Mr. Morgan currently serves as executive vice president for the Futures Industry Association (FIA), a trade association based in Washington, D.C., and chief staff executive of the Institute for Financial Markets (IFM). He has more than 18 years of experience with trade associations, including a solid financial background, regulatory experience and high level organizational contacts within the financial services and futures industry. He has served the FIA for nine years and currently manages a staff of 25 and a $12 million budget.

“Jeff has a strong vision for our organization, and an outstanding track record of strategic leadership and membership development. He has been at the leadership helm and his successes include membership expansions, regulatory wins, technology platform improvements and top-notch industry research publications. His vision for NIRI’s future deeply impressed the selection committee and the Board,” said NIRI board member and Nominating Committee chairperson, Lynn Tyson.

“The board and I thank Linda for stepping in as interim CEO as the search committee proceeded carefully in carrying out its important responsibilities,” said NIRI Chairman Matthew V. Stroud. “Linda has served our members well through this transition period in advancing NIRI and the profession, as well as building a very cohesive and energized staff.”

“During the past year, NIRI has made tremendous progress in forging stronger relationships with its external constituents and its membership, and in rebuilding the NIRI brand,” said Linda Kelleher. “I look forward to working with Jeff and NIRI’s newly strengthened senior team as we step up our efforts to advocate for the investor relations profession.”

NIRI’s board of directors worked with executive search firm Spencer Stuart to assist in recruiting a new CEO. The CEO search committee was comprised of:
Lynn Tyson, committee chair, NIRI director and vice president of investor relations for Dell Inc.;
John Barker, senior vice president of corporate affairs and investor relations at Wendy’s International, Inc.;
Margaret Moore, retired senior vice president of human resources of PepsiCo.;
Elizabeth Saunders, NIRI director and co-founding partner of Ashton Partners;
Matthew Stroud, NIRI chairman and vice president of investor relations for Darden Restaurants, Inc.; and
Don Young, FASB board member.

“The board and staff have recently completed our annual strategic planning sessions, and will focus in 2008 on a renewed commitment to meeting member needs, promoting NIRI’s brand, serving as an advocate for members and the profession, and becoming and remaining a best-in-class association,” Stroud concluded. “Jeff’s background and experience will serve members and NIRI well as we execute against these and future goals.”

Mr. Morgan said, “I am thrilled to join NIRI at this time when the role of the investor relations officer is becoming more challenging than ever. I believe it is NIRI’s mission both to help IRO’s become more effective in their positions and educate senior management and board members on how critical this role is to the success of the organization. To that end, I will work closely with members, chapter officers, staff and the board to define and carry out NIRI’s vision for the future. I also hope to leverage the extensive chapter leadership to reach NIRI’s goals. During my two decades in association management, I learned how difficult it was to build an effective chapter network, and how critical this network is to accelerating the success of the organization.”

About NIRI

NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communications among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial publics. NIRI’s 4,400 members represent over 2,100 publicly held companies in the United States. For more information on NIRI, please visit www.niri.org.