News
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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…
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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.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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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.’
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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.
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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.’
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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People moves: New IR lead at Lincoln International as firm goes public on the NYSE
Alexandra Deignan has revealed her new role as chief marketing officer and head of investor relations at Lincoln International – a little over a week after the firm rang the bell at the NYSE to signal its market debut. ‘If you know me, you know I like taking on a new challenge,’ she writes on LinkedIn. ‘Last week I began a new chapter as chief marketing officer and head of investor relations at Lincoln International. Just before the NYSE bell ringing for Lincoln’s IPO was an exciting time to join! ‘This transition comes after nearly nine wonderful years at Lazard.…
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Beyond the slides: building an effective IPO presentation deck
The first thing investors look at when a company comes to market is not just the financials, but the story. An IPO presentation deck is where that story lives, framing how management communicates its long-term strategy to Wall Street.
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Standard Chartered taps IR for new group CFO role
Standard Chartered has named Manus Costello as its new group CFO, having joined the Hong Kong-headquartered, global banking group in 2024. Based in London, Costello had joined the bank as global head of investor relations, bringing with him more than two decades of experience in equity research. He now joins the management team and the board as an executive director, subject to regulatory approval. ‘I am delighted that Manus has agreed to take on the role of group chief financial officer,’ says Bill Winters, group chief executive, announcing Costello’s new role at the firm. ‘Since joining Standard Chartered two years…
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Long live the investor day! How dedicated websites are turning one day into a year-round engagement opportunity
When you have an event that might happen once every few years, that event must shine. For IR, investor days offer a rare opportunity to reset the narrative, deepen investor understanding and showcase long-term strategy beyond quarterly earnings cycles. And with all the effort that goes into an investor day, companies are realizing they can do more to make that day live longer. This was the topic of a recent IR Impact Briefing, sponsored by Equisolve, and titled Making your investor day work beyond the event. You can listen back online now to hear from Brad Burke, head of investor…
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Companies can’t compete without a shareholder strategy: IROs are the ones to lead it
Rising shareholder activism has placed investor relations officers in the middle of a role expansion. IROs are now expected to influence strategy, not merely communicate it. Yet most discussions for this elevation focus on skills such as strategic fluency and stakeholder communication, tools such as targeting platforms and sentiment analytics, or the degree of C-suite access the IRO enjoys. The more consequential enabler remains underutilized: shareholder strategy. Shareholder strategy asks three questions that most boards and management teams answer only reactively, if at all: who owns us, why do they own us and how do we actively shape that composition…
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People moves: Shelly Hubbard joins Lowe’s as ANI Pharmaceuticals brings in Irina Koffler
US hardware chain Lowe’s has brought in experienced IRO Shelly Hubbard as its new vice president, head of investor relations.
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Berkshire Hathaway AGM vote signals rising support for human capital proposals
Support for human capital proposals in corporate governance is rising, even when those proposals fall short. At Berkshire Hathaway, such a shareholder proposal backed by As You Sow recently won 27.7 percent support at board level.
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How are you thinking about succession planning? Research shows that CEOs aren’t getting any younger
I’m sure many of our readers are very tied up in preparing for, conducting or dealing with the endless follow-up to their earnings announcements this week – but, for those that aren’t, I can recommend some weighty academic reading.
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Seismic commentary: Why Swedish mining firm Boliden should have practiced the art of staying quiet
To act signals decisiveness. But in both business and politics, the best decision can be to refrain. Recently, Swedish mining firm Boliden has offered up an example of where less would have definitely been better. Having experienced a rockfall at one of its sites – at a depth of 1,100 meters and caused by unexpected seismic activity – the firm’s CEO Mikael Staffas decided to add color to the dry, factual press release already issued by the firm. He gave an interview with EFN Ekonomikanalen, a prominent Swedish business publication, attempting to put a positive on the story and talking…
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People moves: Jonida Zaganjori swaps lithium for uranium as she joins NexGen Energy
Jonida Zaganjori has swapped informing investors about lithium extraction in favour of new uranium projects after joining Canadian exploration and development company NexGen Energy.
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People moves: Anil Gupta leaves IR team at Coinbase
After five years at crypto exchange Coinbase, Anil Gupta has announced that he is stepping back from his vice president, investor relations role. ‘As many of you know, after five-plus years with Coinbase, I’ve decided it’s time for a new adventure – I’ll be taking some time off before taking my next step,’ he writes on LinkedIn. ‘From the direct listing, to 20+ earnings calls, to getting the first crypto company into the S&P 500, it has been an incredible ride. I’ve had the good fortune of building and working with an incredibly talented team and know that I’m leaving…
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How IR teams should report on AI to impress investors
Investors have allocated trillions of dollars to companies driven by AI fantasy. Technology and AI companies such as Nvidia and Microsoft have seen 30 to 100 percent valuation premiums for AI, while the broad market is benefiting by 10 to 30 percent in value.
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People moves: Kontoor Brands sews up Erinn Murphy as head of IR as Michael Travers is promoted at Xylem
Plus promotions for michael travers at XYLEM and Vlad Konstantinov at Celestica Clothing maker Kontoor Brands has appointed Erinn Murphy as vice president, global head of finance and operations for Helly Hansen and corporate investor relations. Moving to Oslo, Norway as part of the new role, Murphy will take on responsibilities for the Scandinavian outdoor brand as well as for investor relations across the group. She joins Kontoor after serving as senior vice president, investor relations and strategy for footwear brand Crocs. Prior to that, she has nearly 20 years of experience in the capital markets, most recently as managing…
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‘We see a change in how IROs are delivering real value to the C-suite’: Four key takeaways from the IR Impact Forum – Canada 2026
The forum saw investors, senior IR leaders and C-suite executives explore new opportunities for the IR role to evolve The Canadian capital markets have undergone a significant degree of change in the past 12 months. As IROs gathered for the IR Impact Forum – Canada 2026, held at the Lumi Experience on April 2, many factors loomed large for the profession: volatile markets, the expanding influence of AI on investment decisions and the advent of 24-hour trading and tokenized securities all promised to change the day-to-day work of IROs. For the 100-or-so IROs in attendance, the event provided an opportunity for professionals to discuss…
