Enquire, the Investor Relations podcast
Enquire, the Investor Relations podcast, is hosted by Equitory founder and CEO, Clara Melia. The purpose of Enquire is to bring together Investor Relations and Capital Markets professionals to share their experiences, best practice and offer listeners insights and ideas in the dynamic world of Investor Relations. Clara and occasional guest hosts from the Equitory team have the pleasure of having fascinating and informative conversations with some of the most experienced and well-respected people in the world of Investor Relations.
Enquire, the Investor Relations podcast
Episode 50: Laurie Havelock - Roadshows, Regional Differences and AI Trends
How is IR changing? The truth is that IR varies so much across different countries, industries, and companies, there’s no short answer. To get a broader overview of the trends in IR, we welcomed an experienced IR journalist to this episode.
An Outside Perspective of IR Today
Laurie Havelock, Editor of IR Impact (formerly IR Magazine), shares his unique journalistic perspective on covering IR stories and industry insights for over 12 years.
We begin by taking a walk through Laurie’s career and the biggest changes he’s noticed in IR since he first began. He’s seen shifting markets, the rise of digitisation and AI, regulatory changes, and regional differences impact IR over the past few years and explains how IROs have adapted.
Laurie also breaks down some of the most interesting points from IR Impact’s recent research on international IR, including the biggest differences between Asian, North American, and European markets. You’ll also hear about research into IR skills, preferences for capital markets days, and why face-to-face events and roadshows are still a big focus, even in the age of virtual communication.
In This Episode:
- An overview of Laurie’s journalism career in IR
- The biggest changes Laurie’s noticed over his career
- Why IR Magazine rebranded to IR Impact, moving from publication to platform
- Why IROs still prioritise in-person roadshows and events
- Regional differences in how IR is delivered
- Trends in AI adoption
- What investors really want from capital markets days
- Laurie’s advice for anyone thinking of a career in IR
Quotes:
- "IROs are treated with much more status and significance these days... there's much more widespread recognition that IROs are becoming leaders in their organisation in their own right."
- "I think having AI skills is just going to set you apart... But the top skills that IROs themselves identified as crucial are still the soft skills. It's a relationships business at the end of the day."
- "86% of companies that we surveyed in 2024 did a roadshow of some kind... and only 4% of those did a virtual-only event. So clearly, seeing people face to face is still a big focus."
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