News & Events

While the buzz of The Swatch Group’s Royal Pop collaboration with Audermars Piguet has likely come as a welcome distraction, FT journalist, Mercedes Rhuel, takes a deep dive into the challenges that company continues to face, including declining profits, share losses and geographic headwinds. These issues, coupled with years of lackluster governance and Steven’s strong showing at the 2026 AGM, are ratcheting up the pressure on the founding family.

Click on the link to read Ms. Rhuel’s article: Times up for Swatch?

GreenWood’s efforts to drive governance changes at The Swatch Group received a significant vote of support from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a leading independent proxy advisory firm. On April 24, 2026, ISS issued its recommendation for the upcoming Swatch 2026 shareholder meeting, recommending a “FOR” vote for our Director nominee, Steven Wood, as well as all six of our governance proposals.

You can find the press release here.

Andrea Martel of the Swiss media company, NZZ, sat down with Steven for a wide-ranging interview on Swatch. The interview covers Swatch shareholders’ rising frustration with the company, weak market perception and mounting questions around its strategy and governance. It clearly outlines the rationale for GreenWood’s ongoing efforts to push for change at the upcoming AGM in May 2026.

You can find the article here (subscription required): “I Feel Like Winkelried”.

Steven sat down with Bloomberg TV’s Open Interest hosts, Matt Miller and Dani Burger, to discuss Swatch at a critical crossroads. The interview explores GreenWood’s case for challenging the status quo, addresses the company’s performance amid weakened demand, and explains why a refreshed boardroom is essential to unlocking long-term value for all shareholders.

Watch the full Bloomberg TV interview: The Battle Over Swatch.

In a Bloomberg News feature, Allegra Catelli details GreenWood’s campaign to ensure Swatch’s minority shareholders are afforded a meaningful voice at the 2026 Annual General Meeting, underscoring the growing focus on governance reform as Swatch navigates mounting strategic challenges.

The Bloomberg article can be found here (subscription required):  Swiss Watch Giant Gets Bullish as Activist Pushes for Change.

Mercedes Ruehl of the Financial Times wrote about GreenWood’s push for governance improvements at Swatch, including the six proposed 2026 AGM agenda items covered in our presentation,  Laying Governance Foundations for Sustainable Success.

Read the FT article from Ms. Ruehl here.

Prominent Swiss media companies, NZZ and FuW, published articles highlighting Greenwood’s six proposed agenda items for Swatch’s 2026 AGM as outlined in our presentation, Laying Governance Foundations for Sustainable Success.

Read the NZZ article from journalist Andrea Martel here (subscription required) and the FuW article from Yvonne Debrunner here.

Jack in the Box, Inc. (JACK) announces the appointment of two new board members, including GreenWood’s candidate, Alan Smolinisky, as part of a cooperation agreement.  Alan brings a wealth of experience in real estate, finance, and capital markets and will be chairing JACK’s newly-formed Capital Allocation Committee.

See the press release here: JACK Announces Mark King & Alan Smolinisky Appointed to Board of Directors.

Bloomberg posted a 10-minute video highlighting Swatch’s rich heritage, as well as its macro challenges and self-inflicted wounds, including its “tempestuous”  relationship with shareholders. At the 8:00 minute mark, the video features Steven’s ongoing effort to earn board representation, which would bring fresh perspective to a company in need of revitalization.

Check out the video here: Is Time Running Out on Swatch?

Margot Patrick from the Wall Street Journal recaps GreenWood’s Swatch journey to date.

Check out Ms. Patrick’s article The American Investor Taking on Swatch’s Founding Family.

Steven appeared on the Acquirer’s Podcast with hosts Tobias Carlyle and Jake Taylor to discuss his recently published white paper on owner operators, his rationale for our constructive activist approach, and his insights on board experiences with CTT and Leonardo. The trio also spend time discussing Steven’s current thinking on our latest coinvestment in The Swatch Group ahead of the company’s AGM.

Catch a replay of the live-streamed podcast via YouTube, Spotify or Apple.

Despite Swatch’s questionable tactics to derail Steven’s board initiative, his impressive showing at the AGM is indicative of the growing dissatisfaction with the status quo amongst shareholders and the broader Swiss public at one of the country’s most treasured companies. We’ve included some articles published following the AGM from leading Swiss publications and their top journalists here.

Check out NZZ’s comprehensive review of the AGM here (for easy English translation, open in Google Chrome).

View FuW’s translated opinion piece on the AGM results and potential implications here.

In a piece published by the Financial Times, Mercedes Ruehl discusses the Swatch Group’s recent troubles and Steven’s ongoing efforts to constructively engage with the company for the right to represent minority shareholders.

View the FT article here (subscription required).

Subsequent coverage by Mercedes can be found here: May 18, 2025, May 21, 2025, July 17, 2025

Marc Forster, of the Swiss financial publication, Finanz und Wirtschaft (FuW), discusses the challenges at Swatch, how Steven’s representation of the Group’s bearer shareholders could present an opportunity for change at the company, and the potential next steps for his candidacy.

Check out Marc Forster’s FuW article here.

Mark Dittli, of the Swiss financial publication, The Market, sat down with Steven to discuss the unique opportunity he sees at The Swatch Group and the rationale for his board candidacy.

Check out Mr. Dittli’s interview with Steven here.

Zurich-based author and journalist, Mark Dittli, of the Swiss financial publication The Market, offers insights on GreenWood’s nomination of Steven as board representative of The Swatch Group’s bearer shareholders.

View Mr. Market’s article on Swatch’s upcoming board election

Steven’s white paper, Owners vs. agents: A global examination of the behaviors of owner operators, was published in the July 2025 edition of the academic journal, International Review of Finanical Analysis. The paper discusses how the behavior of management and boards with significant skin in the game differ from agents, ultimately driving equity outperformance over the long-term.

View the online version of Owners vs. Agents here or reach out to us for the PDF.

Governance software provider, Diligent, posted a blog highlighting “voto di lista”, a voting system for Italian-listed companies that helps minority shareholders nominate board members. The blog’s author, Rebecca Sherratt, discusses how the system played a role in GreenWood’s groundbreaking effort to secure four board seats at Leonardo SpA, the first such victory of its kind in Italy.

Check out Ms. Sherratt’s blog here.

Steven made a presentation to a group of investors in Madrid at the 2024 Value España conference highlighting the importance of owner operator cultures and our respective constructivist journeys with CTT and LDO.

Vanguard authored an Investment Stewardship Voting Insights paper detailing its vote at the May 2023 Leonardo SpA AGM. It discusses the firm’s support of GreenWood’s director slate, noting our constructive approach to collaboration with companies and our ability to bring diverse perspectives to the board room.

Check out Vanguard’s insights here.

GreenWood’s historic success in Italian governance was covered by much of the national press. We link to some of the notable articles here.

Milano Finanza – Leonardo, dramatic turn of events: with Congolani, GreenWood’s advisors join the board of directors

Start Magazine – Who are the “Americans” of GreenWood elected to the board of Leonardo

L’Economia – Leonardo, the helm to Cingolani, Mariani co-general manager

CORCOM – Cingolani new CEO, 4 names from US fund GreenWood of board

Dagospia- Sensational in Leonardo

la Repubblica – Leonardo, funds prefer GreenWood’s list

informazione.it – Leonardo, in the assembly a challenge to the last vote between US Fund GreenWood and Assogestioni

On the heels of our 2022 investor day, we published a video with clips highlighting our conversations with defense executives Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo CEO, and Celia Pelaz, Hesoldt Chief Strategy Officer, around the timing and shape of M&A in European defense.

Request access to the highlight video here (NDA required).

We held an investor day in Cascais, Portugal, the day after CTT hosted its first Investor Day in 7 years on June 23, 2022.

Request access to the materials here (NDA required).

Steven sat down with Brandon Beylo of the Value Hive podcast to chat about constructivism, the behaviors of value creation and how to imbue them into both investments & corporate governance.

Check it out here. Via Apple Podcasts. Via Spotify.

We hosted an investor meeting with NexGen Energy found Leigh Curyer and Segra Capital Management founder Arthur Hyde to discus the radically different approach NexGen is taking towards mine development as well as the uranium fundamentals and market conditions.

We hosted an investor meeting with CTT’s Chief Commercial Officer to talk about the radically different approach he’s taken to sales as well as the emerging Shopify suite he and his team are building.

We hosted an investor meeting with David Cote, former CEO of Honeywell and chairman of Vertiv to talk about his leadership style, his execution philosophy, how he balances dualities and how he keeps his teams motivated.

Check out some clips from the conversation here.

We hosted an investor meeting with SuperDry founder Julian Dunkerton via zoom in January to discuss his management style, the takeover of the business he founded and the restoration underway for the brand he still calls his baby.

Check out some of the clips here.

We hosted an investor meeting with S4 Capital founder Sir Martin Sorrell via zoom in early December to discuss his management style, the advertising landscape, and of course, the highly differentiated approach he and the team are taking at S4 Capital.

Check out some of the clips here.

We hosted an investor meeting with CTT’s CEO João Bento via Zoom in late September to get an update on where the strategic turnaround stands at the company.

We hosted our first ever investor day with multiple portfolio CEOs as well as a leading author to help us unveil our latest innovations to help our collaborative and forecasting abilities.

Catch some videos from the day in this YouTube playlist.

Steven moderated a panel with our friends Paul Isaac of Arbiter Partners and David Marcus at Evermore Global to discuss family controlled businesses at the first ever Project Punch Card conference. You can read more about the conference here.

We hosted a cocktail reception after the Liberty Media investor day to discuss the earthquakes happening in media.

Steven presented “A Builders Approach to Public Markets” previewing a white paper and our research on Bolloré and Exor at the International Value Investing Conference in Luxembourg. The first 10 minutes of the talk can be found on YouTube at this link.

We hosted a roundtable of experts and interested parties in New York to discuss best practices in buying small private companies and family businesses.

We hosted a lunch in London with investors and friends to discuss Rolls-Royce and the aerospace industry.

We hosted 2 roundtables of investors and friends in New York to discuss the developments happening in the Canadian housing market, in conjunction with our new short in the sector.

Our research on TripAdvisor was featured in a full-length article in Barron’s. Editors at the publication did a great job shortening our 31-page research report, which you can download for free on our Public Research page. 

Read the article here.

Steven shared our most timely and actionable investment idea (TripAdvisor) at the 14th Annual Value Investing Seminar in Trani, Italy on July 13th. He also received an award for the second-best-performing idea from the year before, which was Telecom Italia.

Find out more about the conference here. 

Steven was quoted in the Barron’s lead story covering the Amazon-Whole Foods merger. Barron’s utilized our intensive research in helping to articulate the opportunity going forward for the merger and ramifications for the industry.

Read the article here.

Steven was happy to present again at Value España, one of his favorite idea-generation venues, at the end of March. Steven discussed our latest and most attractive investment, which was Whole Foods Market (WFM) as well as updates GreenWood has made to its process over the last year.

Find out more about the conference here. 

Watch his presentation here.

We were so pleased to have been declared the winner of SumZero’s contest, “Top Stocks for 2017” in the category Ex-US. This brings the total contest awards received by SumZero up to seven over the past few years.

You can read about the SumZero contest here.

Steven was pleased to share his thoughts on his favorite ideas for 2017: Telecom Italia (TIT IM) and Bolloré SA (BOL FP) with Manual of Ideas’ Best Ideas Conference in early January of 2017.

Find out more about the conference here.

We were honored to be named a top Wealth Manager for the second year in a row by Five Star Professional. The award indicates our customer satisfaction is in the top 99% percentile in the New York metro area.

We will be posting the advertisement soon.

We were honored to be declared a winner in another of SumZero’s contests – this time our 38-page short report on Volkswagen preference shares was voted a winner in SZ’s corporate Credit/Preferred Stock Challenge.

Find out more about the contest here.

Steven presented our favorite European idea at the Manual of Ideas’ European Investing Summit in early October. Information on the conference and replays are available.

Find out more about the conference here.

Steven chatted extensively with Wall Street Journal reporter Eric Sylver for his article on Ferrari’s limited edition vehicles. Part of the conversation was quoted in his article entitled, “Why It Takes More Than Money to Buy Special-Edition Ferrari.”

Read the article here.

Steven shared his most timely and actionable investment idea along with observations about today’s Wonderland market at the 13th Annual Value Investing Seminar in Trani, Italy on July 7 and 8th. The presentation on Telecom Italia ended up being the second-best performing investment presented at the conference.

Find out more about the conference here. 

Steven sat down with Rupert Hargreaves at ValueWalk to talk about our process and how it came into being. Rupert did an excellent job of transcribing the interview in this two-part series.

Click here to read Part 1.  Click here to read Part 2. 

We were pleased to be named a finalist to present our best idea to the Ira Sohn Conference in New York. We congratulate the winner, Marc Grow!

Find out more about the finalists here.

Steven was pleased to share an intensive overview of how we think about the automotive industry, as well as our first short presentation, at Value España in Madrid on April 8. The presentation remains confidential to attendees and investors via The Grove.

Find out more about the conference here. 

While Steven was there, he was interview by financial and investing website Rankia. See the interview here.

Barron’s views the current dramatic selloff in shares of EXOR as a great buying opportunity as well. We shared our thoughts with them in the article “Exor and Société Générale Look Like Buys”

Read the article here.

Five Star Professional recognized us in New York Magazine as one of 159 investment advisory firms (out of 80k) in the New York tri-state area with the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

Check out the ad here.

Steven was pleased to share his thoughts on his favorite ideas for 2016: Ferrari (RACE) and Fiat-Chrysler (FCAU) with Manual of Ideas’ Best Ideas Conference in early January of 2016 in our newer and more innovative video format. Stay tuned: more to come!

Find out more about the conference here.

Nicole Sinclair at Yahoo! Finance interviewed Steven on his thoughts on Ferrari ahead of the spin-off of shares from Fiat-Chrysler.

Watch the interview here.

Jonathan Buck highlighted our thesis on Ferrari and Fiat-Chrysler in Barron’s in his article entitled, “Love Ferrari, Buy Fiat Chrysler.”

Read his article here. 

We were honored to receive 3 awards at SumZero’s first Annual Awards event, including the top prize. Many thanks to FactSet and SumZero’s team for the recognition!

Read more here.

MergerMarket, the leading provider of forward-looking M&A intelligence and data to M&A professionals and corporates, shared our thoughts on Ferrari’s upcoming IPO in a recent article.

Read the article here.

Steven shared our in-depth research in Rolls Royce and previewed a very actionable and timely idea given the guidance reset happening shortly after. We have since posted much of the research presented in this short youtube video.

Find out more about the conference here. 

We had a blast talking with Chris Mayer at Agora Financial, when we discussed a few of our favorite European ideas. Chris profiled us in his May newsletter, called Buy Italian.

Request access to the article here.

CNBC profiled our award-winning research that “blew away the panel of judges,” in the FactSet Top Idea Tournament Special Situations Contest.

Read the article here.

We were honored to receive 1st place in FactSet’s Special Situations Contest for our research on Finmeccanica.

Read more here.

The Financial Times allowed us to set the record straight on Fiat-Chrysler and its top-performing CEO, Sergio Marchionne.

Read our Letter to the Editor here.

Business Insider profiled our placement in the Value Investing Challenge for our research on Fiat SpA. Note the stock price and our price target. The first has changed substantially yet the latter hasn’t.

Read the article here.

We had a great time on CNBC’s Fast Money talking about our research on Fiat SpA.  Our research placed in the Value Investing Challenge and we explained why the stock would deliver an almost 10-fold return in the next few years.