About NIRI OC

About

Who We Are

Established in 1990, the Orange County Chapter of NIRI comprises corporate investor relations practitioners and investor relations consultants representing public companies of all sizes across a wide spectrum of industries, along with service providers who support the profession. The chapter hosts a number of meetings, networking events and other opportunities for professional  development throughout the year within a welcoming and supportive community.

Mission Statement

NIRI Orange County is dedicated to advancing excellence in investor relations, which includes aspects of finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance, for a diverse community of professionals. We strive to provide timely education, resources, and networking opportunities that empower our members and promote best practices in the field.

About NIRI

Founded in 1969, NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts, and other financial community constituents. NIRI is the largest professional investor relations association in the world with members representing over 1,500 publicly held companies and $12 trillion in stock market capitalization

Investor Relations Definition

Investor relations is a strategic management responsibility that integrates finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community, and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a company’s securities achieving fair valuation.

Bylaws of Orange County Chapter of  NIRI: The Association for Investor Relations

Click here to access the full document.

Board of Directors

NIRI Orange County Board of Directors is responsible for all activities of the local chapter, and serves as the local representatives of NIRI: The Association for Investor Relations. Additionally, the Orange County board strives to maintain relationships with other local professional organizations representing individuals who interact with IROs or the investment community. We invite you to contact members of the board to discuss chapter matters or topics of interest affecting investor relations professionals.

David Erickson

President

Cynthia Skoglund

Treasurer

Lela Cade

Director

Mitch Haws

Director

Cody Cree

Director

Eli Marcus

Director

David Erickson

David Erickson

President

David Erickson has more than 25 years of experience in developing and implementing Investor Relations programs for a variety of companies. Most recently, he was Vice President, Investor Relations for Evolus, a performance beauty company headquartered in Newport Beach, California. Previously, Erickson was Vice President, Investor Relations, Corporate Communications, and Corporate Social Responsibility for Establishment Labs, a global medical device and aesthetics company based in Costa Rica. Prior to that, he was Vice President, Investor Relations at Edwards Lifesciences, a global medical device company headquartered in Irvine, California.

David is an active member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), having served in leadership positions at both the national and local levels, and was named a NIRI Fellow in 2014. He helped develop NIRI’s certification program, the Investor Relations Charter, and earlier helped create a similar program in conjunction with NIRI and the University of California, Irvine where he also served as an instructor.

David has a B.S. in Business Administration (double major in Finance and Marketing) and an MBA with an emphasis in Finance from California State University, Long Beach. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the CSULB Department of Finance and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Child Creativity Lab, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting creativity through STEM-based educational programs and activities. Erickson is also a mentor in the CSULB Corporate Mentoring Program.

Cynthia Skoglund

Cynthia Skoglund

Treasurer

Cynthia Skoglund, is the principal of the Skoglund Consulting Group. She was the former senior manager and member of the Business Development and Corporate Strategy team at Beckman Coulter, a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation. Prior to the company being acquired by Danaher in 2011, Skoglund was the Investor Relations Officer at Beckman Coulter.

In addition to managing her boutique consulting firm, she is also an Independent Inspector of Election working with American Election Services, LLC (AES) providing independent inspector, tabulation, and certification services for corporations, organizations and associations worldwide.

With over 25 years of experience in investor relations and communications, Skoglund is an active member of NIRI and was named NIRI National Volunteer of the Year in 2015. She has been involved in the NIRI Orange County Chapter since its beginning and has served on its board for more than 15 years including past president. She currently serves as director at large and senior advisor of the chapter.

Lela Cade

Lela Cade

Director

Lela Cade is a Director at large with 20+ years of global experience in executive management consulting and international business development.

She was previously with Morrow Sodali, working from the headquarters in Rome, Italy, advising corporate boards, IROs, General Counsels and Corporate Secretaries in the EMEA region on shareholder and proxy advisor engagement, shareholder activist initiatives, annual and special meetings, mergers and acquisitions, and multinational cross-border equity transactions. She was also directly involved in the firm’s environmental, social, and corporate governance advisory projects for the US, continental Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Lela is certified in Investor Relations from the UK IR Society and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Chapter of NIRI and the Advisory Committee of the NIRI Los Angeles Chapter. She is an active member of the Corporate Directors Forum and the Society for Corporate Governance. She holds a Master of Business Administration in International Finance from St. John’s University and a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Law and Society from the University of California, San Diego.

Mitch Haws

Mitch Haws

Director

Mitch Haws is a senior investor relations and communications officer with nearly 30 year of global experience. He has managed IR and communications through complex financial transactions including IPOs, LBOs, and mergers. He is a member of the inaugural class to receive the IRC certification and a NIRI Fellow.

Mitch is currently Vice President of Investor Relations at Advanced Micro Devices. Prior to that, he has served as Vice President, Investor Relations at Skyworks Solutions, Freescale Semiconductor, Equifax Inc., and The Reynolds and Reynolds Company. Earlier in his career, he was also Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Geneva Steel.

Mitch has an M.B.A. from Westminster College and a B.A. in Communications from Brigham Young University.

Cody Cree

Cody Cree

Director

Cody Cree currently serves as a director on the investor relations team at Gateway Group, a leading financial communications and digital media advisory firm based in Newport Beach, California. Cody joined Gateway in October 2017 and focuses on investor relations campaigns across a broad spectrum of industries, including consumer, tech, industrials, and business services. He has been involved in 60+ client campaigns and currently oversees the execution of client engagements, leading key aspects such as shareholder outreach and relations, story development, and capital markets advisory. Prior to joining Gateway, Cody worked in client relations for Capstone Partners, a financial services division of MassMutual.

Cody earned his BS in business administration with an emphasis in finance from Chapman University. He and his wife currently reside in Newport Beach with their son, whom they welcomed into the world in December 2023. In their leisure time, they can be found exploring the Orange County food scene, relaxing at the beach, cruising the harbor, or finding new hiking trails.

Eli Marcus

Eli Marcus

Director

Eli Marcus brings 25 years of experience across product management, customer experience, sales, and marketing. At CBS Interactive, he develped e-commerce products and rose to the position of VP of Product, where he launched the web content syndication platform Content Cast.

Now leading the investor relations practice at The Buddy Group, Eli has produced over a dozen investor days for companies such as Jack in the Box, Xperi, Adeia, and Reynolds Consumer Products. He believes that investor relations communications should be crafted with the same finesse as a company’s marketing efforts.

Eli holds an MBA from the American Jewish University and a JD from the University of California, Hastings.