SPOTLIGHT ON CHAPTERS
NIRI Philadelphia Hosts Inaugural IR Elevate Summit
Brain synchrony, communicating with passive investors, the employment market, artificial intelligence, and
resetting your focus were among key topics explored. BY LISA CAPERELLI
A 2 8 FA LL 20 2 5 ■ IR UPDAT E
pproximately 40 investor relations (IR) and other professionals gathered in September 2025 for NIRI Philadelphia’s first-ever IR Elevate summit at the
beautiful Appleford Estate, a colonial farmhouse turned arboretum and bird sanctuary in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Te half-day event included presentations on
trending topics from leaders in the field, keynote speakers with career development tips, and net- working breaks where boisterous conversations were plentiful. Te summit delivered on its promise to elevate communications, knowledge, mindsets, and careers. NIRI Philadelphia Platinum Sponsors S&P Global
Market Intelligence and MessageBank, as well as Gold Sponsors Broadridge and Notified, were recognized. Te day started with Taylor Buonocore-Guthrie,
an enthusiastic keynote speaker and facilitator who led a discussion on relational intelligence. She anchored her discussion in the concept of
“brain synchrony,” when the electrical impulses of two or more human brains synchronize—often
correlated to moments where people feel like some- thing has “clicked” with others. Research has shown that greater synchrony occurs not when there’s a dominant member of the conversation, but rather when there’s a thoughtful question asker. In the spirit of honing question-asking skills,
Buonocore-Guthrie invited the audience to share questions they commonly ask investors and offered live lab coaching to improve the dialogue. Te audi- ence left equipped with the following key takeaways: • Avoid closed-ended questions unless you’re encouraging a decision. For example, “Is there anything holding you back from investing?” might too easily yield a “No,” whereas an open-ended question like, “What’s one change that would make you more likely to invest?” could yield a more helpful answer.
• Be careful of asking questions with the word “why,” which has been shown to raise cortisol levels (stress hormone). For example, “Why aren’t you investing more with us” might become “Tell me more about your decision to hold off on further investment with us.”
ni ri .org/ irupdate
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31
