Virtual event: Available on replay
The US and Canada have much more in common than a border crossing. Given the close links in the economies and capital markets of the two countries, we held a first of it’s kind international event which brought together Canadian and US investor relations officers to share best practice and learn from each other.
We heard views from investment professionals in the US and Canada in this unique opportunity to network and share insight across a wider IR network.
This event took place as a virtual experience using our bespoke, cutting-edge technology.
Our virtual event platform closely replicated attending in-person by facilitating interaction with speakers, one-to-one networking with fellow IR professionals, and group roundtable discussions. Going virtual helped you connect with a wider network from the comfort of your desk.
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.
10:30 AM
Platform opens: Meet the attendees
10:55 AM
Welcome to the IR Magazine Forum – North America 2021
Opening remarks from the chair
Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
11:00 AM
Spotlight on North America: Outlook for stocks and latest buy-side trends
To keep your finger on the pulse of investor sentiment and capital markets trends as the economy recovers now is a good time to assess the latest happenings in capital markets. In this session, you can:
Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Chris Varvares, vice president and co-head, US economics, IHS Markit
Chris Williamson, chief economist, IHS Markit
11:30 AM
IR engagement, marketing and corporate access: How can IR remain agile?
As IR engagement calendars gradually return to a more long-term model, before year-end is a good time to assess what the future looks like. What percentage of engagement will be expected to take place in person, what are investors looking for from future issuer engagement, and how is the sell-side planning the calendar for 2022? In this session, you can:
Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Mark Chyc-Cies, vice president, strategy, planning and IR, Gibson Energy
Rob Garrigan, head of corporate services, OpenExchange
Debbie Hancock, senior vice president of IR, Hasbro
12:15 PM
Meet the attendees: Networking
Take some time to meet other attendees via a quick, one-to-one video chat. You have five minutes to introduce yourself and share contact details before you’re on to meeting the next person!
12:30 PM
Evolving the discussion on ESG: Reporting consolidation and practical steps
The recent SASB and International Integrated Reporting Council merger contributes to more consolidation on reporting frameworks. Coupled with the rise in investor focus on social and diversity issues and concerns over SEC mandatory reporting, the spotlight on ESG is increasingly visible. This session will move the discussion forward on ESG and give attendees practical insights into operating in the current climate. Attendees can:
Tim Human, senior reporter, IR Magazine
Milla Craig, founder and president, Millani
Aaron Howald, director of IR, LP Building Solutions
Tanya Levy-Odom, director, investment stewardship, BlackRock
George Trisic, chief governance officer, Algonquin Power & Utilities
13:30 PM
The great transformation: From investor days to investor experiences
2020 fundamentally changed the way IR presented their companies to investors. Teams had to adapt quickly to a new way of engaging and responding to the challenges of virtual events. While concerns remain around the effectiveness of virtual investor days, the industry has evolved significantly. To help companies create impactful investor days, this session will give IROs creative insights into:
Steve Wade, head of event content, IR Magazine
Pete Deutschman, chief buddy and chief innovation officer, The Buddy Group and Michaels
Sam Levenson, founder and CEO, Arbor Advisory Group
14:00 PM
Case study: Lessons learned from running a large-scale virtual investor day
As remote events may become a critical function of the IR role, in this session, we will delve into the merits and challenges of running large-scale investor or analyst days and hear from companies that have experienced one. We will discuss:
Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Dave Hughes, vice president of IR, Imperial Oil
Chip Newcom, director of IR and sustainability, Equinix
Mark Wilson, executive creative director, Cramer
14:45 PM
Polishing your shareholder ID and targeting strategy
Considering sell-side changes and increased direct interaction with stakeholders, this session will look at the best ways to improve the effectiveness of your targeting process and find investors that are the right fit for your company. We will discuss the latest routes, tools and tactics to increase visibility and get noticed by the investment community. Attendees can:
Ben Ashwell, editor, Corporate Secretary and IR Magazine
Katie Durant, senior director of IR, CVS Health
Balaji Krishnamurthy, head of IR, Uber
Jason Tsai, vice president of IR, Zendesk
15:30 PM
Meet the attendees: Networking
Take some time to meet other attendees via a quick, one-to-one video chat. You have five minutes to introduce yourself and share contact details before you’re on to meeting the next person!
15:45 PM
STREAM TWO: Global trends in corporate governance – Prioritizing environmental and social issues
Corporations globally are experiencing more attention to their oversight of climate change risk, human capital management, diversity and equity, and response to activism. In this session, you will hear updates from North America and beyond, proxy season findings and how IR and corporate governance can best work with the board to meet expectations.
Ben Ashwell, editor, Corporate Secretary and IR Magazine
Anthony Garcia, director of responsible investing, Nuveen
Elena Rosman, vice president of IR, Aptiv
15:45 PM
STREAM ONE: Embracing digital strategies to improve shareholder engagement
With people spending more time online and increased use of social media as a substitute for daily news, information gathering and trading, the potential marketing benefits of embracing digital strategies are enormous. This session will discuss ideas on best practice shareholder communication strategies, where IR fits into social media marketing and monitoring, and how IR can take inspiration from the companies leading the way with new tech and digital methods.
Tim Human, senior reporter, IR Magazine
Richard Babineau, director of issuer solutions, Mediant
Kelly Earle, vice president of communications, Skeena Resources
16:15 PM
How to move forward in your career: The evolving strategic importance of IR
Investor relations has traditionally acted as the critical link between a company and the outside world. As capital markets evolve, however, so does the role of IR and what is expected of investor relations teams. In this session, heads of IR and senior managers will discuss how the IR function is fundamentally changing and how to keep up. You can learn:
Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Matt Gugino, vice president of IR and financial, planning and analysis, Danaher
Jill Slattery, senior vice president, head of IR and corporate development, Hilton
Mike Smith, vice-chair and chief financial officer, Voya
17:00 PM
Closing remarks and end of forum
Ben Ashwell, editor, Corporate Secretary and IR Magazine
To inquire about speaking at future forums, please contact [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 4818
Richard Babineau
Director of issuer solutions
Mediant
Rich has been in the financial services industry since 1987 with most of his career focused on shareholder communications and proxy event management.
Rich is the Director of Issuer Solutions at Mediant, responsible for overseeing the delivery of investor communication solutions to funds, annuities, alternative investments and corporate issuers. Rich and his team support Mediant’s distinctive high tech and high touch approach, delivering technology leadership with an unparalleled white-glove service model. Rich brings his extensive experience in the proxy lifecycle to support Mediant’s continued growth across all issuer types.
Prior to joining Mediant, Rich managed corporate issuer programs at Georgeson LLC, where he designed and executed successful solicitation strategies to support long-term corporate governance goals. Prior to Georgeson, Rich spent over 12 years in leadership roles at Broadridge Financial Solutions, where he was responsible for client services, operations and product management for mutual fund proxy solicitation services. He has held management roles at D.F. King & Co., leading call center operations for corporate issuer and mutual fund proxy solicitation campaigns and John Hancock Signature Services, where he led shareholder and broker service teams. Earlier in his career, Rich held the position of assistant vice president of legal operations at Putnam Investments where he led all proxy efforts including vendor selection and oversight.
Rich is an active member of leading industry associations including National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA), Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), Investment Company Institute (ICI), Society for Corporate Governance, Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (IPA), and National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).
Rich is graduate of the Securities Industry Institute, sponsored by SIFMA and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a certificate from the Corporate Governance Bootcamp Program at New York University’s School of Law. Rich attended Northeastern University where he studied organizational leadership.
Mark Chyc-Cies
VP, strategy, planning & investor relations
Gibson Energy
Mark is currently Vice President, Strategy, Planning & Investor Relations at Gibson Energy, an oil-focused infrastructure company, and was previously Vice President, Corporate Planning & Investor Relations at Veresen Inc. In both these roles, Mark’s IR duties focused on transforming the companies’ communication, positioning and perception in the market. Mark is CFA charterholder, and through both Investment Banking and corporate roles, has a broad spectrum of experience including strategic planning, corporate development, equity & debt capital markets, corporate finance, risk management and M&A.
Milla Craig
Founder and president
Millani
Milla is Founder and President of Millani Inc.
Throughout her career, Milla has worked closely with senior management and
investor relations teams of Canadian publicly-listed companies, as well as
financial analysts and investment managers of several Canadian pension and
investment funds. Prior to founding Millani in 2008, she worked for more than
15 years in the institutional equity markets for major Canadian financial
institutions.
Later, as Deloitte’s Sustainability Leader, Quebec, she was actively
involved in the development of sustainability strategy, management, stakeholder
engagement, and reporting for a variety of Canadian organizations.
Milla is a board member of the Responsible Investment Association and sits on
its Nomination Committee. She is Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the
Finance and Sustainability Initiatives of Finance Montréal. Milla is recipient of
the 2017 Clearn16 Award, and in 2020 was awarded Montreal’s Y Foundation
Women of Distinction Award, in the Business & Entrepreneurship category.
Pete Deutschman
Chief buddy and chief innovation officer
The Buddy Group and Michaels
Pete guides The Buddy Group’s Storydriven vision. Founding the company more than two decades ago, it reflects his blend of work in creative marketing roles across film, television, radio and theatre and his passion for innovation, creative strategy, design thinking, media and business building. Since 2005, Pete and his team have worked at the convergence of marketing, storytelling and connected technology.
Under Pete’s leadership The Buddy Group has shaped the trajectory of countless firms across industries while shaping the terrain of storydriven consulting. The diversity of his experience and expertise is reflected in The Buddy Group’s client list, past and present including; Michaels, Vertafore, Goodwill, Wells Fargo, AARP, St. Joseph Health, GE, Washington Mutual, Pentel, American Express, Microsoft, King’s Hawaiian Bread, Western Digital (WDTV), Google, YouTube, Epson, National University, McDonald’s HappyMeal.com and Experian. Along the way, it has executed 200 product and program launches; deployed across mobile, web and connected television.
Prior to starting The Buddy Group, Pete held executive and management positions at VPI, Iconixx and Melanie Griffith’s One World Live and worked on Broadway with producers of Into The Woods (25th anniversary), at The Broadway League (co-presenters of The Tony Awards®) and as an investor of several Broadway shows. At those respected entertainment/media-focused organizations he led efforts on brands such as Harry Potter, AOL, News Corp., Hypnotic (Universal), the first online short film festival and Ashton Kutcher’s first web presence, AshtonKutcher.com. Pete also shaped the digital media landscape, playing a major role with pioneers across several ad/media formats including Eyeblaster, Pointroll and YouTube’s custom brand channels. Pete sits on the OCTANe Innovation Accelerator board of directors, TBG Adventure Capital board of directors and the Project Hope Alliance board. He is an investor in or advisor to several startups.
Pete holds a master’s degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University.
Katie Durant
Senior director of investor relations
CVS Health
Kelly Earle
Vice president of communications
Skeena Resources
Ms. Earle is an Investor Relations professional and a geologist. Ms. Earle spent several years in the field prior to making the transition into the corporate side of the industry. She received her Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of British Columbia and her Certified Professional Investor Relations designation from the Ivey School of Business at Western University. She is a founding member of the British Columbia Regional Mining Alliance (BCRMA), a regional partnership between Aboriginal groups, industry and provincial government representatives to promote mining investment in the Golden Triangle of northwest BC and the Founding Industry Advisory Board Chair for CASERM (Center for Advanced Subsurface Earth Resource Models), a new I/UCRC (Industry‐University Cooperative Research Center) between the Colorado School of Mines and Virginia Tech, backed by the National Science Foundation.
Anthony Garcia
Director of responsible investing
Nuveen
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.
Rob Garrigan
Head of corporate services, Americas
OpenExchange
Rob has held various leadership roles in sales and business development that have always focused on expanding quality client relationships and driving revenue. With over twenty years of experience providing technology solutions in the financial services and public safety industries, Rob rejoined OpenExchange in March 2020 with a track record of building relationships and delivering exceptional services to customers globally. Previously, as Executive Vice President at Thomson Financial, Rob was responsible for successfully relaunching First Call’s business in Europe, increasing revenues over 200% and expanding broker partnerships globally. His success in building teams, expanding markets for innovative technology and accelerating growth was evident at Credence ID, OpenExchange (2012-2015), IntraLinks and Thomson. While at IntraLinks, Rob guided the company transition to an all SaaS model with customers such as JP Morgan, Chase Bank, Ernst & Young and Bank of America. Based in New York, Rob is responsible for OpenExchange’s Corporate Services in the Americas.
Matt Gugino
Vice president of IR and financial, planning and analysis
Danaher
Matt joined Danaher in 2013 as Vice President of Investor Relations. In 2019 he assumed responsibility for Financial Planning & Analysis, and he was appointed Group CFO for the Life Science Instruments Group in 2021. Prior to joining Danaher, Matt was a Vice President in Equity Research at Barclays Capital and served in a similar capacity at Morgan Stanley. He began his career at KPMG where he held positions in the Audit and Transaction Services groups.
Matt is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Public Accountant. He holds both a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Masters in Accountancy and Professional Consultancy from Villanova University
Debbie Hancock
Senior vice president, investor relations
Hasbro
Debbie is Senior Vice President, Investor Relations for Hasbro, a global play and entertainment Company.
Debbie has more than 25 years of experience in investor relations. During her career, she has been a key contributor to corporate and business decisions and a trusted advisor to senior management for strategic communications, corporate events, M&A and crises.
Debbie’s and her companies’ IR programs have been recognized over the years by IR Magazine and Institutional Investor Magazine.
Debbie has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Vermont and a Certificate in Investor Relations from Bentley College. She has been a member of the National Investors Relations Institute (NIRI) since the mid-90s and currently serves on the NIRI National Board of Directors. She also served as a subject matter expert on the IRC Question Writing Committee for the inaugural IRC exam and subsequently on the NIRI Certification Council. She previously sat on the NIRI Senior Round Table Steering Committee and has been a speaker at NIRI and IR-focused conferences.
Prior to joining Hasbro, Debbie was Director, Corporate and Internal Communications for APC by Schneider Electric. At APC, Debbie established and ran the investor relations program until the Company was acquired by Schneider Electric in 2007. Debbie led APC’s communications for the Company’s $6.1 billion acquisition, developing messages for all stakeholders including investors, customers, vendors and employees. Following the acquisition, Debbie served as Chief of Staff, serving as strategic advisor to the incoming chief executive officer and executive committee during the integration process.
Aaron Howald
Director of investor relations
LP Building Solutions
Aaron Howald has been Director of Investor Relations at LP Building Solutions (LPX) since October of 2019. Prior to IR he served in a variety of roles including Continuous Improvement, Strategic Planning, and FP&A since joining the company in 2011.
Before LP, Howald worked as a management consultant specializing in strategy, change management and business process improvement. Before that I worked for Hillenbrand Industries in Batesville, Indiana as a manager of strategic planning.
Howald earned a BS in Finance and Economics from Franklin College and an MBA from Indiana University with emphases in Operations Management and Decision Science.
Dave Hughes
Vice president, investor relations
Imperial Oil
Dave Hughes was appointed vice president, investor relations and continues improvement in January 2017.
Mr. Hughes joined Imperial in 1989 as a systems analyst in Toronto, where he supported refinery capital projects. He has since held a range of technical, supervisory and management positions within the company’s upstream, downstream and corporate groups. His depth and breadth of knowledge extends to refining, supply and transportation logistics, business analysis and reporting, upstream project management, and commercial pipeline work. Mr. Hughes’ career includes an international assignment with ExxonMobil, where he spent five years in various downstream roles in Fairfax, Virginia and Houston, Texas.
Today, Mr. Hughes leads the investor relations team and is responsible for the company’s continuous improvement efforts, with direct accountability to Imperial’s management committee. In his continuous improvement role, Mr. Hughes has leadership responsibility for Imperial’s Clarify. Simplify. Focus. program, where he leads a cross-functional team in the prioritization and capture of efficiency initiatives to support the company’s business priorities of safety, operational integrity, reliability and profitability.
Mr. Hughes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Queen’s University.
Balaji Krishnamurthy
Head of investor relations
Uber
Balaji Krishnamurthy is the Head of Investor Relations at Uber, and joined the company in November 2019. In his role, he leads the company’s investor engagements and works closely with the senior leadership team to shape the investor narrative. In addition, he is involved with Uber’s Corporate Development and Capital Markets efforts, and closely works with the ESG reporting team. Previously, he was at Goldman Sachs for several years, most recently as the Vice President on the Hardware and Communications Technology Equity Research team in San Francisco.
Sam Levenson
Founder and chief executive officer
Arbor Advisory Group
Sam Levenson is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arbor Advisory Group. For more than 25 years, he has served as a trusted advisor to Boards of Directors, CEOs, CFOs and other executive management in the investor relations, corporate communications and public affairs functions. In 2015, he was inducted as a Fellow to the National Investor Relations Institute, an honor bestowed on “distinguished investor relations professionals.”
Prior to founding Arbor in 2013, Sam’s experience includes leading investor relations for Sony North America in addition to creating and implementing the first investor relations program at Staples. He also directed global investor relations and corporate communications for Cendant Corporation in the wake of fraud and one of the largest-ever shareholder lawsuits brought against a public company. Sam has deep expertise in strategic and financial communications, crisis management, M&A and capital markets transactions, and legal and regulatory issues.
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Sam has been deeply involved with both the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and the Investor Relations Association (IRA). For NIRI, he has served on the Board of Directors, as chair of its Senior Roundtable as well as its External Affairs Committee and its Think Tank study on the application of AI in IR in addition to other roles at both the national and local level. In addition, Mr. Levenson co-chaired the CFAI/NIRI Joint Task Force on Issuer and Analyst Relations, which published Best Practice Guidelines that were subsequently endorsed by both the NYSE and NASDAQ. For the IRA, he served in each of the officer roles on the Executive Committee, including president.
Sam was appointed by the Financial Accounting Foundation as the sole member of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC) to represent the investor relations community and served for four years in this capacity. The FASAC is responsible for advising the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on technical issues, project priorities and other matters that affect standard setting.
Sam holds a BS from Boston University.
Tanya Levy-Odom
Director, investment stewardship
BlackRock
Ms. Levy-Odom is a member of BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship team in the Americas. She has coverage responsibility for the Consumer Sector. BIS evaluates the corporate governance of companies in which BlackRock invests, including the assessment of environmental and social factors material to a company’s business operations. The team engages with companies to build mutual understanding regarding governance expectations, risk mitigation and long-term financial performance. Prior to joining the BIS Americas team, Ms. Levy-Odom served as the Executive Director of Investor Relations at Time Inc. Additionally she served as the firm’s Corporate Responsibility Officer. Prior to joining Time Inc., she was a Vice President and Domestic Equity Analyst at Alliance Bernstein, responsible for equity forecasting and stock recommendations in the Consumer sector.
Chip Newcom
Director of investor relations & sustainability
Equinix
Since joining Equinix in 2015, he has held various roles in investor relations and treasury. In his current role, he has helped shape the company’s IR messaging and communications strategy and while in treasury he managed the company’s capital markets activities for the Telecity, Verizon and Bit-Isle acquisitions. Prior to Equinix, Mr. Newcom spent seven years HSBC in the Global Banking and Capital Markets division, where he advised US multinational clients on foreign exchange hedging.
Mr. Newcom earned an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University.
Elena Rosman
Vice president of IR
Aptiv
Jill Slattery
Senior vice president, head of IR and corporate development
Hilton
Jill is Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Development at Hilton. She joined Hilton in 2014.
Prior to that, she spent more than 10 years in the financial services industry, most recently at Morgan Stanley where she was an Equity Research Analyst specializing in the lodging industry, including the coverage of Hilton, among other global hospitality companies.
Prior to Morgan Stanley, she held similar roles at Lazard Capital Markets and Merrill Lynch. She has been ranked by Institutional Investor and Investor Relations Magazine as a top ranked IR professional.
Mike Smith
Vice-chair and chief financial officer
Voya
Michael S. Smith is chief financial officer (CFO) and interim chief risk officer (CRO) of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), which helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings —to get ready to retire better.
Smith —who became CFO in November 2016, interim CRO in April 2019, and also serves on Voya’s Executive Committee —is responsible for strategic finance, risk, capital management, actuarial, tax, insurance investments, controllership, financial reporting, procurement operations, expense management, treasury and investor relations. Smith also oversees Voya’s legacy individual life insurance and annuities businesses, which generate approximately 20% of Voya’s adjusted operating earnings.
Smith has held several leadership roles during his tenure at Voya. From January 2014 to September 2016, he served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Insurance Solutions. In this role, he led Voya’s Individual Life and Employee Benefits businesses to achieve higher returns on capital, introduce new technologies and generate greater value for Voya’s customers, distribution partners and shareholders. Under Smith’s leadership, both the Individual Life and Employee Benefits businesses generated higher returns on capital. He also oversaw significant in-force premium growth in Employee Benefits and successfully shifted the company’s Individual Life sales to indexed life insurance products.
From May 2012 to January 2014, Smith served as Voya’s CRO, and was responsible for overseeing the enterprise-wide and business-level risk monitoring and management program for the company. He joined Voya in 2009 as CFO and CRO of Annuities, and subsequently served as CEO of Annuities. In addition to his other roles at Voya, Smith continued to oversee Voya’s legacy variable annuity business until its sale in June 2018.
Prior to joining Voya, Smith held several leadership positions at Lincoln Financial Group, where he ultimately served as head of profitability and risk management of the company’s Retirement Solutions business. He also served as CFO and CRO of Lincoln Life and Annuities, from 2004 to 2006, and as CFO for Lincoln Financial Distributors, from 2003 to 2004.Smith holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and Russian studies from the University of Michigan and attained Fellowship in the Society of Actuaries in 1990. He is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and has been a CFA® Charterholder since 2003. Smith serves on the boards of The Actuarial Foundation as well as People’s Light & Theatre Company. Serving the financial needs of approximately 13.8 million individual and institutional customers in the United States, Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $7.5 billion in revenue in 2019. The company had $606 billion in total assets under management and administration as of June 30, 2020.
George Trisic
Chief governance officer
Algonquin Power & Utilities
George Trisic is the Chief Governance Officer and Corporate Secretary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. He has broad experience managing in high growth, start up and expanding businesses across multiple sites and regions. In his role, Mr. Trisic is responsible for the governance, sustainability and corporate secretarial functions of the Corporation. His skill set includes leading multi-functional groups in finance, human resources, legal and information technology in a senior role. Mr. Trisic also serves on the board of directors of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc. and the Yves Landry Foundation. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Western Ontario. Additionally, he holds a Chartered Director certification from the Directors College (McMaster University).
Jason Tsai
Vice president of investor relations
Zendesk
Chris Varvares
Vice president and co-head, US economics
IHS Markit
Chris Varvares is Vice President and Co-Head of US Economics at IHS Markit. He previously co-led Macroeconomic Advisers, a company he co-founded in 1982, and which was acquired by IHS Markit in 2017. Mr. Varvares has nearly 40 years of experience in macroeconomic forecasting and policy analysis, both as a principal of Macroeconomic Advisers (1982 to 2017) and as a member of the staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (1981-1982). Mr. Varvares is a past president (2008-2009) and a former director of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE). He serves as a member of the New York State Economic and Revenue Advisory Board, and he sits on advisory boards for the Olin Business School at Washington University and the Walker School of Business and Technology at Webster University. He and the other senior economists within the US macro and regional teams serve as consultants to key agencies of the U.S. and foreign governments, major trade associations, and private corporations, and are widely quoted in the business and financial media. A specific focus of Mr. Varvares and his team over the past decade has been the expansion of its scenarios business and products in support of financial institutions needs around stress testing and risk management, including regulatory programs (CCAR, DFAST, IFRS9, CECL) and voluntary risk management involving alternative scenarios.
The firm is widely recognized as among the most accurate forecasters of the U.S. economy. Among the many accolades the firm has received for forecast accuracy, the Wall Street Journal named IHS Markit the most accurate forecaster for 2017 from its panel of over 60 professional forecasters. The Blue Chip Economic Indicators named IHS Markit the most accurate US forecaster for 2016. Mr. Varvares holds a B.A. in Economics from The George Washington University and received his graduate training in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was also a member of the adjunct faculty in both the economics department and the Olin School of Business.
Chris Williamson
Chief economist
IHS Markit
Mark Wilson
Executive creative director
Cramer
Mark Wilson heads up the creative delivery team at Cramer and has more than 25 years of experience as a hands-on strategic creative director. His many years in digital marketing, event, and brand experience design give him a unique ability to marry and deliver attendee journeys that integrate across a wide range of platforms, technologies, and venues.
He thrives in a world where broadcast, virtual and face-to-face events intersect. He has led his teams to award-winning work for clients that range from Google, UPS, and Fidelity to Elizabeth Arden, Boston Scientific, and Siemens. Prior to joining Cramer, he was a primary driver of creative product for The Boston Group, George P. Johnson, PreVision Marketing, Ingalls and Mullen.
Ben Ashwell
Editor
Corporate Secretary and IR Magazine
Ben Ashwell is the editor at IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary, covering investor relations, governance, risk and compliance. Prior to this, he was the founder and editor of Executive Talent, the global quarterly magazine from the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants. Before moving to the US, Ben was the vice president and editor at Executive Grapevine, overseeing a daily news website, ten annual supplements and HR Grapevine, the UK’s leading HR and talent management magazine. In his spare time, Ben writes fiction, poetry and arts and culture reviews. Eyewear Publishing recently named him in their list of the Best New British and Irish Poets.
Laurie Havelock
Editor-at-large
IR Magazine
Laurie Havelock is a journalist, writer and podcaster who has worked with IR Magazine for almost a decade. Outside of writing about investor relations, corporate governance and green finance, he also works for the i newspaper as a news editor and culture writer. Away from writing, he works on several comedy podcasts including Podshambles and Idle Fantasy and was formerly a radio DJ, and hosted a weekly show on Shoreditch Radio called What’s Your Plan B? He lives in London with Mischa, his dog.
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.
Our attendees are leading IR practitioners with an established track record and strategic IR role within their company.
Below is a sample of some of our past virtual attendees:
Job Title | Company | Job Title | Company | |
Associate vice president, investment relations | Canadian Tire Corporation | Senior vice president, investor relations | Wyndham Destinations | |
Chief financial officer | Gibson Energy | US chief representative officer | Samsung Life Insurance | |
Chief intelligence analyst, investor relations | Cisco | Vice president and head of investment relations | HP | |
Deputy chief economist | Scotiabank | Vice president corporate development | MARS Investor Relations | |
Director, capital markets and IR | Metamaterial | Vice president, corporate development & IR | Qualys | |
Director, customer engagement | Cision | Vice president, head of investor relations | Manulife Financial | |
Director, finance and investment relations | Martin Midstream Partners | Vice president, investment relations | Henry Schein | |
Director, investor relations | Home Capital Group | Vice president, investment relations | Pivotal | |
Director, investor relations | Indeed | Vice president, investment relations and corp comm | Arcutis | |
Director, investor relations | Universal Display Corporation | Vice president, investor relations | Aptiv | |
Director, investor relations | Virtu Investments | Vice president, investor relations | Canopy Growth | |
Director, sustainability & CSR | Coupa | Vice president, investor relations | CMS Energy | |
EVP, chief financial officer | Omnicell | Vice president, investor relations | e.l.f. Beauty | |
Executive vice president and chief financial officer | Sinclair Broadcast Group | Vice president, investor relations | Hughes | |
Managing director, head of investor relations | Annaly | Vice president, investor relations | Imperial Oil | |
President & chief executive officer | Alvopetro | Vice president, investor relations | Minera Alamos | |
Senior director, investment relations & corporate affairs | DCP Midstream | Vice president, investor relations | Okta | |
Senior director, investor relations | Cambium Networks | Vice president, investor relations | Tailored Brands | |
Senior vice president | Oracle | Vice president, investor relations | Wabtec | |
Senior vice president, corporate development and IR | Aecon Group | Vice president, investor relations & capital markets | Eventbrite | |
Senior vice president, corporate development and IR | Aecon | Vice president, investor relations & corporate development | Norbord | |
Senior vice president, investor relations | Eaton | Vice president, IR and corp comms | Adverum | |
Senior vice president, investor relations | Hasbro | Vice president, investor relations and risk management | CooperCompanies |
Why partner with us?
The IR Magazine Forum – North America brings together some of the most influential people in the IR community.
The event offers an effective approach to targeting clients when they are exploring how they can improve their IR practice. Through our unrivalled knowledge of the subject matter and commitment to in-depth agenda research, our events are guaranteed to attract a qualified audience.
The unique buzz we create at our virtual events – a far cry from a webinar – makes them multi-faceted and highly interactive with great engagement in particular from heads of IR. This allows our partners to have meaningful conversations with corporates who are deciding which parts of their IR program to invest in, which service providers to engage and consultants to retain. By partnering with us on an event, you can generate leads, showcase your thought leadership and position yourselves as the partner of choice to the IR community.
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 Forum – North America. Get in touch with Adam Dar or call on +1 212 430 6895.
In the last 12 months, IR Magazine’s virtual events have attracted the highest, most diverse and senior attendees and experts in investor relations
Forum Partners
At Arbor, we focus exclusively on providing high-impact investor relations and corporate communications solutions. Our singular objective is enabling our clients to achieve fair valuation for their securities by delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time. We’re a boutique firm by design. We know that delivering real-world solutions, which give our clients an edge, is dependent on expertise that can only be gained in the role. We’re seasoned investor relations executives who have substantial experience gained by working for some of the largest and most complex companies in the world. Our clients trust the recommendations we make because we not only advise, we work side-by-side with them to achieve results. We deliver actionable insight through a committed and comprehensive service that goes far beyond investor relations; it’s Invested Relations™.
For more information, please visit our website.
We’re experience experts. We create events and content that capture the heart, engage the mind, and grow loyalty.
Anytime. Anywhere. For everyone.
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IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO) is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. Our integrated suite for investor relations professionals and their management teams helps target shareholders, communicate effectively, evaluate strategy and increase efficiency. Issuer solutions include: Global Markets Intelligence, Investor Targeting and Engagement, an Investor Relations CRM Platform, Perception Analytics, IR Strategy and Advisory, and ESG and Corporate Governance. For more information, visit: www.ihsmarkit.com/products/investor-relations-solutions
Mediant provides technology that is smarter, faster and better to help our broker, issuer and fund clients take control of their investor communications in a transparent and seamless way. Our solutions are driven by leading technology and strict compliance with industry regulations, which allows clients to balance innovation with requirements. Find out more at mediantinc.com.
Millani provides advisory services on ESG integration to both investors and companies. For the past 13 years, Millani has become the partner of choice for institutional investors. By providing advisory services on integrating material ESG issues into their investment strategies and decision-making processes, we help our clients reduce risks, increase returns, and create value. Millani is also leveraging this expertise and its experience in ESG consulting to help reporting issuers improve their ESG disclosure to financial stakeholders and optimize their market value.
For more information, please visit our website.
OpenExchange is the premier video partner for the world’s largest financial institutions. From roadshows to investor days, we securely virtualize your most important meetings between shareholders, investors, and analysts to ensure the flow of critical information without delay or disruption.
For more information, please visit www.openexc.com.
The Buddy Group is a Storydriven business and marketing consultancy. We believe in the power of story to create common ground, develop strategy, guide execution, establish a movement, rally a community and grow an exceptional business. Our Storydriven Strategy, inspired by the proven storytelling vehicles of film, tv and theater, purposefully leverages today’s technology and targeted narrative channels to accelerate multi-dimensional growth and create a transformative impact. Storydriven Businesses are the exception because they create meaningful connections and deliver a paradigm-shift in relatability and value creation. Leveraging our Storydriven Strategy, The Buddy Group creates a cohesive, thought-provoking and persuasive narrative that engages the investor community and drives interest in your company’s investment thesis and value proposition. Coupled with our impactful creative and production services, this creates an elevated and compelling virtual experience for your communities of value – investors, analysts, shareholders, internal stakeholders and media.
For more information, please click here.
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
NIRI Atlanta is a professional association of corporate Investor Relations officers, consultants and service providers from the Atlanta metro area and southeastern United States. Members are responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial community constituents. The NIRI Atlanta chapter holds a number of events throughout the year to facilitate interaction and communication among members, provide education and training on relevant topics, and raise funds to support local organizations and promote the Investor Relations profession.
For more information, please visit: www.niriatlanta.org
The NIRI Silicon Valley Chapter was formed to advance the practice of investor relations within the local business environment. In keeping with this mission, the Chapter focuses on IR education, mentoring, and networking with the broad professional community. Our goal is to further the skills of our members, to expand their business opportunities, to increase Chapter membership, and to foster an environment that promotes IR learning for all.
For more information, visit www.nirisv.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.
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If you have any questions, please contact Chloë Rutter at [email protected] or +44 20 3002 0396.
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