International Women’s Day 2023: Interview with Amie Gramlick
Amie talks about her unusual career move into the IRO industry – and what challenges she faced.
Amie Gramlick is head of investor relations at Network International
What has been your career path to date?
It has been somewhat varied, which I think has served me very well. I was educated and trained as a cell biologist but transferred quickly into equity research at a global investment bank, taking my scientific expertise with me to cover biotech and medtech stocks. I spent a number of years in equity research which gave me a great grounding to move into IR where I have spent the past 10 years, specialising with newly listed companies. I have recently moved internally to a more finance focused role, leading finance business planning and analysis, alongside my IR responsibilities.
So from a start in cell biology to the current day leading a finance team, it feels poles apart, but the journey was fairly logical!
What changes have you seen in IR and where do you see the role of IR in the future?
The role has become increasingly more strategic and highly valued. It spans many areas within a company and an IR can also be a chief of staff/deputy FD/chief of comms. It has also become a role which companies increasingly see as a necessity, rather than 'nice to have.'
An IRO needs to see their role as advisory, rather than functional. This is where we can provide most value.
What challenges, if any, have you faced to reach where you are in your current role?
The biggest challenge was the initial move from science to banking. It's rather a sea change and it took a little time to find the right role. But the trick was to take a specialist skill and maximise that in an industry where that knowledge was difficult to find and highly valued. I may not have known much about finance at that stage, but I understood clinical research and biochemistry, which gave me an edge as a sector specialist.
Any advice to those either thinking about the next step up in their IR career or moving into IR?
Find a niche and therefore a value that sets you apart from the crowd. With the regulatory changes we have seen in recent years there is a greater proportion of people moving from banking across to IR. After all I was one of those people! But it does mean the marketplace is busier and in order to stand out, it's increasingly important to demonstrate skills or knowledge that differentiate and add value.
Do you have a female role model in your career? Who inspires you?
I really admire people and colleagues who have pushed boundaries, taken big leaps and really challenged themselves, going right out of their comfort zone. Whether that's someone who is female or male. A great example would be Louise Stonier, COO of one of the largest veterinary groups in the UK. Louise and I first worked together as an IR and CoSec team. Since then, Louise has expanded and grown her role across legal, people, culture and is now a COO. Such an amazing role model.
Published 8 March, 2023