A founding partner of the firm, Andy has more than two decades of experience providing strategic investor and public relations counsel to U.S. and international companies. In addition to his extensive work in special situations, Andy has successfully developed and implemented a diverse range of corporate positioning and communications programs for public and private corporations. His areas of expertise include:

Shareholder Activism

His experience in activism situations and proxy contests includes Cognizant (Elliott), Alcoa (Elliott), Bristol-Myers Squibb (JANA Partners), Bio-Rad Laboratories (Corvex), Team Health (JANA Partners), Abercrombie & Fitch (Engaged Capital), Depomed (Starboard), AOL (Starboard), Sony (Third Point); CONMED (Voce Capital), Illinois Tool Works (Relational Investors), CVS Healthcare ( Relational Investors), BMC Software (Elliott), Mentor Graphics (Carl Icahn), CNET Networks (JANA Partners), Biovail (Eugene Melnyk), VAALCO (Nanes Delorme), and Chemed (MMI Investments).

Transaction Communications

He advises companies for friendly or unsolicited M&A transactions. His experience includes advising Kindred Healthcare in its sale to Humana, TPG and Welsh Carson; Dynegy in its merger with Vistra Energy; Ablynx in its acquisition by Sanofi; CBOE Holdings in its acquisition of Bats Global Markets; Team Health in its acquisition by Blackstone; Sanofi’s proposal to acquire Medivation; Anbang Insurance Group in its unsolicited offer for Starwood Hotels; Covidien plc in its acquisition by Medtronic; Kindred Healthcare in its acquisition of Gentiva; Smithfield Foods in its acquisition by Shuanghui International; Constellation Brands on the acquisition of Crown Imports from Anheuser-Busch InBev; Clearwire Corp. in its acquisition by Sprint Nextel Corp.; Eastman Chemical in its acquisitions of Solutia and Taminco; Omnicare in its unsolicited offer for PharMerica as well as its acquisitions of NeighborCare and NCS Healthcare; NRG in its successful defense against Exelon’s unsolicited exchange offer and proxy contest; and Burger King Holdings in its sale to private equity firm 3G Capital.

Crisis Communications

He has worked with numerous companies and firms in responding to federal and state inquiries involving fraud and accounting irregularities; insider trading; gender discrimination and sexual harassment actions; data breaches; and forced executive departures. Notable assignments include WellCare, Omnicare, HealthSouth, Knight Capital, several law firms, technology companies, and large hedge funds and asset management firms.

Restructuring and Bankruptcy

He has significant expertise in managing internal and external communications related to out-of-court financial restructurings and in-court Chapter 11 reorganizations. His work has included Tops Markets; Gymboree; CHC Group; Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA); Dendreon; Nautilus Holdings; Genco; Rural / Metro; Excel Maritime; General Maritime; Dynegy; Charter Communications; Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (Foxwoods); RREEF America 3 (a Deutsche Bank company); Chemtura; Carlyle Capital Corporation; Calpine Corporation; Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers; HealthSouth; and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Andy received a BA in English literature from Yale University. He also studied Chinese for several years at language institutes in Taiwan. He is a board overseer of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the world’s leading non-profit, nonsectarian organization providing relief and resettlement services for refugees. He is also chair of the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation, a charity that supports the Afghan Centre at Kabul University and its mobile libraries in Afghanistan.