Mark transitioned from the Marines to Wall Street, his first job was on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, which a Vietnam veteran had recommended him for and who still serves as his mentor today. “Te trading floor,” noted Otto, “is something akin to a war zone in and of
itself, but on a different scale. Trough the eurozone and Greek debt crises, the market crash, 9/11—all these events had catastrophic effects on the market. And you could really feel the pulse of that because there were human beings on the floor trading and millions of dollars at risk every day.” NIRI Fellow Deborah Pawlowski has been in combat boots since she was 14. “I was in the Civil Air Patrol, in a search-and-rescue unit we called the Raiders.” In 1982 she joined the Army as a graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point) and a member of only the third class of women to hold that honor. Pawlowski commented, “When I became an officer, I was commissioned in
the Quartermaster Corps, the logistics arm of the military. One of my first roles was as Adjutant of the 51st Maintenance Battalion, which is a chief of staff type of role. I was at the heart of the executive team in a 1,500-person unit that included allied mobile forces and I knew everything that was going on … just like IR!” While she thought she would spend her career in the military, she left the Army in 1987 and joined National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG). “Tey gave me the opportunity to do investor relations,” she noted, “and I had no idea what that was, but I fell in love with it very quickly. I eventually launched my own IR firm and have been running Kei Advisors for 24 years. Tat’s how I landed in IR and created a career.” NIRI President and CEO Matt Brusch’s dream when he was growing up was to
fly rescue helicopters for the Coast Guard. “You need 20/20 vision, which I didn’t have,” he noted. “I had a strong family pull to the Navy, though, and I received a Navy-ROTC scholarship to attend Penn State. I served with the Navy for about seven years. I was a division officer on the fast frigate USS Taylor and assistant department head on the USS William H. Standley. I was also officer-in-charge (professor naval science) at the Texas Maritime Academy.” Brusch added, “My naval experience is in my DNA…in everything I do. Military
work experience transfers to the civilian world quite readily and the Navy put me in a good position for a successful career. Naval service instilled discipline, accountability, dependability, and character—all of which are very important in IR. I have managed and led IR and corporate communications for several different public companies and worked at Nasdaq in market surveillance and listings qualifications. I’ve been with NIRI for 17 years and was appointed President and CEO two years ago.” Although each of the panelists served in different branches of the armed forces,
they share a deep passion for giving back to the community. While they may have taken off their respective uniforms, they have never stopped serving. “Te NYSE is really where I connected with veterans,” commented Otto. “One
of my favorite things is being an ambassador for veterans and ensuring that they are recognized in the communities. Everyone in the military stands on the shoul- ders of giants who came before us. Volunteering allows us to honor them.” IR
Laura Guerrant-Oiye is Principal at Guerrant Associates and a member of the NIRI Virtual Chapter;
lauraoiye@gmail.com.
niri.org/ irupdate
NIRI Virtual Chapter Supports Charities for Veterans
During the event, each panelist noted a charity in which they were involved. In honor of all veterans, the NIRI Virtual Chapter is proud to have donated to these charities. Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge
(CWVC): CWVC’s purpose is to create environments that enable researchers to observe wounded veterans in challeng- ing environments to gather information on TBI, SCI, PTSD and orthotics in order to help improve treatments and orthot- ics for all injured veterans. Learn more at
www.combatwounded.org. Contact Deb Pawlowski: dpawlowski@keiadvisors. com. Importantly, there is a donor that will match $50,000 in donations to fund CWVC events. Donations can be made at:
www.combatwounded.org/donate/. United War Veterans Council & NYC
Veterans Day Parade (UWVC): The mis- sion of the UWVC is to honor and serve America’s veterans. UWVC is dedi- cated to ensuring that the public always embraces its commitment to provide all veterans and their families with the care, recognition and opportunities they have rightfully earned. Learn more at www.
uwvc.org. Contact Mark Otto: motto@
uwvc.org. Wounded Warrior Project (WWP): WWP offers a variety of programs, ser- vices and events for wounded veterans who incurred a physical or mental injury, illnesses, or co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001. Learn more at www.woundedwarriorpro-
ject.org. Contact Matt Brusch: mbrusch@
niri.org.
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