NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Independent Research Network(sm) (IRN) today announced the appointment of Karin McKinnell as president. IRN, a joint venture formed by NASDAQ and Reuters in September 2005, acts as an intermediary for under-followed public companies seeking to have their equity securities covered by analysts. McKinnell will be leading IRN's efforts to align under-covered companies with multiple research providers to ensure that investors have access to high-quality research.
"The board of the IRN welcomes Karin and looks forward to building on the numerous recent developments at the company that are representative of the need for true independent research," said Bruce Aust, Executive Vice President of the Corporate Client Group, The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (NASDAQ). "Over the past few months, the IRN has experienced positive momentum and achieved several new milestones such as the addition of new research providers and new client contracts."
Karin McKinnell joins IRN from The Nasdaq Stock Market where she spent eight years overseeing approximately 500 companies in a relationship management and business development capacity. McKinnell joined NASDAQ in 1998 and was a key member of the Corporate Client Group serving 40% of the top 25 NASDAQ-100 issuers while working closely with company board members and venture capitalists. Prior to NASDAQ, McKinnell worked at The Franklin Templeton Group of Funds and The Portola Group. She began her career at Goldman Sachs & Co.
McKinnell replaces Dan Blank, who served as president before departing the organization in July, and will report directly to the board of the IRN. She will be based in IRN's New York offices.
The IRN presents a unique approach to aligning independent and sell-side research providers with under-covered companies. By gaining research coverage through IRN, companies are afforded access to quality equity research providers that are vetted and monitored for impartiality and subjected to rigorous oversight to ensure objectivity and credibility. Ultimately, companies are provided with broad distribution and visibility and gain credibility in the market.
The Independent Research Network (IRN) will aggregate multiple, independent research providers to procure and distribute equity research on behalf of under-covered companies to increase the investment community's understanding of a company's fundamental prospects. The service will be targeted to all companies listed in the U.S. as well as private companies looking for research coverage. Neither NASDAQ, Reuters nor IRN will play a role in preparing the research or issuing recommendations.
About The IRN
The Independent Research Network is an independent company formed by The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and Reuters to help under-covered companies obtain analyst coverage. Its objective is to facilitate equity research coverage for under-covered companies, promoting a greater knowledge of the investment community's understanding of a company's fundamental prospects.