Investor and Governance Luminary Ann Yerger Joins the EY Center for Board Matters

Yerger's deep experience will help foster effective engagement between investors and boards

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Jun 12, 2015, 08:57 ET

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The EY Center for Board Matters announced today that Ann Yerger, CFA, will join Ernst & Young LLP as an executive director, effective July 7. Yerger joins EY after nearly 20 years with the Council of Institutional Investors (CII), a nonprofit, nonpartisan association of funds and endowments that focuses on effective corporate governance practices. As a leader of the EY Center for Board Matters, she will guide the Center's team in advancing EY's engagement with investors and strengthening relationships among EY, investors, and boards. EY will also utilize her broad experience to inform and shape viewpoints and policy around corporate governance.

"We are delighted to have Ann join the EY team, bringing a career of experience and relationships with the investor community, as well as a broad governance background," said Steve Howe, EY Americas Managing Partner and Managing Partner of Ernst & Young LLP. "EY is a strong believer in good corporate governance and views our relationships with investors as fundamental given our role in the capital markets."

"As the dynamic between investors, companies and boards rapidly evolves, there's been a dramatic shift in the level of engagement between them," said Mark Manoff, EY Americas Vice Chair and leader of the EY Center for Board Matters. "Ann's valuable insights will be integral in helping EY, investors and boards effectively engage on issues of common interest in this increasingly active environment."

Yerger has served as executive director at CII since 2005 and has been with the organization since 1996. Previously, she was deputy director of the Investor Responsibility Research Center's corporate governance service. Prior to that, she spent five years in the domestic corporate banking division of Wachovia Bank.

"I am excited to join EY and look forward to the opportunity to help corporate boards, investors and shareholders engage with each other toward a common purpose. I see EY providing useful perspective in this important space," said Yerger. "Capital markets today face many challenges which call for the insightful counsel of an organization like the EY Center for Board Matters to deliver timely and balanced insights, data-rich content and practical tools. The resources the EY Center provides boards, audit committees, institutional investors and others interested in governance topics have impressed me."

Yerger is a member of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance Advisory Board. She was previously a member of the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council, the Investor Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission. She earned an A.B. from Duke University and an M.B.A. from Tulane University.

The EY Center for Board Matters was launched in early 2014 to inform and bring together boards, audit committees, institutional investors and others interested in governance topics through the collection and analysis of governance data from more than 3,000 public companies listed in the US through its proprietary database. In addition, its leaders regularly speak with investors and board members to bridge the information "give and take" that exists between preparers and users of corporate financial information.

About The EY Center for Board Matters
Effective corporate governance is an important element in building a better working world. The EY Center for Board Matters is committed to bringing together and engaging with boards, audit committee members and investors to exchange ideas and insights. Using our professional competencies, relationships and proprietary corporate governance database, we are able to identify trends and emerging governance issues. This allows us to deliver timely and balanced insights, data-rich content and practical tools and analysis to boards, audit committees, institutional investors and others interested in governance topics. For more information, visit ey.com/boardmatters.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, an EY member firm serving clients in the US. For more information, please visit ey.com.

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