Project Manager, Shareholder Advisory

The Opportunity

The Germanic team of Sodali & Co advises some of the most prominent listed companies across Germany, Austria and Switzerland on high-profile matters relating to corporate governance, investor relations, shareholder engagement, ESG and sustainability. Sodali is a trusted advisor on mid to large-cap issuers, M&A transactions, shareholder activism situations, takeover and raid defence mandates, and responses to hostile activity or unsolicited approaches.

As a Project Manager, you will take day-to-day ownership of advisory projects for some of the region's leading listed companies, managing client relationships and leading workstreams. You will join a team of experienced project managers and be expected to quickly grow into a trusted advisor role. This role offers exposure to high-profile assignments and corporate transactions across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, alongside the opportunity to further develop your expertise in corporate governance.

You will work alongside senior advisors who have helped shape the corporate governance and investor relations landscape in the region for more than 20 years, within a fast-growing global consulting firm and a multinational, passionate, ambitious team that embraces challenges and strives for excellence.

Key Duties

• Take ownership of advisory assignments on matters related to corporate governance, shareholder engagement and proxy solicitation, capital markets intelligence as well as sustainability and ESG.
• Work and assist on special situations (M&A and shareholder activism), including live raid defence, proxy fights, contests for corporate control and crisis management, keeping the team organised and ensuring deliverables remain on track.
• Responsibility for client deliveries that support account managers in managing their relationship with the client.
• Research and evaluate companies’ corporate governance and stewardship record and vulnerability.
• Analyse, model and interpret companies’ shareholder base profile, including proxy voting guidelines and past voting behaviour of major institutional investors to project impact and outcome of shareholder votes.
• Analyse influence, proxy voting policies and frameworks of proxy advisory firms (e.g., ISS and Glass Lewis),
• Develop shareholder engagement and corporate governance roadshow concepts and materials (e.g., investor profiles) by thoughtful research on institutional investors and other stakeholders.
• Identify and actively support the pursuit of new business development opportunities.
• Build and maintain relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, liaising with clients, other advisors and service providers.
• Cooperate and coordinate workstreams with other internal teams and business segments of Sodali & Co (e.g., corporate governance team, sustainability team, engagement team, M&A and shareholder activism team, strategic communication team, research and analytics team).
• Engage directly with institutional and retail investors as well as proxy advisory firms, to support client objectives and develop market insights.
• Monitor shareholder positions and trading activities.
• Prepare executive summaries, client presentations, case studies and board-ready briefing materials.
• Conduct research and surveillance on relevant governance, shareholder and activism trends.
• Develop and invest in building your own expertise while actively coaching others, and sharing tools, approaches and lessons learned related to corporate governance, investment stewardship, shareholder dynamics, activism and ESG and sustainability.
• Maintain the Germanic team’s various databases and in-house intelligence.
• Leverage financial and business intelligence databases as well as the firm’s proprietary databases, including the Sodali & Co Platform, to process, analyse and present obtained information in the form of texts, charts and tables.

Skills & Experience

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in corporate governance, shareholder advisory and investor relations, including prior experience in M&A, capital markets, investment management, banking or finance.
• Degree educated, or equivalent qualification, in business administration, economics, finance, law, political science or a related field.
• Outstanding project management skills with the ability to prioritise competing projects and deadlines.Professional working proficiency in both English and German is required.
• Intellectual curiosity and high emotional competence as well as the ability to perform and keep motivated and client-focused under pressure, handle multiple assignments simultaneously and meet tight deadlines while exercising utmost diligence.
• A keen and demonstrated interest in Sodali & Co’s advisory and practice areas.
• Highly organised, creative and strong analytical approach to problem-solving. Expertise in working with both qualitative and quantitative data.
• Advanced user in Microsoft Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint.
• Demonstrates proactive curiosity about AI tools and emerging technologies, exploring new capabilities, testing practical applications, and identifying opportunities to improve team effectiveness and client outcomes
• Confident to work with qualitative and quantitative datasets to synthesise information and develop innovative, sophisticated solutions.
• Professional manner, ability to politely and considerately interact with clients, other advisors and colleagues while applying highest standards of business etiquette.
• Ready to assume responsibility in high-stake situations..
• You will be required to interact with senior leaders of the firm as well as company boards, senior managers of issuers and other advisors (e.g., investment bankers, lawyers), exceptional communication and interpersonal skills are therefore indispensable, with the ability to elaborate concepts and ideas concisely and defend their validity.
• Unconditional integrity, confidentiality and discretion.