TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 7, 2011) - Phoenix Advisory Partners ("Phoenix") announced today the appointment of five members to the company's Canadian executive team. 

Dexter John, Senior Vice President, is responsible for business development and acts as an advisor to issuers. Dexter has broad experience in both the securities and legal arenas, with specific expertise in corporate governance, shareholder communication and advisory services. Prior to joining Phoenix, Dexter held the Executive Vice President & General Counsel position at Kingsdale Shareholder Services. He is also a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Ontario Bar Association.

Michael McLeod, Senior Vice President, is responsible for developing new business opportunities in Western Canada. Based in Calgary, he will also serve a business development role with Phoenix's sister company, Canadian Stock Transfer Company Inc. ("CST"). Michael joins Phoenix and CST with more than 30 years of financial services experience, including the last 10 with Georgeson Shareholder Communications. Previously, Michael held senior management positions at Montreal Trust within the stock transfer division. 

Joining the Toronto operations group are Susy Monteiro, Senior Vice President; Grace Salonga, Vice President; and Marcus Campbell, Vice President. Susy is widely recognized as a leading proxy solicitor in Canada and brings over 20 years of well-reputed industry experience in structuring superior proxy solicitation programs. Susy spent the last 12 years at Georgeson Shareholder Communications. Both Grace and Marcus were previously employed with Kingsdale Shareholder Services and held senior operational roles managing a variety of complex files.

"These appointments alongside our executive team in the United States raise the performance bar for the solicitation industry," said Glenn Keeling, partner at Phoenix. "We are proud to provide the issuer community with this deeply experienced team. With these appointments, Canadian issuers, as well as legal and financial advisors, can engage a single resource for expertise in the complex proxy solicitation and corporate governance arenas. In addition, through our relationship with CST, our service offerings include comprehensive transfer agency and stock option plan administration services."

Phoenix's operations group is fully conversant and knowledgeable of the proxy advisory guidelines utilized throughout the institutional investor community. The team has strong relationships within the institutional and retail investor communities and is known to be a trusted point of contact for sourcing critical intelligence from an issuer's shareholder base. 

About Phoenix Advisory Partners

Phoenix Advisory Partners is a leading cross-border provider of proxy solicitation and corporate governance advisory services with offices in Canada and the United States. Phoenix is a division of American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC ("AST") and part of the Link Group, an international network of best in class providers of registry services and technology to financial market participants in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom. AST and its partner, Canadian Stock Transfer Company (CST), form the North American division of the Link Group. AST and CST together provide comprehensive services to more than 8,000 public issuers and over 5.5 million shareholders.