NIRI ACHIEVES 50 SEIZING THE DISRUPTION THE FUTURE OF IR AND NIRI CHAPTERS: A YEARS OF SUCCESS 16 OPPORTUNITY 28 TECHNOLOGY 42 UNIFYING FORCE 45 THE VOICE OF THE INVESTOR RELATIONS PROFESSION FALL 2019 Nasdaq is proud to be a longtime partner of the National Investor Relations Institute Congratulations on your 50th Anniversary Nasdaq IR Intelligence Our global team of consultative experts and industry-leading software provides our clients across all industries, sectors, and regions with strategic actionable intelligence and unparalleled visibility into the capital markets for the long term. new.nasdaq.com/solutions/investor-relations FALL 2019 | CONTENTS President and CEO Gary A. LaBranche, FASAE, CAE INVESTOR RELATIONS Vice President, Communications and Member Engagement The Disruption Ted Allen, JD [email protected] Opportunity Editor Al Rickard, CAE The NIRI Think Tank on the A REPORT OF THE NIRI THINK TANK [email protected] ON THE FUTURE OF INVESTOR RELATIONS Future of Investor Relations Art Direction THOR Design Studio recently published its landmark www.thor.design report. LEARN MORE ABOUT Letters to the Editor THE ROLE OF IROS AS TRUSTED IR Update welcomes letters to the MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF editor. Please send feedback to STRATEGIC ADVISORS ON PAGE 28. [email protected]. About NIRI Founded in 1969, the National Investor Relations Institute (www.niri.org) is the 16 NIRI ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 2 AT THE BELL professional association of corporate Coming of Age: NIRI Achieves 50 Years of Success k Your Hands officers and investor relations consul- BY GARY A. LABRANCHE, FASAE, tants responsible for communication The NIRI founders created the association in 1969 and it CAE among corporate management, share- had an immediate impact. Today, NIRI’s programs and holders, securities analysts, and other success are exponentially higher. See the timeline and 4 CONGRATULATIONS financial community constituents. NIRI k Thanks to NIRI’s 50th learn how NIRI has advanced the profession during the is the largest professional investor Anniversary Celebration Team relations association in the world, with past decade. MARK J. DONOHUE, IRC more than 3,300 members represent- BY AL RICKARD, CAE ing over 1,600 publicly held companies 6 RECOGNIZING LEADERS and $9 trillion in stock market capital- 28 FUTURE SCENARIOS k Who’s Who in NIRI Leadership ization. NIRI is dedicated to advanc- ing the practice of investor relations Seizing the Disruption Opportunity History and the professional competency and The NIRI Think Tank on the Future of Investor Relations 8 SPOTLIGHT ON ADVOCACY stature of its members. recently published its landmark report. NIRI chairs add k Transparency and Engagement About IR Update their insights on the future. IR Update is published by the National BY MATTHEW D. BRUSCH, CAE 10 NIRI NOW Investor Relations Institute as a service k Rebecca Corbin Loree Center to its members. 42 AN IR FORECAST ISSN 1098-5220 Dedicated at Washington © 2019 by the National Investor The Future of IR: A Team of Tech-Empowered College Relations Institute. All rights reserved. k Save Something for Your Old For change of address, contact: Specialists? Age: Marathons! NIRI–IR Update A member of the first NIRI 40 Under 40 class shares his k On the Move 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 560 Alexandria, VA 22314-2875 USA thoughts on where the profession is headed. k NIRI Members Speak About Phone: (703) 562-7700 BY DENNIS WALSH Value of Senior Roundtable [email protected] www.niri.org 45 CHAPTERS 62 SPOTLIGHT ON CHAPTERS NIRI Chapters: A Unifying Force k The Evolution of a Profession NIRI has 26 chapters across the nation connecting Three events coalesce to spur members in many cities and regions. Chapter presidents thinking about the expanding offer their perspectives on historic milestones and what’s role of IROs as trusted strategic ahead for their organizations. advisors. BY AL RICKARD, CAE BY SEAN O’NEILL 59 IRO ADVANCEMENT 64 IR PERSPECTIVES k Bill Chatlos, a NIRI Founder, Securing a Seat at the Table – The Boardroom Table Talks About the Early Days Why do so few IROs serve on corporate boards? Learn why and see a roadmap for driving change. BY MARISA JACOBS, ESQ. niri.org/irupdate IR UPDATE u FALL 2019 1 AT THE BELL Your Hands young man who sought fame came to see a revered wise man. The young man wanted to make the old man look foolish and thus impress others with his cunning. A To achieve his goal, the young man concealed a live bird in his hand and planned to dare the master to guess if the bird was alive or dead. If the master guessed that the bird was dead, he would release the bird to fly away. If he guessed that the bird was alive, the young man would snap the bird’s neck and drop the dead bird to the floor. “Master,” said the young man, “I hold a bird in my hand. Tell me, is it alive or dead?” The old wise man replied simply: “It is in your hands to choose.” I was a Boy Scout when I first heard this story sitting around a campfire and it came to mind as I thought about this special 50th anniversary edition of IR Update magazine. This issue brims with nostalgia and celebration. It is right to recognize and reflect on Gary A. LaBranche, NIRI’s history and its impact on the IR community. We have every right to be proud. FASAE, CAE But major anniversaries beg the question: “What’s next?” President and CEO The answer is up to you. NIRI’s founding, development, and growth were the result National Investor of the hard work of generations of members, volunteers, and staff. Now NIRI’s future Relations Institute is in your hands. [email protected] The odyssey from founding to today was neither straight nor easy. There is no reason to suspect that the road to the future will be any smoother. But your hands will steer the course. The journey has begun. A report on the future of investor relations was released earlier this year. “The Disruption Opportunity” isn’t a roadmap to the future, but it provides some directions and gives us things to talk about on the way. (Please see page 28 for an article on this report). “The Disruption Opportunity” also identified artificial intelligence as a major disruptor of the future. As a result, NIRI’s next Think Tank is now hard at work focusing on that subject, with a report due just before the 2020 Annual Conference. The “Investor & Issuer Invitational Forum” was also launched in 2019. The “Big I,” as it is called, is designed to focus in-depth on a single topic. ESG was the first topic selected, and for good reason: it is a mega-trend that will impact the corporate and investment world for years to come. Just prior to the first “Big I” in March, NIRI issued its first ESG Policy Statement (available on the NIRI website). Also newly launched is NIRI’s “40 Under 40” program, recognizing rising IR stars. This issue includes a commentary about the future of IR (see page 42) by one of them. Also launched in 2019 was the Developing Leaders Roundtable (DLRT). Patterned on the Senior Roundtable, the DLRT will provide a community for practitioners with 3-10 years of IR experience. The Investor Relations Charter (IRC) credential, launched in 2015, will be the hallmark of this generation. Into their hands is bequeathed the future of IR and the future of NIRI. I look forward to celebrating NIRI’s 75th anniversary with you in 2044. IR 2 FALL 2019 u IR UPDATE niri.org/irupdate OWNERSHIP INSIGHT A Cost-Effective Alternative to Market Surveillance Created by Alliance Advisors PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] (973) 873-7748 Daily Share Flow Net Trading Activist/Hedge Fund Analysis Activity Early Warning Signal Stock Performance Shareholder Position Institutional Vote Indicator Changes Influence Insight CONGRATULATIONS Thanks to NIRI’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Team ongratulations to NIRI on 50 won- derful years! The first sentence in the NIRI 50th Anniversary C Foreword section of the NIRI Think Celebration Committee Tank report on the Future of IR reads, “One hall- mark of great professional associations is their CHAIR MEMBERS work to collaboratively envision and proactively Mark Donohue, Mark Aaron Barbara Gasper IRC help shape the future of their professions.” Lee Ahlstrom, Len Griehs IRC The growth of NIRI over the past 50 years was Valerie Haertel, VICE CHAIRS Trey Anderson IRC made possible by the support of its members Felise Kissell Clay Bilby Deb Kelly who volunteered their time for the advancement Rebecca Corbin Beth Carty MaryKate of the investor relations profession. McGilley Mark J. Donohue, IRC Mike Conway Carol Murray- I was honored to chair the 50th Anniversary NIRI STAFF Sally Curley, IRC Vice President, IR and Negron Celebration Committee. No surprise to me, Gary LaBranche, Carol DiRaimo Corporate Communications FASAE, CAE Ron Parham Bryan Dunn numerous past and present members were Ian Richman Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Ted Allen, JD June Filingeri eager to be a part of the planning committee Chris Taylor Karen Fisher Chair, NIRI 50th Anniversary to celebrate our golden anniversary. Doug Wilburne Celebration Committee The Committee kicked off planning at the 2018 NIRI Annual Conference. As you would expect from an experienced and talented group NIRI Staff of leaders, the committee developed many Gary A. Iman Hannon, CM Al Rickard, CAE LaBranche, Director, Editor, IR Update great ideas. FASAE, CAE Governance, Selita Sanders President and Leadership I hope NIRI members enjoyed reading the AP/AR CEO Services and Accounting Clerk, Certification articles in IR Update this year covering the past Ted Allen, JD Administration Vice President, Anita Joshi 50 years and tested their “IRQ” by answering the Staci Scott Communications Director, Vice President, and Member Technology weekly trivia questions in IR Update Weekly.