Lisa Williams, UK retailer Debenhams’ IRO of eight years, has moved to the advisory side, joining Citi’s DR group as head of IR for EMEA clients.
Williams studied law at the University of London. Prior to joining Debenhams in 2007, she served as head of IR for FTSE 250 cleaning services firm Rentokil Initial. From 1999 to 2005, she was an IR manager for former British engineering group Cookson.
Lisa Williams, Citi
‘I am really excited to be joining Citi’s best-in-class IR advisory team and look forward to using my many years of in-house IR experience for the benefit of our clients,’ Williams tells IR Magazine.
Diane Faulks, another well-known figure in the profession, left Citi’s DR division last year to work as an independent consultant after four years as head of IR advisory for EMEA, having previously worked for the banking group from 1997 to 2006. She also served as a director at Cantos Communications, as an IRO for BAA and Signet Group and was the chairman of the UK’s IR Society from 2003 to 2005.
Global DR issues have reached their highest level since the financial crisis, with capital raising reportedly nearly quadrupling from $10.4 bn in 2013 to more than $38 bn last year, mainly led by Chinese transactions.
