Load up on sunscreen and hats because the NIRI annual conference will touch down in Phoenix, Arizona on June 2-5. It’s always a packed schedule of learning, networking and partying, but this year promises to raise the bar even further as the association celebrates its 50th anniversary with the 1,200 attendees.
This milestone prompts a natural inflection point for NIRI. Shannon Potter, director of education and programs at NIRI, says the theme for the conference – ‘The power of IR’ – encapsulates the past, present and future of investor relations and NIRI. The program has been designed to emphasize the three core pillars of NIRI membership: the value of community, knowledge and advocacy, Potter says.
Community: Several success stories from last year’s conference will return this year – including the career hub and the meet-a-mentor program – but undoubtedly the most popular community-focused session last year was the game of Family Feud, where different NIRI regional chapters tested their knowledge of the profession via a quiz written by Rivel Research. It was a rowdy, hilarious session last year and likely to get noisier and more competitive this time around, having been promoted to Monday evening’s general session.
The winners can celebrate and the losers can drown their sorrows at the 50th anniversary reception immediately afterwards, which will be full of NIRI VIPs from yesterday, today and – no doubt – tomorrow (keep an eye out for the announcement of the ‘40 under 40’ list). There’s never any shortage of NIRI receptions, so join me in playing the informal game of seeing how many you can hit each night (just be sure to drink plenty of water in between).
Knowledge: In several general sessions, the event organizers will tell the story of how the public markets have evolved during NIRI’s 50 years and speculate on how they could continue to evolve in the next 50.
On Tuesday, Bob Dickie, managing director and technical strategist at RBC Wealth Management, will paint a picture of how the market has evolved and look at stock market trends in the near and medium term. The following day, Bloomberg’s chief equity strategist Gina Martin Adams will explain how to put this knowledge into action, outlining how issuers can better understand their stock performance and how investors want to be communicated with.
As the investor focus on ESG factors continues to evolve, NIRI has invited Jim Donald, current co-chair of Albertsons Companies and former Starbucks CEO, to discuss how corporate culture can influence both the performance and the investor perception of a company. This Monday morning session will then be expanded to include Michelle Edkins, managing director and global head of investment stewardship at BlackRock, and John Heinbockel, managing director and analyst at Guggenheim Partners – one not to miss!
With one eye on the future, Malcolm Frank, executive vice president, chief strategist and chief marketing officer at Cognizant, and Evan Schnidman, founder and CEO of Prattle, will look at how artificial intelligence and other new technologies can transform and potentially automate some of the key functions in IR professionals’ calendars.
Advocacy: NIRI plays an important role in advocating for its members in Washington, DC, and it will be inviting Brett Redfearn, director of the trading and markets division at the SEC, to outline some of the topical regulatory issues facing market performance right now, along with the SEC’s priorities. Redfearn recently got into a heated debate on CNBC with Leon Cooperman, chair and CEO of Omega Family Office, and the event planners are hoping to reignite this conversation on the main stage. Grab your popcorn, as it’s likely to be a lively exchange of ideas.
This article was published in the summer 2019 issue of IR Magazine