August 05, 2025

Is IR the Hardest Communications Job in Business? with John Cummings, Managing Director, CFO, and COO at Smith Point Capital

52 minutes

Most PR professionals think investor relations is just about spreadsheets and earnings calls—but John Cummings, Managing Director, CFO, and COO at Smith Point Capital, proves that IR is actually advanced brand storytelling attached to VERY big dollar signs. In this episode of Smart in Public, John unpacks how investor relations professionals master the art of narrative control when (sometimes!!) billions of dollars hang in the balance.

From his unconventional path from political science to the C-suite, John reveals why the best IR professionals think like strategic communicators, and breaks down how to craft company narratives that resonate with skeptical audiences, manage crisis communications when stock prices are plummeting, and why understanding your audience's motivations is everything—whether you're talking to institutional investors or employees who just got equity.

Note: All three speakers were in different countries when we recorded this episode, so thank you in advance for being nice to us about the audio!!

Chapters

02:54 - Career Journey: From Political Science to CFO
05:57 - Understanding Investor Relations: A Deep Dive
08:58 - The Role of Communication in Investor Relations
11:41 - Building Trust: The Foundation of Effective Comms
14:43 - Investor Perspectives: Crafting the Right Narrative
17:32 - Valuation Risks: The Long Game in Business
20:30 - Crisis Management: Navigating Market Reactions
23:40 - Employee Engagement: The New Paradigm of Ownership
26:30 - Balancing Integrity and Messaging in Comms
31:27 - Integrity in Communication
32:59 - Timing for Investor Relations
36:44 - Crafting the Investor Relations Narrative
39:45 - Navigating Mergers and Acquisitions
42:41 - Pathways into Investor Relations
47:37 - Key Mottos in Investor Relations

About John:

John Cummings is the Managing Director CFO, COO with Smith Point Capital Management.

Prior to joining Smith Point, John was Senior Vice President of Finance, Corporate Development, and Investor Relations for Celonis SE.

Before Celonis, John was Senior Vice President of Finance for Salesforce, where he was head of Investor Relations and was recognized by Institutional Investor Magazine as the number-one ranked IR professional for the software industry for five consecutive years. Later he was responsible for Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis, overseeing the company’s $17 billion annual budget

John began his career with Government Investment Management Corporation, a long-short hedge fund where he served as an equity analyst. In connection with his work there, John served as a representative to the Asia Pacific Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank on economic and security policy, and served as an adviser to Malaysia’s former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim.

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