Institutional Shareholder Services Names New Head of Australian Research

Announces 2012 Move to Sydney as Team Expands

Rockville, MD; Melbourne, Victoria (October 17, 2011) – Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), a leading provider of corporate governance solutions to the global financial community, today named Daniel Smith its new Head of Australian Research.  Mr. Smith, who is already on the ground in Melbourne covering Australian companies for the current proxy season, will assume his new role immediately and will permanently relocate to Australia early next year.

Also in the beginning of 2012, ISS will continue its expansion in Australia and relocate its staff to Sydney, taking advantage of the opportunity to leverage existing space and the IT infrastructure and other resources of its parent, MSCI Inc., which houses a number of its business units in a single office in Sydney.

“Australia and New Zealand are important markets on the world’s corporate governance stage,” said Gary Retelny, President of ISS.  “As a leading provider of global corporate governance research and proxy voting, ISS has long been committed to having significant on the ground expertise in Australia.  Now, with Dan’s leadership and our move to Sydney, ISS will be in a better position to invest in and grow its business to better serve the increasingly complex needs of its clients.”

On behalf of its institutional clients, ISS issues proxy research and vote recommendations on more than 900 Australian and New Zealand companies.  With a full-time research staff with deep corporate governance experience, ISS provides institutional investors with critical analysis of executive remuneration, director accountability and other corporate governance factors to help clients make informed proxy voting decisions.  Recognizing the importance of this market, ISS is adding dedicated account management, sales and operations staff in Australia.

“As shareholders, our investor clients make the final voting decision, relying on us to engage with companies and assess the efficacy of their corporate governance practices on our clients’ behalf,” said Daniel Smith, ISS’ Head of Australian Research.

In his new role, Mr. Smith will oversee company research and lead ISS’ policy development and issuer engagement activities.  He will draw upon his experience in working with some of ISS’ largest custom policy clients and performing research on companies in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.  Prior to joining ISS, Dan worked in corporate finance for a top-tier European shipping company.  He earned his M.S.F.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, with a concentration in International Business Diplomacy.

ISS media contacts:
Cheryl Gustitus
o: +1.301.556.0395
m: +1.240.406.6329
cheryl.gustitus@issgovernance.com

Sarah Ball
 +44 (0)207 618 2275
sarah.ball@issgovernance.com