By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Jessica DiNapoli

BOSTON/NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Proxy solicitor MorrowSodali this week hired Paul Schulman from rival MacKenziePartners, a prominent shakeup in the tight-knit world ofvote-counting for corporate battles.

Schulman will be co-head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Activismand Contested Situations along with Michael Verrechia, a Morrowveteran, according to his LinkedIn profile and two sources whocould not speak publicly about the personnel matter.

A spokeswoman for Morrow, which worked with Newell Brandsduring its fight with activist investor Starboard anddining chain Luby's when it was targeted by BanderaPartners, was not immediately available for comment.

Schulman spent the last decade steeped in corporate battlesat MacKenzie where he was widely seen as one of founder DanBurch's top two lieutenants. Alongside Burch, Schulman worked oncorporate fights at Procter & Gamble, SandRidge Energyand Dell among others. He resigned on Tuesday.

Separately Charles Koons, who had been a managing directorfor Activism & Contested Situations at Morrow Sodali resignedfrom Morrow last week to move to another position, two sourcessaid. Koons declined to comment.

Last year was the biggest on record for campaigns by newactivist investors as newcomers joined seasoned veterans likeNelson Peltz, Daniel Loeb, Barry Rosenstein, Jeffrey Smith,Jesse Cohn, and William Ackman in pressing for changes atcorporations.

The number of firms targeted decreased in 2019 but activismis fast becoming a tool for investment managers to help maketheir bets more valuable over time, widening the playing fieldfor firms like Morrow, MacKenzie and competitors Innisfree andOkapi Partners who offer shareholder intelligence, strategicadvice and solicitation services to companies.(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by David Gregorio)