IR Magazine
IR Magazine Awards – Europe

IR Magazine Awards ‒ Europe
Celebrating IR excellence

Thursday, June 22, 2023

8 Northumberland Avenue, London

About the awards

The IR Magazine Awards – Europe 2023 will take place on Thursday, June 22.

We are delighted to announce that the IR Magazine Awards – Europe 2023 will take place in-person on Thursday, June 22 at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London. This very special event honors excellence in the investor relations profession across Europe and we are excited to welcome everyone back for an evening of fine food and lots of celebrating!

Since the annual event first launched in 1990, tens of thousands of analysts and investors have voted in the surveys behind the awards. The result: vital benchmarking information on which companies do the best IR. In recent years, the awards program has expanded to recognize more aspects of an IRO’s role as we add new categories to the list and give IR teams the opportunity to nominate themselves.

By popular demand, we present two types of award categories – researched and nominated – both celebrating the success of those individuals and companies that are leading the way in IR across Europe.

For our researched categories, companies do not submit nominations. Instead, hundreds of analysts and investors cast their votes and give their opinions on which companies provide the best IR service. In our nominated categories, companies submit written entries to articulate their success and achievements from the past year, giving any publicly listed company the opportunity to be considered for an award.

 

Researched categories      Nominated categories

Highlights

View the highlights from the 2022 awards ceremony

Awards by nomination

For our awards-by-nomination categories, individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries, free of charge, to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of investment professionals and IR Magazine editorial team members.

The nomination form will be open for entries in December. In the meantime, you can register your interest to nominate by clicking here.

Please note that categories are subject to change based on the final number of submissions received. Some categories may be split by market cap size.

View the full list of 2022 winners by clicking here

Best annual report (large cap)

Best annual report (large cap)

Are shareholders and analysts raving about the quality of your annual print or online report? Give us your vision of good reporting practice. Judges will be looking for a well-articulated equity story, ease of flow or navigation, state-of-the-art design and consistency/complementary between different reports. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over.

Best annual report (mid-cap)

Best annual report (mid-cap)

Are shareholders and analysts raving about the quality of your annual print or online report? Give us your vision of good reporting practice. Judges will be looking for a well-articulated equity story, ease of flow or navigation, state-of-the-art design and consistency/complementary between different reports. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best annual report (small cap)

Best annual report (small cap)

Are shareholders and analysts raving about the quality of your annual print or online report? Give us your vision of good reporting practice. Judges will be looking for a well-articulated equity story, ease of flow or navigation, state-of-the-art design and consistency/complementary between different reports. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best ESG materiality reporting (large cap)

Best ESG materiality reporting (large cap)

Investors are increasingly looking to determine the material ESG risks and opportunities for companies. But the range of data and inconsistency of reporting can make it difficult to get a full picture. This award recognizes the achievement of companies that produce clear investor-facing communications about ESG issues that are material to their business. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best ESG materiality reporting (mid-cap)

Best ESG materiality reporting (mid-cap)

Investors are increasingly looking to determine the material ESG risks and opportunities for companies. But the range of data and inconsistency of reporting can make it difficult to get a full picture. This award recognizes the achievement of companies that produce clear investor-facing communications about ESG issues that are material to their business. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best ESG materiality reporting (small cap)

Best ESG materiality reporting (small cap)

Investors are increasingly looking to determine the material ESG risks and opportunities for companies. But the range of data and inconsistency of reporting can make it difficult to get a full picture. This award recognizes the achievement of companies that produce clear investor-facing communications about ESG issues that are material to their business. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best innovation in shareholder communications

Best innovation in shareholder communications

In this catch-all category, judges are looking for IR teams who have had to think out of the box in the past 12-18 months to update their shareholder communications campaign and keep up with the evolving needs and wants of the investor community. We’re looking for that tiny little spark of innovation that sets your company apart!

Best investor event (large cap)

Best investor event (large cap)

Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best investor event (mid-cap)

Best investor event (mid-cap)

Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best investor event (small cap)

Best investor event (small cap)

Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best IR during a corporate transaction

Best IR during a corporate transaction

How did your IR team go above and beyond to support a recent corporate transaction? Let us know the details. We’ll be looking at the IR team’s involvement in crafting/releasing the messaging for the financial markets and how it organized outreach and dialogue to gain approval from key shareholders.

Best IR website

Best IR website

The IR website is the first point of contact for an IRO’s audience. We want to hear from companies that have developed a best-in-class website displaying top-notch customer experience, engaging content that meets analysts’ and investors’ needs, and multiplatform access.

Best retail IR strategy

Best retail IR strategy

IR teams have recently started to pay attention to and service the traditional blind spot in their shareholder base – the retail investor block. In this category, we’re looking for IR campaigns that include a retail shareholder communication strategy, how it differed from the usual program and the results of these efforts.

Best use of multimedia for IR

Best use of multimedia for IR

Are you a tech-savvy IRO always looking out for cutting-edge technological solutions for IR? Describe the innovative ways you have incorporated video, audio, infographics or webcasts into your IR program. Judges will be looking for evidence of heightened investor and analyst engagement via these channels.

Rising star

Rising star

This award seeks to honor individuals who bring fresh thinking and a unique approach to the profession. This category is open to anyone who has been working in IR for less than 10 years and has less than 15 years of professional experience.  

The awards-by-nomination categories differ from our traditional researched awards, as individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries, free of charge, to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of investment professionals and IR Magazine editorial team members.

The judging process consists of three simple phases:

Phase one: Once the entry deadline has passed, the IR Magazine editorial team reviews all submissions and produces the short list

Phase two: The short-listed entries are shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts. The judges review each short-listed entry and select their top two picks per category

Phase three: The judges come together to discuss, debate and select the final list of winners who will go on to win an award

The judges’ votes are not made public, but their comments may be published in articles or reports after the event. Judges are not required to make comments against every submission.

Awards by Research

Our awards-by-research nominees are determined by the input of hundreds of analysts and portfolio managers, who give their opinions on which companies provide them with the best IR service in Europe. Every year we invite any publicly listed company to submit their list of buy and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers, so that they have the opportunity to vote via our survey.

How do I submit a list?Please send an Excel file with the name, firm, direct telephone number and email address of your contacts to [email protected].If you have any questions about this process or wish to access our data sharing agreement, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page. For any further queries about the research process, please contact [email protected].

View the full list of 2022 winners by clicking here

Best overall investor relations (large cap)

Best overall investor relations (large cap)

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best overall investor relations (mid-cap)

Best overall investor relations (mid-cap)

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best overall investor relations (small cap)

Best overall investor relations (small cap)

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best investor relations officer (large cap)

Best investor relations officer (large cap)

This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best investor relations officer (small to mid-cap)

Best investor relations officer (small to mid-cap)

This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn - €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over

Best in sector: communications

Best in sector: communications

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: consumer discretionary

Best in sector: consumer discretionary

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: consumer staples

Best in sector: consumer staples

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: energy

Best in sector: energy

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: financials

Best in sector: financials

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: healthcare

Best in sector: healthcare

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: industrials

Best in sector: industrials

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: materials

Best in sector: materials

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: real estate

Best in sector: real estate

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: technology

Best in sector: technology

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

Best in sector: utilities

Best in sector: utilities

This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program in their sector.

The first thing to explain is that our awards are different from most others: for our awards by research, companies do not submit nominations. The winners are identified by in-depth research and any publicly traded company is eligible to be considered. This survey is the only one of its kind to go directly to the investment community, via a combination of an electronic survey and one-to-one telephone interviews, canvassing the opinions of the people who matter to you most.

November – December 2021: Sample selection

IR Magazine has been building investment community databases for more than 30 years. As part of the updating process, listed companies are contacted every year for details of the professionals who currently cover their stock.

January – February 2022: Electronic survey

IR Magazine then conducts an electronic survey of buy-side and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers. The electronic survey typically receives 300 individual responses from the investment community. These responses then go to Mary Maude Research for initial analysis. The research firm determines what will constitute a representative sample, weighted for Europe’s industry sectors and geographical regions.

December 2021 – February 2022: Telephone survey

The telephone survey then gets under way. The researchers conduct in-depth interviews with 300 portfolio managers and analysts across Europe. Many of them participate in the study year after year, but there is always a healthy proportion of new respondents each year as well. As the research progresses, the sample is adjusted to ensure appropriate weightings are maintained.

Results analysis

Once the survey stage of the research is completed, the final analysis is undertaken. The companies with the highest scores make the short lists for the awards categories, and the points are further analyzed to identify the best exponents of IR by sector. The independence of our research is crucial to the integrity of the whole awards program, so IR Magazine sees the results only once the research is complete. This ensures a transparent, independent set of results that IROs can trust as a valuable bench-marking tool.

April 2022: Short list compiled

IR Magazine receives the results and contacts the short-listed companies to give them the good news. The short list is then published to the entire IR community the month before the event.

 June 23, 2022: Winners announced

And finally… the winners are announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday, June 23, 2022!

June 2022: Report published

Shortly after the awards, the Investor Perception Study – Europe 2022 report is published and made available to IR Magazine subscribers.

 

Who attends our events

Attendees at this event are leading IR practitioners from across Europe. Each participant is someone with an established track record and a strategic IR role within his or her company.

Below is a sample of people who have attended our event in the past:

Job title Company Job title Company
Assistant director Atrato Head of investor relations AstraZeneca
CEO Nexans Head of investor relations Cyfrowy Polsat
CVP Novo Nordisk Head of investor relations Deutsche EuroShop
Director Makinson Cowell Head of investor relations Polymetal International
Director of financial reporting and IR Great Portland Estates Head of PR & IR Severstal
Director of investor relations Avantium Head of research Zeus Captial
Director of investor relations Britvic Investor relations director InterContinental Hotels
Director of investor relations and FP&A Flutter Entertainment Investor relations director Össur
Director of IR and corporate communication Iberdrola Investor relations director Unilever
Director of public relations, US En+ Group Investor relations director MERLIN Properties
EVP finance, treasury & investor relations Infineon Technologies Investor relations director Valmet
Executive director, North America investor relations BBVA Investor relations director Vodafone
Group communications director Greencore IR ESG director Novartis
Group director, IR Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield IR principal Turkcell
Head of IR & sustainability Cembra President – corporate development Synthomer
Head of communications ArcelorMittal Senior analyst, investor relations Wolters Kluwer
Head of corporate communications National Express Group Senior investor relations officer Royal Dutch Shell
Head of digital engagement Ocado Group Senior vice president investor relations BASF
Head of ESG British American Tobacco SVP finance & investor relations Ocean Yield
Head of integrated thinking and reporting Garanti VP, corporate analysis Odfjell
Head of investor relations Aegon VP, corporate and financial comms Pearson
Head of investor relations SAP VP, investor relations TechnipFMC
Head of investor relations Schneider Electric VP, investor relations Technip Energies
Head of investor relations Subsea 7 VP, IR & corporate strategy Coca-Cola Partners
Head of investor relations Vonovia VP, investor relations Akbank
Head of investor relations and planning Roche VP, IR & corporate communications Aixtron
Head of investor relations BMW Group VP, IR & corporate communications Hyloris Pharmaceuticals

 

Request full past attendee list

What our attendees say

"Well done to everyone at IR Magazine for another very well organised and enjoyable event. It was a real treat to be mingling and spending time again with so many industry experts and seeing many new and familiar faces! "

Bank of America

"The evening went very smoothly with the transition between dinner and awards, and the pacing of the awards was great so it didn't feel like it dragged at all. The venue was also lovely."

Ocado Group

"Well organised, good venue and separate areas for networking. Nice sponsor touches with balloons. Good food, good service. Nice intro from James (editor). Good to hear from winners briefly.
Good event despite challenges - well done!"

Gather London

"I liked meeting with other corporate attendees, networking and the venue. Organisation was good."

HUGO BOSS

"Fantastic opportunity to see people in person again, and enjoy a "pre-covid" style event again"

Tesco

"It was all very elegant and beautifully laid out. The stage was very nicely decorated and the award ceremony was not too long."

Nexxar

Inquire about partnership

Partners

Become a partner

Why partner with us?

The IR Magazine Awards – Europe brings together some of the most influential people in the IR community.

Partnering with us is the perfect way to raise your organization’s profile and cement your position in the IR community.

The unique buzz we create at our virtual awards enables you to:

  • Reach thousands of industry leaders through our multi-channel marketing campaign
  • Raise your organization’s profile with unrivalled brand exposure
  • Align yourself with those who excel in the industry

Put your brand in the spotlight and benefit from months of targeted, high profile publicity across multiple channels pre-and post-event.

We’d love to have a chat with you about how you can get in front of a truly engaged and motivated audience through the IR Magazine Awards – Europe. Get in touch with Ross Ingram or call on +44 78 2653 8072.

Register your interest

Register your interest for the 2023 awards by filling in the form at the link below. You will be the first to receive important updates about the event, including what to expect and information about how to be considered for an award.

If you have any questions, please contact Mona Stanica at [email protected] or call +44 20 8090 0391.

 

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

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