Sue Scholes is set to take over as chairman of the UK’s IR Society. A chartered management accountant, Scholes holds a bachelor of economics degree from the University of Manchester.
Scholes spent five years heading the IR team at logistics firm Bramble Industries. She most recently served as director of communications at AMEC, a company that provides services to energy, mining and environmental organizations, including a recent contract to provide a strategic framework for the United Arab Emirates’ nuclear energy program.
After taking over from former IR Society deputy chairman Karen Keyes in April 2013, Scholes has spent the last year aiming to better the Certificate in Investor Relations qualification offered by the society.
Sue Scholes will take over duties from former chairman John Dawson
Scholes will become the trade body’s new non-executive chairman in place of John Dawson, who has stepped down after his three-year term came to an end. The incoming chairman thanks Dawson for his ‘vision and hard work’ for the trade body over the last three years.
‘He has played a large part in the recent success of our society as it has continued to demonstrate the value that outstanding professional IR practice can bring to a business,’ Scholes continues. ‘He leaves a significant legacy around professional development, led by the society’s Deliver program, now starting its second year.’
Dawson, meanwhile, says the IR Society’s work will continue to be important. ‘While we’re still a young profession, the value we bring our companies gets clearer and clearer every day,’ he explains.
Scholes’ focus, she says, will be to consider where the society will be in the near future. ‘We need to articulate and communicate our vision and then deliver on it, exactly as we do within our day jobs,’ she summarizes.
David Lloyd-Seed, director of IR and corporate affairs at Dixons, has been appointed as the society’s new deputy chairman. Ross Hawley of PageGroup, Rivel Research Group’s Claire Lavery and Alison Owers, CEO of Orient Capital UK, have also been appointed to the board.
