Speakers:
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Deborah Belevan ,
VP of IR, Party City
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Driss Belmadani ,
Manager of IR, JetBlue
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Jennifer Beugelmans ,
VP FP&A and IR, Etsy
Over 30 “Next-Gen” Investor Relations Professionals Attend NYC Event.
On October 6th, over 30 IR professionals attended a NIRI NextGen program and networking event at UBS's U.S. headquarters in New York. The event – “Learn from NYC’s Best IR Officers” – was created exclusively for “NextGen” members and those interested in joining. The event was moderated by Deb Wasser (Executive Vice President Financial Communications & Capital Markets at Edelman -NIRI New York Chapter Board) and included an esteemed trio of IRO panelists: Deborah Belevan (VP of IR, Party City), Driss Belmadani (Manager of IR, Jetblue) and Jennifer Beugelmans (VP FP&A and IR, Etsy).
The IROs shared their wisdom and insights from their roles as top IR executives at well-followed public companies. Some of the topics discussed are reviewed below:
- Similar to NIRI membership, the panelists bring to IR a diverse background which included accounting, financing, communications, sales, business development and consulting.
- When thinking about hiring IR leaders, panelists agreed that it is very important to find executives who fit well with the corporate culture and bring to the table diverse experiences and insights. Panelists’ IR teams ranged from 1-2 employees in size.
- Being proactive and willing to pitch in are key in the investor relations world. Panelists also advised those newer in their career to think of ways to become experts in the company by building connections and relationships throughout your organization.
- In terms of marketing, the panelists used a mix of conferences, HQ visits and non-deal roadshows, and participation in governance specific roadshows was not a current priority for these executives.
- Measuring IR performance was perceived to be one of the challenging aspects of the job, yet several methods were discussed including perception audits and feedback from the Street, tracking investor buying & selling, and insights from sell-side research in terms of message resonance.
- Earnings call practices were discussed including process for creating messages and materials, preparing the management team and getting ready for the earnings call.
NIRI NY’s board also raffled off a free pass to the upcoming NIRI Seminar – “Finance 101 for IR Professionals,” taking place on November 14, 2016. The lucky winner was Robert Ferer, newly appointed IR Manager at Cognizant. Congratulations, Robert!
Finally, NIRI NY Chapter would like to thank Mitchell Schacher and Michael Rosen, our generous UBS hosts for the great space, cocktails and snacks!
NIRI NY NextGen is a sub-group of our NY chapter geared specifically to meet the needs of up and coming IR professionals who are newer to the workforce and have been in IR for less than 5 years. We strive for NIRI NY to be an engaging, educational, and welcoming place for those starting out in investor relations. Whether you’re embarking on your first role in IR after a stint in equity research , are in a rotational IR spot from finance or elsewhere in your company, or working as an IR consultant or service provider, we encourage you to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge in our community. If you are interested in learning more about NIRI NY NextGen, please go to: http://www.niriny.org/join/niri-ny-nextgen/default.aspx or contact NIRI NY Membership Chair Deb Wasser directly at deb.wasser@edelman.com.