How companies can improve ROI of CEO time and shareholder engagement
1. S U D A R S H A N “ S U D I ” S E T L U R
C O N V E R T I N G D A T A I N T O A C T I O N A B L E I N T E L L I G E N C E
9 1 7 . 6 0 7 . 2 8 9 0 S U D I @ S U D I S E T L U R . C O M
2. Career Summary
Sample Clients
Investor Relations Advisory Experience
Case Study – Decision on Listing Venues
Case Study – Change in Index Participation
Case Study – Improving ROI of CEO Time
ESG Analysis Skills
Thought Leadership
Testimonials
Why Sudi?
A Few Fun Facts
3. C A R E E R S U M M A R Y
Global Experience: Counseled clients across three continents; collaborated with colleagues across four
Management Capability: Built and managed two profitable businesses; held P&L accountability
Market Share Gains: Spearheaded efforts that expanded market share in Latin America
ESG Analysis Skills: SASB-credentialed ESG Analyst
Public Speaking Talent: Speaker and panelist at conferences in North and South America
Thought Leadership: Authored articles distributed to clients and prospects globally
A market intelligence executive with ESG analysis skills and over 20 years of experience using
data and analytics to help companies gain and maintain access to capital, tell a compelling
equity story, and realize full and fair valuation.
5. 1. WHO are the investors?
Advised clients on regulations across the Americas and
Europe governing shareholder transparency and best
practices to arrive at comprehensive and accurate
ownership data sets
2. WHY have they invested?
Reports delivered top-down perceptions of the investment
community and bottom-up profiling of key investors
3. WHICH investors should be targeted?
Provided critical forward-looking assessments of risks and
opportunities
4. WHAT messages must be delivered?
Prepared IROs and C-Suite for meetings with shareholders
and investor targets
1. Who are the
Investors?
2. Why have
they invested?
3. Which
investors
should be
targeted?
4. What
messages
must be
delivered?
I N V E S T O R R E L A T I O N S A D V I S O R Y E X P E R I E N C E
6. Situation: A large cap European company with a very liquid home-market share listing was
planning to move its secondary listing from a major US exchange to an over-the-counter (OTC)
market. The key benefit was saving on listing and compliance costs which ran up to a seven-figure
sum annually. Of concern to the C-Suite and the Board was the potential impact of the change to
their US shareholder base, which accounted for 32% of the shares outstanding.
Approach: The predictive analysis required a complete understanding of the types of shareholders
invested. Using the Depositary Trust Company (DTC) settlement data and SEC-mandated 13-F
mutual fund ownership filings, I arrived at a full picture of the ownership.
An in-depth examination of current funds and holdings led to the classification of shareholders into
(1) those likely to retain ownership but transfer to the listing in Europe, (2) those likely to retain the
OTC-listed shares, and (3) those likely to divest.
Result: Based on the analysis I concluded the client was not at risk of losing more than 4% of the
shares outstanding. I also determined that only one of the top 20 core owners was at risk of
divesting. The final report included insights into the likely impact of the change on targeting new
U.S. investors and decrease in ownership visibility in the public domain.
My analysis contributed to the client deciding to move the listing as planned.
C A S E S T U D Y
D E C I S I O N O N L I S T I N G V E N U E S
7. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Situation: A European client’s listing was to move from the country’s large cap index to the mid
cap index. While the announcement did not come as a surprise, the C-Suite and the Board wanted
to know what changes to expect and be prepared to answer investor queries on the matter.
Approach: My study of the company’s share and dividend registers and other private data led to
the identification of 91% of the shares outstanding, 35% more than what was seen in regulatory
disclosures. Further analysis included examining the proportion that was tracking the main index,
the expected weight of the stock in the mid cap benchmark, and funds tracking the new index.
Additionally, I examined the changes in the shareholder bases of two companies that had moved
between the two indices and interviewed key active owners of the client on their perception of the
impending move.
Result: My analysis concluded that the company would have fewer passive investors, but with
higher levels of projected shareholding. Feedback from active investors suggested the widely
expected move would not affect their investment thesis. This assuaged the concerns of the C-Suite
and the Board and the team easily managed the change.
A shareholder survey conducted a month after the change confirmed my predictions.
C A S E S T U D Y
C H A N G E I N I N D E X P A R T I C I P A T I O N
8. Situation: The CEO of a US mid cap company in the TMT sector was a frequent business traveler
to Europe and Asia. During these trips he spent a day or two meeting investors with members of
the investor relations (IR) team. This added up to 8 days a year, a significant amount of time for a
CEO. He was unhappy with the quality of broker-arranged meetings and the corporate access
team was unable to measure the impact beyond a feedback survey. The CEO wanted a plan that
would show him (1) he was meeting the right investors and (2) full impact of the meetings.
Approach: My advice was backed by a customized bundle of services that included bespoke
foreign shareholder identification exercises and investor targeting studies whose models used the
data from the initial foreign shareholding identification exercise as input.
Result: Armed with my recommendations the company split the meetings between the CEO and
the IR team. Detailed profiles supplied as part of the reporting ensured the CEO was well-
prepared. A synthesis of shareholding data, with a discussion of other factors such as gain/loss of
mandates affecting investors during the period, along with perception feedback, gave the
company a detailed picture of the impact.
The CEO called the data-backed advisory a “game changer” and advised his IR team to never walk
into an investor meeting without listening to our input.
C A S E S T U D Y
I M P R O V I N G R O I O F C E O T I M E
9. As a SASB-credentialed ESG Analyst my expertise is valuable for both issuers and
investors.
For the Issuer/Consultant
• Ability to advise companies on ESG data collection, strategic management, and corporate
reporting processes
• Understanding of how ESG topics are linked to financial impacts
• Benchmarking against industry peers to identify strategic areas for outperformance
For the Asset Owner/Manager
• How material topics can impact financial analysis
• Recognize how corporate ESG reporting can improve the usefulness of sustainability
information for investment analysis
• How ESG topics are linked to impacts on revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities, and/or
cost of capital
E S G A N A LY S I S S K I L L S
10. T H O U G H T
L E A D E R S H I P
Over 20 articles I have written were published and distributed to
clients and prospects globally. Here are four of them:
• They Come from a Land Down Under – As foreign investments by
Australian institutional investors grow, I look at where they are investing
and what issuer clients are doing in response.
• Who’s Active in a Passive World? – Given the increasing dominance
of ETFs in the US I highlight the growing importance of active foreign
investors for companies in the S&P 500.
• A Shorts Story – My research into new short-selling disclosure rules in
the EU shows many major transactions can be sourced back to
investors that are better known for their long-only funds. I also find
investors rarely conduct short-selling campaigns across an entire sector,
though specific markets in the EU attract more negative bets relative to
their size.
• What Influences Overseas Ownership of US Stocks? – I test how
sensitive the proportion of overseas ownership of U.S. companies is to
factors such as the proportion of overseas revenue, dividends, and
market cap size.
11. T E S T I M O N I A L S
Sudarshan was a trusted partner for Deutsche Telekom/T-Mobile US for many years. His professionalism, quality of work, and
responsiveness were always of the highest caliber. He was a true extension of the investor relations team and lent his expertise
in tasks ranging from preparing presentations to the board to manning the Deutsche Telekom booth at retail investor
conferences. I consider Sudi to be one of the best in the business.”
Nils Paellmann, Award-winning IRO and Finance Professional and former VP and Head of Investor Relations at T-Mobile
Sudarshan is one of the most knowledgeable and emotionally intelligent individuals I have had the privilege of working
with. I would consistently use him as a resource, whether it be a question about a major sovereign wealth fund or career
advice - I knew I could rely on his counsel.
Rachel Glascock, Investor Relations, Chubb
Sudarshan’s analytical mind and amiable personality made it a pleasure to collaborate with him over the 17
years I knew him professionally. His ability to clearly convey his thoughts and analysis was a stand-out trait.
Erica Joubert, International Trade Manager - Europe, Wesgro
I found my almost 20 years working with Sudarshan to be extremely insightful and rewarding. His clients and colleagues
would all agree that he is an expert on best practices in the world of investor relations.
Brad Pottberg, Director, Research & Analysis IHS Markit
12. W H Y S U D I ?
In a world overflowing with information,
clients need advisors that can help them
connect the dots. This takes:
Experience
Over 20 years of advising clients in the
Americas and Europe with data-backed
actionable intelligence.
Tenacity
In 2020 I acquired the SASB FSA
credential and learnt web design.
Curiosity needs tenacity to achieve results
and I have both.
An Effective Collaborator
As my testimonials demonstrate, I bring a
healthy dose of EQ with my IQ to
relationships with both clients and
colleagues.
13. A F E W F U N FA C T S
• I went a whole year without caffeine to test the impact on my body and mind. I wouldn’t do it again.
• Owing to my formative years playing cricket, I ran with the bat and fielded without a glove during the first
season playing in a company softball league. Both actions were legal, incidentally.
• We had outgrown an office space in Times Square and were looking to sublet it. A parade of brokers
followed until one day I looked up from my desk to see Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy) and his posse walk
in. He signed on the dotted line the next day.