Built by Practitioners.
Led by Operators.

Gar started his finance career in 1991 as an intern at the investment firm of Cruttenden & Company in Newport Beach, CA. He progressed through boutique investment banking roles before establishing Corporate Communications Network to serve micro and small cap companies.

Gar developed the PVGI 30 golf industry index and became recognized as the "Golf Industry Expert," contributing to major publications including the Wall Street Journal and CNBC. He led investor relations at Oakley during the challenging period following 9/11 and the Sunglass Hut loss, ultimately helping achieve the company's $2B+ sale to Luxottica.

After Oakley, Gar established the IR department at Pacific Sunwear before founding the Global IR Group and working with FirstCash that now has an enterprise value of more than $10 billion. Additionally, he served on the NIRI Orange County chapter board for 12+ years.

Education: Economics, UC Irvine

Don is a capital markets specialist with twenty-five years of operating, capital markets, and strategic advisory at complex inflection points. He established and led Regal Entertainment Group's investor relations program following its emergence from bankruptcy and initial public offering in May 2002, building one of the entertainment industry's most active sell-side coverage programs from zero to 20 analysts.

Don served as National Board Member for NIRI, represented the association before the SEC, and was President of NIRI's Virtual Chapter. He also led IR for Zep, Inc. ($700M specialty chemicals). Outside of IR, Don built a freight brokerage from zero to $80M+, and has mentored over 300 founders, closing a $150M pipeline in under a year for one of his advisory clients.

Don is also a pilot, an experience that informs his approach to complexity: preparing for contingencies, staying calm under pressure, and never guessing when the stakes are high.

Education: Babson College

Sharon is a senior strategic communications advisor with over 30 years of experience helping public and growth-stage companies shape narratives that influence investor perception, build credibility, and support valuation.

She advises companies in complex, highly regulated sectors including fintech, payments, and healthcare, where clear messaging and trust are critical to market confidence. Sharon partners with management teams to align communications with the investment thesis and elevate visibility with media, investors, and key stakeholders.

Earlier in her career, she served as Director of Media Relations at Manning, Selvage and Lee in Washington, D.C., leading media strategy for Fortune 500 clients including Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck & Co., Equifax, and Steinway & Sons, and held senior communications roles at The Boeing Company.

She began her career in broadcast journalism with Associated Press Radio, Fox News, and WTOP in Washington, D.C., bringing a deep understanding of how to craft clear, compelling narratives that drive earned media impact.

Mark's nearly two-decade financial markets career includes 14 years as an institutional stock broker with Banc of America Securities, FTN Midwest Research, and Stephens Inc. That experience gives him a sell-side and buy-side perspective that most IR practitioners lack. He understands what institutional investors actually need from management, and what they're telling the buy side when they're not telling the company.

Mark gained in-house IR experience as IR Manager for Advanced Medical Optics (2006–2007), a $1B ophthalmic device manufacturer, where he managed all aspects of the IR function including communication around an $800M acquisition. He has managed equity offerings, non-deal roadshows, and analyst relationships across industrials, regional banks, consumer, healthcare, and technology.

Education: B.S. Finance, University of Mississippi; MBA (Finance, Accounting, Strategy), Vanderbilt University

Chandi is an accomplished investment professional specializing in consumer and specialty retail. She began her career with a New York hedge fund in 2005, evaluating business trends and building financial models. As a buy-side analyst with Trivium Capital Management and Hunter Global Investors, she developed deep expertise in retail and consumer sector research, giving her an investor's lens on how companies are perceived and valued.

Chandi moved to the IR side as part of the Consumer Group at Blueshirt Group, then served as a sell-side analyst at Majestic Research (later acquired by ITG), where she appeared on CNBC, Fox News, and The Morning Show with Katie Couric. Her dual perspective as a former investor who has also been the analyst on the other side of the call, makes her uniquely effective at coaching management teams on investor communication.

Education: B.S. Business & Art History; M.Ed. (Museum Education) Stony Brook