News and analysis
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The sell side talks IR – part three: when and how analysts want to be engaged
There is no denying the ways in which Covid-19 and the rapid shift to virtual changed investor relations – most notably engagement. Driving home just how dramatic that change has been, one of our anonymous analyst interviewees – anonymous in order to encourage openness – says this: ‘Before 2020, I think I’d done probably two video calls in 20 years. This call is the third one of the day. So that’s changed dramatically.’ In the third part of our series on the sell-side-IR-relationship, we look at how IR teams interact with their analysts, how often analysts want to hear from…
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Navigating volatile stock price movements: a playbook for public company executives and boards
Corporate executives often wake up to unsettling stock price swings with no clear catalyst, news, filings or obvious events. In today’s markets, volatile price movements frequently extend well beyond the fundamentals. Algorithmic trading, macro-overlay strategies and ETF flows often drive disconnects, making market reactions appear irrational.
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‘I felt a mix of respect and fear’ going into IR, says Infineon’s multiple award-winning IR lead
German semiconductor firm Infineon Technologies has had a busy year. To start with, as revealed in the latest instalment of The CFO column, Dr Sven Schneider, the firm’s finance chief, told IR Impact about the 30 conferences and 20 roadshows the company has held this year. It has also been a year of huge success for the IR team, which took home some of the most prestigious IR Impact trophies at the Europe Awards in June, winning the best overall investor relations (large cap) category as well as the gong for best in sector, technology. The same night also saw…
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Finding out what the sell side really thinks about IR
Would you like to know exactly what your analysts are thinking? No, I’m not here to tell you about some new sell-side telepathy service – though I’m sure many of our readers would jump at the option and maybe that’s one for Elon Musk’s Neuralink to figure out – but rather some new research that exposes just how analysts think about IR.
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NIRI’s Megan Larson joins private energy firm and Meira taps S&P for new CEO
After a ‘relaxing yet productive summer’ – in which she gained her US Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Master License, among other things – Megan Larson has joined Efficient Markets, the unlisted holding company for EnergyNet and Indigo Energy Advisors.
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‘Sometimes I have to play some Witcher or Cyberpunk during my work day’: CD Projekt’s Karolina Gnas on heading IR at a video game developer
The Polish company appeared on two IR Impact Award shortlists at this year’s Europe awards Many IR professionals may have found themselves working at companies they have a deep personal interest in. For Karolina Gnas, head of IR at the Polish video game developer CD Projekt, this means that she gets to enjoy the studio’s greatest hits – which include mega-hits The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 – with her investment community, as well as brush up on her adventuring skills during office hours. Working for a company with such popular brands – The Witcher 3 has sold more than…
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Why listed companies should engage with hedge funds
I have been working as an IR professional for almost 15 years. To my continued surprise, I still meet peers who remain negative around hedge funds. In fact, they actively seek to minimize interaction. And if they do allow such meetings, they squeeze hedge fund managers into large group meetings, normally led by IR rather than management. To me, this approach is counterproductive. The role of the IR department is to safeguard a fair valuation of the share by communicating correctly to all relevant corners of the financial markets. I strongly believe that open doors and strong relationships improve liquidity…
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‘The word ‘Texas’ means friend, and all are welcome!’ Barrow Hanley on its long-term value focus
Patricia Barron and Mark Giambrone talk about Texas, when IR-only meetings work and how often the investment management firm likes to meet before it buys in As companies eye Texas – and Dallas in particular – as a roadshow destination, the Lone Star State has been pushing forward its business-friendly appeal with the new Texas Stock Exchange poised to begin trading next year, listings already in place on NYSE Texas and new legislation. Patricia Barron, executive director, chief operating officer and head of risk at Barrow Hanley, and Mark Giambrone, the investment management firm’s executive director, head of US equities…
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People moves: Mia Nordlander takes over at Sinch as Tiffany Willis departs Starbucks
Plus new IROs in place at Cantourage, Savills and Global Payments Tiffany Willis, the award-winning head of IR at US retail chain Starbucks, has stepped down from her role in order to prioritize time with her family. She most recently scooped the award for best investor event (large cap) at the IR Magazine Awards – US 2023, and has been nominated for several more awards during her tenure at the company. Writing about her decision on LinkedIn, Willis says: ‘This month marks my last with Starbucks, as I’ve chosen presence over position to prioritize my son’s senior year rather than…
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With CSRD up for review, the time has come to reclaim the concept of sustainability
It started more as a form of activism, then developed into a trend that everyone would jump on before turning into a monster whose tamers have completely resigned. With European regulations and a zealous auditing spirit, companies’ sustainability work has been driven to be about decimal points and regulatory compliance, instead of adding shareholder value or social and environmental benefits. As the EU Commission says ‘stop, change and do things right’, the time has come for communicators and IROs to reclaim the concept of sustainability. When we write the history of corporate communication up to and into the 2010s, the…
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The sell side talks IR – part two: those crucial coverage numbers
In a series of anonymous conversations – with identifies protected in order to get frank responses – IR Impact talked to sell-side analysts about their relationships with IR professionals. In part one, we looked at the value of research – from both the IR viewpoint and from the sell side, including advice from analysts on how they felt IR could improve data sharing, face time, responsiveness and more – all the elements that go into a good IR-sell-side relationship.
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The CFO: ‘We’ve done 30 conferences and 20 roadshows this year,’ says Infineon’s Dr Sven Schneider
Semiconductors and chips might be synonymous with Taiwan. But Germany’s Infineon Technologies is not only growing its own market share in key industries but is helping to drive forward the EU’s goals on chip manufacturing – captured in the European Chips Act, which aims to double the bloc’s share of global chip production to 20 percent by 2030. Infineon also happens to excel at investor relations, taking home some of the most prestigious awards at this year’s IR Impact Awards – Europe. The firm won the gong for best overall investor relations (large cap); best investor relations officer (large cap)…
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People moves: Chip Newcom takes the IR wheel at electric truck maker Rivian
Electric vehicle maker Rivian has announced the appointment of Chip Newcom, a multiple IR Impact Award-winner and former head of IR at Equinix, as its new investor relations lead.
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Where were the directors? Why investors want to know how boards act in a corporate scandal
When a corporate scandal breaks, the first question investors ask is Where were the directors? This phrase was coined by Peter Dey in 1994 when he led a report on how to improve corporate governance practices at Canadian listed companies. Corporate scandals have always existed and many stem from weak corporate governance, often caused by a lack of communication, insufficient internal controls or a very lax attitude towards potential problems. In 2024, the US administration criticized Boeing’s board for failing to adequately supervise the safety procedures of its aircraft, following several accidents involving its 737 Max model that resulted in…
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‘Nothing short of an investor relations telenovela’: How 2025 has treated IROs so far
If somebody could have plotted out the broad strokes of the past 12 months – ongoing international crises, political unrest, economic uncertainty to name but a few – I don’t think many of us would have believed what was in store. But, as it is, the capital markets have experienced quite the rough ride in 2025 so far. For IR professionals, that’s meant an even higher burden when it comes to keeping their investors, analysts and other stakeholders informed.
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‘If I wasn’t in IR, I’d love to teach students about finance’: Matthew Ross on leading Block’s IR team and working with Jack Dorsey
Payments companies are increasingly those which keep the world spinning. Just ask Block’s new head of IR, Matthew Ross, who joined the company in 2024 and took over running the IR team earlier this year. The NYSE-listed company – which operates point-of-sale system Square, digital wallet Cash App, buy now, pay later service Afterpay and music streaming business Tidal – has grown from strength to strength in recent years, leading to its ascension to the S&P 500 index in July 2025, replacing Hess Corporation.
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‘IR is fun in good times but more important in bad’: Inaugural winner of the Best IR Impact award on managing a crisis
This is a story that is perhaps best started at the end, after Irina Zhurba of Mister Spex had won the inaugural trophy for Best IR Impact at the IR Impact Awards – Europe 2025. She took that gong in recognition of everything that makes IR so hard to measure, from rebuilding trust with dissatisfied shareholders – even taking calls at 5.00 am before climbing Machu Pichu – to supporting C-suite through leadership transitions, to managing a difficult activist situation. When that activist announced via press release its intent to sell a 7.6 percent stake in the German eyewear company,…
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Despite any advantages, ditching quarterly reporting will ultimately place more burden on IR teams
After DE&I policies, sensible foreign trade policy and the SEC’s ability to enforce regulations, what’s the next thing in Donald Trump’s sights? Why, of course, it’s that scourge of the capital markets, quarterly reporting.
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People moves: Jeannie Ong joins Temasek and Tom Waldron moves to Springer Nature
Jeannie Ong, the multiple IR Impact Award winner and South East Asia Awards judging regular, has announced her new position at Temasek, which manages a Singaporean government fund with a portfolio worth S$434 bn ($339 bn). In her new role as operating partner, investor relations, Ong tells IR Impact that she ‘leads initiatives to build capabilities and drive alignment across Temasek’s portfolio companies in the area of investor relations.’ She adds: ‘Super excited to be doing what I love again to raise the bar for IR in Singapore!’ Ong brings more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications, media…
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The sell side talks IR – part one: the value of research
Sell-side analysts occupy a pivotal position in financial markets. Through their in-depth research and recommendations, they exert influence on stock valuations, market liquidity and overall market dynamics. Their buy, hold or sell ratings can cause stock prices to rise or fall, impacting investor decisions. Upgrades often lead to price surges, while downgrades may result in declines.
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How small and large IR teams can manage investor meetings differently
In a new report on IR meetings in the first half of 2025, Modular Finance analyzed over 11,000 investor meetings and 330,000 transactions from more than 250 IR teams across Europe.
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Ten ways IROs can benefit from trend following
By now you’ll know that institutional investors and their decision-making processes have evolved to become more data-driven and systematic, using strict mathematical rules for portfolio construction. Discretionary stock and bond picking is increasingly an investment style of past, being rapidly replaced by quants, big-data sets and algorithms that can better select stocks and bonds compared to humans.
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People moves: Nathalie Richert joins The Platform Group as Aaron Bertinetti swaps JP Morgan for Computershare
JP Morgan Chase’s IR Magazine award-winning head of IR Aaron Bertinetti has left the bank to head up Computershare’s newly-launched investor engagement business.
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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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The Texas takeover: Dallas rising the roadshow ranks as ‘Y’all Street’ grows its appeal
‘Texas is the new financial services capital of America,’ declared Governor Greg Abbott last week as he announced moves by yet another major bank into the state. Scotiabank is set to create a major regional office out of Dallas, in a move that will open up over 1,000 jobs and more than $60 mn in investment. It joins other financial services bigwigs from Goldman Sachs to Nasdaq and NYSE making moves to mark their Texas territory.
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Cutting red tape: Texas legislature passes pro-business reforms
Texas is positioning itself as a serious challenger to Delaware for corporate incorporations with two landmark corporate law reforms. Effective September 1, 2025, Senate Bills SB 29 and SB 1057 introduce sweeping changes aimed at enhancing legal predictability, reducing litigation risks, and curbing shareholder activism. These changes are set to make Texas a more attractive, management-friendly jurisdiction for companies.
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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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