Informed 106 – Spring 2020

This issue of Informed was published against a background of the developing COVID-19 crisis. The main features were interviews with leading figures in the City and IR, and the increasing influence of ESG topics in boardrooms and the markets.

Informed 106Though the articles were commissioned and mostly written before the outbreak and the resulting  market shocks, the topic was at the front of the editorial coverage. The Society's new chair David Walker discussed the implications in his letter to members and CEO Laura Hayter explained the aims for the Society this year against a very uncertain background.

There were two special features: ‘IR Insights’, in which six people with influence in the IR world were interviewed, and 'ESG - going mainstream' with contributions from IR professionals and advisers on the growth of environmental, social and governance topics in the markets and the boardroom.

IR Insights - the interviewees

  • The regulator: Keeping a focus on stewardship - Claudia Chapman, FRC
  • The global head of IR: Giving valuable feedback - Richard O'Connor, HSBC
  • The CEO: Actively seeking engagement with all stakeholders - Peter Butterfield, Alliance
  • The IR manager: A career that demands a variety of skills - Charles Chalky, Hays
  • The head of access: Managing interactions with companies globally - Ed Young, Norges Bank Investment management
  • The head of IR: The importance of human interactions - Ed Thacker, Landsec

ESG - going mainstream - articles

  • The future of ESG and corporate reporting, by Stephen Butler, Luminous
  • The disconnect between sustainability strategies and the ESG agenda, by Robert Nuttall, Fortitude Partners
  • A new decade, a new investor relations, by Richard Davies, RD:IR
  • How Sophos dealt with rating agency errors on ESG data, by Derek Brown, Sophos Group
  • Owning the ESG narrative: the challenge for boards and IR teams, by Stephen Cheetham, Fidelio Partners
  • Digesting the ‘alphabet soup’, by Amelia Pan, Brunswick Group
  • Everything you wanted to know about ESG but were afraid to ask, Shai Hill, Integrum ESG

If you have any ideas for inclusion in future issues of Informed, please contact Jess Hyett. 

Published 27 March, 2020

Log in to download