In a conversation with host Tom Cane, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP’s Keith Gottfried and Acuris’ Ed Mullane tell the story of North American shareholder activism, picking apart its evolution from a practice with a deep value approach of investing in dysfunctional, illiquid small-cap companies to one that focuses on larger, successful companies, where the activist comes in with a thesis to unlock value, often through M&A. Why has this shift taken place over the years, and where is activism heading? What kind of M&A demands are we likely to see this year?