About Us : Board Members and Staff
Pronet Analytics.com Limited is regulated and authorised by the Financial Services Authority
Shane Smith (Group Chairman and CEO)
Shane began a career in European equity research in 1986 at stockbroker Williams de Broe in London and subsequently joined the early team behind Bloomberg in London, working on the first Bloomberg bond trading system (at Merrill Lynch). In 1992 he established his own practice focused on global currencies, and then in 1996 founded Pronet Analytics.com, which became a regulated investment advisor. He led the company (which subsequently became Independent International Investment Research PLC) through admission to London Stock Exchange (AIM) in 2000 and is the architect of the current equity research product line, which was launched in 2004. Shane is responsible for bringing on the firm’s major clients (Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Lehman, Credit Suisse, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Bear Stearns).
Shane frequently adds an expert voice at industry conferences. During the second half of 2009 contributions have included:
| BNY Mellon IR conference, London June 11th: | The changing face of sell-side research |
| CFA Society of the UK, London, July 2nd: | The outlook for independent research |
| London Stock Exchange IR conference, London 23 September: | The importance of equity research within the investor relations toolkit |
| BNY Mellon Annual DR issuers conference, Indonesia, 5 December: | Developments in the sell-side: insights on the changing landscape of research, trade execution and corporate access |
| IR Magazine conference and awards, Singapore, 10 December: | Attention deficit: raising your company's profile |
| IR Magazine conference and awards, Shanghai, 17 December: | Maintaining sell-side coverage and attracting new coverage; Strategies for dealing with negative sentiment. |
Shane holds a BA Honours Degree (Econ.) from University of Sussex, UK.
Satish Betadpur, CFA (CEO, Asia; Head of Research)
Satish holds dual US-Indian nationality and re-located from San Francisco to take up his position based in Mumbai. A financial services career over 21 years was split between New York and California, where his most recent positions have been as Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director, Equity Research. His experience spans fixed income and equities including international equities, in a number of senior and very accomplished roles, most recently as head of a large hedge fund and responsible for a team of 76 staff. He was formerly a Managing Director, Equity Research, at the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund, in New York and has also worked for American Express Company, New York, and Motorola, Urbana Illinois.
In addition to his substantial commercial experience, Satish also taught at the University of Missouri and at Columbia University, NY.
Satish holds an MS in Computer Science, an MS in Mechanical Engineering, and an MBA from University of Illinois. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, qualifying in 1996.
Karen Griffith (Director, Head of Currency Research)
Karen teamed with the Group’s CEO in 1992 to set up the firm which has become Independent International Investment Research PLC. With some 13 years of experience in providing technical analysis services to professional and institutional clients, Karen is amongst the most seasoned of technical commentators in the City and is widely followed. Karen is both a main board director of the publicly traded company, and Director responsible for FX Strategy at Pronet.
Bob Mennie (CFO & Company Secretary)
Bob qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte Haskins & Sells in 1991 and then spent 6 years as a partner in a stock broking firm working firstly in Johannesburg and then London. In 1997 he joined Earthport plc originally as financial controller and company secretary and later as group finance director. He was one of the original shareholders and he played a leading role in listing the company on OFEX, then the Bermuda Stock Exchange and finally on AIM in 2001. He left Earthport plc at the end of 2003 and since then has had a number of interim and contract CFO roles in the financial services sector before joining Independent International Investment Research plc in August 2008.
Bob holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Cape Town and is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Michael Mayhew (Advisor to the Board)
Mike graduated from Stanford University in 1981 and began his career as an economist with MMS International in 1982. He continued through Standard and Poor’s Financial Information Services Group before a five-year tenure as CEO and President of Garban Information Systems. Mike founded Integrity Research Associates LLC in 2000 and has built the firm into the leading consultancy in the fast-changing research space, frequently cited in relevant media such as Reuters, Investment Dealers Digest, Institutional Investor Magazine, Bloomberg News, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times, and Business Week.
Mike is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Investorside, the non-profit trade organization for the independent research community and joins the Group’s Advisory Board on behalf of Integrity, with special responsibility for product development and US market strategy and acquisitions.
Other key members
London
IIR’s sales, marketing and editorial functions are located at our London office. IIR’s editorial team comprise 7 professionals.
Vinh Cam (Group Chief Operating Officer)
Vinh joined IIR to establish the Editorial function in London. Vinh also help set-up IIR's Indian subsidiary in Mumbai and is now responsible for the Group's operations as well as heading up the marketing function. Previously, Vinh’s career after graduating from Cambridge has been spent at leading advertising agencies in London – St. Luke’s and Leagas Delaney - where his responsibilities included brand and strategic planning for San Miguel, Adidas, Lycos and Goodyear.
Vinh holds an MA. (Hons) from Cambridge University
Heloise Capon (Head of Editorial)
Heloise joined IIR as an Editor in 2005, taking up coverage of the banking, insurance and semiconductor sectors and now manages the editorial team in London. Heloise previously worked as an Accounts Manager.
Heloise holds a BA (First Class) in International Relations from the University of Sussex
Daniel Gill (Senior Editor and Project Manager)
Daniel joined IIR in 2005 after completing a PhD in the synthesis of novel flurophores at the University of Leeds. Utilising his academic background in Chemistry, Daniel’s editorial coverage focuses on the Energy and Chemicals sectors, as well as the Transport and Software sectors. Daniel is also responsible for IT and technology in London and leads special projects.
Dan holds a BSc (Hons) and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Leeds
Adil Bahar (Senior Editor)
Before joining IIR Group PLC, Adil worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at Keele University, where he conducted research into identifying novel genes associated with cancer. Adil’s academic background in allows him to focus on coverage of the pharmaceutical sector, as well as automotive manufacturers and consumer electronics.
India
IIR’s analytical function is carried out by a team of 60 analysts based at our Mumbai office. Our team of analysts all hold a minimum MBA/CA or equivalent.
Ritwik Bhattacharjee (Joint Country Manager, India)
Ritwik started his equity research career at a leading research outsourcing firm in Mumbai focusing on consumer goods, retail and business services sectors and quickly moved into Research Manager role. Ritwik joined IIR's Indian operation (Independent Research Private Limited) in April 2006 and helped established IIR's Mumbai operations. His current responsibilities include managing operations, resource and production planning, review of research and ratings, product development and recruitment at the Mumbai site. Previously, after graduating from Calcutta University, Ritwik worked in the non-profit sector for two years, one year as a consultant and one year with micro-finance agency providing credit for micro-enterprises in West Bengal.
Ritwik holds a Bachelor degree in Science in Economics from Scottish Church College, Calcutta University;
Master of Science in Economics with specialization in Econometrics from Calcutta University;
Master of Business Administration with specialization in Finance from IISWBM, Calcutta University.
Somatish Banerji (Joint Country Manager, India)
Somatish started his research career at a leading research outsourcing firm in Mumbai covering technology-related sectors such as consumer electronics and communication equipment and quickly moved into a Research Manager role. Somatish joined IIR’s Indian operation (Independent Research Private Limited) in April 2006 and helped established IIR’s Mumbai operations. His current responsibilities include managing operations, resource and production planning, review of research and ratings, product development and recruitment at the Mumbai site.
Somatish holds a Bachelor degree in Commerce from St. Xaviers’ College, Calcutta University;
Master of Business Administration with specialization in Finance from IISWBM, Calcutta University.
Technical Analysis, Pronet
Karen Griffith heads up IIR’s 4-person technical analysis team.