News and analysis
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Activists: the last defenders of the retail shareholder
What is good for an activist is often good for other shareholders In October 2017, Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of the largest US companies, announced that shareholders had rejected the proposal of activist fund Trian Partners to join its board of directors. The difference in votes for or against the request was so small – a meagre 0.2 percent on more than 2 bn shares, that Trian asked for a recount. In December of that year, the company announced that Nelson Pretz, chairman of the fund, would join the board of directors after all. After the recount, the fund…
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People moves: Linda Pazin joins Solventum and Mitch Haws moves to Semtech
Linda Pazin, formerly head of strategic communications at Sempra, has joined San Diego, California-based healthcare company Solventum, which was spun off from 3M in April 2024, as its new director of finance communications. Pazin has had a long and varied career in investor relations over the past few decades, including a stint as head of technology, global listings and west coast regional leader at Nasdaq alongside IR roles at Deckers Brands and Live Nation Entertainment. She also was the founder of her own IR and strategic communications consultancy, Pazin Strategies, for four years.
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Talking DEI under Trump 2.0: how anti-woke investors are hijacking pro-ESG proposals
What does DEI mean to you? Here at IR Impact, we’ve stopped spelling out diversity, equity and inclusion, working under the assumption that this most tricky of news items is known to all. But it seems that other interpretations exist – on the White House official X account for example, where a post was recently put out stating ‘the only DEI we support is Deport Every Illegal’. That very much sums up the kind of narrative companies are up against with today’s very public broadly anti-ESG and specifically anti-DEI rhetoric.
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‘The US markets are keeping all of our IROs on their toes’: NIRI New York’s Laura Kiernan on challenging times
Though the IR Impact Awards – US 2025 was a time for great celebration, it also came at a time of distinct market upheaval, with a combination of trade tariffs, ongoing conflict and political change weighing heavily on the markets. We spoke to Laura Kiernan, president for NIRI’s New York chapter as well as senior vice president at GuideLign, Rivel, about how members of the trade association were dealing with the fallout.
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‘You have to take investors on the journey with you’: Fiserv’s Julie Chariell on communicating through volatility
Given the landscape of trade disagreements, global conflict and ongoing political upheaval, communicating with investors requires a flexible and nuanced approach. At the recent IR Impact Awards – US 2025, we spoke to Julie Chariell, head of investor relations at payments company Fiserv, about how to manage investor outreach at a time when the markets are grappling with uncertainty.
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Press send with confidence: how regulatory news can be made easier
Sending a regulatory release isn’t just a click — it’s the final moment in a multi-step process, often involving many stakeholders, with compliance, formatting and timing all needing to align. In that final second before pressing send, one question often lingers: Are we sure everything is right?
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‘We’re experienced in market drawdowns’: Setanta’s Fergal Sarsfield talks value, opportunity and luck
Fergal Sarsfield joined Dublin-headquartered Setanta in 2007 and it today responsible for co-managing the EAFE (European, Australasian and Far East) Equity Fund. Previously, he divided his time with sector responsibility for the technology sector within the Setanta Global Equity Fund, while co-managing EAFE. Setanta was established in 1998 and today manages around $15 bn with $8.9 bn in equities across three strategies: global, EAFE and dividend (with roughly $3-$4 bn in US equities). Setanta is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Life, which is in turn owned by Canada’s Great-West Lifeco. There is an investment team of 30 based mainly…
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IR lessons from Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway’s ‘Oracle of Omaha’ retires
Berkshire Hathaway’s charismatic chief executive Warren Buffett, the much-vaunted ‘Oracle of Omaha’, enjoyed two significant career milestones this week. The first was helming his 60th annual meeting for the fund, which shed light on where the trillion-dollar-investment manager will be focusing its attentions in the near future. Almost 20,000 people attended the event, which sees attendees spend hundreds of thousands at concession stands alone.
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Struggling for survival amid the noise: biotech webinar offers wider lessons for the IR community
While not everyone in the IR profession will be working in the environment that biotech IROs find themselves in today, everyone seemingly everywhere is battling the noise and uncertainty generated by tariff talks, geopolitical tensions and other macro headwinds. IR Impact recently sat down with Angela Bitting, senior vice president, corporate affairs at Twist Bioscience, Aron Feingold, vice president IR and corporate communications at Geron Corporation and Lynn Pieper Lewis, founder and CEO of webinar sponsor Gilmartin Group, to talk about the challenges the sector is facing. The fascinating discussion that followed is as useful to those in the broader…
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Patrick Möller eyes new opportunity at optician Fielmann and Stephen Nightingale steps down from Britvic
Experienced German IRO Patrick Möller has taken up a new role at Hamburg-based optician group Fielmann as its new director of investor relations. He joins the company after 17 years as vice president of investor relations at New Work, formerly known as Xing, during which time he was nominated for the award for best overall IR – small cap at the IR Magazine Awards – Europe 2016. He left his role at New Work following the company’s delisting from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange earlier this year.
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‘I wanted to set a new standard for investor days’: Rebecca Gardy of Campbell’s on an award-winning event
At the recent IR Impact Awards – US 2025, we spoke to Rebecca Gardy, chief investor relations officer at Campbell’s, about how exactly they planned last year’s investor day
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ESG: Over or in it for the long haul? IR Impact Forum takes debate to Canada
Whether ESG is over or increasingly relevant, in need of reform or greater standardization is the great debate. Has the term become too ‘woke’? Is it too much of a political hot potato? Does good ESG equate to better share price performance, or has it been hijacked under the pretense of improving returns? Prabh Banga of Aecon Group (left) and Jack Mintz from the University of Calgary (middle) debate ESG with IR Impact’s Steve Wade These were the topics up for debate when Prabh Banga, vice president of sustainability at Aecon Group and Jack Mintz, president’s fellow of the school…
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Huntington Bank names Eric Wasserstrom as IR lead and a flurry of posts open up across the profession
New names at Huntington Bank. Atos Group and Konecranes, while a flurry of posts open up across the profession. Eric Wasserstrom has been named as the new vice president, head of investor relations at Huntington National Bank, a $210 bn asset regional bank operating across 13 US states.
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How broker insights can transform your earnings process
As data continues to flood the market, IROs are finding it both challenging and time-consuming to gauge market perceptions of their companies. Increasingly, IROs are looking to their data platform providers to help them collect all the available, granular insight from brokers in one place, where it can be sorted, analyzed and better understood. But how can that data be passed through into the earnings process overall and be used to improve the impact of a company’s latest figures on various stakeholder audiences?
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Earnings season: Navigating financial guidance amid macroeconomic uncertainty
In the current climate it is the transparency and rigor of guidance rather than the precise figures that matters most. And, as public companies prepare to report earnings for the March 2025 quarter, it is important to evaluate how best to communicate financial guidance and manage investor expectations in the context of ongoing market volatility and geopolitical disruption.
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Wall Street caught between a rock and a hard place as tensions between US and China rise
The trade war between China and the US has spiraled into unchartered territory. On April 10, Donald Trump’s administration imposed a tariff of 125 percent on all Chinese imports. China called the actions unfair and responded with similar measures. Within the broader debate around unravelling economic ties between the US and China, where economic interdependence has increasingly been viewed as a threat to US national security, this escalation raises questions about whether global finance is also reducing its presence in China.
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The role of investor relations during a spin-off
Number of IPO spin-offs doubled in US between 2023 and 2024 Stepping back from the constant stream of tariff news, this week I wanted to talk about a broader capital markets trend that has involved a good number of you in IR over the last few years: the growing number of corporate spin-offs. In recent […]
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Resmed names Salli Schwartz as chief investor relations officer
Other people moves come at Boston Scientific and FireFly Metals Healthcare technology provider Resmed has named Salli Schwartz as its chief investor relations officer. She will report to Mick Farrell, the company’s CEO and chairman of the board. Schwartz joins from biotech Illumina, where she was head of IR. Prior to that, she served as […]
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From policy ambiguity to price volatility: the hidden cost of indecision
Inconsistent debt policies can lead to higher investor ambiguity, suggests research In August 2022, Olympic Steel shifted from an inconsistently moderate working capital financing policy (WCFP) to a clear conservative policy. Within months, its stock price rose 22 percent, outperforming many of its competitors during a broader market decline, and its volatility of volatility (VOV) […]
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The CFO: ‘Managing spin-offs is like raising kids. You love them all, despite the challenges,’ says Kyndryl’s finance chief explaining how he leans on IR for corporate transactions
David Wyshner speaks about his involvement in six corporate transactions – and counting – in his career Most IR teams – and most CFOs – might be involved in one or two large corporate transactions in their careers. For David Wyshner, finance chief at NYSE-listed IT services provider, he’s up to six and still counting. […]
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Exports, exchange rates and trade: Brazil under the ‘cascading effect’ of US tariffs
What happens in Washington has significant repercussions in Brasilia The volatility of the Brazilian capital market is a natural consequence of its dependence on external factors. Global dynamics directly influence investments, making it essential for companies and investors to understand these impacts and adopt strategies to mitigate risks and seize opportunities in an environment of […]
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Legally speaking: IR, storytelling and the red pen
Though it might feel like legal qualifiers are ruining your work, they are there to make it bulletproof For IR professionals, the art of storytelling often feels like a delicate balancing act. You spend time to craft the perfect narrative — clean slides, compelling data, and a golden CEO quote that’s meant to inspire. Then […]
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People moves: Kemira brings in Kiira Fröberg as vice president of IR
Other people changes come at Manulife and Skyryse Kemira, the Helsinki-based provider of chemical solutions for water-intensive industries, has named Kiira Fröberg as its new vice president of IR. She will report to the company’s CFO, Petri Castrén. Fröberg joins from another Nasdaq Helsinki-listed company, crane manufacturer Konecranes, where she also served as vice president […]
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Eight takeaways from the IR Think Tank 2025
IROs gathered in New York to discuss the changing face of investor communications On March 26, more than 100 IR professionals gathered in New York for the IR Think Tank, brought to you by BofA Securities and IR Impact. The event offered the IR community the chance to take stock following two months of frenetic […]
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Navigating investor relations during a market selloff in a quiet period: dos and don’ts
For many public companies, a quarter ended on March 31, 2025, and management has entered an investor quiet period until the financial results are reported. This creates a unique challenge: how to address investor concerns during a market downturn while adhering to quiet period restrictions. Below are key dos and don’ts to guide companies through […]
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People moves: High Roller goes all in on Seth Young as head of IR
Las Vegas-based online casino operator High Roller Technologies has appointed Seth Young as its new senior vice president of corporate strategy and investor relations. Prior to joining the NYSE-listed company, Young served as chief innovation officer at PointsBet, where he was responsible for strategic corporate development efforts including fundraising, new market development, government affairs and regulatory affairs. Before that he worked as chief operating officer at FSG Digital, executive director of online gaming at Foxwoods Resort Casino, chief operating officer at Flower City Gaming and director of strategy for TexasHoldem.com.
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Amid a game of tariff chicken, companies focus on what they can control
Walmart’s announcement this week reminds investors about its resilience in tough times IR teams are just one of the many groups currently caught up in the global game of tariff chicken taking place between the US and countries across the rest of the world, especially China. This article is guaranteed to be out of date […]
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How IR teams can benefit from AI — starting with data quality
We are all asking ourselves: ‘How are we leveraging AI to get better and smarter?‘ For investor relations teams, the potential is certainly there. But before getting too excited about AI capabilities, IR professionals should give serious consideration to the fact that everything starts with data quality AI is an immensely powerful tool to categorise, summarise, and […]
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Build your onramp and sell-side tactics: What we learned at the IR Impact Think Tank – West Coast 2025
In an increasingly complex market, the audience was reminded about the importance of keeping your message simple There was plenty for IROs to get their teeth into at the IR Impact Think Tank – West Coast 2025, which took place on March 20 in San Francisco. With US policy in a state of dramatic flux, […]
Spotlight Content
Off-season engagement highlights shifting views on ESG
Companies ponder how to keep talking about sustainability We’re coming to the end of ‘off season’ – when many companies go out on the road to engage with key institutional investors ahead of their annual shareholder meeting. According to a recent IR Magazine survey, around two thirds of IR teams say they have a program…
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