News and analysis
-
‘Being able to teach, mentor and promote my team is the highlight of my career,’ says Pfizer’s Francesca DeMartino
In her almost three years as chief investor relations officer at Pfizer, Francesca DeMartino has already racked up two IR Impact trophies and a nomination. In an exclusive interview with IR Impact, she talks about the way the team is set up, the support that IR gets from Pfizer management and other functions across the firm – all of which comes together to allow DeMartino to implement ambitious projects beyond the bread and butter of IR. Still, it is the Street-facing side of the role – the lunches that let you get inside the minds of investors and analysts, the…
Published 19 hours ago -
People moves: British Land brings in former Numis equity research chief Max Nimmo as head of IR
UK-listed property development and investment company British Land has appointed Max Nimmo as its new head of investor relations and strategy.
Published 19 hours ago -
SEC chief signals fresh scrutiny of reporting regime
Chair Paul Atkins says the SEC will push to return public company reporting to a materiality-based disclosure regime, warning that expanding obligations risk burying investors in less useful information Set against a backdrop of balmy heat, cowboy boots and country music in Nashville, SEC chairman Paul Atkins used his keynote address at the Society for Corporate Governance’s 2026 National Conference to deliver a clear message to governance professionals: responsibility ultimately rests with corporate leaders. Atkins opened by outlining his broader philosophy for government and regulation. ‘Government must be limited; its purpose is to set the conditions for prosperity, not engineer…
-
‘AI tools helped us shave a week off the earnings process,’ says Lear Corporation IR leader
The earnings call process is one of the biggest placeholders on the IR calendar. Research by IR Impact from last year shows that IR professionals are spending 25 percent of their time on earnings preparation – notably more than the next biggest time sink, roadshows and investor meetings (19 percent), even though corporate access is the bread and butter of the role. Technology is rapidly reshaping many elements of the IR function. And the biggest changes are in those areas where tasks are time consuming and often repetitive, where regulation leaves no wiggle room – and where many other people,…
-
People moves: Stefany Flegal uploaded into Box’s IR team as Christian Audi pulls up at Enerpac
Cloud-based content management company Box has brought in Stefany Flegal to serve as its new director of investor relations. Prior to joining the San Francisco firm, she ran her own consultancy – Flegal Consultancy Services – launched in April 2025. Before that, Flegal held various IR roles at Smartsheet and Fastly, as well as serving in treasury and FP&A positions at fellow cloud data storage firm Dropbox.
-
The CFO: ‘Tokenization is becoming an important part of how people invest,’ says Streamex’s finance chief Christine Plummer
Few forces on the markets threaten to change the day-to-day working of IROs as much as the tokenization of securities. With some exchanges already experimenting with tracking share trades on blockchain, the technology has the potential to transform ownership practices and how shareholder engagement takes place at a fundamental level.
-
Governance proposals surge as SEC overhaul and anti-ESG pivot reshape 2026 proxy season, research shows
What does a surge in governance proposals mean for shareholder engagement? A sharp rise in governance-focused shareholder proposals, a big shift in the SEC’s proposal exclusion process and growing support for corporate moves out of Delaware are becoming the defining trends of the 2026 proxy season, according to Georgeson Advisory. While overall shareholder proposal activity continues to decline across Russell 3000 companies, early data suggest the season is being shaped less by the number of proposals and more by structural changes that could have long term implications for issuers, investors and corporate governance practices. According to Georgeson’s 2026 Early Proxy Season…
-
People moves: Mikaela Krama swaps Kinnevik for Mentimeter as NXP Semiconductors’ Jeff Palmer retires
Mikaela Kramer, who served as head of investor relations at Swedish investment manager Kinnevik for a decade, has joined presentation software company Mentimeter ahead of its expected IPO.
-
Distracted by the football? Research shows investors have taken their eye off the ball to watch the World Cup
You may have noticed I’ve mentioned the World Cup – currently taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico – a few times in recent weeks. But it’s not my fault: academic research has shown that it’s not just me distracted by the football tournament, as the market has become demonstrably less attentive while games are on.
-
Reputation in AI responses: What language models reveal and what they don’t
In October 2025, a merchant sent a screenshot to his account manager. He had searched Google for Is Unzer trustworthy?, a seemingly harmless question that is likely asked about companies thousands of times every day. The answer he received was a Google AI Overview stating: ‘Whether Unzer is trustworthy cannot be answered definitively, as there are conflicting experiences.’
-
IROs as the company ‘point guard’ and the power of a ‘punchy’ cold approach: Four things we heard at the IR Impact Think Tank – Europe 2026
As Europe’s finest football teams gather in North America and Mexico for the World Cup, the continent’s finest IR teams gathered instead in London at the IR Impact Think Tank – Europe 2026 to discuss the burning issues facing the profession today and share best practices.
-
People moves: Anthropic brings in Kenneth Dorell as head of IR ahead of hotly-anticipated IPO
AI giant Anthropic has appointed a head of investor relations just ahead of confidentially filing for a US IPO, hot on the heels of SpaceX’s record-breaking debut and an anticipated listing for rival OpenAI.
-
Anatomy of the modern earnings call: How management behavior during Q&A is quietly moving markets
Picture a Fortune 500 CFO 45 minutes before a quarterly earnings call. The prepared remarks are tightly rehearsed. Legal has blessed every sentence. The IR team has spent four weeks stress-testing disclosures. Then Q&A begins and all that discipline evaporates. The analyst on the first question asks whether the company is seeing ‘meaningful deterioration in enterprise demand’. The CFO pauses, then answers: ‘Yes, we are seeing some deterioration in enterprise demand, particularly as customers become more cautious in this environment.’
-
How pass-through voting is rewriting the rules of corporate influence
As investor choice continues to grow so are concerns over transparency and control Pass-through voting has moved from a niche governance concept to one of the most closely watched developments in the US proxy ecosystem. As asset managers, issuers, regulators and technology providers grapple with questions around voting power, accountability and investor participation, the conversation has moved beyond the mechanics of proxy voting itself. At its core, pass-through voting seeks to give underlying investors a greater say in how shares held through pooled investment vehicles are voted. Supporters view it as a natural extension of shareholder democracy, while . .…
-
Infineon Technologies, Technip Energies and eDreams ODIGEO take top prizes at the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2026
A trio of companies – Infineon Technologies, Technip Energies and eDreams ODIGEO – won awards for best overall IR and best individual IROs in their respective cap sizes at this year’s IR Impact Awards – Europe.
-
From AI avatars to new-style Q&A: New playbook looks at the future of the earnings call
What does the future of the earnings call look like to you? For some, it’s adding video. For some it’s adding live video. For others, it might be getting AI in on the prep side or even putting avatars of the management team to work. Click to read The future of earnings calls >> Then there are all the other elements around how you structure the earnings call, ultimately creating a new, modular approach to these essential markers in the IR calendar. It is hard to downplay how much the earnings call has evolved in recent years: from the pandemic-driven shifts online to the…
-
People moves: Victoria Hyde-Dunn to bridge Wall Street and Adelaide Street as she joins Kinaxis
TSX-listed supply chain software company Kinaxis has brought in Victoria Hyde-Dunn as its new vice president of investor relations.
-
What makes a successful European investor relations strategy?
For many global listed companies, Europe remains one of the most misunderstood capital markets. Companies often assume that simply cross-listing in Frankfurt, translating exchange announcements or issuing occasional updates will naturally generate investor engagement.
-
How IR can drive value by merging AI and ESG reporting
Investor relations is uniquely positioned to become the bridge between two of the most important value drivers for investors of the past and coming decades: AI and ESG performance.
-
The CFO: ‘IR must have a strong reputation in the market. If there is trust, information flows’ says Iberdrola finance chief
Iberdrola is arguably one of Europe’s most successful companies when it comes to IR Impact trophy hauls. Ignacio Cuenca, the energy firm’s long-running head of IR, was one of IR Impact’s 30 IR stars in 30 days series – back in 2018 when we celebrated 30 years of diving into IR and recognizing the highest achievers in the profession. Fast-forward to 2026 and the Spanish energy giant is once again leading the shortlists for the IR Impact Awards 2026, nominated in five categories, as is Swiss-based office operator International Workplace Group. As we approach finding out which of Europe’s companies…
-
People moves: Margo Pilic takes over as head of strategy, M&A and IR at Citi to replace Jenn Landis
Citi has named its former chief of staff to CEO Jane Fraser as its new head of strategy, M&A and investor relations.
-
Investor targeting as a continuous discipline
Historically – and still too often today – we find that investor targeting is approached as a project. It’s a task that IR teams, often with valuable support from brokers, do once a year or ahead of roadshows and conferences. But daily – and even more so weekly and monthly – investors’ holdings change. Company circumstances evolve. Market conditions shift.
-
From ESG reporting to value creation: the new IR challenge
Too many companies still treat sustainability as something to be reported, not something to be priced. The result is familiar: longer annual reports, more ESG tables, better-looking slides. Yet investors are still asking the same basic question: What does this actually mean for value? That is the real challenge for investor relations. Sustainability disclosure has improved, regulation has expanded and ESG data is now everywhere. But more information does not automatically create a better investment case. In fact, poorly structured sustainability communication can do the opposite. It can bury the real story under a pile of targets, policies and generic…
-
SpaceX IPO shines light on the market structures that shape valuation – and IR
This week’s IPO by SpaceX will not be just a record-setting transaction; it will also become a stress test for equity market structure. Its early trading performance will be shaped, at least initially, by index-inclusion rules and it will pose a challenge for both passive capital and active management. In this deal, the market is not buying only ‘a good story’ but also a supply-and-demand structure. The most important point is that, against an estimated valuation of $1.75 tn dollars, the company is looking to raise ‘only’ $75 bn dollars. In other words, what actually comes to market is only…
-
‘We’ve made a point of finding unique and creative IR experiences to meet user-investors,’ says Reddit’s Jesse Rose
Jesse Rose moved from FP&A to IR at Reddit ahead of the firm’s $748 mn IPO in 2024 – an event that brought many of the social network’s loyal users in as shareholders. The company went on to win the IR Impact Award for best shareholder innovation a year later, with Rose taking the Rising Star trophy as well. Here, he talks to IR Impact about how the firm engages with its ‘user-investors’ and how its creative, open approach has become a model for other companies looking to build meaningful relationships with retail shareholders. He also talks about what he…
-
Rules of engagement: How leading IR Pros are using modern intelligence techniques to identify investors with influence – available now
Investors are becoming more discerning about who they engage with – and more guarded in how they communicate. At the same time, voting behavior is growing less predictable as investors place greater emphasis on company-specific factors, adopt bespoke voting policies and increasingly embrace pass-through voting. Coupled with tighter regulatory constraints on direct dialogue and more sophisticated activist tactics, IR teams are under growing pressure to anticipate issues earlier and act with greater precision. This makes it harder than ever to identify the right investors, understand their priorities and equip management for meaningful, high-impact engagement. This playbook goes beyond traditional ownership…
-
People moves: ASTA Group appoints Christoph Rainer while Bob Calver takes up COO role at Alliance Laundry Holdings
Bob Calver, formerly vice president, investor relations at Alliance Laundry Holdings, has taken up the company’s COO post after a wide-ranging reshuffle.
-
Increasing passive ownership: what IROs can influence and whether it is worth the effort
When I started my journey in investor relations 15 years ago at a large-cap energy company, the focus was on the quality of materials, transparency and disclosure cadence. We wanted to report results ahead of peers, disclose all the metrics necessary to build high-quality financial models, maintain a regular cadence of disclosure – think monthly operating updates – and build presentations that clearly explained our investment story, our challenges and our strategy to overcome them. Slides had to tell a story and leave an impact.
-
IWG and Iberdrola lead the shortlists ahead of the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2026
Spanish energy company Iberdrola and Swiss-based office operator International Workplace Group (IWG) are the frontrunners at this year’s IR Impact Awards – Europe, with both firms appearing across five shortlists.
IR benchmarking tool
Instant comparison data at your fingertips. This advanced tool provides real-time analytics comparing your IR program to peers in your region, sector, and cap size. Evaluate your program’s strengths and uncover opportunities for growth with key IR metrics covering:
- IR budgets
- Team size
- Reporting lines
- Sell-side analyst coverage
- Investor meetings
Fast, intuitive and packed with tailored insights, it’s the ultimate resource for building a smarter, data-driven IR strategy.
quick Guides to key ir issues
New to IR?
Looking for career advice?
Don’t know where to start with AI or ESG?
Get a curated briefing in these key areas and more with our starter guides!