In today’s rapidly evolving capital markets, investor relations professionals are expected to operate with greater precision, agility, and strategic depth than ever before. Advanced Investor Relations: Strategies for the Established IRO is designed for experienced practitioners seeking to refine and elevate their approach in a quant-driven environment. The program explores how to better define and optimize a company’s shareholder base, strengthen the investment brand, and build more effective messaging through disciplined communication and feedback loops that translate market signals into actionable insight.
Across a series of advanced sessions, participants will move from theory to execution, covering everything from strategic targeting and expectation management to governance readiness in the universal proxy era. The curriculum also addresses high-stakes realities including activism, crisis preparedness, and market perception management, equipping IROs to navigate volatility with confidence. By connecting intelligence gathering, stakeholder communication, and forward-looking governance strategy, the program delivers a cohesive framework for managing investor relationships at a higher level of sophistication.
Who Should Attend
This program is open to all interested attendees, but is designed for learners:
- Who have at least 3 years experience practicing investor relations or a related role within the capital markets
- Who are mid-level IROs and above
There are no formal prerequisites, but the program assumes knowledge equivalent to the Fundamentals of Investor Relations curriculum.
Agenda
Tuesday, July 21
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 12:00pm – 12:50pm | Strategic Targeting in a Changing Market What does an optimal shareholder base really look like, and how do you build one in today’s market environment? The investor landscape has fundamentally changed in recent years, broadening from the long only investors most IR Professionals have traditionally targeted as significant components of their shareholder base. Hedge Funds, passive ownership/ETFs and quantitative strategies continue to grow and are now a large component of the investor market. Panelists will explore how these investors and their strategies fit into a modern targeting approach. From understanding the changes in players, index inclusion dynamics to engaging with data-driven investment models, the discussion will address how IR teams can adapt their strategies in a landscape where investor decision making includes multiple factors. Panelists will also discuss practical approaches to prioritizing outreach, aligning targeting strategies with company objectives, and adjusting to changes in growth stage and market conditions. Attendees will leave with a clearer sense of what works in practice and how to apply those insights to strengthen their own targeting efforts. Speakers: Mary Turnbull, NIRI Fellow, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Access, Raymond James & Associates, Inc. Laura Kiernan, CPA, IRC, NIRI Fellow, Vice President, Investor Relations, Clear Channel Outdoor Brendan Fitzpatrick, Head of IR, North America, Computershare | Georgeson Lisa Rubinger, Head of Broker and Corporate Relations, Ashler Capital Additional speakers to be announced |
| 12:50pm – 1:00pm | BREAK |
| 1:00pm – 1:50pm | Stewardship of the Investment Brand & Reputation: Optimizing Your Message How is your company perceived by the investment community, and how much control do you really have over that narrative? In this panel discussion, investor relations leaders will explore the role IR plays in shaping, protecting, and reinforcing the company’s investment brand. The conversation will focus on how messaging, disclosure, and external perceptions come together to influence credibility, valuation, and long-term investor confidence. Panelists will share how they assess market perception, identify gaps or inconsistencies in messaging, and respond to misinformation or incomplete narratives in the market. The discussion will also examine how IR teams are using data, feedback loops, and emerging tools, including AI, to better understand how messages are received and where refinement is needed. Speakers: John Moten, IRC, NIRI Fellow, Senior Advisor, Edelmann Smithfield Mary T. Conway, NIRI Fellow, Principal, Conway Communications Additional speakers to be announced |
| 1:50pm – 2:00pm | BREAK |
| 2:00pm – 2:50pm | The Intelligence Loop: Synthesizing & Communicating Feedback In this discussion, senior investor relations leaders will explore how they gather, interpret, and communicate feedback from the investment community to inform strategy, messaging, and executive decision-making. The conversation will focus on how IR professionals synthesize input from investors, analysts, and the broader market into clear, actionable insights for senior leadership. Panelists will share how they conduct perception audits, identify gaps between company messaging and Street expectations, and use both formal studies and real-time feedback to refine the investment narrative. The discussion will also examine how IR teams incorporate competitive intelligence to provide broader market context and strategic perspective. In addition, panelists will discuss how to effectively present investor sentiment to executive teams and boards in a way that drives alignment and action. Attendees will leave with practical approaches to closing the feedback loop and elevating IR’s role as a strategic advisor within the organization. Speakers: Hala Elsherbini, Senior Director, Investor Relations, Tyler Technologies Kristine Kubacki, CFA, Chief Strategy Officer | Head of Investor Relations, GXO Logistics, Inc. Friederike Edelmann, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Sustainability, Central Garden & Pet Company Additional speakers to be announced |
Wednesday, July 22
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 12:00pm – 12:50pm | The Influence Imperative: IR’s Growing Role in Governance and Shareholder Strategy As the governance landscape evolves, investor relations is playing a more central role in managing shareholder engagement, proxy strategy, and risk. In this panel discussion, we will examine IR’s expanding responsibilities across these areas. The conversation will highlight how companies are adapting to an environment where director elections face greater scrutiny and individual board members are more exposed. Panelists will share how they engage with proxy advisory firms and institutional voting teams outside of proxy season to build credibility and mitigate the risk of adverse outcomes. They will also explore how IR and corporate secretaries collaborate to identify governance risks, monitor investor sentiment, and strengthen alignment before issues escalate. Attendees will leave with practical steps to enhance proxy readiness, improve engagement with governance stakeholders, and proactively manage governance risk. Speakers: Bill Fiske, Head of M&A and Contested Situations, Georgeson Dan Scorpio, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting Additional speakers to be announced |
| 12:50pm – 1:00pm | BREAK |
| 1:00pm – 1:50pm | Engagement That Matters: Strengthening Investor Relationships in an Activist Era Companies that communicate consistently, transparently, and creatively with the investment community are often better positioned to build investor trust, strengthen shareholder relationships, and reduce their vulnerability to activist campaigns. In this session, we will explore how leading investor relations teams are using innovative engagement strategies and emerging technologies to build stronger connections with investors before concerns escalate. The conversation will examine how companies are rethinking traditional IR communication methods, from immersive investor days and targeted shareholder engagement programs to AI-powered communication tools, personalized content, and digital platforms that improve accessibility and engagement. Attendees will leave with new strategies for modernizing their IR program, leveraging technology to strengthen shareholder relationships, and maintaining an engagement strategy that helps build credibility and reduce the likelihood of becoming an activist target. Speakers: Arielle Rothstein, Partner, Joele Frank Paul Goldberg, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, ABM Industries Sean Coghlan, Head of Investor Relations, JLL |
| 1:50pm – 2:00pm | BREAK |
| 2:00pm – 2:50pm | From Guidance to Consensus: Managing Market Expectations For experienced investor relations professionals, guidance is not simply a forecasting exercise; it is an ongoing system for shaping market expectations under conditions of uncertainty. Once issued, guidance becomes embedded in analyst models, investor narratives, and peer-relative frameworks that evolve continuously and often independently of management intent. This session takes an advanced look at how seasoned IR teams design and manage guidance frameworks that remain credible across cycles while preserving strategic flexibility. The focus is on how structure, cadence, and framing influence the formation and evolution of consensus over time, and why seemingly stable estimates can still mask meaningful shifts in underlying assumptions. We will also examine how experienced practitioners identify when consensus is drifting from internal expectations, and how they determine whether to intervene through clarification, allow market repricing to occur, or deliberately maintain distance. Particular attention will be given to the boundary between managing expectations and unintentionally shaping them, especially in Reg FD-constrained environments where signaling risk is constant. Speakers: Nahla Azmy, MBA, IRC, NIRI Fellow, N2A Capital Tripp Sullivan, President, SCR Partners, LLC |
All registrations are final and no refunds will be given. If you are unable to attend the program live, you will have access to the recorded sessions for up to six months. NIRI membership is in the name of the individual, not the employer organization; member rates for events and other benefits apply only to the individual member, not all members of an organization, and are not applicable retroactively. Registrations are nontransferable between events. Sharing or splitting access is strictly prohibited. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ProfessionalDevelopment@niri.org or 703-562-7700.
IRC credential holders can earn up to 3 professional development units (PDUs). IRC-credentialed volunteers and speakers may also earn PDUs.