CEO News

This is the latest free magazines and other related publications for CEO and Professionals titled: Os 6 erros mais comuns cometido pelas empresas e como fazer para evit-los. You can get the magazines sent to your home or download the digital magazines for free… Enjoy your reading.

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Executives at midsize companies make critical business decisions every day based on the information available to them. This information can come from a variety of sources: opinions from peers and colleagues; a personal sense of intuition or business judgment; or data derived internally or externally to the organization. This is particularly worrisome given the lack of confidence in data available to decision makers: a 2007 report conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and commissioned by Business Objects found that nine out of ten corporate executives admit to making important decisions on the basis of inadequate information. Request Free!

TSX: EMC www.emcmetals.com

VANCOUVER, July 23 /CEO News Info/ — EMC Metals Corp. (the “Company” or “EMC”) (TSX: EMC) announced today the resignation of William M. Sheriff from the board of directors of EMC Metals Corp. Mr. Sheriff is currently the CEO of Golden Predator Corp. (“GPD”) and also serves as Chairman of Silver Predator Corp. and Copper Ridge Explorations Inc. Mr. Sheriff is resigning this board position to concentrate on significant GPD exploration programs and other business commitments, although Mr. Sheriff will continue to provide advisory support to the Company.

Mr. William B. Harris, Chairman of EMC commented as follows:

“The EMC Board wishes to thank Bill Sheriff for his significant contributions to the Company over the last four years. Bill took on the CEO and board chairman’s role for this Company back in mid-2006, and successfully guided the Company through a successful divestiture of its parent company’s uranium properties and assets to Uranium One in 2007, and subsequently, the successful spin-out of noble metals and assets into Golden Predator Corp. in 2009. Bill has helped us chart a new course for EMC and we wish him every success in his focused efforts on GPD and its Yukon exploration programs. Bill intends to remain an adviser to EMC, and we value his continued support and guidance to EMC in that capacity as well.”

About EMC Metals

EMC Metals is focused on application of its in-house and patented mineral recovery technologies to deliver value in specialty metal and rare earth projects. EMC’s high priority development opportunity is the Nyngan Scandium Joint Venture with Jervois Mining Ltd. of Melbourne, Australia. The Company released results of its first National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101 resource estimate for the Nyngan Scandium Project in March 2010, announcing a measured and indicated resource of 12 million tonnes, grading 261ppm Sc, based on a cut-off grade of 100ppm Sc (NI43-101 Technical Report on Nyngan Scandium, Jervois Mining Limited, Nyngan, New South Wales, Australia, March 25, 2010). The Company is currently doing metallurgical test-work on the Nyngan resource material, to define and refine flow sheet studies, recovery estimates and capital cost estimates for the project.

EMC also holds two tungsten assets; the Springer Tungsten property in Nevada, USA and the Fostung Tungsten project in Ontario, Canada. Both tungsten assets have NI 43-101 compliant resource estimates, and the full reports are available on the Company website and on SEDAR. The Springer tungsten asset is a fully permitted, established underground mine and milling facility with a 1,200tpd throughput capability to produce a high grade scheelite (WO(3)) concentrate product. The Springer mine and mill are currently not in operation. The Company also holds the Carlin Vanadium property, near Carlin, Nevada, with a recently released NI 43-101 inferred resource estimate of 25.4 million tonnes, grading 0.5% V(2)O5, based on a cut-off grade of 0.30%, or 289 million lbs of total contained V(2)O5 (NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources, EMC Metals Corp., Carlin Vanadium Project, Carlin, Nevada, April 30, 2010).

Technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Gilles R. Dessureau, M.Sc. P.Geo a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101. Mr Dessureau is a Professional Geologist employed by EMC Metals.

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and EMC’s plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, EMC assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change.

Source: EMC Metals Corp.

CONTACT: EMC Metals Corp., Investor Relations: (604) 648-4653 or
info@emcmetals.com

Signature Group Holdings, Inc. Names New Management Team and Board of Directors Following Successful Reorganization of Former Financial Services Giant Fremont General Corporation

Special situation lender and investor in middle market companies installs leadership team of veteran turnaround professionals, commercial finance specialists and private equity investors; Craig Noell named CEO; Former Foothill Capital founder John Nickoll named Chairman

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. and NEW YORK, July 20 /CEO News Info/ — Special situation lender and investor Signature Group Holdings, Inc. (Pink Sheets: SGGH), successor to recently reorganized Fremont General Corporation, has elected a new Board of Directors and appointed an executive team following its successful emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings last month.

Signature will emphasize a business model that focuses on credit-oriented special situation lending and investments in middle-market companies nationally. Prior to bankruptcy, Fremont General Corporation was a $7 billion financial institution with interests in banking, insurance and commercial finance; its wholly-owned subsidiary, Fremont Investment & Loan, was one of the country’s top five originators of subprime residential loans. When the subprime market collapsed in 2007, Fremont General Corporation came under pressure by regulators and elected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2008 in order to implement its restructuring program.

Signature emerged from Chapter 11 in June 2010 under a plan of reorganization led by Signature Group Holdings, LLC. One of the key features of the plan of organization was an estimated $769 million (unaudited) of federal net operating loss carry-forwards expected to be available to offset future taxable income.

Craig Noell, 47, has been named president and CEO of Signature Group Holdings, Inc. Mr. Noell has served as Managing Director and CEO of Signature Group Holdings, LLC since 2004. Signature operates as an investor and investment manager employing credit driven strategies, including distressed debt investments and special situation loan originations.

“Using the platform of the former Fremont General, we are very excited about writing a new chapter for Signature and confident that our new management and board slate can elevate the company into a leader in middle-market lending and investment, a sector that continues to be starved for capital,” Mr. Noell said. “With our team in place, our shareholders can be confident that we have the expertise and talent to take Signature to the next level.”

John Nickoll, founder of Foothill Capital Corp., formerly the country’s largest independent commercial finance company prior to merging with Wells Fargo, has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors of Signature.

“Middle market lending remains one of the biggest causalities of the economic downturn, with many providers exiting the market and conventional lenders pulling back significantly,” Mr. Nickoll noted. “There is a major opportunity for Signature to make an impact in offering vital credit and investment capital for mid-market companies, for operating purposes, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and a host of special situations.”

Robert A. Peiser, a veteran turnaround executive who has served as CEO of several national companies – including Omniflight Helicopters, Inc. and Imperial Sugar Co. – has been named Vice Chairman and will also chair Signature’s Audit Committee as management implements a plan to bring the company back into SEC compliance. Mr. Peiser, who also served two separate tours as CFO of Trans World Airlines, brings strong corporate governance experience to his new role with Signature’s board.

“The first few months following a reorganization typically represent the most challenging period for a turnaround,” Mr. Peiser said. “Having assembled a collegial group of experienced veterans, who bring substantial experience in special situation credit and commercial finance, will greatly enhance the viability of our business model.”

The rest of the board members include Mr. Noell, along with Kenneth Grossman, Michael Blitzer, John Koral, Richard A. Rubin, Norman Matthews and Robert Schwab. The board has already established various key corporate governance committees, including audit, compensation, legal, executive and governance and nominating committees.

Rounding out the Signature executive team are:

Kenneth Grossman, 54, a veteran turnaround professional and distressed investor has been appointed co-Executive Vice President. Mr. Grossman, a former corporate lawyer, also serves as managing director of Signature Capital Advisers, LLC, which has entered into an interim investment management agreement with the newly reorganized company. Mr. Grossman has served in leadership roles for several investment firms, including Ramius, LLC, Del Mar Asset Management, L.P., and Alpine Associates, LP. Mr. Grossman was responsible for evaluating new investments and managing existing investments at each firm.

Kyle Ross, 33, has been named co-Executive Vice President along with Mr. Grossman. Mr. Ross has also served as a managing director of Signature Capital Advisers, LLC, evaluating new investments and managing existing investments. SCA has employed credit-driven strategies, including distressed debt investments and special situation loan originations.

The terms of the new leadership team were outlined in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed July 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission: http://biz.yahoo.com/e/100715/sggh.pk8-k.html.

“We are in a great position here following the Fremont General reorganization and installation of a first-rate leadership team to turn Signature Group Holdings, Inc. into a serious player in commercial finance,” Mr. Grossman said. “So many middle-market companies are eager for funding – for expansion, for transactions, to pay off existing debt. We are looking forward to stepping in with capital and expertise to help advance business recovery in this critical segment of the economy.”

About Signature Group Holdings, LLC

Formed in 2004, Signature Group Holdings, LLC, is a credit-oriented special situations investor with a track record of successfully acquiring, originating and managing debt investments. Additional information about Signature can be found on its website www.Signaturecap.com. Signature is headquartered in Sherman Oaks, CA with a presence in New York, NY.

Cautionary Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information. Statements contained in this news release relating to future results, events and expectations are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks and other factors and uncertainties which may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Signature does not have any intention or obligation to update forward-looking statements included in this press release after the date of this press release, except as required by law. No stock exchange or regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.

Allan Ripp 212-262-7477
Press Contacts: arippnyc@aol.com
—————-
Joshua Spivak 510-849-1663
jspivaknyc@aol.com

David Brody 805-435-1255
Investor Relations: investorRelations@signatureCap.com
——————–

Source: Signature Group Holdings, Inc.

CONTACT: David Brody, Investor relations, Signature Group Holdings,
Inc., +1-805-435-1255, InvestorRelations@signaturecap.com; or Press Contacts:
Allan Ripp, +1-212-262-7477, arippnyc@aol.com or Joshua Spivak,
+1-510-849-1663, jspivaknyc@aol.com

Web Site: http://www.signaturecap.com/

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Believes Ameron’s Board of Directors Should be Focusing on Measures to Improve Shareholder Value

NEW YORK, July 9 /CEO News Info/ — Barington Capital Group, L.P. sent a letter today to James Marlen, the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ameron International Corporation (NYSE:AMN). The letter was sent in response to the Company’s recent announcement that its Board of Directors has amended the Company’s Bylaws in order to put in place new advance notice provisions regarding stockholder action. Barington states in the letter that it believes that it is more crucial for the Board to be spending its time and the Company’s resources improving Ameron’s financial and share price performance, and recommends that the Board implement the measures Barington outlined in its March 29th letter to Mr. Marlen.

A copy of Barington’s letter is attached to this press release.

About Barington Capital Group:

Barington Capital Group, L.P. is an investment firm that, through its affiliates, primarily invests in undervalued, small and mid-capitalization companies. Barington and its principals are experienced value-added investors who have taken active roles in assisting companies in creating or improving shareholder value. Barington represents a group of investors that currently owns over 3.5% of the outstanding shares of the Company.

* * * * *

Barington Capital Group, L.P.
888 Seventh Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, New York 10019

July 9, 2010

Mr. James S. Marlen
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Ameron International Corporation
245 South Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101

Dear Jim:

As significant stockholders of Ameron International Corporation (“Ameron” or the “Company”), we wanted to share our thoughts with you regarding the Company’s recent announcement that its Board of Directors has amended the Company’s Bylaws without stockholder approval in order to put in place new advance notice provisions regarding stockholder action.(1)

We were disappointed to learn that in this challenging economic environment the Board has elected to spend its time and the Company’s resources updating its defenses against stockholder initiatives. The Company already has a vast array of provisions in place which have the effect of isolating the Board from Ameron’s stockholders. These include a classified board of directors, restrictions on the ability of stockholders to call a special meeting or act by written consent, the absence of a majority voting standard in director elections, the ability of the Board to amend the Company’s Bylaws without stockholder approval, and an 80% supermajority voting requirement for stockholders to amend the Bylaws or approve certain types of business combinations. One would think that if a company was truly stockholder focused, it would be unnecessary for it to have such a range of defensive measures in place.

We believe that it is more crucial for the Board to be focusing its efforts at this time on improving the Company’s financial and share price performance. We therefore strongly recommend that you implement the measures we outlined in our March 29th letter to you. These recommendations include reducing expenses, exiting non-core businesses, appointing an independent chairman of the board, aligning management interests with those of stockholders and improving Ameron’s corporate communication efforts.

Expense Reduction; Exit Non-Core Businesses

In our opinion, it is of foremost importance for the Company to reduce its corporate and operating expenses and bring its selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses in line with its peers. While we have been told that the Company has already reduced expenses, we believe that further expense reductions are available and need to be taken promptly.

In addition, it is our belief that the Company should exit its non-core TAMCO joint venture and Hawaii Infrastructure business in order to better focus on its core Fiberglass-Composite and Water Transmission businesses. As the Company’s results of operations for the second quarter ended May 30, 2010 indicate, Ameron’s Fiberglass-Composite Pipe Group continues to be the Company’s strongest performer, with sales increasing 16% year-over-year. In contrast, TAMCO reported another quarterly loss while the Hawaii Infrastructure Division’s sales and segment income for the quarter were lower in 2010 as compared to 2009. We therefore recommend that Ameron conduct a thorough review of all strategic alternatives for TAMCO and the Hawaii Infrastructure Division, including the sale to a strategic buyer that may be willing to pay a premium for these businesses.

Appoint an Independent Chairman of the Board

We continue to believe that the Company needs to improve its corporate governance in a number of areas, including by appointing an independent chairman of the board. The stockholders of Ameron overwhelmingly support this recommendation, as indicated by the fact that over 67% of the shares voting at the 2010 annual meeting voted in favor of a stockholder-proposed Bylaw amendment that would have required the chairman of the board to be an independent director. Unfortunately, amending Ameron’s Bylaws requires the affirmative vote of 80% of the outstanding shares of the Company. This is an extremely difficult threshold to achieve, especially considering that barely 80% of the outstanding shares voted on the proposal. We therefore add to our list of recommendations to improve the Company’s corporate governance that Ameron remove the supermajority voting requirements for stockholders to amend its Bylaws and approve certain types of business combinations. We hope, however, that the Board will voluntarily appoint an independent chairman so that future stockholder votes on this issue are not necessary.

Alignment of Interests between Management and Stockholders

We were pleased to see that the Ameron Board took our advice and implemented a minimum stock ownership policy for its directors and executive officers. It’s about time. While we have questions concerning some of the provisions of the policy, we support the decision of the Board to take action to “better align the interest of the CEO and directors of the Company with the interests of the Company’s stockholders.”

We hope that the Board will also implement our other suggestions to better align the interests of management and stockholders. Among other things, we are convinced that the Company needs to reduce its executive compensation expenditures quickly and judiciously and establish new executive compensation guidelines to address the pay-for-performance disconnect at the Company.(2) The Company’s compensation practices have been widely criticized by a number of proxy advisory firms and in our view must be revised promptly.(3)

Improve Corporate Communication

We note that the Company has again elected not to hold an investor conference call in connection with its quarterly earnings release and has failed to announce any other steps it has implemented to augment stockholder communication. To the contrary, it appears to us that the Company has taken efforts to limit the ability of stockholders to speak with you, as when I last called you to discuss our recommendations, I was referred to other members of your management team.

Ameron is not a private company. It is owned by its public stockholders and should be operated in their best interests. It is our hope that the Company will communicate more openly with its stockholders and carefully consider their suggestions to improve shareholder value.

Sincerely yours,

/s/ James A. Mitarotonda

James A. Mitarotonda

(1) The announcement was contained in the Company’s latest Form 8-K filing dated June 25, 2010

(2) RiskMetrics Group stated in its March 15, 2010 proxy report that there is a “pay-for-performance disconnect at the company” and Ameron received a “D” grade in the area of pay-for-performance from Glass Lewis & Co. in its 2010 proxy report. Similarly, The Corporate Library, in its March 2, 2010 profile of the Company, gave the Company a “Very High Concern” rating with respect to its compensation practices and noted that there are a number of concerns at Ameron that call into question the alignment of executive interests with shareholder interests.

(3) See, for example, RiskMetrics Group’s March 15, 2010 proxy report

Source: Barington Capital Group, L.P.

CONTACT: Jared L. Landaw, Chief Operating Officer, Barington Capital
Group, L.P., +1-212-974-5713

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