In-person event: Bank of America offices, London
The IR Magazine Think Tank – Europe took place on Thursday, June 23, 2022 in London and is an invitation-only event exclusively for senior IR officers. It is 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 investor relations professionals. 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 and shares ideas with the group as a whole.
08:30 AM
Registration and refreshments: Meet the attendees
09:00 AM
Opening remarks: Welcome to the IR Magazine Think Tank
Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Mark Troman, deputy head of EMEA research, Bank of America
09:15 AM
Navigating uncertain environments: Rising inflation, changing supply chains and global sanctions
With economies worldwide recovering from the pandemic, we now seem to be entering a new period of uncertainty. In response to the Ukraine crisis, governments have imposed sanctions, and companies are exiting Russia at unprecedented speed. Furthermore, a recalibration of global supply chains, combined with rising inflation and high interest rates, means public companies across Europe are looking for guidance on navigating the current environment.
Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Emily Daw, head of IR and strategic projects, Bakkavor
Joanna Kennedy, head of investor relations, Coca-Cola HBC
Ruben Segura-Cayuela, head of Europe economics, Bank of America
09:45 AM
Roundtables: Building resilience and communicating in a crisis
10:15 AM
Rethinking the 'S' in ESG: An in-depth look at the social aspect of sustainable investing
In this session, we’ll be taking a closer look at the S of ESG and how public companies can improve their relationships with their workforce, political environments and the society in which they operate. We will discuss how the pandemic has changed the discussion around human capital management, setting DE&I targets and communicating your social impact to shareholders.
Moderator: Tim Human, senior reporter, IR Magazine
Jana Jevcakova, managing director, head of ESG international, Morrow Sodali
10:45 AM
Networking break
11:00 AM
Aligning your ESG story with evolving stakeholder expectations
Staying compliant with changing regulations is crucial, but ensuring you communicate your ESG efforts with all stakeholders clearly and succinctly is just as important. In this panel, our speakers will share practical insights on ESG strategizing and story-telling that meet and exceed the growing expectations of shareholders, employees, suppliers and the wider public.
Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Charles Chalkly, investor relations and ESG manager, Hays
Panos Seretis, head of European ESG research, Bank of America
11:30 AM
Keynote fire-side chat: How will the ISSB change the way we report?
In this interview with Sue Lloyd, vice-chair of the ISSB, we’ll be discussing in-depth how the ISSB is reshaping the reporting landscape and what it means for IR teams.
Moderator: Steven Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine
Sue Lloyd, vice-chair, ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board)
11:50 AM
Preparing for new reporting requirements and standardizing your ESG disclosures
Governments, businesses, consumers and investors have repeatedly called to standardize ESG information, subjecting non-financial reporting to the same standards expected of financial disclosures. Recently, the development of green taxonomies and the formation of the ISSB mark the most significant steps towards reaching this goal, promising to develop a globally recognized reporting standard and common language. Here we will discuss:
Moderator: Tim Human, senior reporter, IR Magazine
Amit Bhalla, SVP and head of investor relations, Schneider Electric
Azhar Zaman, head of delivery – Europe, Middle East & Asia, CtrlPrint
12:20 PM
Roundtables: Practical advice on building and communicating your ESG strategy
12:50 PM
Lunch
13:50 PM
Trends in investor access and engagement in a post-covid world
The transition to online working considerably affected how public companies and capital markets interact. One positive of the shift to hybrid working was the ability to connect more easily and directly with a broader range of potential investors. This panel will discuss how public companies are leveraging this benefit to grow international shareholder bases
Moderator: Laurence Taylor, senior conference producer, IR Magazine
Ian Brown, head of investor relations, Tritax Group
Martin Cooper, investor relations director, BAE Systems
Jonathan Dickson, vice president, international corporate solutions, OTC Markets Group
14:20 PM
Getting real value out of virtual and hybrid events
While the benefits of going virtual are numerous, there is a growing demand for a return to in-person events. In this panel, we discuss how companies are managing the move back to face-to-face, to what extent virtual meetings will remain, and how to successfully run a hybrid event that combines the best – rather than the worst – of both worlds.
Moderator: James Beech, editor-in-chief, IR Magazine
David de la Roz Fernandez, director of investor relations, eDreams ODIGEO
Ben Riley, head of business development, Lumi
Muge Yucel, director and head of investor relations, Galata Wind
14:50 PM
Roundtables: Reaching the right people in a hybrid environment
15:20 PM
Buy-side expectations from IR teams in the current market environment
Our panellist will address any concerns and questions you have about the coming months. This is an opportunity to engage with an investor in a frank and open environment.
Moderator: Tim Human, senior reporter, IR Magazine
Gervais Williams, head of equities, Premier Miton Group
15:50 PM
Summary and action points
James Beech, editor-in-chief, IR Magazine
16:00 PM
End of think tank
Mark Troman
deputy head of EMEA research
Bank of America
Mark Troman is deputy head of EMEA equity research at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research, a post
he has held since March 2019.
Based in the London office. Mark was previously head of the Pan Europe Capital Goods research
team, which covered around 40 stocks. Mark’s research focus was on larger electrical equipment
companies but he also has extensive experience of the industrial machinery sector. The team was
consistently highly ranked by the major investor surveys for over a decade.
Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Mark was a manager at LEK Consulting working on numerous
projects, including the launch of the low-cost airline GO.
Mark holds an MA in Engineering and a post-graduate distinction in management and finance, all
from Cambridge University.
Ben Riley
head of business development
Lumi
Ben Riley is one of the UK’s leading AGM and Investor Relations experts and has wide ranging experience of delivering successful AGMs and shareholder engagement days across the global marketplace, acting for both Issuers and non-listed organisations.
His technical expertise has helped companies successfully harness the power of virtual and hybrid meetings and, coupled with Lumi’s leading on-premise capabilities, has delivered hundreds of successful physical, hybrid and virtual AGMs and Investor Relations meetings.
Jonathan Dickson
VP, International corporate services
OTC Markets Group
Based in London, Jonathan Dickson is responsible for the OTC Markets Group’s business development efforts in Western Europe. In this role, Jonathan helps issuers to navigate the U.S. capital markets, globalize their investor relations outreach and implement best practices to maximize the success of cross-trading. Prior to joining OTC Markets, Jonathan was co-branch head and a portfolio manager at Redmayne Bentley where he managed bespoke investment mandates for private clients throughout the UK and Europe. Jonathan holds a BA from the University of Surrey and is a Chartered Member of the Securities and Investment Institute.
Emily Daw
head of investor relations and strategic projects
Bakkavor Group
Emily is Head of Investor Relations and Strategic Projects at Bakkavor Group plc. Bakkavor is the leading provider of fresh prepared food in the UK and has a presence in two high growth markets, the US and China. Emily started her career at PwC, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and subsequently performing financial due diligence for corporates and private equity clients on M&A opportunities within the retail and consumer sector. In 2018, Emily joined Bakkavor as part of the Group Strategy team, leading on acquisitions, strategic reviews and capital projects. In 2020, she completed a secondment to Bakkavor’s US business as Finance Director of the Los Angeles manufacturing site and in May 2021 was appointed to her current role as Head of Investor Relations.
Gervais Williams
head of equities
Miton Group plc
Gervais Williams is Head of Equities at Premier Miton Investors and manages a number of funds and trusts that aggregate to over £1.5bn, he joined the group in 2011. His fund management career extends over 30 years including 17 years at Gartmore Group Ltd, where he was Head of UK Small Companies investing in UK smaller companies and Irish equities. Gervais is a member of the AIM Advisory Council, and a board member of the Quoted Companies Alliance. He was a member of the Patient Capital Review panel with the Chancellor of the Exchequer two years ago where the recommendations were put into legislation in the subsequent budget. Gervais Williams has published three books, ‘Slow Finance’ in the autumn of 2011 (Bloomsbury), ‘The Future is Small’ published in November 2014 (Harriman House) and ‘The Retreat of Globalisation’ published in December 2016 (Harriman House).
Amit Bhalla
SVP – head of investor relations
Schneider Electric
Amit Bhalla is the Senior Vice President and Head of Investor Relations at Schneider Electric based in London. Amit started his career in consulting and has over the years worked in diverse corporate and finance leadership roles in multinational corporations across UK, Singapore, China, France and India. Amit is a qualified Chartered Accountant with management courses from Insead and UNC.
Ian Brown
Head of investor relations
Tritax Group
Charles Chalkly
Investor relations & ESG manager
Hays
Martin Cooper
Investor relations director
BAE Systems
Martin has an undergraduate degree from Durham University in History and qualified as a Chartered Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
He then moved to Credit Suisse in London as an Analyst, before joining BAE Systems in 2002 as a finance controller in the customer solutions and support.
From there Martin joined the M&A team and led acquisitions in the US, Australia and UK along with the shipbuilding consolidation in the UK.
In 2008, Martin became the Finance Controller of UK/RoW before becoming Finance and IMT Director of Mission Systems and then Finance and IMT Director for Maritime Services.
In June 2016 Martin became the Investor Relations Director for BAE Systems a role he holds today.
David de la Roz Fernandez
Director of investor relations
eDreams ODIGEO
Jana Jevcakova
Managing director, corporate governance
Morrow Sodali
Joanna Kennedy
Head of investor relations
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company
Sue Lloyd
Vice chair
ISSB
Sue Lloyd’s appointment as Vice-Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), effective 1 March 2022, was announced in January 2022.
She served as a member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) from 2014 and as IASB Vice-Chair from 2016. She also served as Chair of the IFRS Interpretations Committee from 2017.
In addition to her IASB responsibilities, she played a leading role in the establishment of the ISSB from 2020, including as a member of the Technical Readiness Working Group, which was created by the Trustees to give the ISSB a running start.
Prior to becoming an IASB member, Ms Lloyd worked for the IFRS Foundation as a senior technical director, leading the development of new IFRS Accounting Standards, and as director of capital markets with responsibility for the IASB’s reform of accounting for financial instruments. She also worked for the IFRS Foundation from 2002 to 2004 as a technical project manager.
Ms Lloyd has held various positions in investment banking both in the UK and in Australia and has served as a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). She has a Master’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Ruben Segura-Cayuela
Head of European economics research
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Ruben Segura-Cayuela is a Managing Director and the head of Europe Economics Research. The Europe economics team was ranked #1 in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 II Global Fixed Income Research Survey. Prior to joining the firm, Segura-Cayuela was a senior economist at the International Affairs Directorate of Banco de España, where he was responsible for the coverage of global fiscal and structural policies as well as macroeconomic analysis and academic research. He has also worked as an advisor in macroeconomic and financial issues to the Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs in Spain. Segura-Cayuela was awarded a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a master’s degree in Economics and Finance from CEMFI.
Panos Seretis
Head of ESG research – EMEA
Bank of America Merill Lynch
Muge Yucel
Head of investor relations & corporate governance committee member
Galata Wind
Azhar Zaman
Head of delivery – Europe, Middle East & Asia
CtrlPrint
Azhar Joined CtrlPrint in April 2014, he heads up UK & Asia Delivery, started his career with BT Major Business, Azhar now helps deliver CtrlPrint’s software as a service to issuers across the globe from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and Europe. When it comes to the human experience of reporting, it’s not uncommon for lives to be disrupted and huge challenges can result, such as stress, sickness, higher cost of processing the production of corporate reports, not just in energy and man-hours but errors and corporate reputation. Joining April 2014, Azhar helps his clients reduce these challenges and improve the human experience of corporate reporting. Through this process, Azhar also helps build better relationships both internally with reporting stakeholders and with his client’s suppliers, such as Design Agencies and consultants. Azhar read Biomedical Science at Brighton University, is a MSCA and loves dog walks in the countryside and picnics at Blenheim Palace when The Duke of Marlborough hasn’t shut it to the public. Azhar has a passion to help in a real tangible way to change reporting process behaviours to suit the future we want to build.
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 join our think tank:
Job title | Company | Job title | Company | |
Director of investor relations | AstraZeneca | Head of investor relations | IG Group | |
Director of investor relations | Credit Suisse | Head of investor relations | Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits | |
Director of investor relations | Grifols | Head of investor relations | National Express | |
Director of IR and sustainable development | LSR Group | Head of investor relations | Nordea | |
Director, corporate finance and investor relations | Polymetal International | Head of investor relations | Phoenix Group Holdings | |
Director, investor relations & corporate finance | DCC | Head of investor relations | RWE | |
Head of investor relations | 4D Pharma | Head of investor relations | Santander UK | |
Head of investor relations | Aegon | Head of investor relations | Sound Energy | |
Head of investor relations | Banco Sistema | Head of investor relations | Spire Healthcare | |
Head of investor relations | Cargotec | Head of investor relations | Virgin Atlantic | |
Head of investor relations | Dialog Semiconductor | IR director | McCarthy & Stone | |
Head of investor relations | En+ Group | IR director | MTS |
Register your interest for the 2023 think tank by filling in the form at the link below. You will be the first to receive important updates about the event and details about how to request an invite.
If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Cawte at [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 5340.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving large corporations, small and middle-market businesses and individual consumers in more than 150 countries with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. BofA Securities, the institutional broker dealer business of Bank of America, is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. The company provides, through various banking and broker-dealer affiliates, M&A advice, equity and debt capital-raising solutions, lending, risk management, treasury, liquidity and payments management. Bank of America Corporation is listed on the NYSE.
For more information, please visit www.bofaml.com
Think Tank Partners
CtrlPrint is Europe’s leading collaboration platform for corporate reporting. More than 1,000 customers entrust us with their most important documents each year. Regardless of your size and sector, our software as a service solution empowers you to manage changes collaboratively with you and your wider team and creative resource, all in a secure environment.
Our platform is used for the preparation, design, editing, tagging, reviewing as well as publication of designed, complex corporate reports, for example:
CtrlPrint, founded in 2001, is a Swedish company with offices in Stockholm, Paris, Helsinki and London. For more information, please visit www.ctrlprint.net
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 A LEADING PROVIDER OF STRATEGIC ADVICE AND SHAREHOLDER SERVICES TO CORPORATE CLIENTS AROUND THE WORLD.
The firm provides corporate boards and executives with strategic advice and services relating to corporate governance, shareholder and bondholder communication and engagement, capital markets intelligence, proxy solicitation, shareholder activism and mergers and acquisitions.
From headquarters in New York and London, and offices and partners in major capital markets, Morrow Sodali serves approximately 1000 corporate clients in 80+ countries, including many of the world’s largest multinational corporations. In addition to listed and private companies, its clients include financial institutions, mutual funds, ETFs, stock exchanges and membership associations.
For more information, visit morrowsodali.com
OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX® Best Market, the OTCQB® Venture Market and the Pink® Open Market for 11,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link® ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.
To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient financial markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.
OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.
Supported by
For 12 years now, the Association of Bulgarian Investor Relations Directors /ABIRD/ has been actively working to unite the interests and improve the qualification of local Investor Relations Directors – members of the organization, to improve the investment climate in Bulgaria and introduce high standards for presentation of the Bulgarian public companies to investors in the country and abroad.
We unite more than 110 Investor Relations Directors of public companies and other issuers of securities, and in 2016 we opened the doors of ABIRD for all colleagues who disclose information in accordance with the Bulgarian and European legislation, and communicate with institutions such as the Financial Supervision Commission, BSE – Sofia and the Central Depository.
ABIRD is an active participant in the Bulgarian capital market, a basic corrective in terms of amendments to the regulation and implementation of the European legislation. Our activities are focused on enhancing the professional qualification of Investor Relations Directors and all of the other officials engaged with investor communication and communication with the institutions on the capital market with the purpose to improve the best disclosure and transparency practices in the activities of public companies and other issuers of securities. We actively cooperate with all institutions and participants in the Bulgarian capital market.
The Association of Bulgarian Investor Relations Directors is a collective member the National Corporate Governance Commission, the Capital Market Development Council in Bulgaria, the Corporate Social Responsibility Council to the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association. Together with our national partners we strive to make Bulgaria a more attractive place for investments.
Contacts: +359 2 9882413 and [email protected]
Web: www.abird.info
Since 1991, AERI has been bringing together the most relevant IR professionals and other stakeholders in Spain, focusing on the development of best practices, but also on providing the best possible options for networking. AERI Members are well known for their top performance in the capital markets, always developing the highest standards in the Investor Relations world.
For more information, please visit www.aeri.es
For more information, please visit www.ir-romania.ro.
Supporting the Investors Relations in Belgium. We are a community that actively exchanges experiences and ideas around investor relations. We help people grow active in investor relations by networking, knowledge exchange & meetings.
For more information, please visit www.belgian-ir.be
Created in 1987, the Cliff is the French association of financial communication professionals and is a recognized voice for the profession in France. With an active programme fostering the sharing of experiences, of expertise and of evolving topics, a successful education training programme in partnership with a renowned French University (Paris-Dauphine) and its contribution to the annual publication of the “Financial Communications: Framework and Practices” together with the OCF, the Cliff helps promote the status of Investor Relations professionals.
For more information, please visit www.cliff.asso.fr
About DIRF
The Danish Investor Relations Society (DIRF) was established by investor relations officers, financial and communications executives in a few Danish companies in 1988. The objective was and still is to promote communication between listed companies and their investors thereby increasing investor interest in Danish shares and company bonds.
DIRF represents some 270 members from approximately 100 companies. Members are primarily listed companies, and the member base represents about 95 per cent of the Danish market cap. However, also not-listed companies, organisations, service providers and consultants working with financial communications are represented, cf. DIRF members list.
DIRF activities
The DIRF network seeks to meet its objectives by arranging members’ meetings and conferences dealing with current IR-topics, sessions with academics researching in IR-related areas, trends and new ways of performing the IR-profession, new media developments, new evaluation methods, and once a year the Copenhagen Stock Exchange hosts a network meeting etc. Members’ meetings normally take place 5-6 times a year.
For more information, please visit www.dirf.dk.
For more information, please visit our website.
IR Club is a well-established investor relations community that allows IR professionals to network with peers from all over the world.
IR Club was formed in 2011, to address the need for an online investor relations community. Since then, it has become an overwhelming success and has around 1,400 members!
The main objectives of IR Club include the promotion of networking, communication, exchange and transfer of knowledge among investor relations professionals – we are particularly interested in the use of social media in investor relations.
IR Club is open to anyone interested in investor relations such as scientists, students and those wishing to make a career change. For the opportunity to mingle with practising IROs at all levels, as well consultants and service providers. Colleagues from the areas of private equity, open-end and closed-end funds, unlisted companies and of course all those who deal with the communication with lenders (creditor relations / fixed income) are welcome, too – we are all one ecosystem.
It takes no time to register as a member and it’s free of charge!
IR Club
Patrick Kiss
Email: [email protected]
Tel.: +49 177 232 0001
The IR club Schweiz was founded 1992 to promote the interests of the IR profession among Switzerland’s publicly-quoted companies. It is an interactive forum for the exchange of ideas, the discussion of current IR issues and the development of practical solutions.
For more information, please visit www.irclub.ch.
Turkish Investor Relations Society – TUYID, founded in 2009, is designed to foster collaborative ties among investor relations professionals and the constituencies which they serve such as management, shareholders, bondholders, private investors, analysts, employees, government, corporate customers and media, at both the corporate and personal levels, with a view to develop professional know-how, to be a reference center and to elevate Turkish investor relations applications on a par with global standards.
Our mission is to contribute to the promotion of the Turkish markets, provide assistance for Turkish companies to achieve fair market value for their capital market instruments and to support Turkish capital markets to gain depth and resilience.
For more information, please visit www.tuyid.org/en
For partnership inquiries
+44 78 2653 8072
For agenda inquiries
+44 20 8004 4818
For all other inquiries
+44 20 8004 5340