Michael Russell

Since 2002, Michael Russell, APR, senior vice president, has led Pierpont’s investor relations practice and the Austin office.   He offers a highly diverse background in strategic communications, including deep experience in investor relations, public relations, marketing communications, issues management and crisis communications.

Prior to joining Pierpont, Michael was principal of StreetSmart Company, a strategic communications firm specializing in investor relations.  From 1998 to 2001, he served as senior director of investor relations and corporate communications for VTEL Corporation, a leader in videoconferencing and video webcast technology.  Prior to joining VTEL, Michael was vice president of Churchill Group, Inc., one of Houston’s largest public relations firms during the 1990s.

Throughout his investor relations career, Michael has provided counsel and support to publicly traded companies ranging in size from the Fortune 100 to micro-caps.  He also has provided strategic communication and issues management counsel to clients and employers in a broad range of industries, including financial services, insurance, technology, telecommunications, restaurants, oil and gas exploration and production, natural gas and liquids pipelines, oilfield services, mining and manufacturing.

In addition to his role at Pierpont, Michael is past president and currently a director of the Austin-San Antonio Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).  He created an annual fundraising event that earned the Chapter the NIRI National Chairman’s Award for Innovation.

Michael has earned an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from Public Relations Society of America and is a long-term member.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, a charitable organization for which Michael serves as the Foundation’s committee chair of strategic planning, public relations and marketing.  Under his leadership, the Foundation’s five-year strategic plan won a Silver Quill Award from the International Association of Business Communicators.

Michael earned a Master’s degree in communication from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.  Upon completing his master’s program, he was named Outstanding Graduate Student in 1992 by the University of Houston’s School of Communication and his thesis was published the following year in the Journal of Public Relations Research.

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