Sue Scholes, director of communications at AMEC, has been appointed as the new deputy chairman of the UK’s Investor Relations Society (IR Society). She brings more than 10 years’ experience in investor relations and corporate affairs to the role.
A chartered management accountant, Scholes graduated from the University of Manchester with a bachelor of economics degree. She spent five years working as head of investor relations at Bramble Industries, before taking up her current role at AMEC in 2007.
Scholes succeeds outgoing deputy chairman Karen Keyes, who is relocating to Canada to take up a new position as senior vice president of IR for Montreal-based Aimia.
Scholes is quick to pay tribute to her predecessor and eager to discuss her plans for the new position. ‘Firstly, I have a hard act to follow, taking over from Karen Keyes who has contributed so much to the IR Society,’ she says. ‘I was delighted to be asked to play a larger role in the development of the society, and so of the investor relations function itself.
‘My immediate focus is education. The Certificate in Investor Relations has done so much to provide a backbone to the profession and I am keen to explore other ways in which we can accelerate the implementation of best practice.’
The IR Society, which has more than 600 members from the investment community in the UK and overseas, is already familiar with Scholes, who has served as a board member and is the current chair of the society’s education committee.
‘I am delighted to welcome Sue as the society’s new deputy chair. She has already made a valuable contribution as a board member and brings a wealth of practical experience to our discussions,’ comments John Dawson, chairman of the IR Society, in a press release. ‘As deputy chairman, Sue will help provide the leadership the society needs to build on its strengths in the years ahead.’
