Monthly newsletter features job moves and careers advice
Welcome to IR Magazine's careers newsletter, packed with tools to supercharge your job prospects, including:
• Recent appointments to keep abreast of industry moves
• Career advice from industry experts with inside tips for success
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IR appointments
AVIGILON
The Toronto-listed company has appointed Darren Seed as vice president of capital markets and communications. Seed previously held a similar position at Westport Innovations and prior to this was an IR director at Forbes Medi-Tech for six years.
BARRICK GOLD
The Canadian gold miner has appointed Daniel Oh as senior vice president of investor engagement. Oh was previously vice president of investment stewardship at BlackRock, prior to which he held senior corporate governance roles at State Street Global Advisors and ISS. He has also worked in sell-side and buy-side equity research at Bear Sterns and Citigroup. Vice president of investor communications Susan Muir is leaving the company.
BROADRIDGE
The NYSE-listed firm has appointed Edings Thibault to replace Brian Shipman as vice president and head of IR. Thibault joins from MSCI where he was most recently global head of business intelligence having previously served as head of IR. Prior to this he worked at hedge fund Indus Capital and as an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley.
CAMPOSOL
The Peruvian agro-industrial group’s IRO Maria Elena Olmoshas left the firm to serve as CFO for the D&C Group family office, with head of budget control Jossue Yesquen stepping up to lead the IR team. Yesquen was previously in financial positions at SN Power and RIMAC Seguros.
CARGOTEC
Hanna-Maria Heikkinen will start as the Finnish cargo firm’s vice president of IR in October. She has been serving as head of IR at Valmet since 2013. The former analyst at Nordea previously held senior IR roles at Metso and YIT and has served as chairman of the Finnish Investor Relations Society since 2015.
CELYAD
The Belgian biopharmaceutical firm has hired Graham Morrellas vice president of IR and communications, based in Boston. A government graduate of Harvard University, Morrell was previously senior vice president at IR advisory firm the Trout Group where he was in charge of life science companies.
CIRI
Brian Ector has been elected chair of the board of directors for a two-year term, succeeding Meghan Brown. A former energy sector analyst, Ector is senior vice president of capital markets and public affairs at Baytex Energy, where he served as IR director from 2009 to 2011. New board members includeSandra Daycock from Methanex Corporation, Nathalie Megann from Chorus Aviation and Trent Stangl from Crescent Point Energy. John Cobb, George Kesteven, Lisa May and Rudy Sankovic are all stepping down from the board.
CREDIT SUISSE
Adam Gishen, senior adviser to CEO Tidjane Thiam since October 2015, has been appointed global head of IR, succeeding former Cheuvreux analyst Christian Stark, who has been promoted to head of group performance analytics and government. An international studies graduate of the University of Leeds, Gishen worked at Lehman and subsequently Nomura for 10 years and was most recently a partner at London-based Ondra.
Read more here >>
EASTMAIN RESOURCES
Alison Dwoskin has joined the Canadian mining firm as IR manager. She most recently held a similar position at Klondex Mines. The art and archaeology graduate of Brock University started her career as an account manager at advisory CHF Investor Relations.
FLOWER FOODS
Managing director of IR and financial analysis JT Rieck has been promoted to vice president of investor relations and financial analysis. Prior to joining the industrial bakery firm, Rieck worked as a tax attorney, director of research and senior analyst at investment advisory firm Crosscap Management. IRO Marta Jones Turner is staying on as executive vice president of corporate relations.
IPSEN
The French pharmaceutical group has appointed Eugenia Litzas vice president of IR. Litz succeeds Stéphane Durant des Aulnois who has been promoted to CFO for the Iberian Peninsula region. The biology graduate of Northwestern University and former analyst joins from AstraZeneca where she has been an IR director since 2014, having previously served as associate director of IR at BioMarin Pharmaceutical for seven years.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
Joseph Wolk has been announced as NYSE-listed Johnson & Johnson’s new vice president of IR, starting in August, succeeding long-standing IRO Louise Mehrotra who is retiring at the end of the year. Wolk joined the New Jersey-headquartered firm in 1998 as a finance manager in the Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical organization and has since held various senior finance positions. The St Joseph’s University and Temple University School of Law graduate started his career at Ametek.
Read more here >>
LAFARGEHOLCIM
Alessandra Girolami, formerly head of financial communications and IR at French retailer Carrefour, is joining the building materials producer as head of IR in September, succeeding Michel Gerber who is leaving the firm (see below). A graduate of ESCP Europe and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Girolami started her career as an equity analyst at ABN AMRO.
MAKEMYTRIP
Jonathan Huang has rejoined the Nasdaq-listed, India-based online travel company as vice president of IR. The Rutgers MBA alumnus had been serving as vice president of IR and treasury at Avid Technology for the past year after five years and four years, respectively, in IR at MakeMyTrip and Hertz.
MARKS & SPENCER
Fraser Ramzan, a former retail analyst at Nomura and Lehman Brothers, has been appointed to succeed outgoing IR head of six years Majda Rainer. Ramzan graduated from City University London and has also covered the leisure and hotels sector while serving at Lehman.
NIRI
Jim Cudahy has resigned his position as president and CEO of the US IR association. The search for a new chief executive is under way, with vice presidents Matt Brusch and Mike McGough serving in the interim.
Read more here >>
SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS
The semiconductor company headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts has appointed Mitchell Haws as vice president of IR. Previously, he served as vice president of IR at NXP Semiconductors, which merged with fellow tech firm Freescale Semiconductor last December. He has also held IR roles at Equifax, Reynolds & Reynolds and Geneva Steel.
SPOTIFY
The Swedish music-streaming service has hired Paul Vogelas its first head of IR amid rumors of an impending IPO. A University of Pennsylvania graduate, Vogel started his career as an analyst at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in 1995 and was most recently head of internet and media research at Barclays. He also served as CFO for social shopping marketplace OpenSky.
Read more here >>
TRIBUNE MEDIA
The NYSE-listed company has hired James Arestia as IR director. A Columbia MBA alumnus, Arestia has been serving as vice president of IR at Markit for the past 15 months, having previously served in senior financial reporting and analysis roles at Tudor Investment and American Express.
TWO HARBORS INVESTMENT
The real estate investment trust has hired Timothy Perrott as senior director of IR. Perrott has worked in IR and corporate communications for more than 20 years, including leadership positions at NII Holdings, Southern Company and, most recently, ADT Security Services. He holds an MBA from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and a degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University.
UNIQURE
The Nasdaq-listed biopharmaceutical firm has hired Maria Cantor as senior vice president of IR and communications. Cantor joins from ARIAD Pharmaceuticals where she led corporate affairs, having previously served in senior communications roles at Genzyme, the St Elizabeth Medical Center in Boston and Optima Healthcare.
VAT GROUP
Michel Gerber, chairman of the Swiss Investor Relations Society since 2006, has joined VAT Group, a producer of vacuum valves, as head of IR and corporate communications. Gerber joins from LafargeHolcim, where he was head of IR. He has also run IR and corporate communications at ABB.
YUM! BRANDS
Keith Siegner has been appointed vice president of IR and corporate strategy at the Louisville-based restaurant group. The Wake Forest University graduate started his career in tax consulting at Arthur Anderson and has 15 years of experience as an analyst at Credit Suisse and UBS, mostly covering the restaurant sector.
Career advice
Video: NIRI 2016 co-chairs Karen Fisher and Lee Ahlstrom
Karen Fisher and Lee Ahlstrom, conference co-chairs at NIRI's 2016 annual conference, discuss key themes, troubled sectors and how to make the most of San Diego
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The IRO's guide to certification
A special report on the various certification programs available to self-improving IROs
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Take (an) advantage: add an IRO to the board
Why smart boards are increasingly appointing directors with IR experience
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