SPRING 2025 | CONTENTS
President and CEO Matthew Brusch, CAE
Editor-in-Chief Al Rickard, CAE
18
DEPARTMENTS 3 AT THE BELL
2Q25: IR Lighthouse Time to Shine BY ALEXANDRA DEIGNAN
8 Preparing for an Unprecedented Proxy Season
The investor relations profession has come a long way since the movie character Laura Partridge stood up and challenged a public company chairman about his seemingly exorbitant salary nearly 70 years ago. But today the issues are even bigger and more controversial. Learn what’s ahead for the 2025 proxy season and some advice for handling it. BY KIMBERLY ESTERKIN
18 NIRI2025 to Bring Insights to an Unpredictable Year
What’s on your plate this year? We know it’s challenging, so the NIRI 2025 Annual Conference offers insights, learning, and networking opportunities to help make sense of the rapidly changing landscape. BY AL RICKARD, CAE
22 The Current State of AI in Investor Relations
IR professionals report rapidly increasing use of artificial intelligence in investor relations, strong optimism about its future potential, and some worry about the use and implications of AI. BY AL RICKARD, CAE
28 Navigating the Anti-DEI Movement
Strategic insights for investor relations professionals. BY PETER DUDA AND LUCIA DOMVILLE
2 S P R I NG 20 2 5 ■ IR UPDAT E
4 NIRI NOW • NIRI Announces 2025 Class of Fellows
• NIRI Announces 2025 Class of Rising Leaders Under 40
• On the Move
6 SPOTLIGHT ON THE CEO Alan Trefler, Founder & CEO of Pegasystems Inc.
32 Putting NIRI Ethical Principles Into Action
Sound ethical practices are essential for investor relations. The fourth and final article in this series by the NIRI Ethics Council illustrates NIRI Ethical Principle #4 about the commitment of NIRI members to diversity, equity, and inclusion. BY RAJ MEHAN, P. ENG, CTP, CMA, IRC
36 The Art of Delivery: Communication Lessons for IROs and CFOs
An Interview with Rachel Rosenblatt, the PR Daily 2024 Communicator of the Year, and Nancy Hungerford, former anchor for CNBC International. BY ROSE ZU, CFA
40 Commentary: Corporate Access, Investor Targeting and Stock Selection
An empirical assessment of the effectiveness of industry and fundamental targeting approaches to predicting future stock initiation. BY BRENDAN FITZPATRICK
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About NIRI Founded in 1969, NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts, and other financial community constituents. NIRI is the largest professional investor relations association in the world with members representing over 1,500 publicly held companies and $12 trillion in stock market capitalization.
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IR Update is published by NIRI: The Association for Investor Relations, as a service to its members.
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