It’s often said people fall into IR, and that’s true for Karoline Hunter, senior director of investor relations and associate general counsel at Spin Master.
Hunter has worked for Spin Master for the last nine years, primarily as an in-house lawyer. But when the company was preparing to go public in 2015, she found herself in a preparatory meeting during which she discovered that she thoroughly enjoyed learning about IR.
‘I don’t know how it happened, but I got pulled into a meeting where we were talking about a roadshow and for some reason I started drafting the scripts,’ Hunter tells IR Magazine. ‘I really liked it and it was a nice change from law. Once we went public, I put my hat in the ring [for the IR role] and got the job.’
Transitioning into an IR role can be challenging, and Hunter admits she doesn’t have the financial acumen she would like – but she is working hard to achieve that, by partnering closely with Spin Master’s CFO and taking CIRI’s qualification, the Certified Professional in Investor Relations.
Hunter says her experience as a lawyer is also a strength in conversations she has with the Street. ‘What I bring to the table is institutional knowledge,’ she says. ‘I know the company so well: I’ve drafted and negotiated the agreements, so I can really speak to the business. I get questions across the board.’
Click here to watch the full interview.
