, tender offers, and other corporate control matters. He previously was a senior member of the firm’s Stock Surveillance and Proxy Solicitation departments. Bill’s vast experience has been gained through years of observing shareholders and proxy advisory firms, assessing compensation practices and governance policies, and analyzing voting results and solicitation strategies. He prepares many strategic assessments and counsels officers and directors of public companies across a diverse range of industries and market capitalizations.
