Leading IR: Holly Gillis

You began your career in finance and accounting before moving into corporate communications and investor relations. What prompted that transition, and how has your background shaped the way you approach IR? 

Some people are career planners – I’m not one of those people! My career path has been shaped by the emergence of opportunities and following what’s interested me.  

Having studied psychology at university, accountancy didn’t necessarily feel like the obvious next step but it was a great opportunity (to study while working in-house for at FTSE 250) and was what paved the way into investor relations, initially as a maternity cover within the same business.  

My accountancy background may appear more directly relevant to IR, but I find my grounding in psychology to be equally useful!  

Your career has included both senior in-house roles and time advising companies from a consultancy perspective. What did you learn from working on both sides, and how has that experience changed the way you lead an IR function?  

I’ve learned a lot from sitting on both sides of the table, and the combination of both has made me more rounded in how I lead IR today.  

Working in consultancy after 15 years within one industry gave me a breadth of experience that can only be gained by working with different businesses across different sectors, with different management teams communicating different equity stories.  

Working in-house brings less breadth but more depth. You are ultimately accountable for the entire IR agenda. Both are fun, both are challenging! 

Looking back on your career, is there a lesson you've learned that you wish you'd known earlier?  

There isn’t one perfect way to execute a role - particularly in IR, which is so broad and requires diverse skillsets. Different styles and expertise will fit better with certain organisations and management teams. I think it’s important to understand the value you bring and find a role that aligns with your strengths. 

You led the IR function for a public transport company during the COVID-19 pandemic. What did that experience teach you about operating in periods of extreme uncertainty?  

The IR role is very different during times of crisis versus when everything is going well and is straightforward! That period reinforced for me the importance of clarity, concision and timeliness of communication. 

 
Clarity: Being clear about what we could control and the action we were taking was important, as was communicating what we couldn’t control and how we were working to influence and stay close to decision makers (for example, how government funding of bus services for key workers would take effect). 

Concision: Getting to the nub of the matter quickly and sticking to what was important was key. Keeping the clutter out of investor communications is always a good idea but during a crisis, it’s absolutely critical! 

Timeliness: When events are unfolding rapidly (it felt like we were issuing an RNS a day for a while), keeping investors informed and evolving the narrative at the pace of the circumstances was key. Investor questions moved from “have you seen any impact in passenger numbers?” to “how soon will you breach your covenants?” within a couple of days. Our comms had to keep pace with this.  Sometimes even just being available to say “no new news” was essential. 

Diploma is an international group operating a diverse range of specialist businesses. What are the particular challenges and opportunities involved in communicating a clear and consistent investment case for a business of that nature? 

The biggest communication challenge is, ironically, one of the biggest strengths of our business model – our diversification! Answering “So, what does Diploma do?” is the hardest question I get asked! There’s no single catch all label for it, and drilling down into all the specifics isn’t always helpful in understanding our equity story. 

 The opportunity - and the fun bit - is boiling it down to which pieces of the story really matter and being disciplined in keeping out the things that don’t.  

It’s much easier to write 500 words than 50, but there’s a lot of noise in there that distracts from what matters. In a marketplace where time and attention are precious commodities, cutting to the chase quickly is important! 

What are you most optimistic about when you consider the future of investor relations? 

In the (almost) two decades I’ve been in IR, I’ve seen the function grow in importance and influence within organisations. The environment around us constantly changing but I think the role of IR will retain its growing importance. 

What is the best piece of career advice you have received? 

When it comes to making decisions about your career, know your values and then trust your instincts. 

Your role involves a lot of travel – what item can you not go without when you’re out on the road? 

I travel very light, and approach packing for trips by leaving behind anything that isn’t essential. When you’re taking multiple flights over a few days and are in and out of buildings with security protocols, having less is best!  

The one thing I can’t do without is a pair of smart but comfy shoes that mean I can walk between investor meetings during the day, run through the airport to make sure I catch my flight and be comfortable and safe when walking the warehouse floor with the teams in our businesses. 

And finally, what are you reading and watching at the moment? 

Reading: The Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe (about The Sackler Dynasty) and watching: Celebrity Traitors (I love it!) 

Holly Gillis is Head of Investor Relations at Diploma plc and a Board member of The Investor Relations Society, where she also chairs the Education Committee. Her career includes senior in-house and advisory roles at The Go-Ahead Group and Citigate Dewe Rogerson.