Notice Regarding MSCI Events During COVID-19

MSCI President and CEO Bob Weidner released the following email to MSCI members on Wednesday, March 18:

I hope that you, your employees, and your families are well and, like us, are going about life as best we can during these unprecedented and uncertain times. Information related to COVID-19 is changing hourly, almost minute-by-minute. While this is a time to be calm and focused, it also is a time for thoughtful and serious consideration of modified behaviors.

As such, I would like to update you on several actions MSCI is taking.

• As I noted in my communication last week, we have postponed our Specialty Metals Conference, and are hoping to reschedule for a date later this year.
• The May in-person Conference, commonly referred to as our Annual Meeting, is cancelled. The state of Maryland on Sunday announced closure of our venue and yesterday the state’s governor announced closure of all bars and restaurants. We will hold a “virtual” Annual Meeting of Members by June 30, 2020 to approve the minutes of last year’s meeting and to elect directors and officers only. For those of you who have already mailed your proxies, you don’t need to do anything else.
• We have started discussions with the Thayer Hotel regarding the Tubular Conference, set for June 1-3 in West Point, N.Y. Registration just opened for this conference and we are hoping to move forward, but are working on contingency plans.
• All Executive Education programs that had been scheduled to occur before June 30 will be postponed and rescheduled for the second half of the year. We are working now to notify registered participants.
• All Professional Development programs that had been scheduled to occur at MSCI headquarters before June 30 are either cancelled or postponed. While we hope to reschedule some of these events for later this year, we have notified registered participants.
• E-learning programs will continue as planned.

Our staff is working remotely until the end of this month but continues to serve members. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions and concerns. My staff is dedicated to serving this community, and is just a phone call – or web conference – away. Let us know how we can help.

MSCI has a strong foundation. While these are uncertain times, with calm and steady leadership I believe we will weather this storm.

My team and I will continue to apprise members of relevant information based upon best practices and/or professional and public health resources like CDC Guidelines. Please check this page for news and updates. We will communicate through Connecting the Dotsand other appropriate channels.

During times like this I find myself reaching back in history for guidance and comfort. The world has experienced some horrific times and survived. As many of you know, I revere Winston Churchill. I reread his Finest Hour in which he asked his fellow citizens to “brace” themselves for their duties. We are doing that now, while working still to serve you.

Thank you for your membership, support and please be safe.