Investor Relations magazine doesn’t do run-of-the-mill conferences. If you’re bored by the usual programs with their endless PowerPoint slides, service provider presentations and misdirected monologues, you should attend one of our events. We’re developing interactive, targeted and wholly practical events for IR communities around the globe. Our intensive conferences provide the opportunity for self and peer group assessment, IR program benchmarking, and the chance to catch up with the latest domestic and international regulatory developments. They are researched and produced by a team that works only in the area of IR, and they’re designed to form an essential part of your IR team’s training program.
The UK Investor Relations Congress will take place July 17 at Le Meridien Grosvenor House Hotel, on the day of the Investor Relations Magazine UK Awards (also at the Grosvenor House, but in the evening). Our aim is to make this a real IR extravaganza – a full working day program that is useful, informative, practical and enjoyable.
Each session will have a different style, feel and format. There will be quiz shows, mock investor meetings and formalized networking. The program will comprise discussion-based sessions, each covering a critical element of UK and global IR. Sessions will be structured to extract the most relevant, timely and useful information from key industry players, focusing on a mix of big picture issues and more focused topics.
In short, we’re moving away from the traditional conference format towards useful, live business theater. The atmosphere will be relaxed; the feel will be more TV than classroom. Indeed, many sessions will use successful radio and TV formats. Panelists won’t give speeches; they’ll answer questions, share experiences and join in lively debates. Service providers will be present, but in the exhibition area; they won’t be selling their products or services from the stage.
Over the last few weeks, readers of the magazine have been asked what are the most important themes that should be covered at the UK Congress. The results listed below are just a sample of the discussions that will take place on July 17:
-Wake up to disclosure – a working breakfast
-Market abuse – are you the weakest link?
-One foot in the grave – are pension funds going cold on shares?
-Could Enron happen here?
-The small-cap challenge – IR for AIM companies
-IR in the face of social activism – a moral maze
-What annoys me most about UK companies – the US fund manager’s view
We are also trying a new innovation at this year’s event. Conferences are great for networking, but the problem with networking is that it is a random process. It’s often a chance meeting during coffee or an overheard conversation that reaps the richest rewards.
At the UK Congress we’ll try to formalize the networking process by inviting like-minded individuals to preselect their lunchtime networking. For example, if you have a one-person IR department and want to meet IROs in a similar situation, we’ll arrange a lunch meeting for you. If you’re considering an environmental audit and want to know what’s involved, there will be a table for you too. Each table will have a moderator and seating plan; and after the event we’ll circulate the contact details of everyone at the table so this new mini-community can continue to network after the event. (The delegate registration form lists a sample of working lunch topics, but you will also have the opportunity to suggest alternatives.)
So if you think normal investor relations conferences over-sell and under-deliver, try the Investor Relations Magazine UK IR Congress. We promise you won’t be bored.
