Disney’s head of investor relations is leaving her job after less than three years in the role, following the company seeing off a long-running activist campaign headed by Nelson Peltz.
Alexia Quadrani, who has served in IR at the entertainment company since March 2022, has stepped down from her role to take up an advisory position with Disney instead, according to an internal memo sent by CFO Hugh Johnston.
The firm’s IR functions will now report to Carlos Gómez, treasurer and EVP of corporate finance, according to the memo. Johnston tells employees he has been in discussions for some time with Quadrani about transitioning her out of her role, ‘especially now that we have entered a period of greater stability’, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The move comes after Disney and its CEO Bob Iger prevailed in their fight against Peltz and his activist fund Trian Partners, following the re-election of the company’s 12 nominated board members by a ‘substantial margin’ earlier this year.
Disney has been contacted for comment.
Elsewhere, Swiss company Helvetia Insurance Group has announced that Peter Eliot is set to join the firm as its new head of investor relations, replacing outgoing IR chief Philipp Schüpbach.
Writing on LinkedIn, the SWX-listed firm says Eliot has 19 years of experience in both research and financial analysis, focusing on the insurance sector in particular.
‘He will play a crucial role in communicating with the financial markets and maintaining relationships with investors and financial analysts, reporting directly to our group CFO Annelis Lüscher Hämmerli,’ the company adds.
‘We thank Philipp for his nine years of dedicated service and leadership and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.’
Finally, medical technology company Zimmer Biomet has named David DeMartino as its new SVP of investor relations.
Prior to joining the NYSE and SIX-listed firm, DeMartino was chief strategy officer at Nyxoah, a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative solutions to treat sleep apnea. He has more than 25 years of experience working across the healthcare industry, in roles including asset management, equity research and investment banking.
‘We are excited to welcome David to Zimmer Biomet as our head of investor relations,’ says Ivan Tornos, the company’s president and CEO. ‘His impressive career achievements and extensive knowledge of the medtech industry, both as an investor and in equity research, make him the ideal candidate for this strategically important position.’
Laurie Havelock
Laurie has been part of the IR Magazine team for more than a decade, starting out as a reporter and research editor before becoming editor in 2023. He was previously acting business editor at the i newspaper and deputy business editor at The Daily...
