Virtual event: Available on replay
The IR Magazine Forum – US 2021 brought IR professionals together from across the US to plan their IR strategies for the year ahead.
A new administration and SEC regime, ongoing uncertainty related to the scale and timelines of Covid-related disruption, and continued growth of ESG changes the regulatory outlook, IR strategies, and communications plans for US issuers.
This forum helped attendees make big decisions around their IR calendar, create a concise messaging plan, and maximize their investor relations efforts in 2021.
Due to current restrictions, the event took place as a virtual experience using our bespoke, cutting-edge technology.
Our virtual event platform closely replicates attending in-person by facilitating interaction with speakers, one-to-one networking with fellow IR professionals, and group roundtable discussions. Going virtual helps 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.
All times displayed are in Eastern Time (ET)
10:30 AM
Welcome to the IR Magazine Forum – US 2021
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
10:45 AM
Regulators and a recovery: Buyside trends and the latest happenings in IR
As the conduit between markets and management, it is essential to keep your finger on the pulse of market trends and investor sentiment. This session will look at how the buy-side views lifting restrictions and opening up the economy, the regulatory direction with the incoming administration, and more recent news in investor relations.
Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Gregg Lampf, vice president of investor relations, Ciena
Dylan Yaworski, director of the perception study practice and research center of excellence, Corbin Advisors
11:30 AM
2021: The IRO launching pad to loftier success
Discover how the IR role has evolved and is becoming one of the most critical partnerships to management teams and Boards. Learn about the emerging career opportunities that are taking the spotlight, which will influence the direction of the profession for the next five years.
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Smooch Repovich Reynolds, managing director of the global IR and chief communications officer practice group, ZRG Partners
12:00 PM
Networking and expo break
12:25 PM
The outlook for stocks and bonds in the context of the broader financial market
At a time of significant disruption in markets, we look into the impact of recent events on how companies raise funds and the overall effect on the competition for investment dollars on a broader scale. In an environment where “macro matters” more than ever, we hear a top-down perspective on the major market forces that drive earnings.
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Sébastien Page, head of global multi-asset, T. Rowe Price
13:00 PM
[Roundtable discussion] Transitioning back to hybrid meetings
In another forward-planning session, we will be using the interactive format to talk through how you can prepare for the transition back to in-person meetings. Join this session to discuss how to manage participation, access, and activism as part of your IR activities.
Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Simon Bryan, managing director of Americas, Lumi
13:30 PM
Networking break
13:45 PM
Stream Two: A guide to ESG index and fund inclusion
In this session, we will provide practical insight into actions teams can take to be included in ESG indexes or large ESG funds, aiming to take the ESG conversation forward from ‘you need to report’ to ‘how and what to disclose.’
Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Andrea DeMarco, senior vice president of investor relations, corporate communications and ESG, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Mary Green, portfolio manager, Federated Hermes
Sonia Zugel, chief executive officer, ESG Playbook
13:45 PM
Stream One: Post-pandemic messaging and attracting analyst coverage
Share ideas about what companies can do with strategic communication plans to attract the right investors as we come out of the pandemic. In particular, this session will focus on the content of their messaging and which mediums can best deliver that message.
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Kurt Barton, executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, Tractor Supply Corporation
Antonella Franzen, vice president, chief investor relations and chief communications officer, Johnson Controls
Andy Rusie, chief financial officer, Whole Earth Brands
Mary Winn Pilkington, senior vice president of investor relations and public relations, Tractor Supply Corporation
14:30 PM
International exposure and opportunities for new capital sources exposed by the pandemic
This session explores opportunities created by the pandemic for increased targeting of international analysts and investors. Discuss how to get more value out of shareholder ID activities and apply strategies to internationalize your shareholder base.
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Ari Davies, global head of corporate analytics, IHS Markit
Victoria Hyde-Dunn, head of investor relations, 8×8
Keri Mattox, senior vice president of investor relations and chief communications officer, Zimmer Biomet
Gervais Williams, head of equities, Premier Miton Investors
15:15 PM
Networking break
15:30 PM
How marketing calendars are evolving and what lies ahead for IR meetings
IR teams have done a brilliant job at shifting to virtual investor meetings, but how issuers will deliver their equity story is changing. This session explores the trends in how IR teams are approaching their marketing activities and provides advice on how to approach specific investor touch-points.
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Mark Loehr, chief executive officer, OpenExchange
16:00 PM
Making meetings matter… How to adapt to changes in corporate access
The combination of Covid-19 and Mifid II impacts changed the nature of corporate access. In this discussion, we explore the strategies and actions IR professionals can take to maximize the use of their management’s time.
Moderator: Laurie Havelock, editor-at-large, IR Magazine
Mark Labay, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Everi
Catherine Miles, director and head of corporate events, SVB Leerink
Kim Pinyopusarerk, investor relations manager, Callon Petroleum Company
16:45 PM
Networking break
17:00 PM
Making the most of your virtual shareholder meetings
Increased adoption of virtual shareholder engagements demonstrated the need to improve processes and policies surrounding the format. This session will discuss the practical and strategic aspects around admitting beneficial shareholders and delivering an effective AGM.
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Sherry Murdoch Moreland, president and chief operating officer, Mediant Communications
17:30 PM
Natural Language Processing’s role in an investor relations program
Given the increased focus of natural language processing and machine learning from investors, we examine how this emerging practice impacts an investor relations officer’s role.
Moderator: Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
Nick Mazing, director of research, Sentieo
17:45 PM
Summary and end of conference
Ben Ashwell, editor, IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
To inquire about speaking at future forums, please contact [email protected] or call +44 20 3865 8103
Kim Pinyopusarerk
Investor relations manager
Callon Petroleum Company
Kim Pinyopusarerk is currently the Investor Relations Manager at Callon Petroleum, having joined the company after it acquired Carrizo Oil & Gas in December 2019. She has more than 10 years of investor relations and corporate communications experience in the oil and gas sector. Prior to this, she held various technical roles for Champion Technologies and corporate communication roles for Hamilton.
Kim holds an M.B.A. from the University of Houston and a bachelors degree in chemistry from Texas A&M University. She also holds an Investor Relations Charter from the National Investor Relations Institute.
Sébastien Page
Head of global multi-asset
T. Rowe Price
Sébastien Page is head of the Global Multi-Asset Division. He oversees a team of investment professionals dedicated to actively managing a broad set of multi-asset portfolios representing more than $363 billion in assets including the firm’s target date franchise. He is a member of the Asset Allocation Committee, which is responsible for tactical investment decisions across asset allocation portfolios, and a member of the Management Committee of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.
Sébastien’s investment experience began in 2000, and he has been with T. Rowe Price since 2015. Prior to this, Sébastien was employed by PIMCO as an executive vice president where he led a team focused on research and development of multi-asset solutions. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2010, he was employed by State Street Global Markets as a senior managing director.
Sébastien earned a Master of Science degree in finance and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Sherbrooke University in Quebec, Canada. He also has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
Sébastien coauthored award-winning research papers for The Journal of Portfolio Management in 2003, 2010, and 2011 and the Financial Analysts Journal in 2010 and 2014. He is the author of the book “Beyond Diversification: What Every Investor Needs to Know About Asset Allocation” (McGraw Hill, 2020) and the coauthor of the book “Factor Investing and Asset Allocation” (CFA Institute Research Foundation®, 2016). Sébastien is a member of the editorial board of the Financial Analysts Journal and a member of the Research Committee of the Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance (Q Group). He regularly appears in the financial media, including Bloomberg TV and CNBC.
Kurt Barton
Executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer
Tractor Supply Corporation
Kurt Barton has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Tractor Supply Company since February 2019 and is a member of the Company’s Executive Committee. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since March 2017 and as Vice President, Controller and Assistant Corporate Secretary from February 2009 to January 2016. Kurt joined Tractor Supply Company in August 1999 and held various other leadership roles in both accounting and internal audit from 1999 through 2009. Prior to joining Tractor Supply Company, Kurt, a Certified Public Accountant, began his career in public accounting in 1993, spending six years at Ernst & Young, LLP. He holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Bob Jones University.
Gervais Williams
Head of equities
Premier Miton Group
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).
Mark Labay
Executive vice president and chief financial officer
Everi
Mark F. Labay has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since April 1, 2020, having previously served as the Company’s Senior Vice President, Finance and Investor relations since April 2014. During his tenure at Everi, Mark has held several senior level positions in the areas of Operations, Strategic Development and was our Vice President of Finance and Controller from 2002- 2008.
Mark graduated with honors from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s in accounting.
He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Andy Rusie
Chief financial officer
Whole Earth Brands
Andy Rusie was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Whole Earth Brands in June 2020 and served as CFO of subsidiary Flavors Holdings Inc. since December 2019. Prior to joining Flavors Holdings Inc., Mr. Rusie served as VP Corporate Finance & Strategy at Mauser Packaging Solutions, a $4 billion global packaging company. Mr. Rusie spent most of his career at Mead Johnson Nutrition, a $4 billion global leader in infant nutrition. He held multiple global leadership roles from 2003 – 2017 serving in a number of finance leadership roles across various corporate functions and had global expat leadership roles in China, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe during his tenure. In 2017, Andy led the global, cross-functional integration associated with Reckitt Benckiser’s $17 billion acquisition of Mead Johnson Nutrition and was named the global Chief Financial Officer of the Mead Johnson business unit after the integration. Mr. Rusie started his career at Ernst & Young and is a CPA. Mr. Rusie serves as a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce South China since 2013. To learn more about Mr. Rusie, please visit his LinkedIn profile.
Mary Green
Portfolio manager
Federated Hermes
Mary Green joined Federated Hermes in 2019 as a vice president and a client portfolio manager focused on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investing.
Mary has more than 25 years of investment experience and is primarily responsible for interaction with clients and consultants with regard to the Hermes Investment Management Limited products. Prior to joining Federated Hermes International in London, Mary was a portfolio strategist at GE Asset Management (acquired by State Street Global Advisors), and a managing director/client portfolio manager at Bear Stearns Asset Management.
Mary received a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language and an MBA from Dartmouth College.
Antonella Franzen
Vice president, chief investor relations and chief communications officer
Johnson Controls
Antonella is currently the Vice President and Chief Investor Relations & Communications Officer for Johnson Controls, responsible for communicating the Company’s strategy, financial results and outlook to the investment community as well as global internal communications.
Prior to the Tyco and Johnson Controls merger in September 2016, Antonella was the Vice President of Investor Relations for Tyco International. She was responsible for the implementation and management of Tyco’s investor relations program including shaping and articulating Tyco’s strategy and operating focus to institutional investors in the U.S. and international markets. Antonella played a key role in Tyco’s 2012 successful three way separation. In October 2015, Antonella assumed responsibility for management reporting and corporate finance as well as the finance side of strategic planning. Antonella has been recognized by Institutional Investor as “Best IR Professional” for the Electrical Equipment and Multi- Industrial Sector in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019. In 2017, IR Magazine awarded Johnson Controls “Best IR for a Corporate Transaction” for the Johnson Controls merger with Tyco.
Prior to moving to Investor Relations, she was the Director of External Reporting for Tyco. In this role for four years, Antonella oversaw the various Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including quarterly and annual reporting requirements as well as various other external filings. In addition, she played an integral role in the 2007 separation of Tyco into three separate publicly-traded companies.
Prior to joining Tyco, Antonella spent seven years in public accounting with PricewaterhouseCoopers. During her tenure with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Antonella provided assurance advisory services to various large multi-national public companies in the industrial sector.
Antonella received her Bachelors of Science from the College of New Jersey in 1997. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Antonella has been married to her husband Rick since 1999 and has four children, RJ, Nicholas, Luca and Gabriella. Antonella and her family currently live in Allentown, NJ.
Andrea DeMarco
Senior vice president of investor relations, corporate communications and ESG
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Andrea DeMarco serves as the high-profile face and voice of the organization to Wall Street and business and financial media. DeMarco consistently ranks at the top of the prestigious Institutional Investor All-American Executive Team rankings and was recognized by Wall Street as the #1 Overall Best Investor Relations Officer in the Leisure sector for two consecutive years. Under her direction, the Company’s Investor Relations program swept first place overall ranking across all eight categories including Best CEO, Best CFO, Best Investor Relations Program, Best Investor Relations Team and Best Crisis Management Amid COVID-19.
DeMarco has a diverse background of experience in finance, sales, marketing, revenue management and corporate financial planning and analysis. She was an instrumental part of the management team that led the company into previously unchartered territories including a highly successful initial public offering. In addition, she was a part of multiple capital market transactions including eleven equity follow on offerings, the highly successful acquisition of Prestige Cruises International, Inc., and multiple capital market transactions amidst the global pandemic raising nearly $8 billion over a twelve-month timeframe.
Gregg Lampf
Vice president of investor relations
Ciena
Gregg Lampf’s over 25-year career in Investor Relations has been focused on the high technology industry. During his career, Gregg’s responsibilities have also included media and public relations, corporate communications, industry analyst relations, and competitive and market intelligence.
He currently serves as Vice President of Investor Relations for Ciena Corporation, a mid-cap, global leader of next-gen telecommunications solutions and services.
Gregg has been voted as a top IR Professional in Institutional Investor (II)’s surveys several times as well as a member of the All-America Executive Team including in the most recent survey in which he shared this honor with his CEO and CFO as well as his IR program being voted #1 in the midcap Telecommunications sector.
He enjoys sharing his experiences through a variety of means including authoring NIRI IR Update articles, participating in webinars as well as volunteering as Vice Chairman for the Howard County, Maryland Public Schools Applications and Research Lab Academy of Finance.
Keri Mattox
Senior vice president of investor relations and chief communications officer
Zimmer Biomet
Keri P. Mattox was appointed Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Chief Communications Officer in January 2020. She is responsible for strategically integrating, aligning and driving investor relations, communications and philanthropy functions and activities.
Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Mattox served as Global Lead, Integrated Corporate Communications at W2O Group, an international healthcare-focused marketing and communications firm. There she was responsible for strategically shaping and expanding the firm’s global corporate communications, investor relations, crisis communications, M&A, board engagement and corporate social responsibility/foundation capabilities and offering. Prior to W2O, Ms. Mattox was Vice President, Corporate & Investor Relations at AmerisourceBergen, a healthcare company ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 in 2019 with nearly than $170 billion in annual revenue. She also held executive leadership team level positions at Endo International and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals and spent more than 10 years at communications agencies in leadership positions. Earlier in her career, Ms. Mattox was a reporter with Hearst Newspapers. She holds a B.A. from Boston University and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland.
Mary Winn Pilkington
Senior vice president of investor relations and public relations
Tractor Supply Company
Mary Winn Pilkington has served as Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Public Relations of Tractor Supply Company since September 2019. Mary Winn joined the Company in 2018 as the Vice President, Investor Relations and Public Relations. Prior to joining Tractor Supply, she spent nearly nine years at Dollar General, most recently as Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Public Relations. Prior to Dollar General, Mary Winn served as Vice President of Investor Relations and Public Relations at The Pepsi Bottling Group, where she spent nearly 10 years. Under Mary Winn’s leadership, the Investor Relations programs at all three companies have received national recognition and accolades during her tenure. She also spent 10 years at International Paper in various finance positions of increasing responsibility. Mary Winn began her career with Ernst & Young. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Mississippi State University and is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute.
Victoria Hyde-Dunn
Head of investor relations
8x8
Victoria is Head of Investor Relations at 8×8, Inc. (NYSE:EGHT), a global software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of cloud communications, contact center and enterprise API solutions. Prior to joining 8×8 in October 2017, she served as Director of Investor Relations for Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) for 10 years. Victoria joined Visa in 2007 to establish the company’s global IR function and investor positioning prior to the company’s successful IPO in March 2008. Prior to Visa, she held Investor Relations roles at McAfee (acquired by Intel) and Providian Financial (acquired by Washington Mutual).
Victoria has been recognized by Institutional Investor’s All-America Executive Team and IR Magazine, including IR Magazine’s 2017 Best Investor Relations Officer for Large Cap (tied for 1st place). She has been a board member for NIRI San Francisco since 2016 and served on the NIRI Silicon Valley board from 2007 – 2011. She volunteered for NIRI National’s Annual Conference Committee in 2019 and 2020. Victoria is a graduate of the University of San Francisco and holds an MBA double-emphasis in Marketing and eCommerce and a B.A. in Finance.
Mark Loehr
Chief executive officer
OpenExchange
Mark is a seasoned leader with extensive experience in the financial sector. Mark’s vision for OpenExchange is driven by his ability to see where traditional financial services are enhanced by technological advancements. He was previously CEO of Soundview Technology Group and, through its acquisition of Soundview, an EVP of Charles Schwab Corp. Before Soundview, Mark was the head of investment banking of the firm’s predecessor, Wit Capital, the first online investment bank, known for pioneering innovation to the distribution of IPOs. Earlier in his career, he was with Smith Barney, and was president of Smith Barney Pacific, head of global equity sales and head of equity capital markets. Mark currently serves on the board of Proctor Academy. He earned his BA in economics from Cornell University.
Dylan Yaworski
Director of the perception study practice and research center of excellence
Corbin Advisors
Dylan is a member of Corbin’s Insights Group, leading the firm’s Perception Study Practice and Research Center of Excellence, which he helped establish in 2020, and also oversees the firm’s proprietary benchmarking database, Corbin Analytics. In addition, Dylan is part of the Community Impact Group, supporting the firm’s ESG-dedicated research and advisory solutions. Leveraging a deep market research and statistics background, Dylan provides executives and IROs with proprietary and tailored insights that have led to significant stakeholder value creation. In addition to client-facing engagements, Dylan, in collaboration with founder and CEO, Rebecca Corbin, oversees Corbin’s thought leadership. He is passionate about leveraging actionable insights to drive and support global public companies’ investor-focused communication and engagement strategies.
Prior to joining Corbin, Dylan was a strategist at UTC Aerospace in Supply Chain Management for the Castings, Forgings & Raw Materials division, responsible for assisting efforts to facilitate effective management of the supply chain via regular interface with the customer, as well as drafting commercial and government aerospace proposals. Prior to that, he worked as a research assistant at the Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention (CHIP), conducting population level analytics to drive prevention programs for a key global disease.
Dylan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a B.A. in Statistics and was named a National Investor Relations Institute 40 Under 40 honoree in 2020.
Ari Davies
Global head of corporate analytics
IHS Markit
Ari Davies is the Global Head of Corporate Analytics at IHS Markit and specializes in providing clients with strategic counsel on investor relations strategy, M&A, capital allocation, shareholder activism, and situational analytics. IHS Markit is a global leader in providing market intelligence, data, and technology solutions to all participants in the global capital markets, including sell-side banks, publicly traded companies, and buy-side institutions. At present, over 800 global companies use IHS Markit for their investor targeting advisory and workflow needs. Ari joined Ipreo in 2006, and was part of the initial team that launched Ipreo’s Global Markets Intelligence practice. Ari is a graduate of Union College with a BA in Political Science and a minor in History.
Simon Bryan
Managing director of Americas
Lumi
Simon has extensive business development, marketing and operational experience with the application of technology to meetings, events, learning and research. After ten years of supporting global meetings & events clients from the UK, Simon arrived in the US in 2006. As Managing Director, Americas, Simon has overseen the growth of Lumi in the region, both organically and through acquisition.
Catherine Miles
Director and head of corporate events
SVB Leerink
Catherine is the Head of Corporate Events at SVB Leerink and is responsible for leading the firm’s global event strategy as well as all events jointly hosted with SVB, SVB Leerink’s parent company. In this position, Ms. Miles is responsible for developing and implementing a global events strategy to support Equity Research, Institutional Sales, and Investment Banking goals and objectives.
Prior to joining the firm in 2014, Ms. Miles was the Head of Corporate access and Associate Managing Director at International Strategy & Investment Group (ISI Group), where she handled all aspects of marketing communications, event planning and corporate relations. Before joining ISI, she was a Senior Vice President and Marketing Manager at Lazard Capital Markets. Previously to that, Ms. Miles was a Marketing Manager at UBS Financial Services and a Marketing Analyst at Media Networks, Inc. (a division of Time Warner/AOL). She began her career as an Account Executive in Marketing at Octagon Marketing.
Ms. Miles earned her B.A. from Middlebury College.
Nick Mazing
Director of research
Sentieo
Nick Mazing is Director of Research for Sentieo, a financial and corporate research platform for executives, investment analysts, and researchers. His career also includes having worked on both the buy side and on the sell side at Lehman Brothers. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and is based in Sentieo’s New York City office.
Sherry Murdock Moreland
President and chief operating officer
Mediant Communications
Sherry Moreland is President and Chief Operating Officer for Mediant. Joining the company in 2007 as Director of Issuer Services, she brings more than 30 years of industry experience in broker/dealer operations, mutual fund processing, shareholder services operations, and retirement plan administration, among other functions to the role. Ms. Moreland previously served as Mediant’s Chief Operating Officer, managing operations and performance for the company’s fast-growing services to banks, brokers, corporate issuers and mutual funds. Prior to that role, she was Vice President and Senior Operations Manager for First Union’s Corporate Trust Group (now Wachovia), and Assistant Vice President of Operations for Reliance Trust Company. She also held positions at Primerica Financial Services in Operations and Customer Service. Ms. Moreland holds a BA in political science from University of Georgia, and serves on the Board of Visitors at its School of Public and International Affairs. Throughout her career Ms. Moreland has served on and chaired several industry and corporate committees and taskforces.
Smooch Repovich Reynolds
Managing director of the global IR and chief communications officer practice group
ZRG Partners
Smooch Repovich Reynolds joined ZRG Partners at the end of 2017, bringing with her a career that spans more than 25 years of executive search consulting, specifically focused in the Global Investor Relations Officer and Chief Communications Officer functional areas. Smooch pioneered IR executive search as a direct result of her affinity for the capital markets, and has partnered with CEOs and CFOs to address corporate valuation issues and financial market expectations throughout her career. As the profession and financial markets have evolved dramatically the last two decades, she has served as a key influencer of the direction of the Investor Relations profession through her stewardship with client management teams.
In addition, her thought leadership in the Corporate Communications functional niche has been framed by her tenure as a former Chief Communications Officer and her broad participation in the global communications community. Smooch has leveraged this first-hand experience to partner with leadership teams providing guidance by framing corporate communications functions, and by serving as a gateway to exceptional talent whose corporate brand innovation experience has elevated her client companies to new heights of success.
She is considered a leading authority on the intangible leadership traits that define talent who are recognized as part of the top 10% of Investor Relations and Chief Communications Officers globally. Her executive search experience has spanned partnerships with management teams and Boards at organizations ranging in size from pre-IPO entities to global, multinational Fortune 500 market leaders, across all industry sectors.
Having completed approximately 300 Investor Relations Officer searches, one consideration to note about Smooch’s work is the increase in her clients’ share valuation during her tenure as a recruitment management team advisor – nearly $500B in increased valuation that she has contributed to as a direct result of her commitment to clients on the topic of recruiting the right talent.
Smooch has authored numerous thought leadership articles about the CEO-CFO-IRO triumvirate and the impact of their interlocked relationship as it relates to the investment community and valuation. She has been the featured expert on IRO and CCO careers across traditional media and social/digital media, and is called upon by numerous professional groups to speak on wide ranging talent and leadership topics. Smooch has her own website: www.smoochunplugged.com, where she regularly shares her insights about corporate talent initiatives and the competitive advantages of smart, strategic recruitment partnerships. Smooch is also book author.
Prior to joining ZRG Partners, Smooch served at two multinational executive search firms as the Managing Director of each firm’s respective Global Investor Relations and Communications Officer practice groups. In addition, she served as the Chief Communications Officer for The Irvine Company, a recognized national privately-held real estate development company. And, prior to that she was the Founder and CEO of The Repovich-Reynolds Group, a North American focused executive search firm specializing in IRO and CCO search assignments which she led for nearly 20 years. Smooch has served as a Chief of Staff to the CEO of a global public relations agency and started her career in politics as a Press Deputy.
She is a long-time member of the National Investor Relations Institute and a Lifetime member of the International Association of Business Communicators. Smooch has served on several non-profit boards, including serving as Board Chair for two of those entities: American Cancer Society of Los Angeles and Westridge School in Pasadena, CA.
Ben Ashwell
Editor
IR Magazine and Corporate Secretary
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 enjoys rock climbing and writing fiction and poetry
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.
Our attendees are leading IR practitioners from across the US. Each participant is someone with an established track record and a strategic IR role within their company. Below is a sample list of attendees that joined us at this year’s forum:
Attendee Company | Attendee Title | ||||
Everspin Technologies | Chief financial officer | ||||
Groupon | Chief communications officer | ||||
Whole Earth Brands | Chief financial officer | ||||
Schnitzer Steel Industries | Deputy chief financial officer and chief accounting officer | ||||
InBank | Director of strategy and investor relations | ||||
Townsquare Media Inc | Executive vice president of investor relations and corporate communications | ||||
TCF Financial | Executive vice president of corporate development, strategy and head of investor relations | ||||
Everi | Executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer | ||||
Tractor Supply Company | Executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer | ||||
RingCentral | Head of investor relations | ||||
8×8 | Head of investor relations | ||||
Amdocs | Head of investor relations | ||||
Zoom | Investor relations manager | ||||
The Hershey Company | Manager of stockholder relations | ||||
AIG | Managing director of investor relations | ||||
CVS Health | Senior director of investor relations | ||||
TTM Technologies | Senior director of corporate development and investor relations | ||||
MultiPlan | Senior vice president of finance and investor relations | ||||
ATI Physical Therapy | Senior vice president, treasurer and investor relations | ||||
Clear Channel Outdoor | Vice president of investor relations | ||||
Johnson Controls | Vice president, chief investor relations and chief communications officer | ||||
Medtronic | Vice president and head of investor relations | ||||
Axon Group | Vice president of investor relations and corporate strategy | ||||
Omnicell | Vice president of investor relations | ||||
Equinix | Vice president of investor relations and sustainability | ||||
Atlassian | Vice president of investor relations |
Why partner with us?
The IR Magazine Forum – US brings together some of the most influential people in the IR community.
The event offers an effective approach to targeting clients when exploring how they can improve their IR practice. Our events are guaranteed to attract a qualified audience through our unrivaled knowledge of the subject matter and commitment to in-depth agenda research.
Far beyond a simple webinar, our multi-faceted and highly interactive virtual events create a unique buzz and facilitate great engagement with investor relations heads. Our partners have meaningful conversations with corporates that are looking to invest in their IR program.
As a partner for this event, you will 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 – US. Get in touch with Ian Richman or call on +1 212 430 6865.
In the last 12 months, IR Magazine’s virtual events have attracted the highest, most diverse, and senior attendees and experts in the investor relations community.
Forum Partners
Corbin was founded on the idea that insights-driven advice is a powerful catalyst for unlocking value. Leveraging proprietary research and analytics, a best-practice mindset, executional excellence, and a deep understanding of what influences sentiment, we deploy a proven model to realize value. We work with organizations globally, across all sectors and sizes, as our knowledge and insights drive breakthrough thinking and impact. We collaborate with our clients to execute sound, effective communication, and engagement strategies.
For more information, please visit corbinadvisors.com
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
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
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.
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
About SVB Leerink:
As the leading investment bank to the healthcare and life science industries, we help our clients move healthcare forward. With differentiated sector knowledge, unrivaled expertise, and a complete suite of capital market and advisory solutions, we are the industry’s partner of choice. SVB Leerink is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SVB Financial Group and is a member of FINRA/SIPC. For more information, please visit: www.svbleerink.com.
ZRG Partners’ mission is to bring talented candidates to leading companies. We adhere to a set of core values that allows us to fulfill our clients’ needs on an optimal scale. We take pride and care to ensure that the core values we instill in our staff help our clients acquire strong leadership within their company.
For more information, please visit our website.
Supported by
Founded in 1969, NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts and other financial community constituents. NIRI is the largest professional investor relations association in the world with more than 3,300 members representing over 1,600 publicly held companies and $9 trillion in stock market capitalization.
For more information, please visit www.NIRI.org
The 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 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. For more information, please contact [email protected].
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