IR Voice - The investor relations podcast

Making the most of your relationships with the buy side can often be the key to a successful relationship between your company and its investors. But how can you ensure that you're getting the most out of that arrangement?In IR Impact's first Masterclass video, we spoke to Stephen Yiu, fund manager and co-founder of the Blue Whale Growth Fund, about what he sees as the hallmarks of best-in-class IR and how he prefers to interact with companies. Listen to this episode of IR Voice for an exclusive sneak peek of the full interview.We also hear from Naji Beydoun, IR director at Innergex, about how he approaches investor roadshows following on from the recent publication of the Global Roadshow Report 2025, which details how IR teams are managing their roadshow schedules. Baydoun also reveals, as a resident Canadian, how IR teams can make the most out of visiting the country. To watch the IR Impact Masterclass with Stephen Yiu, follow this link: https://www.ir-impact.com/video/ir-impact-masterclass-how-to-maximize-your-relationships-with-the-buy-side/To read the full Global Roadshow Report 2025, follow this link: https://www.ir-impact.com/research/global-roadshow-report-2025/

What do CFOs at publicly listed companies tend to have in common? For most of them, it's an ability to go past the numbers and let your personality shine through, according to the finance chiefs interviewed by IR Impact deputy editor Garnet Roach.In this edition of the IR Voice podcast, Roach discusses what she learned from those CFOs, who addressed everything from learning from investors or analysts, the lasting impacts of the pandemic and their preferences for various meetings. There's also time for a quick update on IR Magazine's change of identity: Laurie Havelock introduces IR Impact, the new identity for our publication going forward, and what you might be able to expect in the coming months.

In this episode of IR Voice, we catch up with IR Magazine's head of content Steve Wade and events editor Tim Human to find out about the latest goings-on at our recent events in New York. First, Steve tells us about what was covered at the corporate reporting forum, where the EU's flagship sustainability reporting regulation CSRD was at the forefront of discussions. In the aftermath of Donald Trump's election victory, however, the future of corporate ESG reporting was still somewhat unsure.Then Tim gave us the lowdown from the AI and technology forum held a few weeks later. He tells us about some of the emerging ways that IR teams are using AI, and reveals how some new workshop formats explored some immediate ways that IROs can use the technology in their programs.

In this episode of IR Voice, we talk about the use of finfluencers by IR teams at public companies.IR Magazine reporter Noemi Distefano speaks to Katie Perry, head of marketing at Stakeholder Labs and co-host of the After Earnings podcast; Bill Kaitz, president of Promethean Marketing; Veronika Kuznetsova, advisor at Xploration Capital and former director of IR at Russian company MMK; and Eugeniu Baltag, director of IR at Purcari Wineries. Guests share insights on the way companies are using finfluencers and other innovations to engage with their retail investor audiences.Kuznetsova and Baltag share how their companies have successfully integrated influencers into their IR strategies, emphasizing the importance of transparency and carefully curated content to maintain credibility and align with company messaging.But Kaitz is more skeptical. He talks about why the use of financial influencers is risky in the US and offers practical examples of what exactly can go wrong. He points to the dangers of market manipulation and ‘guilt by association’ – advocating for a safer, alternative, three-step strategy.In this episode you will hear:·       How company executives are directly engaging with retail audiences·       About the regulatory risks of tapping into finfluencers in the US·       Examples of successful partnerships between IR teams and finfluencers·       How to measure the success of using finfluencers to reach your retail investors. 

In the latest episode of IR Voice, we discuss crisis communication best practices.We speak with Gregg Lampf, VP of IR at Ciena, who brings 30 years of experience in managing different crises as part of his role. Among these is the once widespread issue of stock options backdating – a practice that garnered significant attention around 20 years ago. While backdating is now viewed as a controversial and unfavorable practice by investors, Lampf’s experience during that crisis at one of the companies he worked for provided invaluable lessons that continue to inform his career today. In this episode, he explains how options backdating works, shares his firsthand experience and discusses the challenges it presented alongside the solutions needed from an IR perspective to overcome them. In this episode, you will hear:• What stock options backdating is • Key lessons learned from this practice• Best practices for crisis communication• Strategies for rebuilding trust after a crisis.