John Pound earned an AB in Political Economy at Harvard and a PhD in Economics at Yale. He spent two years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a decade on the Harvard faculty, conducting research on corporate governance and financial market regulation. His research led to changes in policy and practice that helped to spur the development of modern activist public equity investing, including deregulation of shareholder communications and nomination of independent slates of directors by large shareholders.
Pound advocated for more engaged, expert, value-focused boards and a free market for corporate control. He advised Fortune 50 CEOs and boards on value creation, shareholder engagement, and leadership and board transitions. He developed takeover and takeover defense strategies and mediated controversies and conflicts between large companies and activist investors. He spoke on governance reform at leading universities, US and foreign government bodies and policy organizations, including the World Economic Forum in Davos. His research appeared in a spectrum of leading publications including The Journal of Finance, The Journal of Financial Economics, The Journal of Law and Economics, The Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal,
In 1998, Pound founded Integrity Brands (originally Integrity Partners) as a masthead for a program of focused investment, advisory, leadership, and board involvements in product-led, consumer-facing businesses. Its mission was to deploy Pound's expertise in governance and engaged investing to help unlock value in this focused sector, through engaging to support both both the art and the science - the vision and execution - critical for success. In prior involvements he had become convinced that the governance process tends to undervalue and/or misunderstand the key creative drivers - vision, product, brand - despite the reality that in these businesses they constitute the foundation of value.
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Since 1999, Pound has since invested and engaged, as a board member, board chair, executive chair, co-chair, and formal and informal advisor, at over two dozen public companies including Gymboree, Cost Plus World Market, Vans, Guess, Christopher and Banks, United Retail Group (Avenue Stores), Kirkland's, A.T Cross, and others. He has been particularly focused on turnarounds driven by realigning product and merchandising with the customer expectations and brand equity. Integrity's investments have been undertaken through multiple LP vehicles. Participants have included funds of funds, family offices, private equity firms, and high net worth individuals.
Pound has helped build and support vision-driven leadership teams; helped leaders develop and evolve brand visions and product and operating plans; helped leaders and boards navigate governance and public market challenges; overseen and helped lead financial financings; and led strategic reviews and sale and restructuring processes. Under the Integrity masthead Pound has additionally made early stage investments in emerging brands; partnered on private equity acquisitions; and, while living in the UK, invested in and worked with heritage English brands.
Pound maintains an advisory practice working with CEOs, founders, and boards on strategy, value creation, and governance. He works with nonprofit leaders also, particularly in education. He has been affiliated with the University of Arizona since 2021, working with multiple research and teaching units, and is currently teaching and assisting with the Immersion Learning initiative at the Eller College of Management. He resides in Tucson, Arizona with his family, his rescue dogs, and a rotating assortment of unsatisfying vintage vehicles.
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