An interview with Francesca Pierce, head of IR at BSkyB, who says she won’t let News Corp’s bid distract her from the day job
Where did you work before BSkyB?
I started out as a media analyst in the City for about five years and then came to Sky. It felt like a logical step, having dealt with IR departments from the sell side to then see how the process works from the company perspective. I joined as an IR manager and moved up a couple of years later to head of IR. It’s been a very interesting transition
How is the IR department structured?
There is no real formal division. We have two IR managers who report to me: one came from within the business through our graduate program, the other from the City. The mix works very well; you have someone with real in-depth knowledge of the business, and someone with a City perspective. As a former analyst, I think it’s important to understand what the City is looking for.
How do you break up your roles?
I tend to deal with the senior management on things like preparing for results and communications, or one-on-one meetings and generally talking around the IR program. I’m involved with projects across the business at a reasonably senior level. We all talk to the analysts and shareholders; we make sure everybody is talking to everybody, and that everybody is aware of the issues facing Sky, the industry and even the markets.
BSkyB has one major shareholder, News Corporation. How do you interact with that shareholder?
We handle all shareholders the same. We try to meet with our large shareholders at least a couple of times a year, depending on the investor and its own time horizon. For News Corp, we do the same. Obviously there is the situation as it is at the moment and there are governance procedures in place to manage that process. We can’t go into it in any major detail because of the situation we are in.
How is the bid situation affecting life in the IR department?
It’s News Corps’ process, so it is really for it to comment, not us, and we have remained relatively silent on the issue. We’re in the middle of a regulatory process, it’s very early stages and there is no formal offer as it stands, so we’ll just have to see how things pan out. The most important thing is that we are focused on running the business day to day, delivering the results we want to be delivering, and moving forward and growing, both in terms of customers and products, as well as growing returns to shareholders as well.
How do you manage your internal communication?
We do ad hoc feedback reports following roadshows and conferences. Post-results we try to do a feedback roundup and general commentary. There is an ongoing dialogue between our team and the senior management. Our CFO has an IR background, and our CEO has a financial background, so we already have them on board in terms of interest. They like to know what is being said in the market, and we try to keep them regularly updated on what competitors, analysts and shareholders are saying, so when we do quarterly reports they’re already up to speed.
How do you evaluate your performance as an IR department?
The most important thing to measure is how well your messaging is remembered and perceived. You need to ensure that what you’re trying to communicate is closely matched to the perceptions of investors and analysts. There’s often an interesting contrast between what analysts and investors think; that creates the friction, which there always is in the market, the buy/sell dynamic. It’s more about making sure that what you’re saying is being understood, and that there are no major gaps of information.
You measure it by the stability of your shareholder base. The most important thing is that your shareholders are happy with the strategy and direction of the company. Our job is to ensure that, as far as possible, there aren’t any major surprises when we talk to the market. That means keeping a regular dialogue with shareholders and making sure there aren’t any emerging issues you haven’t thought about.
What about your future – do you see yourself staying in investor relations for a long time?
I love working in IR; it’s a really exciting and challenging role. No two days are the same, and that’s one of the reasons the role was so attractive to me in the first place. Sky is a fantastic company to work for because there are many opportunities to continue to develop, with many coaching programs to help broaden your skill set. You can move around within the company, but there is plenty to keep me busy in IR at the moment.
