John E. Shave III
As Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Communications, John is responsible for business development strategies and fundraising activities, as well as planning, executing and managing all investor and public relations and marketing communications initiatives.
Throughout his 18-year career, John has achieved exceptional results. At Safeguard, John has played a critical role in the company’s turnaround after the dot-com era. During August 2006 when John joined the company in 2006, Safeguard’s stock price averaged $11.47 per share. At year-end 2010 Safeguard shares closed up 54% at $17.08, outperforming the Russell 2000, Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500 Indices for the second consecutive year. In addition the six sell-side analysts who follow the company (up from one) have issued near-term price targets ranging from $21 to $25 per share. Safeguard’s average daily dollar trading volume has increased sixfold, and its market capitalization has increased approximately 170% to around $400 million.
Prior to joining Safeguard, he was Vice President of Investor Relations at The Reynolds and Reynolds Company, a $3 billion software and services corporation. During his tenure, he led communications campaigns for 11 mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $2.8 billion in aggregate. As the company’s business model transformed, John developed and implemented investor targeting programs and communications strategies that increased sell-side coverage, boosted trading volume, increased institutional ownership and shifted shareholder orientation from Value to GARP and Growth Investors, ultimately driving valuation.
Previously, John was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of U.S. operations for National Public Relations, Inc., Canada’s largest full-service investor and public relations consultancy. He had full P&L, business development and client services responsibilities. Before National Public Relations, John was an investor relations and corporate communications account executive for Thomson Financial / Georgeson & Company, and Robert Marston Corporate Communications, both based in New York City, where his clients included Apache Energy, Merrill Lynch and MasterCard International.
John has been a keynote speaker at numerous investor relations conferences in the U.S. and Canada. He has spoken on topics including initial public offerings and led the lecture series “The Evolving Role of IR Practitioners in Corporate America” at Susquehanna and Seton Hall universities. John has also been interviewed by numerous industry and regional publications, including IR Magazine and the Philadelphia Business Journal. He earned a B.A. degree from Susquehanna University where he was named the Department of Communications Most Outstanding Student for 1992 – 1993.
EXPERIENCE
- The Reynolds and Reynolds Company – Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
- National Public Relations, Inc.
- Thomson Financial / Georgeson & Company – Director, Investor Relations
- Robert Marston Corporate Communications, Inc.
EDUCATION
- BA, Susquehanna University
