Notes from a NIRI Annual Conference Attendee

By Dennis Walsh, Senior Consultant & Director of Social Media Last week, I attended the NIRI Annual Conference.  It was very educational and an incredible opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with many of the approximately 1,300 investor relations professionals from more than 20 countries that attended the event in Seattle. NIRI organized more than…

What’s In/What’s Out for Investor Relations in 2012

By Jim Buckley To kick off the New Year, we decided to renew an old Sharon Merrill tradition and take a lighthearted look at what’s in and what’s out in investor relations and related areas in 2012.  Hope you enjoy, and have a happy and successful 2012.

Is Your Investor Relations Plan Fit? Consider These 5 Steps.

By Dennis Walsh, Senior Consultant & Director of Social Media As another year comes to a close, two things are probably on every IRO’s mind: New Year’s resolutions and next year’s investor relations plan.  Every year, one of the most common resolutions is to get fit.  People spend a tremendous amount of time and money…

Reading Body Language: The Investment Community’s New Secret Weapon

“Lie to Me.” The name of the prime time drama on Fox is a challenge.  “Go ahead.  I dare you to try to pull one over on me.”  The show’s protagonist, played by Tim Roth, is an expert in detecting deception and is hired by corporations, government agencies and private citizens to analyze body language.…

Prepare for Proxy Access Now – Avoid an Activist Horror Story Later

Hello again.  We took a bit of a hiatus from blogging this summer, but we are now back to share a Halloween story sure to scare you straight! Unless you are one of the 33 Chilean miners that were trapped underground for the past two months, you have likely been watching the drama unfold on…

Winning the Gunfight at the Proxy Corral – Four Steps to Prepare for Shareholder Activism

The term “shareholder activism” can sometimes send a shiver down your spine and conjure up all kinds of unwelcome events – unhappy shareholders, proxy contests, shareholder proposals, 13D filings and withhold vote campaigns, to name just a few. I recently moderated a NIRI Virtual Chapter webinar on “Shareholder Activism Trends.”  The participants, consisting mainly of IROs…

To Split or Not to Split – That is the Question Boards Should Be Asking

With proxy season on the horizon, a new SEC rule will be requiring companies to justify the structure of the board’s leadership.  That could have some companies thinking about whether the roles of chairman and CEO should be separated – an issue that’s been hotly contested for years. Proponents of taking an axe to the…