The Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) has announced that Colleen Vancha, senior vice president of investor relations and corporate affairs at Viterra, is the new chair of CIRI’s board of directors.
She will serve for two years and succeeds David Carey, who remains on the board.
‘Colleen is a fabulous person to take on the chair role,’ says CIRI CEO Tom Enright, who describes the position as highly functional and not ceremonial.
‘First off, she’s recognized as one of the top IR practitioners in Canada. She has been on the board for a significant period of time, so she knows how the board works, and she also has terrific international IR experience.’
Vancha has been a CIRI member since 1996 and joined the board in 2006.
‘I’m really pleased, honored and privileged to be entering at this time with our inaugural professional certification program starting in the fall,’ Vancha says. ‘That will not only help improve and enhance the quality of IR, but elevate IR in the view of the C-suite.’
The next two years will be significant for CIRI. The board has adopted two new strategic objectives. One is the new certification program. The other is an expanded advocacy effort.
In the past, CIRI provided comments and a viewpoint when asked. But the board thinks that a more active role would better serve the members.
‘There are a few topics that if CIRI doesn’t become the spokesperson and flag waver for, they won’t get driven forward,’ Enright says.
For example, CIRI is pushing for a reduction in the Canadian early warning ownership reporting threshold from 10 percent to 5 percent. ‘At the 10 percent level, Canada is on the same place as Latvia, Pakistan and Chile,’ Enright says. ‘Practically every other country is on the 5 percent level or less.’
CIRI has also seen a change in its membership demographics. ‘It was very evident at this year’s conference that a number of younger folks joined the organization,’ Vancha says. ‘There’s an opportunity for us to step up to the challenge and provide unique service offerings to those sectors and market caps that haven’t typically been the focus of the organization.’
The organization also elected several new board members on Tuesday: Cristina Circelli, deputy corporate secretary and general counsel of Canadian National Railway Company; Bruce Mann, vice president of investor relations for Rogers Communications; and Darren Seed, vice president of investor relations for Westport Innovations.
According to Vancha, the additions help expand the representation by market cap, company size, skills and industry.
