
IR Magazine Awards ‒ Europe
Celebrating IR excellence
De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London

About the event

WHEN

WHERE
De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London
OUR UNIQUE FORMAT
The IR Magazine Awards – Europe 2024 took place on Thursday, June 20 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms. This was a very special event honouring excellence in the investor relations profession across Europe and we were excited to welcome everyone for an evening of fine food and lots of celebrating!
Since the annual event first launched in 1990, tens of thousands of analysts and investors have voted in the surveys behind the awards. The result: vital benchmarking information on which companies do the best IR. In recent years, the awards program has expanded to recognize more aspects of an IRO’s role as we add new categories to the list and give IR teams the opportunity to nominate themselves.
By popular demand, we presented two types of award categories – researched and nominated – both celebrating the success of those individuals and companies that are leading the way in IR across Europe.
For our researched categories, companies do not submit nominations. Instead, hundreds of analysts and investors cast their votes and give their opinions on which companies provide the best IR service. In our nominated categories, companies submit written entries to articulate their success and achievements from the past year, giving any publicly listed company the opportunity to be considered for an award.
Awards by nomination
For our awards-by-nomination categories, individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries, free of charge, to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of investment professionals and IR Magazine editorial team members.
Winners announced!
View the full list of 2024 nominees and winners by clicking here.
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 4989.
Categories
Best annual report (large cap)
Are shareholders and analysts raving about the quality of your annual print or online report? Give us your vision of good reporting practice. Judges will be looking for a well-articulated equity story, ease of flow or navigation, state-of-the-art design and consistency/complementary between different reports. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below €300 mn / Small cap = between €300 mn and €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best annual report (mid-cap)
Are shareholders and analysts raving about the quality of your annual print or online report? Give us your vision of good reporting practice. Judges will be looking for a well-articulated equity story, ease of flow or navigation, state-of-the-art design and consistency/complementary between different reports. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below €300 mn / Small cap = between €300 mn and €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best annual report (small cap)
Are shareholders and analysts raving about the quality of your annual print or online report? Give us your vision of good reporting practice. Judges will be looking for a well-articulated equity story, ease of flow or navigation, state-of-the-art design and consistency/complementary between different reports. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below €300 mn / Small cap = between €300 mn and €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best annual report (micro-cap)
Are shareholders and analysts raving about the quality of your annual print or online report? Give us your vision of good reporting practice. Judges will be looking for a well-articulated equity story, ease of flow or navigation, state-of-the-art design and consistency/complementary between different reports. Market cap breakdown: Micro cap = below €300 mn / Small cap = between €300 mn and €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best ESG reporting (large cap)
Companies face growing demands to inform investors about the risk and opportunities – they face from a range of ESG issues. Describe how your company was able to meet the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting?
Best ESG reporting (mid-cap)
Companies face growing demands to inform investors about the risk and opportunities – they face from a range of ESG issues. Describe how your company was able to meet the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting?
Best ESG reporting (small cap)
Companies face growing demands to inform investors about the risk and opportunities – they face from a range of ESG issues. Describe how your company was able to meet the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting?
Best innovation in shareholder communications
Judges are looking for IR teams who have had to think out of the box in the past 12-18 months to update their shareholder communications campaign and keep up with the evolving needs and wants of the investor community. We’re looking for that tiny little spark of innovation that sets your company apart!
Best investor event (large cap)
Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award.
Best investor event (small to mid-cap)
Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award.
Best investor targeting strategy *NEW for 2024*
Have you gone above and beyond to reach new investors and tell your company story? Have you recently changed your targeting strategy to reach new prospects, adapt to adversarial circumstances, or get a better return from your investor engagements? We want to hear from you.
Our judges will look for innovative use of data and analysis to optimize your marketing schedule and provide better returns on your IR department and management’s time on the road and at conferences.
Best IR during a corporate transaction
How did your IR team go above and beyond to support a recent corporate transaction? Let us know the details. We’ll be looking at the IR team’s involvement in crafting/releasing the messaging for the financial markets and how it organized outreach and dialogue to gain approval from key shareholders.
Best IR website (large cap)
The IR website is the first point of contact for an IRO’s audience. We want to hear from companies that have developed a best-in-class website displaying top-notch customer experience, engaging content that meets analysts’ and investors’ needs, and multiplatform access. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best IR website (small to mid-cap)
The IR website is the first point of contact for an IRO’s audience. We want to hear from companies that have developed a best-in-class website displaying top-notch customer experience, engaging content that meets analysts’ and investors’ needs, and multiplatform access. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best retail IR strategy
IR teams have recently started to pay attention to and service the traditional blind spot in their shareholder base – the retail investor block. In this category, we’re looking for IR campaigns that include a retail shareholder communication strategy, how it differed from the usual program and the results of these efforts.
Best use of social media and video
Have your IR teams increased visibility and engagement digitally through the use of different communication channels?
Describe the innovative ways you have incorporated video, audio, infographics or webcasts into your IR program. Judges will be looking for evidence of the quality of output, use of creativity and heightened investor and analyst engagement via these channels.
Best use of technology including AI *NEW for 2024*
Have you harnessed cutting-edge technology like AI to enhance your IR efforts?
In this new category, we want to hear about how you have used tools to overcome IR challenges, create efficiencies, enhance intelligence or improve the quality of your IR activities. Judges want to hear about the tools you have used in your IR efforts, how you used them and the measures implemented to ensure safe and responsible use of technology.
Rising star
This award seeks to honor individuals who bring fresh thinking and a unique approach to the profession. This category is open to anyone who has been working in IR for less than 10 years and has less than 15 years of professional experience.
How the winners are chosen
The awards-by-nomination categories differ from our traditional researched awards, as individuals and companies are given the opportunity to submit written entries to be put forward to a panel of expert judges made up of investment professionals and IR Magazine editorial team members.
The judging process consists of three simple phases:
Phase one:
Once the entry deadline has passed, the IR Magazine editorial team reviews all submissions and produces the shortlist
Phase two:
The shortlisted entries are shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts. The judges review each shortlisted entry and select their top two picks per category
The IR Magazine awards team receives the results and contacts all shortlisted companies to give them the good news. The shortlists are then published to the entire IR community a month before the event.
Phase three:
The judges come together to discuss, debate and select the final list of winners who will go on to win an award
The judges’ votes are not made public, but their comments may be published in articles or reports after the event. Judges are not required to make comments against every submission.
Meet the judges
We are delighted to announce our judging panel for the 2024 awards! Click on each photo below to find out more.
Awards by research
Our awards-by-research nominees are determined by the input of hundreds of analysts and portfolio managers, who give their opinions on which companies provide them with the best IR service in Europe. Every year we invite any publicly listed company to submit their list of buy and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers, so that they have the opportunity to vote via our survey.
Winners announced!
View the full list of 2024 nominees and winners by clicking here.
For any further queries about the research process, please contact [email protected].
Categories
Best overall investor relations (large cap)
This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best overall investor relations (mid-cap)
This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best overall investor relations (small cap)
This category covers companies that have most impressed the investment community with their overall IR program. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best investor relations officer (large cap)
This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best investor relations officer (mid-cap)
This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
Best investor relations officer (small cap)
This category is for individual IROs whose knowledge of their company and sector and whose ability to build relationships with members of the investment community and to be transparent, accessible and responsive, sets them apart. Market cap breakdown: Small cap = below €1 bn / Mid-cap = between €1 bn – €7.5 bn / Large cap = €7.5 bn and over
How the winners are chosen
The first thing to explain is that our awards are different from most others: for our awards by research, companies do not submit nominations. The winners are identified by in-depth research and any publicly traded company is eligible to be considered. This survey is the only one of its kind to go directly to the investment community, via a combination of an electronic survey and one-to-one telephone interviews, canvassing the opinions of the people who matter to you most.
November – December 2023: Sample selection
IR Magazine has been building investment community databases for more than 30 years. As part of the updating process, listed companies are contacted every year for details of the professionals who currently cover their stock.
January – February 2024: Electronic survey
IR Magazine then conducts an electronic survey of buy-side and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers. The electronic survey typically receives 300 individual responses from the investment community. These responses then go to Mary Maude Research for initial analysis. The research firm determines what will constitute a representative sample, weighted for Europe’s industry sectors and geographical regions.
December 2023 – February 2024: Telephone survey
The telephone survey then gets under way. The researchers conduct in-depth interviews with 300 portfolio managers and analysts across Europe. Many of them participate in the study year after year, but there is always a healthy proportion of new respondents each year as well. As the research progresses, the sample is adjusted to ensure appropriate weightings are maintained.
Results analysis
Once the survey stage of the research is completed, the final analysis is undertaken. The companies with the highest scores make the shortlists for the awards categories, and the points are further analyzed to identify the best exponents of IR by sector. The independence of our research is crucial to the integrity of the whole awards program, so IR Magazine sees the results only once the research is complete. This ensures a transparent, independent set of results that IROs can trust as a valuable bench-marking tool.
April 2024: Shortlist compiled
IR Magazine receives the results and contacts the shortlisted companies to give them the good news. The shortlist is then published to the entire IR community the month before the event.
June 20, 2024: Winners announced
And finally… the winners are announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday, June 20, 2024!
June 2024: Report published
Shortly after the awards, the IR Rankings 2024 report is published and made available to IR Magazine subscribers.
For more information around the investor survey, please contact [email protected].
Hall of Fame

Past winners of our coveted IR Awards are invited to be inducted into the IR Impact Hall of Fame. This is an exclusive alum organization reserved only for individual winners of our awards including the categories – Best IR Professional across all cap sizes.
We wanted to provide a platform that offers ongoing recognition for this monumental achievement and an opportunity for our award winners to help shape the future of excellence in the IR community.
IR Rankings – Europe Top 100

The IR Rankings – Europe Top 100 report is the ultimate benchmarking resource for any IRO looking to improve their IR program. It provides detailed analysis and statistics on the working practices of the awards-by-research winners, selected through an independent survey of investors and analysts.
The report offers:
- Detailed comments from investors and analysts: Get essential insights into what the buy-side explicitly looks for in an IR program
- Winners and rankings by sector and country: Access never-before-seen rankings to benchmark your performance against peers in your specific industry and geographic region
- Points Breakdown: Gain valuable insights into an IR team’s strengths and weaknesses, rated by investors and analysts across various aspects of IR functions, to identify areas for improvement within your IR program
This report will be released on June 21, 2024, after the awards ceremony. Please note, an IR Magazine subscription is required to access the report.
Who attends our events
Attendees at this event are leading IR practitioners from across Europe. Each participant is someone with an established track record and a strategic IR role within his or her company.
Below is a sample of the attendees:
JOB TITLE | COMPANY |
---|---|
Business development director | Volution Group |
CFO | Volex |
CFO | International Personal Finance |
Deputy head of IR | Capita |
Director, head of IR, EMEA and Asia | Burford Capital |
Director, IR | Anora Group |
Director, IR | AstraZeneca |
Director, IR | flatexDEGIRO |
Director, IR | Rolls-Royce |
Director, IR | Schneider Electric |
Director, IR | YouGov |
Director, IR and communications | Duni Group |
Finance risk and assurance director | Unite Group |
Head of investor relations | Severn Trent |
Head of IR | Britvic |
Head of IR | Carlsberg |
Head of IR | Frequentis |
Head of IR | Group BCPE |
Head of IR | Imperial Brands |
Head of IR | Lloyds Banking Group |
JOB TITLE | COMPANY |
---|---|
Head of IR | Marshall Group |
Head of IR | Mister Spex |
Head of IR | OMV |
Head of IR | Siemens Healthineers |
Head of IR | Smiths Group |
Head, corporate development and IR | Kenmare Resources |
Head, sustainability | Barratt Developments |
Interim VP, IR | Burberry |
IR | BP |
IR | Experian |
IR analyst | Pirelli & C |
IR manager | International Airlines Group |
IR senior associate | Criteo |
Manager, IR | BAT |
Manager, IR | Lufthansa Group |
Manager, stakeholder communication and corporate access | Swedish Orphan Biovitrum |
Senior IR manager | DHL Group |
SVP, head of IR | GSK |
VP, IR | Sage |
VP, IR | Valmet |
What our attendees say
Thinking of becoming an event partner?
Our events provide a unique opportunity to get in front of some of the most influential people in the IR community. As a partner, you will gain an extensive amount of exposure through a wide range of print and digital marketing materials, both pre and post event, as well as on the day itself. Additionally, you can use the event to align yourself with IR excellence and network with key decision makers from across the region – the ones pushing the profession forward through innovation.

Master of Ceremonies

We are delighted to announce that Hal Cruttenden will be the master of ceremonies at this year’s awards presentation.
Hal Cruttenden is one of the top touring stand-up comedians working in the UK and Ireland and an accomplished writer, presenter, and actor. On TNT Sport he hosted The Rugby’s On with Ugo Monye. He has also made several appearances on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You, The Royal Variety Performance, Would I Lie To You, The One Show, The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice and The Apprentice: You’re Fired.
He’s toured extensively in the UK and Ireland over the last ten years, and has taken shows to the Montreal, Melbourne, and New Zealand comedy festivals. Hal has recorded three stand up specials for Next Up – Tough Luvvie, Straight Outta Cruttenden and Chubster.
Hal wrote and starred in his sitcom, Hal on Radio 4. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and has appeared in Shackleton, Eastenders, Touching Evil, and Orwell A Celebration.
Key Insights

‘Be true to yourself’: Career advice from lifetime achievement winner
Sally Curley, founder and CEO of Curley Global IR, was in reflective mood when IR Magazine caught up with her on the red carpet at the US awards earlier this year. Curley, who has more than 30 years of experience in investor relations, was just minutes away from being presented with the lifetime achievement award. […]

‘As communities develop higher expectations, boards have to educate themselves’: ASX Corporate Governance Council
Back in 2002 when the Australian Stock Exchange established its Corporate Governance Council, requiring all publicly listed companies to report on their governance practices in the annual report, Elizabeth Johnstone, council chair, says it was quite groundbreaking. Almost 20 years later and the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Principles and Recommendations, a guidance framework that works […]

‘Be your company’s best analyst’: quick-fire Q&A with the editorial board’s Mary Winn Pilkington
IR Magazine is proud to introduce its new editorial board. It is made up of 12 seasoned investor relations professionals from across the world, each working at companies in different sectors and of varying cap sizes, but with one thing in common: a passion for pursuing excellence in the profession. Over the coming weeks, we […]

IR triumphs of 2023: What it takes to win an IR Magazine Award – The Ticker 145
Some of the best moments of 2023 from IR Magazine Awards ceremonies across the globe, and a look at ESG priorities in 2024

How to boost your IR salary and measure your IR success: The Ticker 146
In the latest episode of The Ticker podcast, we talk everything careers

The eight trends that will define investor relations in 2024
Leading IROs pick themes that will define their profession over the next 12 months
Register your interest for 2025
Gallery 2024
Highlights
View the highlights from the 2024 awards ceremony
Contact us
Upcoming events
-
Webinar – How to engage the next generation of investors
Leading IR experts will explore how to effectively engage younger investors through virtual and in-person events
-
-