News
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Executive pay: Say-on-pay support stays steady and other lessons from the 2025 proxy season
With the 2025 North American proxy season now officially closed, emerging trends in executive compensation are offering valuable insights and shaping important considerations for boards going forward. Here, we explore some of these issues and ways boards and management teams can start to incorporate these into planning for next year’s shareholder meeting.
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The long view: how to unlock strategic value with scenario planning
Next time you meet with a top-tier investor, how much would it improve your interaction if you could confidently present a long-term view of how supply chain disruptions, interest rate shifts or geopolitical tensions could shape your company’s future? Picture equipping your analysts with data-driven insights that help your board navigate uncertainty with clarity and control. This is the power of modern scenario planning: a dynamic framework that enables IR teams to model multiple strategic themes across five, 10 or even 15-year horizons – and pivot quickly when the landscape changes.
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From intuition to impact: How ROI thinking can transform investor relations
Across boardrooms, investment decisions are increasingly driven by rigorous financial analysis and measurable outcomes. While marketing debates attribution models and sales scrutinizes conversion funnels, the IR function, though central to connecting companies and capital markets, often relies on intuition and anecdotal evidence when justifying budgets and strategic initiatives. IR now has the opportunity to adopt the ROI mindset that drives decision-making across the enterprise.
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The summer’s over, it’s back to school time – even for IROs
Welcome back, everybody, to the world of work! Yes, it’s that time of year – for our US readers, Labor Day is over and, for our European friends, the summer holidays are officially done. That can only mean one thing: the pitter-patter of tiny feet as they scamper energetically back to educational establishments heralding the ‘back to school’ season. It’s a good time of year to reflect on your own professional development – as well as making sure your workwear is up to scratch.
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People moves: NIRI New York’s Laura Kiernan takes up in-house role at Clear Channel Outdoor
Laura Kiernan, the former president of NIRI’s New York chapter, has taken up a new role as an in-house IRO at San Antonio, Texas-based advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor.
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Innovation and capital raising: the engine for UK long-term sustainable growth
To develop an innovative idea and scale into a competitive business, entrepreneurs need capital; investors seek a vision, a way to market, credible execution, defined deliverables and risk-adjusted returns, all of which underpin long-term growth. When innovators succeed, they create growth and catalyse a broader market expansion, as seen in the US in recent years.
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Yes, Taylor Swift’s engagement is making ripples in the stock market – here’s what it means for you
In a decade already defined by wide-ranging macroeconomic shocks, IR teams may be forgiven for ignoring the news that pop princess Taylor Swift has announced her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. After all, this sort of thing usually doesn’t have much more impact than the celebrity sections of news sites and the social media ecosystem. However, this is Taylor Swift we’re talking about: arch-capitalist, savvy marketeer and industry-defining brand, whose net worth is estimated to be $1.6 bn (that’s enough to make her a small-cap company, in market terms). So naturally, when she makes such a…
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People moves: Centuri Holdings recruits former Equitrans Midstream IRO Nate Tetlow
US utility infrastructure services company Centuri Holdings has appointed Nate Tetlow as its new vice president of investor relations. Tetlow will take responsibility for the NYSE-listed firm’s IR program, ‘further strengthening relationships with analysts and institutional investors as the company’s primary liaison to the investment community,’ according to a press release announcing the move.
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People moves: Manuel Bösing makes IR comeback at Puma as Hippo brings in new head of IR
Manuel Bösing has returned to the IR team at Puma after several years working for fellow German companies tonies and Henkel. Formerly a portfolio manager for HSBC Global Asset Management in Germany, Bösing first worked in Puma’s IR team between November 2018 and December 2020.
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How AI and technology are modernizing the earnings call
For a long time, the quarterly earnings call has been a highly orchestrated affair. Production companies have been brought in to handle webcasts, teleconferencing and Q&A sessions, resulting in a presentation that serves its purpose, but that is expensive, time-consuming and inflexible.
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What can IR teams do when Donald Trump makes demands of your CEO?
Not every company has had to field a complaint in a public forum from one of the leaders of the free world. That is until Donald Trump started his second term.
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‘A chatbot can’t capture the CEO’s voice’: The real role of AI in earnings prep
The technology can streamline the earnings process, experts agreed on a recent IR Impact briefing How can AI best be employed in your earnings preparation? According to leading IR experts, it’s best not to make a facsimile of your CEO, but the technology can certainly help save time and leave you to concentrate on more […]
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The art of engagement: how to build lasting shareholder relationships
Political pressure and regulatory change pose a challenge to IR and governance teams Shareholder engagement remains a top priority for companies navigating today’s complex capital markets. Proactively engaging key shareholders allows companies to communicate their long-term strategies, explain operational decisions and develop and strengthen relationships with this key stakeholder group. This need for engagement has […]
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As Glencore retains its London listing, is this the end of the LSE exodus?
Despite what recent headlines might have suggested, not every London-listed firm wants to jump across the pond. That’s at least the message that has been sent after mining giant Glencore announced that it would not shift its listing from London to New York, a move that has often been called for by its shareholders.
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Looking to deliver a capital market day that impresses? Read our new playbook top tips
Analysts, investors and IR professionals share their thoughts on what makes a compelling investor day in this new IR Impact Playbook, with Lumi Global
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How the SEC’s ‘pendulum swing’ has realigned rules with market realities this proxy season
DE&I, ESG proposals trends and regulatory changes take center stage at Governance Intelligence briefing How is the proxy season evolving? During a recent Governance Intelligence briefing on Lessons from the 2025 Proxy Season – held in partnership with BetaNXT – Amanda Thrash, senior counsel and assistant corporate secretary at The Williams Companies, said that DE&I issues were still of […]
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Inside the room at the IR Impact Think Tank – Europe 2025: Rethinking investor day strategy in uncertain times
This June, I had the privilege of joining a panel at the IR Impact Think Tank – Europe 2025 to discuss how companies can evolve their investor day strategy in the face of growing market uncertainty. The conversation brought together leaders from YouGov, Bank of America and Lumi Global, with a shared focus on transparency, engagement and navigating disruption with confidence.
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Corporate art: The annual report as an object of design
Annual reports serve a legal purpose – to report on a company’s accounts and operations. But it has also become a graphic object that describes the company’s narrative in both words and design. The report is a central part of ‘telling the company story’, its business and sometimes the investment case, while also satisfying the needs of governance hawks. Using Sthlm Kom, we take a closer look at what graphic and design trends we can see in this ‘dry corporate document’ over the last 20 years.
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From IR to finance chief: Sinclair Names Narinder Sahai as CFO
Media firm Sinclair – which owns, operates or provides services to 185 television stations in 85 markets – has announced former IR professional Narinder Sahai as its new executive vice president and CFO. Sahai joins from Arcis, a leading leisure and hospitality operator, where he led financial planning, accounting, tax, treasury and debt investor relations as the company’s CFO. He was also previously CFO at powersports platform RumbleOn, a role that saw him work on transformative acquisitions. Before working at RumbleOn, Sahai was at Amazon Web Services, where he serves as head of worldwide go-to-market finance for compute and AI/machine…
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Activist nominees, ESG Trojan horses and tangible investor days: five things we learned at the IR Impact Think Tank – Europe 2025
Europe’s top IR leaders gathered in London to debate, discuss and learn in a series of panels, sessions and roundtables ahead of the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2025 What did more than 170 IR professionals head to London to talk about at the IR Impact Think Tank – Europe 2025? Everything from volatility and uncertainty (of course) to what makes an award-winning IR team and how to untangle yourself from the spilled alphabet soup of ESG and making the most of AI for IR. Panels were mixed with live polls, roundtable discussions, collaborative sessions and networking. We’ve picked five…
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‘Prevention is better than remedy’: majority of investors say governance gaps attract activists, research shows
The majority of institutional investors credit poor governance practices as the biggest driver of shareholder activism, a new study from shareholder advisory firm SquareWell Partners has found. Some 84 percent of investors polled, who hail from North America, Europe (including the UK) and Asia, said that poor governance was the main driver of activist investor attention. The findings of SquareWell’s report, titled The Long and the Short of It: Institutional Investors’ Views on Activism, center around three key themes, views on activism, evaluation criteria and engagement dynamics. This finding means that the quality of a company’s governance framework is paramount and…
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‘She significantly shaped IR in Germany’: in memory of Magdalena Moll
Magdalena Moll, or Maggie as many called her, recently passed away. She remains at the top of the IR Impact Awards league tables, having dominated the most prestigious positions in the Europe Awards year after year as the lead for German chemicals giant BASF. Some years there were humorous groans as she stepped up to claim yet another trophy. Once, when this writer asked for her views (yet again), she said quite seriously that she had nothing left to say, having been tapped for her thoughts on IR best practice too many times. Laurie Havelock, IR Impact editor, recalls Moll…
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All wrapped up: how Deutsche EuroShop sparked conversation with AI action figures
What did it take to turn Patrick Kiss, IR Impact Award-winning investor relations lead at Deutsche EuroShop, into a fully boxed action figure? Well, it needs a spark of creativity, a ChatGPT Pro account plus a lot of patience. ‘To give you an idea of the work involved, the final optimized prompt for my own action figure had 304 words in 66 lines with more than 2,200 characters,’ says Kiss. This is something of a side step from the usual conversations around AI for IR, where the focus is on saving time for IROs paddling against the current of increasing…
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Three trophies apiece for eDreams ODIGEO, Iberdrola and Infineon Technology at the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2025
German semiconductor firm Infineon Technologies won three trophies at the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2025, with two Spanish firms – Iberdrola and eDreams ODIGEO – also matching the tally.
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People moves: Standard Lithium charges up IR with new hire
US lithium producer Standard Lithium has announced two new names to its executive team, including a new investor relations lead. David Rosen joins the Arkansas and Texas-focused firm as its new vice president of strategy and investor relations, with the company also naming Tim Sobel as vice president of health, safety, social and environment (HSSE). Rosen joins Standard Lithium from a director of integration role at Rio Tinto, a position that saw him play a ‘key role in the post-acquisition integration of Arcadium Lithium’ into the mining company, according to a press statement. In that capacity, Rosen led ‘cross-functional initiatives…
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How IR teams can master analyst consensus
Analyst consensus – the aggregated estimates from analysts on a company’s upcoming results – is a critical part of the financial communication landscape and an essential tool for IR teams. Yet for many investor relations professionals, working with analyst consensus is time-consuming, difficult to analyze and too often based on incomplete data.
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Geopolitical volatility has made the IRO presence more important than ever
IROs are at the frontline for communication and engagement with shareholders. The role is as complex as it is satisfying while navigating the constant turbulence. At any given time, new regulatory requirements, shareholder tendencies or political factors demand a response.
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People moves: Autodoc names new IR lead as $2.8 bn IPO looms
Stefanie Steiner has taken up the IR reins at Autodoc as it prepares an IPO expected to value it at $2.8 bn. Writing on LinkedIn this week, she says: ‘I am excited to share that I will embark with #AUTODOC on the next stage of my journey. About a week ago, I joined the new team and had a very warm welcome. In such a technology-driven company I have to familiarize myself not only with business model, strategy, financials and the large market that has enormous potential in the years to come, but also with many new programs and tools.…
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Investor relations in Europe: uniting a fractured landscape
Across Europe, the landscape of IR societies is diverse and highly decentralized, with most countries having their own independent associations. While these national IR societies effectively support local professionals, there is no singular pan-European body that unifies these efforts. In most European markets, you can find well-established societies like Germany’s DIRK or France’s CLIFF.
