How a stint in IR changed Block CFO and COO Amrita Ahuja’s perspective
How does IR set you up for a successful stint in the CFO role? In this episode of IR Voice, host Laurie Havelock speaks with Amrita Ahuja, CFO and COO at Block, about her career journey from investor relations at…
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Talking DEI under Trump 2.0: how anti-woke investors are hijacking pro-ESG proposals
What does DEI mean to you? Here at IR Impact, we’ve stopped spelling out diversity, equity and inclusion, working under the assumption that this most tricky of news items is known to all. But it seems that other interpretations exist – on the White House official X account for example, where a post was recently put out stating ‘the only DEI we support is Deport Every Illegal’. That very much sums up the kind of narrative companies are up against with today’s very public broadly anti-ESG and specifically anti-DEI rhetoric.
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‘We’re experienced in market drawdowns’: Setanta’s Fergal Sarsfield talks value, opportunity and luck
Fergal Sarsfield joined Dublin-headquartered Setanta in 2007 and it today responsible for co-managing the EAFE (European, Australasian and Far East) Equity Fund. Previously, he divided his time with sector responsibility for the technology sector within the Setanta Global Equity Fund, while co-managing EAFE. Setanta was established in 1998 and today manages around $15 bn with $8.9 bn in equities across three strategies: global, EAFE and dividend (with roughly $3-$4 bn in US equities). Setanta is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Life, which is in turn owned by Canada’s Great-West Lifeco. There is an investment team of 30 based mainly…
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The CFO: ‘Managing spin-offs is like raising kids. You love them all, despite the challenges,’ says Kyndryl’s finance chief explaining how he leans on IR for corporate transactions
RESERVED FOR ADVANCED SUBSCRIBERS Sign in or upgrade to our My IR – Advanced to access this exclusive content. Gain access to expert research, best practices and exclusive intelligence designed for senior IR professionals, team leaders and those transitioning from the sell-side. Subscribe now for everything in our free plan, plus: The latest IR practice […]
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‘We’re thinking about what AI is going to destroy as much as what it’s going to create’: Jonathan Knowles of Compound Equity Group
Compound Equity Group (CEG) was founded in 2024 and seeks high-conviction, long-term ideas in global equities. The founder and portfolio manager in charge, Jonathan Knowles, spent more than 30 years managing money at Capital Group. At his time of retirement in December 2024, he was in charge of some $50 bn in assets and was the chief investment officer of the firm’s $70 bn small-cap fund – the largest such fund in the world. CEG has recently raised $500 mn in capital and is deploying a very long-term, highly concentrated approach: to have 20 to 25 investments with some positions…
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The CFO: ‘You need to have a stomach of iron during times of volatility,’ says Block’s Amrita Ahuja
Many IROs hope that their time in the profession might set them up well for a C-suite position well one day. But for Amrita Ahuja, CFO and COO for payments company Block, the transition happened directly during her time as head of IR for interactive entertainment firm Activision Blizzard, where she was called upon to become finance chief of its video-game publishing wing Blizzard Entertainment in 2018. Fast forward a few years and she now holds the dual posts of CFO and – for the past two years – COO at Block, the financial technology company founded by Jack Dorsey,…
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Taking management on tour: What’s the sweet spot for investor meeting attendance?
‘We’re spending more time with investors without our management team,’ Naji Baydoun, director of IR at Innergex, told IR Impact editor Laurie Havelock in the Global Roadshow Report 2025. ‘Maybe at the beginning of the [2024] we were spending 10 percent of our investor engagements without management and now we’re up to about 25 percent with just the IR team,’ explained Baydoun. ‘That’s because we’ve built relationships and trust with those investors, so I’m happy about that.’ According to IR Impact’s 15th annual research report into the who, where, how and why of corporate roadshow activity, there has been a…
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How to talk tariffs: IR in the new era of uncertainty
The US economy is in ‘a period of transition,’ US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Sunday. By close of trading on Monday, the US S&P 500 had dropped almost 3 percent, with tech stocks taking a particularly heavy hit. Weeks of back and forth as Trump threatened tariffs, paused tariffs, reintroduced tariffs – and saw retaliatory levies by affected markets – finally came to a head.
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Governance Playbook: Building an effective creation process for your proxy statement
The proxy statement is the cornerstone of a company’s communication with its shareholders and other stakeholders including employees, regulators and customers. In recent years, this vital document has evolved from being a publication designed solely to comply with SEC requirements into something that conveys – often in novel ways – the company’s message and strategy. Now more than ever, companies face deep scrutiny of how they operate and the values they adhere to. Crafting the content and design within proxy statements for success would not be possible without the process involving – at its head – the corporate secretary’s office…
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Global Roadshow Report 2025
IR Impact’s 15th annual research report into the who, where, how and why of corporate roadshow activity.
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Global Investor Relations Practice Report 2024 – North America
This is the 2024 edition North America of the global practice report, IR Magazine’s annual assessment of how IR teams are operating around the world
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Global Investor Relations Practice Report 2024 – Europe
This is the 2024 edition Europe of the global practice report, IR Magazine’s annual assessment of how IR teams are operating around the world
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Webinar – Effective earnings preparation amid macro volatility
In partnership with WHEN 8.00 am PT / 11.00 am ET / 4.00 pm BST / 5.00 pm CET DURATION 45 minutes About the event Amid constant tariff news, geopolitical upheaval and other developments stemming from the new US administration, IR teams have their work cut out as they prepare…
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