As companies prepare for the 2027 proxy season, shareholder activism remains an important area of concern for corporate boards and management teams. Activist investors continue to focus on companies with valuation disconnects and untapped opportunities to enhance shareholder value.
Our discussion will take a practical look at how companies can position themselves for the 2027 proxy season so that they are optimally prepared before an activist emerges and seeks to engage.
Our webinar panel will explore:
How will shareholder activism in 2027 differ from 2026?
What proactive steps should companies take now to prepare for potential activist campaigns during the 2027 proxy season and beyond?
What are best practices for engaging with activist investors, including the roles of management, boards, investor relations, and outside advisors?
How is AI changing the landscape, from the way activists identify vulnerabilities and build their campaigns to how companies monitor risks, analyze shareholder sentiment, and prepare?
Will we continue to see a proliferation of first-time activists in 2027?
How could the midterm election results impact shareholder activism and the various initiatives that the SEC has announced?
What lessons have we learned from recent activist campaigns that can help companies prepare for the year ahead?
Our goal is to bring together experienced professionals for a lively, candid discussion that offers practical guidance companies can put to work as they develop their 2027 plans.
Moderator:
Keith E. Gottfried
Founder & CEO, Gottfried Shareholder Advisory, LLC
Keith Gottfried is the CEO of Gottfried Shareholder Advisory LLC, a strategic advisory firm focused on advising public companies, the C-suite, and boards of directors on shareholder activism preparedness and defense. Keith is a highly experienced shareholder activism advisor. Throughout a career that spans over 30 years, working at some of the country’s most prominent firms, Keith has advised numerous public companies in connection with high-profile shareholder activism campaigns. Before founding his firm in 2021, Keith led the shareholder activism defense practice at a large global law firm.
Keith's work as a shareholder activism defense advisor has been recognized on numerous occasions. In both 2018 and 2019, Keith was named by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) to its list of Directorship 100 honorees, which recognizes the most influential people in the boardroom community, including directors, corporate governance experts, regulators, and advisors. Keith publishes and presents regularly and has been frequently quoted by the national business and news media, on shareholder activism trends and developments. Keith has also been a frequent contributor to the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance on shareholder activism developments. Keith holds an M.B.A., with high honors, from Boston University's Questrom School of Business, a J.D., cum laude, from Boston University's School of Law, where he was an Edward F. Hennessey Distinguished Scholar of Law, and a G. Joseph Tauro Scholar of Law, and a B.S from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
Panelists:
Brendan M. Foo
Partner and Global Head of Corporate Contests, Forward Global
Brendan M. Foo is a Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Forward Risk, the investigations and intelligence practice of Forward Global. He leads the firm’s corporate contests practice, and his clients include some of the world’s top activist investors. He has also been engaged by issuers and their outside counsel on over 75 proxy contests and hostile takeover defenses. By bringing together his expertise as a practitioner and strategist, he has helped clients to prevail in multiple high-stakes proxy battles. Brendan has extensive experience in all the firm’s core practice areas, as well as significant international experience. He has lived, studied, and worked in several countries. He also speaks Chinese and has undertaken multifaceted investigations for clients doing business around the world.
Prior to co-founding Forward Risk, Brendan established and led the Asia Desk and headed internal research operations in aid of initial public offerings and private equity due diligence at a global risk and compliance firm. Early in his career, he worked as a journalist in Singapore. Brendan serves on the board of directors of the Capital Rowing Club and on the advisory board of the Master of Science in Foreign Service program at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He holds two Bachelor’s degrees from Fordham University and an MSFS from Georgetown University.
Sydney Isaacs
Co-President, H/Advisors - U.S.
For more than 20 years, Sydney Isaacs has helped executives, boards and communications teams preserve value and reputation during key moments of change and challenge. She regularly advises companies on issues and events ranging from mergers and acquisitions to crises to restructurings. While she develops strategies that consider how to best reach and influence all stakeholders, she has particularly deep experience advising on investor engagement.
Sydney leads the firm’s work and team in Houston. While her clients span a broad range of industries, she has deep experience advising companies across the energy sector, providing support to clients on communications related to their diverse efforts to participate in and respond to the energy transition.
As Co-President, Sydney helps lead the firm's strategic direction and operations. She focuses on driving excellence in strategic counsel and client service, deepening existing capabilities, expanding the firm's offering, strengthening culture and ways of working, and aligning with the broader H/Advisors global network.
Sydney initially joined H/Advisors in the company’s Los Angeles office in 2005. She is a frequent speaker, sharing insights on topics ranging from crisis management to shareholder activism defense. She graduated cum laude with a dual B.A. in Economics and Government from Claremont McKenna College.
Sydney was named one of the 50 most influential leaders in corporate governance in 2022 by the National Association of Corporate Directors. She serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater Houston.
Paul Schulman
Founding Partner, Senpoint Partners
Paul Schulman is a Founding Partner of Senpoint Partners, bringing more than three decades of experience advising boards and management teams on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, proxy contests and complex transactions. He has advised U.S. and international companies across a broad range of industries and market capitalizations.
Prior to co-founding Senpoint, Paul was Co-Head of the M&A and Activism Advisory Group at Sodali & Co (formerly Morrow Sodali). He joined that firm in 2020 after spending a decade at MacKenzie Partners.
Paul has advised on more than 1,000 contested and special situations, including Procter & Gamble’s proxy contest with Trian Partners; AT&T’s engagement with activist investor Elliott Management; Dell’s contested going-private transaction; Boots Capital’s proxy contest at Crown Castle; Canadian Pacific’s proxy contest with Pershing Square; Texas Pacific Land’s proxy contest with an investor group; and contested transactions involving Magellan Midstream and ONEOK, Abcam and Danaher, Consolidated Communications and Searchlight Capital, Verizon and Frontier Communications, Radius Health and Gurnet Point / Patient Square; Paratek Pharmaceuticals acquisition by Gurnet Point and Novo Holdings, Meltwater’s transaction with Marlin Equity Partners and the acquisition of Kindred Healthcare by a private equity consortium.
In addition to his work in North America, Paul has extensive experience advising on complex situations around the globe. He has handled more than 30 special situations in China alone, including proxy fights for control at Sinovac, Global Cord Blood and ChinaCast Education, as well as contested merger votes involving Hollysys, Yongye, 3SBio, Harbin Electric and Newater. He has also advised on several of Israel’s highest-profile transactions, including several hostile and contested takeover assignments for Stratasys and Ceragon.
Paul has provided expert testimony concerning closed-end fund governance on behalf of both Eaton Vance and BlackRock in separate litigation against Saba Capital.
Paul earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Tulane University.
Leonard Wood
Partner, Chair, Shareholder Activism and Takeover Defense, Goodwin
Leonard Wood is the chair of Goodwin’s Shareholder Activism and Takeover Defense practice. Leonard devotes his practice entirely to shareholder activism campaigns, proxy fights, shareholder activism preparedness, strategic investor relations, and contested M&A. He has advised hundreds of public companies across all industries and sizes in shareholder activism defense, proxy contests, strategic investor relations and hostile takeover defense. Additionally, Leonard has advised several of the world’s largest corporations on corporate governance matters. Leonard publishes widely on shareholder activism and corporate governance, with articles appearing in the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Forum, The M&A Journal, Lexology’s “Getting the Deal Through” series, Law360, Insights, Agenda and The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation.
Leonard holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a PhD from Harvard University. He was named to the Legal 500 “Next Generation Partners” list for both Commercial Shareholder Activism: Advice to Boards and M&A/Corporate (2026) and was named to The Best Lawyers in America’s “Ones to Watch” list for his work in both Corporate Governance and Compliance and M&A (2026).