Nicholas Capuano

Nick co-leads Kekst CNC’s U.S. financial communications practice, advising publicly traded clients across industries on complex investor relations mandates, shareholder activism defense, and M&A.

Nick regularly advises clients on quarterly earnings prep, investor day presentations, and refining their IR strategy. He has conducted numerous investor perception studies to help clients refresh messaging and enhance communications processes. Nick has counseled clients navigating attacks from every notable shareholder activist and is frequently called upon as a commentator and speaker regarding evolving communications practices in shareholder activism defense.

Prior to joining Kekst CNC, Nick worked in corporate finance and strategy at AIG. Nick began his career as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Nick holds a BA in Economics from Hamilton College and an MBA in Finance from New York University.

Experience

Investor Relations

• Served as interim Head of U.S. investor relations for a dual-listed S&P 500 company, helping to establish and execute on a comprehensive, world-class IR program, which included an investor day.
• Advised dozens of companies on complex earnings announcements including significant misses relative to consensus, withdrawal of guidance metrics, and in the context of special situations.
• Provided comprehensive support to dozens of investor days including developing presentations, crafting scripts, and training executives to interface with shareholders.

Shareholder Activism Defense

• Represented numerous companies privately engaging with, or publicly targeted by, high-profile activist shareholders including Elliott Investment Management, Starboard Value, and Icahn. Recent public examples include: H.B. Fuller in its defense against Ancora and Engine Capital; LSEG in its defense against Elliott; and Matthews in its successful defense against Barington Capital.
• Short seller defense, including working with Adani Group against Hindenburg Research, Medical Properties Trust against Viceroy Research, and several clients against Spruce Point Capital.

Transactions

• Represented companies in numerous transactions, spanning mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and spin-offs; and has worked on deals across a range of sectors, including industrials, financials, energy, and real estate. Recent examples include: Equitable on its $22B merger with Corebridge; Brighthouse on its $4B sale to Aquarian; Public Storage on its $10.5B acquisition of NSA; Abiomed in its $17B sale to Johnson & Johnson; Waystar on its $1B acquisition of Iodine; and H.B. Fuller on its acquisition of AMS.