Plus new IROs in place at Athena Gold and FTAI Aviation
Dennis Walsh has announced that he is stepping down from his role as vice president of investor relations at Udemy, following its acquisition by fellow online learning platform Coursera.
Walsh, who won an IR Impact award for the use of social media and video for work around the company’s first-ever investor day in 2024, has served in the small-cap US educational technology company’s IR team for four years.
Confirming the move on LinkedIn, he writes: ‘I’m grateful for the experience, the wins and the challenges, as well as the Udemates, leadership team, board, analysts and shareholders that I had the opportunity to work with along the way.
‘Special shout out to Udemy’s FIT team for their countless hours of support and unwavering dedication that helped us navigate multiple earnings cycles and more.’ He adds that he will spend the summer establishing ‘what’s next for me in IR’.
Over in Toronto, Canada, gold and copper extractor Barrick Mining has confirmed the appointment of Emily Chieng as its new vice president, investor relations.
She joins Barrick from United States Steel Corporation, where she served as investor relations officer since 2023. During her time there, she led investor engagement during the company’s strategic alternatives review and its subsequent acquisition by Nippon Steel.
Prior to that, Chieng spent almost a decade at Goldman Sachs, most recently serving as vice president, equity research, where she covered 20 North American metals and mining companies.
She writes on LinkedIn: ‘My time at US Steel has been an incredible journey with numerous twists and turns along the way. I’m grateful to my colleagues from both US Steel and Nippon Steel, the leadership team and every investor, analyst, advisor, banker and many others who I had the privilege of engaging with throughout the process.
‘As I begin this next chapter of my career, I am excited to lead Barrick Mining’s investor relations strategy as we continue to create long-term value for shareholders.’
Staying in the gold mining sector, Athena Gold has appointed Farid Mammadov as its new vice president, investor relations.
He joins the Toronto-based company with over five years of experience at junior miners, most recently working as vice president, investor relations at New Age Metals.
‘We welcome Farid to the Athena team. Investor relations is an area that deserves more focus given the important catalysts we’ve been working towards over the last several months, and I look forward to working with Farid to better communicate these milestones to shareholders in due course,’ says Koby Kushner, CEO of Athena.
‘I am excited to be joining Athena at an important time for the company. I look forward to working with the team and bringing my experience in investor relations and capital markets to support clear, consistent communications with shareholders and the broader investment community,’ adds Mammadov.
Finally, New York-based turbine technology company FTAI Aviation has announced the hire of Charlie Arestia as its new principal, investor relations, replacing Alan Andreini, who has departed after more than a decade with the firm.
Arestia is based in New York and will serve as a senior member of FTAI’s investor relations team, working closely with FTAI’s leadership team, the company writes in a press release.
He joins after previously serving as managing director and head of investor relations at CION Investment Corporation, prior to which he held IR and M&A roles at Focus Financial Partners and served in JP Morgan’s equity research team.
‘On behalf of the FTAI team, I would like to thank Alan for his important contributions to our company and shareholders. He has been an integral part of FTAI through its many phases, and we wish him the best in his next chapter,’ says Joe Adams, chairman and CEO.
‘It has been a privilege to spend the last decade with FTAI Aviation. I’m proud of what we’ve built and the relationships we’ve developed with our shareholders, and I’m confident the company’s best days are ahead,’ Andreini adds.
