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June 3, 2019

Dix & Eaton Announces New Senior Managing Director and Practice Leaders

Corporate Social Responsibility practice leader Gregg LaBar promoted to Senior Managing Director

Senior Vice Presidents Kellie Friery and Angela Rodenhauser to co-lead Investor Relations practice

Senior Vice President Karin Bonev to lead Change Management discipline

CLEVELAND, OH – June 3, 2019 – Dix & Eaton announced today the promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practice lead Gregg LaBar to senior managing director; Angela Rodenhauser and Kellie Friery to co-lead the Investor Relations (IR) practice; and Karin Bonev to spearhead the firm’s change management discipline.

“All of these professionals are leaders with great business and community impact and are critical contributors to the success of our clients and firm,” said Chas Withers, CEO of Dix & Eaton. “These promotions are prime examples of our ongoing commitment to invest in the professional growth of our colleagues, promote from within and build lasting relationships both internally and externally. These individuals are gifted practitioners and advisors steeped with experience in the key challenges faced every day by our clients, both in an investor relations landscape moving at warp speed, and in an environment where it seems almost every company is going through some form of transformational change.”

Kellie Friery and Angela Rodenhauser have been appointed to co-lead the firm’s nationally recognized IR practice at Dix & Eaton. Friery and Rodenhauser will take the reins of the IR practice and drive it ahead as the world of IR continues to evolve in an era of seemingly constant shareholder activism, shifting regulatory sands and intense scrutiny of corporate financial results.

Both Friery and Rodenhauser bring broad-and-deep financial acumen bona fides and IR expertise to the leadership role, each having approximately 20 years of accounting, financial communications and IR experience. They both possess a range of senior-level strategic counsel experience, assisting clients through times of major change, including communications related to newly public companies; corporate mergers and acquisitions; executive transitions; proxy contests and shareholder activism; digital strategies; Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and communications; quarterly and annual reporting; and investor communications assessment and measurement.

The emerging discipline of change management, according to Withers, has become a core area of emphasis as companies navigate strategic and operational shifts while also trying to keep all key constituencies on the same page.

“Dix & Eaton has long-played an important role in advising organizations as they go through major transitions including mergers and acquisitions, management turnover, financial restructuring and corporate culture initiatives. A critical success factor for these engagements is effective communications across an organization that connects all stakeholders. Karin Bonev has skillfully and successfully guided many of our largest change management initiatives for the past 15 years, and she’s the right leader to steward change management in addition to her duties as head of the employee engagement practice at Dix & Eaton,” Withers said.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the firm in the areas of client service, business development and practice leadership, Gregg LaBar has been promoted to the position of Senior Managing Director. LaBar has been with Dix & Eaton for more than 20 years and has led the firm’s IR practice and CSR practice for the past several years.

“Gregg’s vision for our CSR practice – one of the fastest-growing parts of our business – has been an important driver of our success and an excellent opportunity to help our clients navigate in a world where good corporate citizenship and sustainable solutions matter more than ever,” said Withers. “He has become a national go-to resource and expert on helping organizations of every size plan, build and execute sustainability and CSR initiatives, which in turn helps those organizations attract and retain top talent, demonstrate forward-thinking and, ultimately, drive shareholder value. He’s an indispensable member of our leadership team.”

About Dix & Eaton

Dix & Eaton is a strategic communications consultancy specializing in investor relations, crisis communications, media relations, corporate social responsibility, change management and marketing communications. Working as trusted partners focused on driving results, Dix & Eaton combines deep experience, foresight and creativity with digital intelligence and analysis to help clients realize the full power of communication and generate greater return on investment. Founded in 1952, Dix & Eaton is 100 percent employee-owned and has twice been named the nation’s best midsized firm. For more information, visit www.dix-eaton.com.

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