Robotti & 100WF Celebrate 100th Anniversary of Women's Right to Vote at the Berkshire Annual Meeting in May
NEW YORK, March 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Robotti & Co. ("Robotti") and 100 Women in Finance ("100WF") today announced that they will be hosting this year's Women in Investing event in Omaha during the events surrounding the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Friday, May 1, 2020.
The theme is inspired directly by Warren Buffett, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment of the US Constitution, establishing women's right to vote. Robotti and 100WF raise a call to action for more women in prominent roles like portfolio manager and other positions of executive leadership within the investment management industry, including on public company boards, as Mr. Buffett forthrightly noted in his annual letter.
The event aligns with 100WF's recent announcement of its Vision for 30x40, in which women will perform 30% of investment team and executive roles in the finance industry by 2040. The organization pursues as its mission, the intent to impact the finance industry's demographics by empowering women at each career stage to reach their professional potential and by promoting careers in investing to pre-career young women of diverse backgrounds.
On February 22, 2020, Mr. Buffett noted in his annual letter: "During the first 30 or so years of my services, it was rare to find a woman in the room unless she represented a family controlling the enterprise. This year, it should be noted, marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed American women the right to have their voices heard in a voting booth. Their attaining similar status in a board room remains a work in progress."
Further, in January 2020, Goldman Sachs's CEO, David Solomon commented to CNBC at the World Economic Forum "Starting on July 1 in the U.S. and Europe, we're not going to take a company public unless there's at least one diverse board candidate, with a focus on women…And we're going to move towards 2021 requesting two."
"We are very excited to be partnering with 100 Women in Finance to celebrate the centennial anniversary of women's suffrage. When Warren Buffett released Berkshire's annual letter and made specific note that 100 years' later, women are still struggling to be proportionately represented on public boards, our theme became clear," remarked Lindsey Sichel Rubinstein, Managing Director at Robotti. "Our Founder and CIO, Bob Robotti, has long understood the benefits of diverse leadership in the finance industry, and we look forward to this year's event being extra special - and of course extend an invitation for Mr. Buffett to once again share a few salient, informal remarks as he did last year."
The women's event will be held on Friday afternoon, May 1, 2020 at the Hilton Hotel in Omaha. Topics will include actionable opportunities that exist to build greater gender inclusion in areas within the finance industry where it matters most. Future-focused discussion amongst investment professionals will address the finance industry's rapid evolution and how women's leadership can be engaged for stronger corporate management, performance and industry growth.
"Having met with hundreds of companies' executive management teams and having sat on multiple public company boards over the past 40 years, I am well aware of the dearth of women in executive roles. This is why several years ago Robotti alum, Stephanie Baas, and I decided to host an event during the Berkshire annual meeting weekend to raise awareness and start a conversation," Bob Robotti commented. "I have been sourcing undervalued investments for my entire career, and to me, the vast skill set, integrity and knowledge possessed by the women in this industry as compared to their severe underrepresentation in prominent roles presents a clear undervalued opportunity. As I have also found with my investments, you can't always just wait for change – you have to get involved and be a positive catalyst."
100WF's CEO Amanda Pullinger noted, "We are honored to partner with Robotti & Co. on this annual event and anticipate the exchange of smart, real-time ideas about how to gain more ground towards women's representation in executive leadership, in investment roles and on corporate boards. We believe that the realization of our 30x40 Vision will require broad, industry-wide commitment, and we look forward to engagement around how we can get there by setting goals and working together."
In addition to this women's event, Robotti also hosts an annual luncheon on the day of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders' general meeting.
Please contact Lindsey Sichel Rubinstein at Robotti or Sarah Dyer at 100WF for more information. Registration for the women's event will begin in mid-March via 100WF's website. Contact information is below.
About Robotti & Co.
Founded in 1983, Robotti & Co. is a value-focused New York based asset manager, offering private funds and separately managed accounts. The company's approach is guided by the classic tenets of value investing. Inherent to this approach is the belief that the market price of a security does not necessarily indicate its true economic value. Robotti seeks to identify and research companies with solid balance sheets, the ability to generate significant amounts of free cash flow and yet are misunderstood, neglected, or out-of-favor with Wall Street. True and patient contrarians, the company seeks to discover value before the general market. Its investment philosophy has been consistent since inception over 35 years ago with the goal of providing superior risk adjusted returns for our valued long-term partners.
About 100 Women in Finance
100 Women in Finance's more than 15,000 members strengthen the global finance industry by empowering women to achieve their professional potential at each career stage. Its members inspire, equip and advocate for a new generation of industry leadership, in which women and men serve as investment professionals and executives, equal in achievement and impact. Through Education, Peer Engagement and Impact, the organization furthers the progress of women who have chosen finance as a career, and enables their positive influence over pre-career young women.
For inquiries, please contact:
Lindsey Sichel Rubinstein
Tel: (646) 442 6715
Email: [email protected]
Sarah Dyer Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Robotti & Company, LLC
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