New York, New York
The IR Magazine Think Tank – East Coast will take place on Thursday, April 27 in New York and is an invitation-only event exclusively for senior IR officers. Our thinks tanks are free to attend and our unique format enables participants to network extensively, discuss, debate and dissect topical issues affecting today’s IROs.
What makes our format so unique?
Our think tanks are far removed from the traditional conference set-up as the event consists of a series of panel sessions followed by roundtable discussions on select IR issues. These interactive sessions are an opportunity to share experiences with and learn from other top-rated IROs. All table discussions are confidential and none of the participants’ comments are attributed. This allows attendees to talk freely and have frank, open discussions.
How do our roundtable discussions work?
Industry experts, top-rated IROs and members of the investment community set the agenda on a panel discussion by sharing their thoughts on session topics.
Small round tables of IROs discuss these issues face to face.
Each table gives feedback from its own discussion and shares ideas with the group as a whole.
NIRI IRC® CREDENTIAL
Holders of the NIRI IRC® credential can earn up to 4 professional development units (PDUs) per day. IRC-credentialed speakers may also earn PDUs. More information is available at www.niri.org/certification.
Investors, analysts and award-winning issuers will share best practices. Roundtable discussions will follow panel discussions.
VIEW AGENDA AS PDF
All times displayed are in Eastern Time (ET)
08:15 AM
Registration, refreshments and networking
09:00 AM
Welcome to the IR Magazine Think Tank
Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine
09:05 AM
Recession and recovery: Capital market and macro-economic trends
We will kick off our day with this view from a market strategist on the macro trends affecting public companies in the US in the coming months and predictions on the path to stability and recovery. The session will set the scene with an update on inflation, interest rates, supply chain issues, energy crisis, politics, and how IR teams can prepare for the next 12 months.
Chris Krueger, managing director, Washington research group, TD Cowen
09:25 AM
Fund flows: Changing investor activity and implications for IR teams
Tom Margadonna, senior director, capital markets intelligence group, Morrow Sodali
Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine
09:45 AM
Re-identifying the right investors: Building an innovative and strategic plan for targeting
The current market is a tricky hybrid of opportunities and unknowns for issuers and investors. The panel discussion is focused on re-identifying the right investors in this new environment, evaluating targeting plans, and using innovative tools and resources to target potential investors.
The discussion covers best practices around expanding the list of analysts covering your stock, managing the changing sell-side dynamics, effective prospect follow-up, and more to help broaden the shareholder base. We’ll also explore ways to adjust engagement strategies for various cap sizes in a more cautious post-pandemic macro environment.
Mark Kinarney, vice president of investor relations, Lantheus
Ryall Stroud, director of capital market strategy, Irwin
Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine
10:30 AM
Coffee break
10:45 AM
Roundtables: Compare company strategies for increasing coverage and targeting
During these structured roundtables, senior IR professionals at listed companies from various cap sizes will share practical tips that have helped their team improve the effectiveness of their targeting process in the past 12 months.
We’ll discuss ways to engage with the evolving sell-side differently, direct marketing to the buy-side, and the nuances of blind outreach and cold calling.
11:15 AM
Cutting through the fog: Getting your digital strategy, messaging and meetings right
This forward-planning session will discuss simplifying digital messaging and creating impactful investor touchpoints to encourage shareholder confidence. We discuss how you can find the right balance between in-person and virtual engagement and how to tailor your efforts to efficiently and effectively engage investors in all formats.
In addition, we will explore the role of AI in modernizing the IR toolbox, tips to maximize the use of management’s time, strategies to engage with retail investors and advice on utilizing social media as part of IR strategy.
Deborah Belevan, vice president of investor relations, Duolingo
Erik Carlson, COO and CFO, Notified
Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine
12:00 PM
Roundtables: Let’s Chat(GPT) – Using AI for IR
With AI tools such as ChatGPT impacting almost every aspect of an IRO’s role, we look at how you can use it for efficiency and creativity. We explore using AI for competitive analysis, writing up earnings call transcripts, preparing reports, outlining news releases, editing copy, creating images and videos, slide decks, summarizing essential information for social media, and so on.
With a bit of exercise to see if the audience can spot an AI-generated release versus one by an IRO, we also discuss the extent to which human intervention and supervision are necessary – especially if the information is not publicly available.
12:30 PM
Lunch
13:30 PM
Managing up and managing down: Role of IR in strategic priority setting
The c-suite at public companies has several priorities to ensure they deliver shareholder value on the rocky road to recovery in the coming 12 months. This includes actively engaging in IR activities. What, according to the c-suite, makes for good IR? What percentage of the C-suite’s time should be spent on IR activities across cap sizes? What key factors result in the decision to expand the IR team when resources are limited? How can IR, an essential function in the company, get a seat at the executive table?
Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine
Matt Latino, VP of finance and CFO of Americas, Xylem
14:15 PM
Roundtables: Most value-adding initiatives IROs should strategically prioritize now
IR professionals must prepare for a post-pandemic dip and recovery from subsequent growth by developing the necessary career skills, securing the right resources and getting a seat at the table.
We’ll discuss how the IR role has evolved over the last few years as access to capital gets competitive, how IROs can adapt to gaps in the skillset, build a diverse, well-equipped team when budgets are tight, and prepare for the IR function of tomorrow.
14:45 PM
Overcoming fatigue: What ESG factors are critical to investors in the current market?
Investors have grown increasingly concerned with ESG metrics recently, expecting a higher quality of disclosures, reporting and communication. Our panel will discuss creating an ESG engagement strategy that effectively communicates risks, opportunities and stability while staying current with upcoming trends and investor expectations.
Essentially a discussion on how to approach ESG as an IRO, we’ll cover proxy season findings, prioritizing efforts with rating agencies, reporting standards, new regulations, requests around in-depth environmental data, frequency of ESG communications and sorting through the ESG maze of vendors.
15:15 PM
Roundtables: How peers in your sector are tackling similar issues around ESG
Keeping on top of ESG alongside existing IR responsibilities can be challenging. We’ll discuss the options for supporting and resourcing the IR team and strategies to deliver a concise ESG story that communicates long-term value creation to investors and wider stakeholders.
15:45 PM
Q&A with investors and analysts: Get your questions answered!
Investors and analysts will share their expectations for IR teams in the next 12 months. They will offer insights into what formats of meetings are preferred, how to get the most out of each format, predictions for various sectors, critical ESG issues that help with decision-making and how investors are using AI to screen companies.
This is an opportunity to engage directly with investors and analysts on post-pandemic recovery plans and get your questions answered!
Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine
Anthony Mark Garcia, senior director of investment stewardship, Nuveen Responsible Investing
Michael McCarthy, head of global research support, Fidelity Management & Research
Thaddeus Pollock, portfolio manager, Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn
James Wong, head of corporate access origination, Millennium Management
16:30 PM
Closing remarks, drinks reception and networking
New speakers announced daily!
Deborah Belevan
Vice president of investor relations
Duolingo
Debbie Belevan is the head of investor relations for Duolingo, the world’s leading mobile learning platform, where she joined before their IPO in 2021. Prior to this, she served as the SVP of Investor Relations for Virtu Financial since 2019. Earlier, she led investor relations for Hudson Group and Party City where she participated in both companies’ IPOs. Before this, Debbie was the Director of Investor Relations at Interactive Brokers from 2008-2015, then a $20B+ market cap electronic brokerage firm, where she also served as an Institutional Sales Representative, targeting hedge fund and financial advisors. Prior to this she headed the Accounting & Financial Analysis Practice at Gerson Lerman Group, a global marketplace for expertise, and earlier, she served as the Manager of Investor Relations for Meridian Gold, a gold producer with mining operations primarily in South America. She holds an MBA, IRC and is a Certified Public Accountant and started her career at Ernst & Young.
Erik Carlson
COO and CFO
Notified
Erik Carlson is chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Notified, a technology partner for investor relations, public relations, and marketing professionals. He brings over 10 years of M&A, strategic finance, and business transformation experience across private equity portfolio companies in technology, media, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Prior to Notified, he was senior vice president of M&A integration at Intrado and director of M&A and strategy advisory at PwC.
Anthony Mark Garcia
Senior director of investment stewardship
Nuveen Responsible Investing
Anthony is a Director with the Responsible Investing (RI) team at Nuveen, the investment management arm of TIAA.
Nuveen’s Responsible Investing team is responsible for creating a firm-wide holistic RI vision, executing a unified framework across Nuveen’s multi-affiliate structure, and expanding strategic business relationships across the firm. Nuveen’s RI framework establishes the firm’s overall RI philosophy as well as guidelines for incorporating RI disciplines in investment decisions and new product development.
Anthony’s responsibilities include leading the engagement efforts across Nuveen, including for its largest affiliate TIAA Investments, by working directly with companies to discuss important ESG issues and developing standards for proxy voting.
Prior to joining Nuveen, Anthony worked as a policy advisor to institutional investors at Institutional Shareholder Services. His other professional experiences include a variety of financial and legal research positions.
He received a JD from Vanderbilt University and a BA in Economics from Hamilton College.
Mark Kinarney
Vice president of investor relations
Lantheus
Bio coming soon.
Chris Krueger
Managing director, Washington research group
TD Cowen
Chris Krueger joined Cowen Washington Research Group in August 2016 as the Washington Strategist. Mr. Krueger and the Cowen Washington Research Group were recently named #2 in the Institutional Investor Washington Strategy category, where he had been consistently ranked for the past decade along with WRG. Mr. Krueger publishes the DC Download, a must-read daily for Wall Street portfolio managers who want a quick look at the top Washington stories and their impact on the capital markets. Mr. Krueger covers DC macro, fiscal, tax and trade policy.
He held similar positions at Guggenheim Securities, MF Global, Concept Capital, and Potomac Research Group. Earlier he worked for nearly four years on the senior staff of the House of Representatives. He has also worked on several local, state, and federal political campaigns across the country.
Mr. Krueger holds a BA from the University of Vermont and an MA in international relations from King’s College London. He appears frequently on CNBC and Bloomberg and is widely quoted in The Wall Street Journal, FT, Axios, New York Times, Washington Post, and POLITICO. He also speaks regularly at industry events and conferences, including the Milken Institute Global Conference, National Organization of Investment Professionals, and the New York Stock Exchange.
Material prepared by the Cowen Washington Research Group is intended as commentary on political, economic, or market conditions and is not intended as a research report as defined by applicable regulation.
Matt Latino
VP of finance and CFO of Americas
Xylem
Matt Latino is Vice President of Investor Relations at Xylem and has led the program since February 2017. He is responsible for providing the investment community with a comprehensive view of Xylem’s strategy, business performance, growth plans and sustainability progress. He also is responsible for founding and leading Xylem’s Finance Leadership Development Program (FLDP), a leadership rotation program in finance for recent college graduates.
Mr. Latino and the Xylem Investor Relations program were named to the Institutional Investor All-America teams in 2019 and 2020, including the top award for ‘Most Honored Company’ in 2020 in the Electrical Equipment & Multi-Industry sector. He was also a finalist for the 2020 IR Magazine ‘Rising Star’ award.
Mr. Latino joined Xylem in 2012 as Manager, Financial Reporting. He was named Manager, Investor Relations in 2015, and began leading the Investor Relations program in March 2017 prior to Xylem’s most recent Investor Day. Prior to joining Xylem, he worked in the Audit Practice at Deloitte & Touche LLP where he helped to complete the Spin-Off of Xylem from ITT Corporation. Mr. Latino earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York College at Oneonta in Professional Accounting.
Tom Margadonna
Senior director, capital markets intelligence group
Morrow Sodali
Tom Margadonna is the Senior Director of the Capital Markets Intelligence Group at Morrow Sodali. Tom is a senior-level executive with extensive knowledge of corporate transactions and over 25 years of experience in stock surveillance and market oversight. His professional background includes working on several M&A transactions, tender/exchange offers, and proxy contests for some of the largest publicly traded corporations. During his career, he served as Vice President at Thomson Reuters for over ten years, overseeing and managing a Corporate Advisory team responsible for providing consultation to over 200 corporate clients. Prior to joining Morrow Sodali, he worked for D.F. King where he successfully launched and grew the Shareholder Management division. At Morrow Sodali, Tom is a senior leader in the Capital Markets Intelligence Group and is responsible for ensuring the highest levels of corporate consulting and advisory for stock surveillance, investor relations, corporate governance, and shareholder activism. Tom has a B.S. in Business Management from the College of Business Administration at St. John’s University in New York.
Michael McCarthy
Head of global research support
Fidelity Investments
Michael McCarthy is head of global research support in the Equity Division at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals.
Michael sits on the Equity Research management team and provides both internal and external research support across several asset classes. In this role, Mr. McCarthy serves as the primary point of contact for outside research providers for the Equity, High Yield, and Fidelity Institutional Asset Management divisions. He also interacts with members of management, the fund’s board of trustees, portfolio managers, research analysts, legal, and compliance to ensure that Fidelity optimizes its relationships with external research suppliers in addition to ensuring the firm is adherent to the regulatory guidelines around these relationships.
As an extension of his external oversight, Mr. McCarthy has built a global internal corporate access function that helps facilitate and support the interaction between Fidelity’s investors and the corporate managements in which the firm invests. In conjunction with that role, he has been instrumental in the design and development of several critical operating systems and external informational portals for the firm.
In addition to his role with the external research community, Mr. McCarthy has operational oversight administering the global sector analyst group, which provides fundamental, forensic accounting analysis, ESG analysis, alternative data and quantitative support for the asset management organization.
Prior to joining Fidelity in 2008, Mr. McCarthy was a partner and head of the Boston office for Thomas Weisel Partners. Previously, he worked as a principal and managing director at Alex Brown & Sons/Deutsche Bank, and as a principal at Trammell Crow Company. Mr. McCarthy earned his bachelor of arts degree in business administration and economics from Hope College and his master of business administration degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame.
Thaddeus Pollock
Portfolio manager
Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn
Thaddeus Pollock is the Head of Sustainability and Partner/Portfolio Manager for the Mid-Cap Value and Small-Mid Cap Value Portfolios at Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, a fundamental research-driven investment firm focused on identifying under-appreciated value in small and mid-capitalization equities since 1973. The Mid Cap Value (CRMMX) and Small-Mid Cap Value (CRIAX) funds rank top quartile versus peers over his management tenure, with recognition from The Wall Street Journal and Lipper Leaders. As one of the firm’s principal investors, he has led investing and constructivist efforts for the last two decades, focusing on Healthcare, Industrials, Consumer Staples and Business Services sectors. Over his institutional investing career, he has evaluated over 1000 US public company leadership teams. The firm’s clients include corporate and public pension plans, endowments and foundations, hospitals and religious organizations and multi-employer funds, private banks, sub-advisory, and individuals and family trusts.
Thad also leads the firm’s sustainable investing and ESG efforts, including engagement with new and existing portfolio investments and as a Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) signatory. Before Cramer Rosenthal, he worked in the Corporate Finance and M&A groups at Lehman Brothers, co-leading the Yale University recruiting and new analyst training programs. He holds Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and Certified Management Accountant designations. He also holds FSA Credential from the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board and is a CFA Society of New York member. He has also served as Chairman of Tribeca Management SRL, a sustainable multi-family real estate company focused in high growth emerging markets and a strategic advisor to other non-profit foundations, private companies and venture capital firms. Thad attended Yale University with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics and was the Yale Lightweight Crew team captain.
Ryall Stroud
Director of capital market strategy
Irwin
Ryall Stroud joined Irwin from RBC Capital Markets’ Equity Research department in Toronto, where he spent close to four years covering Canadian and US publicly-listed companies in the industrials sector. While at RBC, Ryall supported the #1 ranked Canadian Industrials analyst covering over ten companies across North America and had primary coverage/lead analyst responsibilities for Exchange Income Corporation (TSX: EIF). Ryall has direct experience in M&A, equity research, and private and public company valuation. He holds a Master’s of Business Administration degree from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Queen’s University.
Tim Human
Senior reporter
IR Magazine
Tim Human is senior reporter at IR Magazine. He rejoined the publication in 2019 after two years working as a freelance writer for a range of international clients. Previously, he was editor of IR Magazine between 2013-2017. He has also written for Corporate Secretary, IR Magazine’s sister publication, and CorpComms, the UK-based magazine for corporate communications professionals.
Steve Wade
Head of event content
IR Magazine
Steve Wade is a content researcher and conference producer at IR Magazine where he is responsible for crowd-sourcing intelligence on the big global issues facing investor relations. Steve also creates events where the IROs and the wider financial community can discuss, debate and learn about ways to develop the IR function.
Prior to IR Magazine, Steven’s background has been in corporate social responsibility and responsible investment. During his time at Ethical Corporation (now Reuters Events), Steve launched the ESG symposium, an event focused on connecting the socially responsible investment community with corporate sustainability leaders at listed companies. Steve was a judge for the Deloitte Green Frog Awards, celebrating the best corporate reporting in Eastern Europe. Steve also presented research at the Global Sustainable Event Summit in London and has spoken about extra-financial reporting with the United Nations Global Compact, the World Bank and the Polish Ministry of Finance.
Steve has a degree in Event Management and enjoys playing rugby in his spare time.
James Wong
Head of corporate access origination
Millennium Management
James Wong is Head of Corporate Access Origination at Millennium Management, where he is responsible for corporate relationship development and directly connecting Millennium investment professionals and company management teams. Prior to joining Millennium, James held senior roles on the corporate access teams at UBS and at Raymond James where he advised and collaborated with investor relations professionals. James began his career in investment banking at Bear Stearns focusing on public and private equity financings for Asian, European and Latin American companies. James is a graduate of St. John’s University and is based in New York City.
Our attendees are leading IR practitioners with an established track record and strategic IR role within their company.
Below is a sample list of attendees who have joined our think tank in the past:
Job title | Company | Job title | Company | |
Director, IR | Vuzix | Senior vice president, IR | Comcast | |
Director, IR | General Electric | Senior vice president, IR | Coty | |
Director, IR | Flushing Financial | Senior vice president, IR | Estee Lauder | |
Director, IR | ORIX Corporation | Senior vice president, IR | CVS Health | |
Director, IR | Jushi Holdings | Vice president | Hannon Armstrong | |
Senior director, head of IR | Lantheus Holdings | Vice president, head of IR | Starbucks | |
Senior director, IR | Becton Dickinson | Vice president, IR | Ingersoll Rand | |
Senior director, IR & corporate communications | TCR2 Therapeutics | Vice president, IR | Quotient Technology | |
Senior vice president, director of IR | Chubb | Vice president, IR | Roku | |
Senior vice president, head of IR & treasury | Nielsen | Vice president, IR | Campbell | |
Senior vice president, IR | SmartRent | Vice president, IR | WW International | |
Senior vice president, IR | CACI | Vice president, IR | Ciena |
Why partner with us?
Our events provide a unique opportunity to get in front of some of the most influential people in the IR community globally. As a partner, you will gain an extensive amount of exposure through a wide range of print and digital marketing materials, both pre and post event, as well as on the day itself. Additionally, you can use the event to align yourself with industry excellence and network with key decision makers from across the region.
Being a partner will provide:
We’d love to have a chat with you about how you can get in front of a truly engaged and motivated audience at the IR Magazine Think Tank – East Coast. Get in touch with Ian Richman or call on +1 212 430 6865.
In association with
TD Securities offers a wide range of capital markets products and services to corporate, government, and institutional clients who choose us for our innovation, execution, and experience.
With more than 6,500 professionals operating out of 40 cities across the globe, we help clients meet their needs today and prepare for tomorrow. Our services include underwriting and distributing new issues, providing trusted advice and industry-leading insight, extending access to global markets, and delivering integrated transaction banking solutions. In 2023, we acquired Cowen Inc., offering our clients access to a premier U.S. equities business and highly-diverse equity research franchise, while growing our strong, diversified investment bank.
We are growth-oriented, people-focused, and community-minded. As a team, we work to deliver value for our clients every day. Learn more at Cowen.com
Partners
Build, innovate, and grow your business with Irwin, the only investor relations platform designed with automation and reduced time-to-insight at its core. Irwin unlocks and enhances investor and shareholder relationships for your business—for various use cases, market caps, and industries—whether you have an established IR program or are just getting started.
At Irwin, we’re building a better way to manage investor relations. Legacy tools and companies in capital markets often grow stagnant, and the capacity to innovate wanes over time. This has left the majority of IR teams with two to five inefficient tools to manage their program and workflows—over time; we hope to reduce that to one. Our full-service tool suite includes powerful investor targeting, comprehensive shareholder monitoring, an intuitive CRM (with built-in email and engagement tools), timely research, estimates, and transcripts, and IR website intelligence.
To learn more, please visit www.getirwin.com.
Lumi is the leading digital platform facilitating in-room, hybrid and virtual AGMs for the world’s largest corporations, membership organisations, associations, legislative bodies, faith based organisations and partnerships.
It is the only platform that digitises the entire lifecycle of an AGM in a single solution that enables sophisticated meeting facilitation before, during and after the live meeting – including authenticated registration, live secure polling, Q&A management and relevant reporting.
Lumi is headquartered in Hampshire, UK where central functions including finance, product development and marketing are based, but has offices in 11 countries across EMEA, APAC and the Americas. Highly differentiated in the majority of markets where it is active, Lumi benefits from extremely strong, experienced and renowned MDs who head up each in-country team.
Its mobile solution enabled Lumi to facilitate the UK’s first electronic AGM held by a listed company, Jimmy Choo, in June 2016. The onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic rapidly accelerated the adoption of the Lumi virtual meeting platform, and Lumi has run over 2500 virtual and hybrid AGMs during 2020, in 35 different countries, including several hundred here in Canada.
For more information, visit www.lumiglobal.com.
Morrow Sodali is the leading global consultancy specializing in shareholder services, corporate governance, proxy solicitation and capital markets transactions. The firm provides corporate boards and executives with strategic advice and services relating to a broad range of activities, including: mergers and acquisitions, annual general and extraordinary shareholder meetings, dissident and contested campaigns, shareholder activist initiatives and multinational cross-border equity and debt transactions.
From headquarters in New York and London and nine offices in major capital markets, Morrow Sodali serves more than 700 corporate clients in 40 countries, including many of the world’s largest multinational corporations. In addition to listed and private companies, its clients include mutual funds, stock exchanges, membership associations and activist investors.
For more information, visit morrowsodali.com
Notified is the world’s only communications cloud for events, public relations, and investor relations to drive meaningful insights and outcomes. Notified IR Cloud lets you manage stakeholder communications and regulatory requirements to maximize shareholder value. Tell your investment story with high-impact, multi-channel solutions – earnings announcements, press releases, webcasting, virtual events, and IR websites. Visit Notified.com to learn more.
Supported by
Founded in 1969, NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial community constituents. NIRI is the largest professional investor relations association in the world with more than 3,300 members representing over 1,600 publicly held companies and $9 trillion in stock market capitalization.
For more information, please visit www.NIRI.org
The Virtual Chapter is the second largest chapter in the NIRI ecosystem, with over 230 members representing 160+ publicly traded companies from a wide range of professional experiences, industries, geographies and market caps. The Virtual Chapter has been providing online educational, professional development and networking opportunities for its members and the broader IR community for more than 16 years, and is the only NIRI chapter to offer CPE credits in addition to IRC PDUs. For more information, please contact [email protected]
This event is exclusively for senior corporate, in-house IR professionals. To register for this year’s event, please fill in the form below and if you are eligible, we will send you a confirmation along with detailed event information.
If you have any questions please contact Thomas Williams at [email protected] or +44 208 090 2156.
For partnership inquiries
+1 212 430 6865
For agenda-related queries
+44 7763 851 425
For all other inquiries
+44 20 8090 2156