Making a statement

Exploring activism, M&A and IR career development 
 

Welcome to your summer issue of IR Magazine, in which we take deeper dives and speak with leading IROs, investors and analysts on the timely issues of activism, M&A and careers in investor relations.

Click to read IR Magazine summer 2023

With the likes of ISS and Glass Lewis less likely to support shareholder activists and big passive funds returning voting rights to investors, we look at what’s really changed when it comes to gathering support for the proxy season (see How to make friends and influence shareholders ).

You’ve just arrived in your IR role, so what goals should you set yourself and how should you measure them? We speak with IR veterans to discover the reality beyond the job description (see Off to a good start?). 

For further along the career path, from one-person operations to larger teams, we explore how to attract the best candidates and select the right individuals for your IR program. Where do remuneration and professional development fit into keeping your team together? And what do upcoming generations expect from their IR careers? (See Building your IR dream team)

Elsewhere in this issue, we ask whether you need an ESG qualification to support your career, talking to IROs about the qualifications they took, their motivations and their outcomes (see Letting ESG take its course). We then turn our scrutiny to the state of M&A and talk to IROs about acquiring and being acquired, winning over skeptical investors and working at the company that bought your firm (see Deal or no deal).

With shareholder activism on the increase and funds adopting new tactics, we find out how companies can best prepare themselves for activist activity. We profile the most prominent activists today, analyzing their strategies and engagement styles (see Pre-emptive strike).

March saw the release of our IR Magazine Corporate Social Activism report. I was fascinated to discover what IR professionals thought of our findings (see Picking your battles).

Winners were announced at the glittering IR Magazine Award ceremonies in New York and Toronto this spring. For our finale this issue, we reveal who won what in the researched and nominated categories, showcase the entries that impressed the judges and hear takeaways from red-carpet interviews (see The new gold standards in North American IR excellence).

James Beech
Editor
james.beech@irmagazine.com