Winning IR

IR is a busy and sometimes chaotic role at any public company. IR teams carry the weight of relationships that can impact a company's performance in the public markets, and managing, maintaining, and growing those relationships requires constant care. The role becomes even more critical when a company dominates the headlines.

In today’s episode, Mark Fasken sits down with Andrea Daley, Vice President of Investor Relations at Dentsply Sirona. In 2022, just one year into Andrea’s tenure in her first IR role, the company faced numerous executive transitions and challenging situations in the markets and the press. Andrea and Mark discuss her experience leading IR through that time, her best advice to IROs finding themselves in a similar situation, and how facing those challenges built a stronger and more resilient IR function. 

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

• Communicating executive departures
• Which partners and internal groups to leverage for support
• Working with an interim executive team and how to transition the new executive team into the company.
• Managing relationships with the investment community
• The power of the IR community during challenging times
• How tough times build stronger teams

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

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For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

One of the topics we often hear within the IR community is how to earn a seat at the strategic table. On this episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken and Adam Borgatti, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations at Aecon Group, talk about what it takes to expand your scope of responsibility as an IRO, and how to take your leadership to the next level. 

Adam has held multiple senior leadership positions in the finance industry. He is currently responsible for leading Aecon’s Investor Relations, Sustainability, Corporate Affairs, Corporate Communications and Marketing functions, as well as supporting the leadership team at Aecon with developing long-term business plans, evaluating strategic initiatives, and leading the assessment and execution of Aecon’s acquisition opportunities. Given his breadth of responsibilities, Adam knows a thing or two about deeply growing your skills to become a multi-disciplinary leader.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

• The natural areas to expand your scope of responsibility as an IRO
• Scaling a team while managing to escalate responsibilities
• Understanding team strengths and opportunities for improvement
• Using rotational programs to build diverse skillsets
• Why delegating the responsibilities that set you apart helps you to grow
• How to get a seat at the table

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

The earnings cycle can sometimes force a focus on communicating short-term results and strategies with the investment community. This can sometimes prevent issuers from sharing their companies' long-term vision and strategy effectively. So how can you ensure that your vision is understood? 

In this episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken and Moira Conlon, Founder, and CEO of Financial Profiles, talk about balancing short-term success and reporting with creating and communicating a long-term, value-driven company story. 

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

• Balancing short-term reporting and selling the long-term strategy of your company
• How to know if investors understand the long-term strategy
• What to do when the investment company doesn’t see the long-term vision
• The components of a long-term approach to investor communications
• Where to find examples of companies who are doing it well
• Communicating long-term vision in a volatile market

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

A foundational component to your success as an IRO is your ability to effectively build relationships and engage the C-Suite. This is no small task, as senior stakeholders tend to have varying priorities, appetites for information, and bandwidth. In today’s episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken and Kendra Brown sit down to discuss her twenty-four-year career at FactSet, what she brought to IR from her nearly two decades of experience in product management, and how to best become a trusted strategic resource to the C-Suite. 

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

• Lessons from Kendra’s career journey that spans product management, chief of staff, to the head of IR at FactSet
• How to build a regular cadence of feedback and information sharing with your management team
• Advice for IROs looking to build stronger internal relationships and company context
• How IROs can get a seat at the company’s strategic table
• How to effectively measure your IR program and how to leverage unique channels or data sources to drive leadership decision making
• How better data and intelligence leads to more effective investor relations

Don’t miss your chance to explore the powerful partnership between Irwin and FactSet. For more information on how this software integration can benefit your IR program today, head to our website: www.getirwin.com.

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

ESG remains high on the priority list for investor relations, but what does that mean to your everyday workflows? In this episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken and Jordyn Eskijian, Program Manager, Investor Relations & ESG at H&R Block, sit down to talk about aligning purpose and performance through ESG to add shareholder value and create positive impact.. 

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

• What motivated H&R Block to implement an ESG strategy
• The platforms and frameworks to prioritize
• Adapting your ESG strategy to respond to evolutions in the space
• The biggest obstacles in managing an ESG strategy
• Building relationships with the rating agencies
• How ESG adds shareholder value
• How ESG impacts investor targeting performance
• How to measure your ESG progress

About our guest

Jordyn Eskijian is currently the Program Manager, Investor Relations & ESG at H&R Block. Prior to her current role, Jordyn held various financial, accounting, and data science roles within the company. Jordyn was recently named to NIRI’s Rising Leaders Under 40 list, and is the Programs Chair of the Kansas City Chapter Board. 

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

Starting a new role is stressful for any professional. It’s been proven that making a career change is one of your life’s most stressful events. With IR being such a critical function within a company, and with limited resources and increasing responsibility, the pressure to succeed and provide value early on is paramount. 

In this episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken and Luke Wyse, Senior Vice President, Finance & Investor Relations at Triumph Financial, talk about the essential activities and strategies an IRO should focus on in their first 90 days in a new IR role. 

Listen to the episode to learn more about:

• What a new IRO should be doing in the first 90 days to set themselves up for success
• When a new IRO should start to make changes to the department or strategy
• How to get a deep understanding of the company story, and how to validate your understanding of the story
• How much time to spend with other leaders in the business, and what you should try to learn from other stakeholders
• How to know when you’re prepared to take investor meetings
• How to ensure that you’re adding value
• Setting and managing the IR budget

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

The sometimes adversarial nature between Corporate IR and the Sell-Side can result in some unknowns when it comes to building strong and mutually beneficial relationships between IROs and sell-side analysts. In this episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken sits down with Megan McGrath, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations at Cushman & Wakefield. Megan's insights are incredibly valuable for Investor Relations Officers who want to enhance their sell-side coverage. As someone who has worked in the sell-side industry, Megan's advice comes from a place of deep understanding. Having held key positions as an analyst and Director of Research at top firms like The Buckingham Research Group, MKM Partners, Barclays Capital, and Lehman Brothers, Megan's expertise is unparalleled.

Listen to the episode to learn more about:

• The transition from the sell-side into IR
• The biggest misconceptions about the sell-side
• What IROs can do to better engage the sell-side
• How to work more proactively with the sell-side
• Tips for getting the sell-side to initiate coverage
• How to better work with your covering analysts
• Building An Efficient Partnership Between The Sell-Side, Your Company, And Your Management Team

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

In today’s episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken sits down with Alex Jorgensen, Managing Director and Head of IR at Prosek Partners to talk all things IPO. 

Navigating an initial public offering is no small feat, with many moving pieces and requirements to successfully launch a company into the public markets. Alex has advised on over 35 go-to-market transactions and shares his experience, best practices, and things to avoid. 

Listen to the full episode to learn more about

• The team you need to go public, and their importance throughout the process
• The importance of positioning and narrative
• Building your prospectus
• The difference between public and private market investors
• Crafting a story around the IPO
• Where companies under-invest during the IPO process
• The most common challenges that come up during an IPO
• Going public in a tough market

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

In today’s episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken sits down with Chris Mayo, CFA, the Head of Primary Markets, Americas, at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). 

As companies in North America continue to seek out capital in the public markets, expanding access to capital through an international listing can provide opportunities from some of the deepest pools of capital in the world. 

Chris shares his advice for North American companies on listing strategies and what issuers need to know about accessing European investors. 

Listen to the full episode to learn more about

• What North American issuers can do to access European investors
• Why companies should look at listing on an international exchange
• What the administrative and timeline requirements are for an international listing
• The advisors companies should recruit when considering a listing
• The major factors a company should consider when thinking about an international listing
• The biggest misconceptions about the London Stock Exchange
• How the UK market compares to North America

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir

In today’s episode of Winning IR, Mark Fasken sits down with Mary Turnbull, Managing Director, Corporate Access, Institutional Equity Sales at Raymond James. 

With securing capital and building stronger relationships on the top of priority lists for issuers and IROs, Mary shares her best advice for IROs on navigating Corporate Access, how it works, and how to get more exposure to investors. 

Listen to the full episode to learn more about

• How corporate access teams are structured and best practices for IR and corporate access
• The most valuable formats for IROs, management, and investors
• How to determine what conferences IR should attend
• How IROs can interact with corporate access to enhance their investor targeting, and what to avoid
• What IROs need to know about the sell-side model and the importance of corporate access in your sell-side relationships
• Getting coverage and reaching retail investors as a small-mid cap company
• How to make your roadshows more successful and what to avoid

Winning IR is brought to you by Irwin.

For more winning ideas, subscribe to Winning IR wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, visit getirwin.com/winning-ir