Team
About Donna M. Ackerly
Founder, Lioness Consulting LLC
Donna Ackerly founded Lioness Consulting LLC in 2023. She is a seasoned corporate governance professional with a proven track record of successful leadership spanning decades. Specializing in proxy solicitations for public and private corporations, including annual and special meetings, proxy contests, mergers and acquisitions, SPACs, and corporate actions, Donna has been a trusted advisor to a diverse range of clients, from newly public enterprises to established corporations across various market capitalizations.
Beginning her career with Georgeson Inc. in 1980, Donna honed her expertise through a hands-on approach, evolving into a vital contributor to each client's executive and advisory team. In 2016, she brought her wealth of knowledge to Laurel Hill Advisory Group, a boutique proxy solicitation firm, where she notably established an advisory and solicitation practice for SPACs and introduced additional service offerings for companies at different stages of growth.
As a key advisor, Donna actively manages client relationships, engaging directly with senior management and collaborating with external legal, financial, and communications advisors. Her comprehensive skill set spans Solicitation Execution, Corporate Governance Advisory, Comprehensive Knowledge of Federal and State Statutes, and more.
Donna has actively participated in hundreds of board meetings throughout her career where her insights have proven invaluable. At Lioness Consulting LLC, Donna continues to be a driving force in elevating corporate governance and proxy solicitation practices for businesses navigating the complexities of today's dynamic business landscape.
Contact Donna Ackerly:
Email: dackerly@lionessconsultingllc.com
Phone: (609) 651-2267
About Patrick A. Tracey
Chief Administrative Officer, Lioness Consulting LLC
With over four decades of experience in the financial and corporate sectors, Patrick A. Tracey has built a distinguished career advising Fortune 500, mid-cap, small-cap, and micro-cap public companies, as well as private firms, on corporate governance, investor relations, and equity management. His expertise spans strategic planning, shareholder engagement, and corporate actions, enabling organizations to achieve their objectives with precision and success.
Pat has been instrumental in guiding hundreds of mutual insurance companies, savings institutions, and credit unions through the complex process of demutualization, supporting their transition to public entities. Additionally, he has assisted private companies with equity crowdfunding, cap table management, and equity plan administration, ensuring robust financial strategies.
A significant portion of Pat’s career was with Georgeson/Computershare and its predecessor entities, where he played a pivotal role in driving successful shareholder meetings, corporate actions, stock surveillance, proxy solicitations, and retail shareholder campaigns. His work also included fostering key relationships that strengthened organizational outcomes. More recently, at ISS Corporate Solutions, Pat advised companies on enhancing equity plan outcomes, optimizing "Say on Pay" vote results, and improving their Corporate Governance QualityScore through strategic planning and execution.
Beyond his professional achievements, Pat has demonstrated leadership in the investor relations community. In 2015, he served as President of the National Investor Relations Institute’s (NIRI) New York chapter, the organization’s largest. He contributed to multiple NIRI National Conference Committee boards and served on the advisory board for Fordham University’s Investor Relations Curriculum program during his tenure as NIRI NY President. Pat also mentored students at DePaul University, where his son studied, offering career guidance and support for professional advancement in the New York area.
A graduate of New York University, Pat combines deep industry knowledge with a commitment to fostering professional growth and governance excellence.
Contact Patrick Tracey:
Email: ptracey@lionessconsultingllc.com
Phone: (631) 521-5120
About Jerry Comer
Jerry Comer is a seasoned professional with more than 40 years of experience in proxy solicitation, corporate governance consulting, and director nominee identification.
Jerry started his career in the proxy industry when he joined Morrow & Co. in 1984 and has worked on hundreds of successful annual and special meeting campaigns, tender offers, and rights offers. He has also worked on several S & L conversions and dozens of SPACs. Toward the end of his second stint at Morrow, he worked in the Stock Surveillance/Corporate Governance Department, where he kept clients apprised of increases and decreases in institutional positions. At BNY Mellon, Jerry oversaw corporate and mutual fund solicitations, as well as reporting on institutional ownership and voting. At EQ Proxy Jerry helped to grow the firm by handling all annual and special solicitation campaigns as well as tender and rights offerings.
Contact Jerry Comer:
Email: jerrycomer@lionessconsultingllc.com
About Thomas Cronin
Senior Vice President, Lioness Consulting LLC
Thomas Cronin is Senior Vice President at Lioness Consulting LLC who boasts over 30 years of experience in the governance field. Tom specializes in friendly mergers and acquisitions, unsolicited takeovers, proxy contests, bank, thrift, and insurance conversions, and corporate governance consulting. He excels in developing successful strategies for communicating with stakeholders to drive favorable outcomes.
Tom has advised on numerous high-profile contested campaigns and private equity transactions, including representing Bank One Corporation in its landmark $55 billion merger with J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America in its $50 billion acquisition of Merrill Lynch, and Merck in its $41 billion merger with Schering-Plough.
Prior to joining Lioness Consulting LLC, Tom worked at Alliance Advisors. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President at Laurel Hill Advisory Group, Senior Managing Director at Georgeson Inc., Vice President at Kissel-Blake Inc., and Vice President at D.F. King & Co. Tom began his career as a Proxy/Stockwatch Analyst at Sodali & Co. (formerly known as Morrow & Co.)
Tom attended The New York Institute of Technology and is based in Lindenhurst, New York.
About Hari Bhatt
Corporate Governance & Executive Compensation Specialist, Lioness Consulting LLC
Hari Bhatt is a three-year veteran of ISS-Corporate, the consulting arm of ISS-Stoxx. His experience consists of advising and providing compensation recommendations for over 100 corporate issuer clients, extending tailored advisory services to the C-suite and senior client executives alike. Hari has provided thorough quantitative and qualitative analysis of equity usage, market trends, benchmarking data, and management & shareholder proposals to identify potential concerns related to executive compensation and corporate governance to ensure market-best practices in his clients’ pay programs, proxy disclosures, and other public facing materials. His distinct ability to develop a solid foundation of trust and communication, has fostered long-lasting relationships with his clients, extending beyond his time with ISS-Corporate.
Beyond corporate governance, Hari is an experienced marketer, filmmaker, writer, and former astrophysicist, giving him a unique background that has equipped him with a strong foundation in analytical reasoning, creative problem solving, targeted messaging, and out-of-the-box thinking.
Contact Hari Bhatt:
Email: hbhatt@lionessconsultingllc.com
About Foster Bartko
Foster Bartko is an expert in helping public companies and business development companies achieve proxy vote outcomes. Foster boasts over 30 years of experience in the proxy solicitation industry. His advice to clients and their financial and legal advisors regarding shareholder meetings, tender/exchange offers and other complex financial transactions have been lauded as invaluable.
Foster joined Lioness Consulting LLC from Alliance Advisors where he was Senior Vice President. He spent most of his career as a Managing Director with Georgeson, a ComputerShare company. Earlier in his career, Foster worked at Morrow & Company as a Lead Proxy Solicitor, and at Chase Bank as a Trust Officer.
Contact Foster Bartko:
Email: fbartko@lionessconsultingllc.com