NIRI Elects Derek K. Cole New Board Chairman

VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) today announced the election of Derek K. Cole as the 2012 chairman of the NIRI Board of Directors. Cole is vice president, investor relations and corporate communications for ARCA biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABIO). He will succeed Douglas Wilburne, vice president, investor relations, Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT).

“I am delighted by Derek’s election as 2012 NIRI Board Chair”

“I am delighted by Derek’s election as 2012 NIRI Board Chair,” said Jeffrey D. Morgan, president and chief executive officer of NIRI. “The NIRI Board of Directors, chapter leaders and members throughout the organization have recently undertaken a strategic planning process. Derek is well suited to lead NIRI as we execute on the important initiatives resulting from this process, moving our professional organization forward and ensuring we continue to provide the best value possible for our members.”

Cole said, “I am deeply honored to accept this significant responsibility. NIRI has been essential to my investor relations career success, and ensuring our members are fully supported in their IR efforts will be my main focus. I believe NIRI’s core pillars of professional development, community, information and advocacy provide the framework to advance the investor relations profession and its practitioners. I look forward to working with the highly talented staff and Board of Directors along with the entire NIRI community to move our recent Strategic Organization Review process into the execution phase for the benefit of all NIRI stakeholders. We are committed to maintaining NIRI as the preeminent IR professional association.”

Cole has been involved in the capital markets and strategic communications for over 20 years with 14 years of dedicated investor relations and corporate communications experience focused on supporting the development of public and private companies. He has provided financial communications counsel to C-level executives and board members, managed or contributed to a broad spectrum of financing transactions and supported multiple M&A transactions. He has established initial investor relations programs and developed award-winning strategic communications programs for companies in multiple industries. Cole headed the investor relations and corporate communications functions at Myogen, Inc., from its days as a private company, through its initial public offering and continuing until its acquisition. He is Chair of the Working Group on Financial Disclosure for NIRI’s Standards of Practice for Investor Relations and past president of the NIRI Rocky Mountain Chapter. Cole also serves on the Board of Directors of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA).

About the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI)

Founded in 1969, NIRI (www.NIRI.org) is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial community constituents. NIRI is the largest professional investor relations association in the world with more than 3,500 members representing 2,000 publicly held companies and $5.4 trillion in stock market capitalization.