When I first started at Morrow & Co., right out of college, there was a small group of “elder statesmen” who had either founded the company or had been with the company for a long period of time. I remember that Joe Morrow, the firm’s founder, said that because this is such a niche business, there are only a handful of people who are experts in the industry. That had an impact on me. It showed me that if I work hard and learn from these leaders in the industry, someday I could be one of those handful of experts in the industry.
Technology is one of the biggest opportunities we have to provide our clients with a better value proposition. We are continuing to refine our systems, which makes our employees more efficient and allows them to have more data to consult with our clients. It also allows them to be in a better position to move more quickly and accurately with ID voting positions and shareholder ownership.
With ESG issues moving to the forefront of investor concerns, every company needs to understand how their shareholders view ESG. Currently, climate and diversity issues are very much top of mind for investor. Within each group, there are many sub-categories. Companies will need to monitor the changing policies of their shareholder base and determine if changes to company policies are in the best interest of the company and its shareholders.
Our systems are growing and becoming more complex, allowing us to gather more data and take a more in-depth look at that data on a real time basis. Technology allows us to provide our clients with more granularity around the reporting and consulting that we already do for our clients.
The camaraderie. It’s been hard over the past two years because of the pandemic, but through the many years I have been with the company, the people have always been one of the best things about working here. I have made many life-long friends, and it’s nice getting back into the office and being able to get together with them again.