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Press Release: 2ndVote Value Investments Appoints Andy Puzder as Executive Chairman

This press release originally appeared on Business Wire on December 6, 2021


NASHVILLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--2ndVote Value Investments, Inc., the holding company for asset management firm 2ndVote Advisers, LLC, announced today that Andy Puzder has been appointed to the position of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. As executive chairman, Mr. Puzder will facilitate the operations and deliberations of the Board, support 2ndVote Advisers CEO Dan Grant, advise on strategically important relationships and provide strategy for the company’s growth. 2ndVote Advisers is a rapidly growing asset manager with funds investing in companies that place profits ahead of a politically progressive ESG agenda.


Mr. Puzder is a fixture in conservative politics and a leader in calling out the economic dangers of the ESG movement, which values progressive policies over shareholder returns. He is a longtime, successful chief executive who has served at the highest, most intense levels of corporate management as chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.


Announcing Mr. Puzder’s appointment, 2ndVote Value Investments Chairman Emeritus, co-founder and board member Diane Black said, “Leftist CEOs and fund managers are focused on advancing an ESG agenda instead of profits for their shareholders. That’s why we started 2ndVote Advisers and it’s catching on. We are pushing back and we need experts like Andy to help lead our company as we grow. Andy is a visionary, a statesman and an exceptional leader. We are honored that he accepted the position of executive chairman.”


2ndVote Advisers was co-founded by board of directors members Dr. David Black, former Congressman Diane Black and CEO Dan Grant. 2ndVote Advisers is the first and only investment adviser offering investments that avoid the ESG trap so that Libertarians, conservative Americans, Reagan Democrats, people of faith and capitalists of any stripe no longer have to compromise their values for a return on investment.


2ndVote Advisers offers active index linked separately managed accounts and two exchange traded funds with more products on the way. Traded on the Chicago Board of Exchange, the 2VA LYFE and EGIS funds invest in companies that are neutral on political issues important to conservatives, like life and the 2nd Amendment and border security, and put profitability first.


In addition to Mr. Puzder, the co-founders have added the following experts to 2ndVote Value Investments, Inc.’s Board of Directors:

  • Dr. Kevin Hassett, former Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

  • Dr. Michael Edleson, former Chief Risk Officer for the University of Chicago’s endowment, and former Managing Director of four divisions of Morgan Stanley.

  • Jane Kanter, 2ndVote Advisers Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of ARK Investment Management.

  • Peter Flaherty, 2ndVote Advisers Managing Director for Investment Stewardship and longtime fixture in national politics, law and victims’ advocacy.

Announcing the new board members, Dan Grant, CEO of 2ndVote Advisers said, “We are thrilled to have Mr. Puzder, Dr. Hassett, Dr. Edleson, Ms. Kanter and Mr. Flaherty take on these leadership roles, not only for our organization but for every investor. Anyone who is tired of being forced to support the left’s ESG agenda has an alternative in our funds and a champion in our team. We have the right products at the right time to send a message to activist CEOs, rating agencies, banks and fund managers that ESG investing, and their efforts to minimize the profit motive, will ultimately destroy our economic freedom. We are changing the investment world for people who prefer profits over politics.”



2ndVote Value Investments, Inc. Board of Directors Additions


Andy Puzder, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors: Mr. Puzder is the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors for 2ndVote Value Investments, Inc. He is the former chief executive of CKE RestaurantsHoldings, Inc. where he helped turn Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. into globally known fast food powerhouses. Under his leadership, CKE expanded it company owned and franchised restaurant system to over 3,800 restaurants, generating $4.3 billion in revenue and employing 75,000+ people domestically and 115,000+ worldwide. Mr. Puzder earned a Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Mo. He was then a practicing commercial trial lawyer in St. Louis when Puzder authored legislation which The United States Supreme Court upheld in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services in 1989. Puzder is a prolific author and has been a frequent lecturer at colleges and universities and a guest on business news programs.


Dr. Kevin Hassett, Member of the Board of Directors: Dr. Hassett is the former Senior Advisor and Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2017 through 2019. He was called back to the White House to serve as a Senior Advisor to President Trump to support data-driven decisions in response to the Coronavirus. Dr. Hassett is currently Vice President of the Lindsey Group, a visiting distinguished fellow at the Hoover Institution, an economic contributor at CNN, and a senior advisor to Capital Matters, the economic web site of the National Review. Prior to his White House service, Hassett was an economist at the American Enterprise Institute. He also served as a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. His academic background includes being an associate professor of economics and finance at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, as well as a visiting professor at New York University’s Law School. He has also been a consultant to the U.S. Treasury Department, and an advisor to various presidential campaigns.


Dr. Michael Edleson, Ph.D., CFA, Member of the Board of Directors: Dr. Edleson recently retired as Chief Risk Officer, responsible for risk management of The University of Chicago’s endowment. He joined the Office of Investments in early 2010. From 2003–2010, Dr. Edleson ran risk management globally for four divisions of Morgan Stanley as managing director, including CRO for Equities and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Previously, he served as Chief Economist and senior vice president of NASDAQ and NASD. Dr. Edleson was a finance professor at Harvard Business School for over six years, following four years on the faculty at West Point; he was an Army engineer officer and served over 29 years in uniform, active and reserve. Dr. Edleson recently served on the board of Financial Management Association International. He earned a B.S. from West Point and an M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from MIT, is a CFA charter holder and co-author (with Don Chance) of the new CFA Risk Management curriculum. Dr. Edleson currently serves on several boards including the Investment Committee of the board at West Point.


Jane Kanter, Member of the Board of Directors: As 2ndVote Advisers Chief Operating Officer Ms. Kanter is responsible for the execution of key business initiatives, oversight of product management, and business and supplier partnerships. Previously, Ms. Kanter was co-founder of ARK Investment Management, a $50 billion+ asset management company and served as its General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Kanter also recently served as Managing Partner, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer of Manifold Partners LLC. Ms. Kanter was a senior Partner at Dechert LLP where she worked with leading asset managers across a range of transactions. Ms. Kanter has worked in the legal and financial services industries since 1980 in various capacities: as a partner with various law firms, with T. Rowe Price Associates as Vice President and Associate Legal Counsel, and in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management as the Head of the Investment Company Disclosure Study. Ms. Kanter currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Highline Management Inc., which oversees the day to day operations of several public funds that invest in alternative assets.


Peter Flaherty, Member of the Board of Directors: Mr. Flaherty is 2ndVote Advisers Managing Director for Investment Stewardship. In this role he is responsible for developing and implementing the firm’s proxy voting guidelines and overall shareholder resolution strategy. He takes the lead in engaging with the management teams and boards of our portfolio companies as we seek governance change through shareholder proposals, proxy contests, and other measures of shareholder activism. Previously, Peter served as National Deputy Campaign Manager for the 2008 presidential campaign of Governor Mitt Romney and Senior Adviser for Strategy for the 2012 Romney presidential campaign. Peter is the former Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston. He also serves on the Board of the Suffolk County Children’s Advocacy Center in Boston. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Board of the Middlesex County Children’s Advocacy Center and is currently a trustee on the Board of New England School of Law Boston, as well as a Trustee on the Board of Endicott College. Mr. Flaherty is a distinguished Visiting Lecturer in the political science department at The College of The Holy Cross, a former Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School and a former Senior Fellow at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.


DISCLAIMER: This document does not constitute an offer of any services. All information provided is general in nature and not tailored to the needs of any person or entity. 2ndVote Advisers is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information regarding 2VA please call (877) 223-8699 or visit www.2ndVoteAdvisers.com.








Contacts

Gail Gitcho gail@gailgitchogroup.com


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