IR Magazine
IR Magazine Awards – US 2021

IR Magazine Awards – US
Celebrating IR Excellence

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Virtual event; timings to be announced

About the awards

The IR Magazine Awards – US 2021 will take place on Thursday, March 25 as a virtual awards ceremony. We will once again be bringing together the investor relations community to celebrate and honor excellence in the IR profession. Further details about the 2021 awards ceremony will follow in due course including information about how to access our virtual platform and timings.

Since the annual event first launched in 1996, tens of thousands of analysts and investors have voted in the surveys that fuel the awards. The result: vital benchmarking information on which companies do the best IR. In recent years, the awards program has expanded to recognize more aspects of an IRO’s role as we add new categories to the list and give IR teams the opportunity to nominate themselves.

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

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

Awards by nomination

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

The entry deadline for 2021 nominations has now passed and we are no longer accepting entries. We will be in touch with successful short-listed companies at the beginning of February.

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

View the entire list of 2020 nominees and winners

Best crisis management

Best crisis management

Have you recently dealt with an unexpected event threatening your company's business or reputation? How did your company respond to the Covid-19 pandemic? Tell us about your ‘crisis ready’ plan, the strategy you implemented when the storm hit, and how the IR team’s actions successfully protected or restored shareholder value.

Best ESG reporting

Best ESG reporting

Companies face growing demands to inform investors about the risk and opportunities - they face from a range of ESG issues. Describe how your company was able to meet the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting?

Best investor event

Best investor event

Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award.

Best IR during a corporate transaction

Best IR during a corporate transaction

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

Best IR website

Best IR website

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

Best use of technology & social media for IR

Best use of technology & social media for IR

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

Rising star

Rising star

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

Lifetime achievement

Lifetime achievement

The winner of this award is selected by our panel of judges. If you would like to suggest a worthy winner to be considered, please email Ben Ashwell, editor of IR Magazine at [email protected].

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

The judging process consists of three simple phases:

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

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

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

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

Past attendees say

"You did a great job in a tough situation making it fun and engaging. Really wonderful work and congrats to you all."

Etsy

"It was fast paced and the platform interface seemed to flow seamlessly from presenter to presenter. I look forward to next year's event!"

Discovery

"So wonderful to see an event done, virtually, and so well in this crazy year. "

BCW

"The energy was captured very well, which can be tough to do in a virtual environment!"

MSA Safety

"Really well done- Very good platform, quick pace."

Albertsons Companies

"Organized and made the best of being all virtual."

Business Wire

"Extremely creative and well produced in the virtual environment. Very engaging, loved the virtual networking "rooms."

Anonymous

"The show and the entire process was fantastic. Your team does a great job bringing the IR community together to celebrate accomplishments and learn from each other, despite the unusual circumstances!"

MSA Safety

View our awards best practice guide for insights from our past winners and partnersAccess the guide

Awards by research

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

For the current research survey, the deadline to submit lists has now passed. If you have any questions on this process or wish to access our data sharing agreement, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page. For any further queries about the research, please contact [email protected].

Please note that categories are subject to change based on the final research results. Some categories may be split by market cap size.

View the entire list of 2020 nominees and winners

Best overall investor relations

Best overall investor relations

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

Best investor relations officer

Best investor relations officer

This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart.

Best IR by a senior management team

Best IR by a senior management team

Best financial reporting

Best financial reporting

Best use of technology for IR

Best use of technology for IR

Best IR by a non-US company in the US market

Best IR by a non-US company in the US market

Best in sector: communications

Best in sector: communications

Best in sector: consumer discretionary

Best in sector: consumer discretionary

Best in sector: consumer staples

Best in sector: consumer staples

Best in sector: energy

Best in sector: energy

Best in sector: financials

Best in sector: financials

Best in sector: healthcare

Best in sector: healthcare

Best in sector: industrials

Best in sector: industrials

Best in sector: materials

Best in sector: materials

Best in sector: real estate

Best in sector: real estate

Best in sector: technology

Best in sector: technology

Best in sector: utilities

Best in sector: utilities

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

July 2020: Sample selection

IR Magazine has been building investment community databases for more than 30 years. As part of the updating process, listed companies are contacted every year for details of the professionals who currently cover their stock. These details are combined with IHS Markets list of US investment community contacts to produce a total of around 50,000 investors and analysts.

September – November 2020: Telephone survey

The telephone survey then gets under way. The researchers conduct in-depth interviews with an additional 250 portfolio managers and analysts across the US. Many of them participate in the study year after year, but there is always a healthy proportion of new respondents each year as well. As the research progresses, the sample is adjusted to ensure appropriate weightings are maintained.

October 2020: Electronic survey

IR Magazine then conducts an electronic survey of buy-side and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers. The electronic survey typically receives 200 individual responses from the investment community. These responses then go to Mary Maude Research for initial analysis. The research firm determines what will constitute a representative sample, weighted for industry sector.

Results analysis

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

January 2021: Short list compiled

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

 March 25, 2021: Winners announced

And finally… the winners are announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday, March 25, 2021!

March 2021: Report published

Shortly after the awards, the Investor Perception Study – US 2021 report is published and made available to IR Magazine subscribers.

 

Inquire about partnership

Our partners

Become a partner

Why partner with us?

The US Awards brings together some of the most influential people in the IR community. Our audience recognize the sudden change of pace cannot be navigated alone and are constantly looking for partners to help shape their shareholder engagement strategy and execute it. This event provides partners an opportunity to position yourself as a critical partner to the community.

The unique buzz we create at our virtual events – which is a far cry from a traditional webinar – afford our partners exceptional opportunities to entertain visitors and show-case their expertise.

Becoming a partner means you will:

  • Get virtual face-time with senior decision-makers from the IR community
  • Increase brand awareness and gain credibility through association with this event
  • Generate qualified and targeted leads from the analytics provided by our virtual platform
  • Gain new business opportunities through higher-brand presence among potential clients
  • Participate in one on one video chats to build relationships with new and existing customers
  • Launch new products and solutions at our virtual event in your expo booth

All our partnerships are created using a mix of branding, thought leadership, lead generation and meetings with your target audience. You tell us your objectives and we will work with you to create you a package that’s makes sense for your company and will help you achieve those objectives.

To find out more about how we can help, contact Ian Richman or call on +1 212 430 6865.

Register your interest

Please fill in the form below to receive updates about registering to attend the US Awards 2021. We will confirm further details shortly, including more information about our virtual platform and the event timings.

If you have any questions, please contact Chloe Rutter at [email protected] or call +44 20 3002 0396.

Register your interest

Virtual awards highlights

Who attends?

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

Below is a sample of some of our past attendees:

Job title Company Job title Company
Director Hersha SVP, investor and public relations Tractor Supply Company
Director – global CSR reporting & insights AT&T SVP, investor relations CVS Heathcare
Director finance Casella Waste Systems SVP, IR Salesforce
Director of investor relations Boston Private Financial Holdings US chief representative officer Samsung Life Insurance
Director of investor relations Fifth Third Bank Vice president Edelman
Director of IR Caterpillar Vice president JP Morgan
Director, corporate communications and investor relations Reata Pharmaceuticals Vice president W2O Group
Director, corporate responsibility Intel Corporation Vice president – investor relations Honeywell
Director, head of investor relations Lazard Vice president investor relations Marriott Vacations Worldwide
Director, investor relations Callon Petroleum Vice president, corporate access & client services Baird
Director, investor relations The Home Depot Vice president, finance Stripes Group
Director, investor relations and corporate development Stoneridge Vice president, head of investor relations Medtronic
Director, investor relations and FP&A Visteon Vice president, investor communications General Electric Company
Managing director Haller Financial Magazine Vice president, investor relations Best Buy
Managing director of market research Envestnet Vice president, investor relations Etsy
MD RD:IR VP investor relations Hilton
President In Touch US VP marketing & IR DistributionNOW
President & CEO Kansas City Southern VP treasurer & IR CMS Energy
President & chief executive officer Codexis VP, investor relations Discovery
Sr. director, investor relations Xylem VP, investor relations Newmont
Sr. investor relations analyst Xcel Energy VP-IR & treasurer LendingTree
Sr. investor relations specialist Central Garden & Pet

 

Request full past attendee list

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