Officers & Directors

• Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs
• Village Farms International, Inc.
• sgibbons@villagefarms.com 

Sam Gibbons currently serves as Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Village Farms International (NASDAQ: VFF), a leading supplier of fresh produce to grocery and large format retailers in North America that’s leveraging decades of experience in controlled environment agriculture to expand into international cannabis markets. He joined the company in September 2024 and has more than 15 years of combined experience in investor relations, finance, and strategic communications. Prior to joining Village Farms, Sam spent six years as Vice President of Investor Relations and Chief of Staff to the CEO at Vireo Growth Inc., a U.S. multi-state cannabis operator. He began his career in investor relations on the agency side with Integrated Corporate Relations (ICR), and also spent time at FTI Consulting and Alpha IR Group, where he served on the agency’s senior leadership team. Sam completed his undergraduate studies at Boston University’s School of Management and Communication. Sam recently relocated from Minneapolis to Florida with his fiancée Karly and their two dogs, Roscoe and Riley.  

• Alliance Advisors
• Senior Vice President, Western Region
• bmccormick@allianceadvisors.com

Bernadette McCormick, a native of Thailand, and as a 22-year veteran of NIRI Twin Cities Board of Directors, Bernadette has held several roles: President, VP of Membership, Programs, VP of Marketing, and VP of Sponsorship.

Her contribution to the chapter includes the creation and facilitation of “NIRI Twin Cities Large Cap Senior Circle” which provides a private forum each quarter for IROs from local top large cap companies to peer counsel confidentially as well as leading the chapter to many service and excellence awards. Bernadette is also an officer of NIRI Virtual Chapter (second largest NIRI chapter) where she has spent years running the chapter’s functions in various capacities. She has been repeatedly selected by the board as “Volunteer of the Year” for both chapters. Her forte is board recruitment and retention for both chapters, ensuring optimum and positive engagement for the board and members.

• Investor Relations Consultant
• Xcel Energy Inc.
• darin.norman@xcelenergy.com

Darin serves as the Treasurer for the NIRI Twin Cities Chapter. He is currently the Investor Relations Consultant at Xcel Energy, a Fortune 300 electricity and natural gas company with operations in 8 states. He has served on the NIRI Twin Cities board in various capacities since 2014. He was actively involved in the development of testing materials for NIRI’s investor relations certification program, which was launched in 2015, and in 2019, was recognized by NIRI as a member of its “40 Under 40” program. He also serves on the Shareholder Services Association board.

• Senior Investor Relations Specialist
• Polaris Inc.
• peggy.james@polaris.com

Peggy is a Sr. Investor Relations Specialist at Polaris Inc. and is responsible for collaborating with and supporting the Investor Relations team in the development and execution of the global investor relations program. Ms. James joined Polaris in 1997 and has worked within Investor Relations in various capacities since 2005. Peggy has served on the NIRI Twin Cities Chapter Board since 2014, prior roles include VP of Programs, Secretary, and Director at Large. Ms. James holds an AA degree in Business Administration from North Hennepin Community College.

• Vice President, Investor Relations
• Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc.

Justin Horstman is Vice President, Investor Relations at Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: BWB) where he is responsible for leading all aspects of the investor relations program, while also supporting corporate development and ESG functions. He joined Bridgewater in 2021 and has over 15 years of experience in investor relations. Prior to joining Bridgewater, Justin was Vice President, Investor Relations Manager at TCF Financial Corporation.

Justin served on the Board of Directors of the National Investor Relations Institute’s (NIRI) Twin Cities Chapter form 2011 to 2020 and again from 2023 to 2024, including holding the role of President from 2014 to 2016.

Justin holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

·         Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

·         jhuebschen@apog.com

Jeff Huebschen is a long-time member of NIRI and the Twin Cities chapter.  He was chapter President from 2016 to 2018 and previously served as the chapter’s Treasurer and Vice President of Sponsorships.

Jeff has extensive experience in investor relations, strategic communications, finance, and corporate strategy.  He currently serves as Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications for Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOG).  Prior to joining Apogee, he was Director of Investor Relations for G&K Services (now a part of Cintas Corporation). Previously, Jeff led investor relations for Alliant Techsystems, a Fortune 500 aerospace and defense company (now a part of Northrup Grumman).

Before joining Alliant, Jeff was a senior consultant in Deloitte Consulting’s strategy and operations practice. He also served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He earned an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

• Senior Director
• Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
• lori.lauber@broadridge.com

Lori A. Lauber is a Senior Director at Broadridge Financial Solutions. A 25-year veteran of the financial services industry, she is responsible for the strategic development of transfer agency and corporate action services.

Broadridge is a global Fintech leader and S&P 500^® company who as the leading proxy solutions provider, and fastest growing transfer agent, is uniquely positioned to help public companies get ahead of today’s challenges and capitalize on what’s next.

Prior to joining Broadridge, Lori worked in a variety of divisions at Wells Fargo including: Vice President Shareowner Services sales officer, Senior Treasury Management sales officer, Foreign Exchange and International sales officer, Treasury Management product management, Institutional Trust sales officer, and Wholesale Customer Strategies consultant, where she supported all wholesale business channels.

Lori holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota, Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Business. She has also completed additional graduate work towards a Master of International Management degree.

Lori is involved in the community, having served on various fundraising committees for the Junior League of Minneapolis, Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, Minnesota Public Radio, Camp Courage, and the Minnesota Zoo. She was a co-chair for the 2007 Make-A-Wish 25th Anniversary Gala and Chair for the 2013 Harvesting Hope Event benefitting the Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. Lori has previously served on the board for the One Percent Club and Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra and the Junior League of Minneapolis Sustainer Management Board of Directors. She currently sits on the Education & Networking Committee for the Shareholder Services Association and the Development Committee for the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery.

• Adam Fee is Vice President of Investor Relations for APi Group.

Adam is responsible for sharing APi Group’s evolving story with the investment community. He is focused on increasing understanding of APi Group as well as deepening relationships with existing and new investors and analysts.

Before joining APi Group, Adam managed investor relations and strategic finance for Embark Trucks, a developer of software for autonomous driving trucks. Prior to that, Adam was a director of investment banking with Citi, focusing on mergers and acquisitions in the industrials sector. Adam started his finance career in 2010 as an investment banking analyst with UBS.

Adam earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Princeton.

Outside work, Adam enjoys investing in real estate and traveling; he stays active in scuba diving, skiing, and playing basketball. Civic leadership is also a priority for Adam. Most recently, he served on the Associate Board Leadership Committee of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

• e2Advisors, LLC
• Founder
• b.r.elliott@me.com

Brandon R. Elliott is Co-President and VP, Co-Chair of Programs for the Twin Cities Chapter. He has been CEO of a public oil and gas company and has led companies (Public & Private) in all stages of development (Fortune 500, small, turnaround and startup).

Mr. Elliott is the Co-Founder and Founder of startups BTG Ventures and e2 Advisors. Most recently, he was CEO of Minnesota-based Northern Oil and Gas, a NYSE listed (NOG) oil and gas company. During his tenure at Northern Oil and Gas, he helped lead over $2 billion in transactions, including $500 million in acquisitions, $700 million in debt exchanges, and $490 million in combined debt and equity offerings. Previously, he held senior management roles at NYSE listed Consol Energy (CNX). Mr. Elliott’s earlier career experiences include institutional investment engagements as Portfolio Manager and analyst with several major investment firms.

Mr. Elliott achieved the National Association of Corporate Directors’ (NACD) Directorship Certification, is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and member of both the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Dartmouth College.

• Vice President
• Entegris
• bill.seymour@entegris.com

Bill Seymour is Vice President at Entegris Corporation. He has over 20 years of business and global multi-sector Investor Relations experience. Bill has led award winning investor relations teams in the technology, industrials and retail industries. He has extensive experience in M&A, C-Suite transitions, product/technology introductions, investor activism, analyst days, investor story rebranding and crisis communications.

Bill’s previous role was with Valspar Corporation as Vice President of Investor Relations, Communications and Finance. Prior to that he was V.P. Investor Relations and Finance Operations at Best Buy Corporation. Bill also was global V.P. of Investor Relations at Nokia Corporation and IR Manager at Norwest Corporation.

Bill holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in European History from the University of Puget Sound and a M.B.A. in Finance from the University of St. Thomas.