News and analysis
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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.
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‘Earnings are our Super Bowl halftime show’: Tales from 100 quarterly updates with Mary Winn Pilkington
Earlier this year, Tractor Supply Company (TSC)’s Mary Winn Pilkington celebrated her 100th earnings call – with balloons, cake and the typical quarterly stress to match. ‘In IR you touch on everything – that’s probably part of the reason I have stayed in investor relations for 25 years,’ she says. ‘Every day is different and you get to work with the smartest people inside the company. ‘You’re working with people that are on the board or the management team, you’re working with high potential individuals that have been given strategic projects to work on,’ she adds. ‘Then, outside of the…
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People moves: William Houston steps down from BAT as Jordyn Eskijian joins Metronet
William Houston, formerly head of investor sustainability at British American Tobacco (BAT), has stepped down from his role after five years at the company.
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‘People aren’t robots’: How can companies support mothers in their IR teams?
How do you keep a mother in investor relations? How do you support her in a way that keeps diversity of knowledge and experience climbing the corporate ladder? This is a very difficult act to balance, with our recent article on the topic hearing from high-functioning, street facing women who hold senior positions while also raising children. And as Debbie Nathan of Debbie Nathan Associates explained, the issue of childcare is not one that men ever raise in the recruitment process: this is predominantly a female issue. So what should companies be doing to make sure that women feel they…
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Forecasting discipline: The cornerstone of IPO readiness for IR teams
An IPO isn’t the finish line; it’s the start of a new playbook where credibility and execution become critical drivers of long-term value. Among the many pillars of IPO readiness is a sound and disciplined forecasting methodology. Companies that thrive after going public are the ones that start practicing disciplined forecasting early and consistently hit the targets they set, long before the S-1 is even filed.
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IR time management: the holy grail for today’s investor relations professionals
It’s no secret that the IR workload has been expanding – even as resources fail to match pace. At the same time, market uncertainty has made the day-to-day less predictable. The result is that the modern IRO is busier than ever. This was something Erik Carlson, chief operating officer at Notified pointed to early in a recent webinar titled: Strategic time management for today’s IRO. ’If look at the challenges in the market, the rise in distrust of the media, the proliferation of content – it’s becoming harder and harder to cut through the noise, to synthesize information and do…
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People moves: eToro promotes PR manager Ilaria Pattareeya Luca to IR role after IPO
Trading platform eToro has promoted its former global PR and communications manager Ilaria Pattareeya Luca to its IR team following its recent IPO.
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The sustainability Taliban, the eco right and why we need a new language for ESG: down the rabbit hole with Robert Eccles
When Robert Eccles wrote a piece called Grift capitalism: The GOP’s brilliant strategy for ripping off ordinary Americans, it received the usual dose of online hate mail. It also led to a challenge: if you can find a conservative that thinks sustainability is good for capital markets, will you stop ‘writing nasty stuff’ about Republicans? That led him to the position he speaks from today: a liberal ex-hippy who has found common ground with the so-called ‘eco right’. Eccles, a well-known author and lecturer who has been writing about non-financial metrics since the early 1970s, had already become frustrated with…
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Navigating market volatility: A data-centric approach
This year, market volatility has surged dramatically, fueled by dynamic US trade policies and ensuing responses from governments around the globe. The market landscape is shifting almost daily, leaving companies scrambling to provide clear forecasts amid a sea of uncertainty. Meanwhile sell-side analysts, traditionally reliant on stable, predictable data, now find themselves venturing into new data sources to recalibrate their projections on the fly.
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Mothers of IR: From babies at conferences to the metaphorical ‘sticky floors’ beneath the glass ceiling
If you were at an investor event in May 2022 alongside alternative defense firm Axon, you might have spotted a rather unusual attendee: the softest of blonde hair, pacifier in place and no socks on their feet. This was Andrea James’ third child getting a fast-track induction to IR so that James could continue breastfeeding as she worked a high-profile, Street-facing job. Today, James is finance lead at Oncocyte. But she isn’t just a CFO, nor just an IR Impact Award-winning former head of IR either. On her CV she proudly lists the position of ‘co-founder at Family Inc’. Check…
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IR Playbook: Maximizing your return on time now available
IR Impact research shows that IROs are increasingly taking on tasks outside of the traditional investor relations role, with resources failing to match pace. We look at where they are spending most time and which tasks they find the most value in to uncover where efficiencies can be found.
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Spanish companies Iberdrola and Banco Santander lead the pack ahead of the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2025
Two listed Spanish companies – electricity utility Iberdrola and financial group Banco Santander – are top of the most shortlists ahead of the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2025. Iberdrola features across eight short lists, including the awards for best overall investor relations (large cap) and best investor relations officer (large cap) for Isabel Sanchez Herrero, the firm’s head of IR.
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Is your CEO getting too political? It might be driving lower stock returns
I’m sure everyone reading this has had some experience of a senior management figure saying something they shouldn’t have, to the wrong person or at the wrong time. I’m also sure that everyone worries that such off-color remarks could negatively impact their company’s share price.
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‘Best-in-class IR is about creating a clear vision’: Roy Wefuan at the IR Impact Awards – Canada 2025
What are the hallmarks of a best-in-class IRO? For Roy Wefuan, head of client success at TMX Group, it comes down to prioritizing clear, consistent and proactive communication with your various stakeholder audiences.
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People moves: Jutta Mikkola takes over at Stora Enso and Greer Aviv joins Cognex
US machine vision system maker Cognex has brought in Greer Aviv as its new head of investor relations. In a move effective from June 2, 2025, Aviv will join the Nasdaq-listed firm to serve as the ‘primary liaison between Cognex and the investment community,’ a press release states.
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The CFO: ‘My best advice comes from a former marine – embrace the suck,’ says Andrea James of Oncocyte
Earlier this year, Andrea James – the IR Impact Award-winning former investor relations lead at Axon – talked to us about taking a sabbatical from investor relations as she sought a new role. Having taken time to herself, then taken time think about what her next move might look like, she manifested a CFO position at a small cap. That small cap is Nasdaq-listed precision diagnostics firm Oncocyte. Here James talks to IR Impact about the skills you need to make the move from IR to CFO, what she looks for from her advisers and why stock-picking and finance appealed…
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What IR teams can learn about responding to a cyber attack from M&S
Our UK readers – and shoppers – will no doubt have been keeping up with the news that high-street stalwart Marks & Spencer has been targeted by a widespread cyber attack. It comes in the same week that fellow retailer Co-op, as well as London’s luxury department store Harrod’s, had been forced to shut down IT systems and restrict internet access to thwart similar attacks.
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People moves: Angela Catlin steps back from The Co-operative Bank as B&M’s head of IR David McCarthy retires
Angela Catlin, head of investor relations, corporate affairs and brand at The Co-operative Bank, has announced she is stepping back after two years at the company. Catlin, who has spoken at several IR Impact events about ESG and other topics in recent years, joined The Co-operative Bank in 2023 as its head of investor relations, adding corporate affairs and brand duties to her job in 2024.
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EDGAR Next: what public companies need to do before September 15
New SEC FILING RULES REPRESENT A BIG SHIFT EDGAR Next represents the most significant shift in SEC filing access in over two decades. Beginning September 15, 2025, public companies must transition to a more secure, role-based access system that replaces shared credentials with individual login.gov accounts. Failure to comply may result in loss of filing […]
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The new standard in financial research: A purpose-built AI chat for finance and IR professionals
We’ve all been there: scrolling through PDFs, trying to find that one data point; re-listening to earnings call Q&As; sifting through 50-page slide decks packed with bullet points, just to find a single sentence that might confirm or kill your thesis. It’s time-consuming, it’s manual and, in a high-stakes environment where every second and decision counts, it’s frankly no longer good enough.
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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.
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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