In the US, new names added to lead investor relations at CrowdStrike and Fiserv
‘It’s a company I’ve long admired, having analyzed it on the sell-side at UBS and Rothschild & Co Redburn and invested on the buy side as a portfolio manager at Norges Bank Investment Management,’ writes William Houston on LinkedIn as he joins the Unilever IR team.
As well as his time on both the buy and sell sides, Houston spent almost six years at BAT, most recently as head of investor sustainability, investor relations. He has also been a regular voice in IR Impact articles – talking about the evolution of ESG data, for example – as well as sharing insights at events like IR Impact’s ESG Integration Forum 2024, where he talked about themes including investor targeting and responding to shareholder expectations around sustainability.
‘I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining Unilever in investor relations,’ says Houston, writing on his first day. ‘Really looking forward to meeting everyone and getting started!’
Over in the US, Nasdaq-listed cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has named Andy Nowinski as vice president of IR and strategic finance, bringing both equity analyst and software engineer experience to the role – qualities that ‘uniquely position him at the intersection of technology, financial markets and cybersecurity,’ write the company.
Nowinski joins CrowdStrike from Wells Fargo, where he served as a senior equity analyst covering the cybersecurity and software infrastructure sectors. His 18-year career on the sell side includes recognition as runner-up in the 2023 Extel All-America Equity Research Survey for SMID-cap software. Before his stint at Wells Fargo, Nowinski worked at D.A. Davidson, Raymond James and Piper Sandler. ‘His research emphasized competitive dynamics, platform consolidation and long-term operating trends across the software landscape,’ according to a CrowdStrike release.
‘Andy’s blend of investment acumen, technical depth and sector expertise makes him uniquely qualified for this role,’ says Burt Podbere, CFO of CrowdStrike, in a statement welcoming Nowinski to the company. ‘His disciplined understanding of market structure, operating performance and the long-term drivers of cybersecurity will ensure investors have a clear, unfiltered view of our execution and strategy.’
Backing up his nearly two-decades as an analyst is a further 10-plus years spent as a software engineer, with roles at Accenture, IBM and Target, where he largely wrote code for Oracle (PeopleSoft) applications. CrowdStrike points to Nowinski’s combined skillset of ‘technical and financial expertise’ as proving ‘a rare, holistic understanding of the software and cybersecurity ecosystem.’
Nowinski, who holds a Bachelor of Science in finance and an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota, talks of his excitement in joining CrowdStrike at ‘such a pivotal time’.
‘The company’s strong track record of platform leadership and financial discipline, combined with the accelerating AI-driven demand environment, create a durable long-term opportunity and I look forward to helping investors understand the drivers behind CrowdStrike’s performance,’ he says.
A new head of IR is also in place at Fortune 500 constituent and CrowdStrike’s Nasdaq stablemate Fiserv. The payments and financial tech firm has named Walter Pritchard as senior vice president, head of IR, effective December 1, 2025.
Boasting more than 25 years of experience in IR, corporate strategy, finance and equity research, Pritchard joins from Palo Alto Networks, where he served as senior vice president of IR and corporate development in a role that saw him help ‘align company strategy with external investor messaging and [lead] corporate development and strategic finance to support the company’s evolution and growth,’ according to a Fiserv release. Prior to Palo Alto Networks, Pritchard served as managing director at Citi and Cowen & Company, covering the global software and broader technology industry.
‘Walter brings deep expertise in understanding market dynamics and communicating with investors and analysts,’ Paul Todd, Fiserv CFO says, welcoming Pritchard to the company. ‘We look forward to collaborating with him to strengthen our engagement with the investment community as we work to drive long-term shareholder value. We are thrilled to welcome Walter to Fiserv.’
Pritchard holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and earned his Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Pomona College.
