Leveraging Investor Relations: Unlock Your Business’s PotentialNEW

With Columbia Business School’s Leveraging Investor Relations: Unlock Your Business’s Potential program, participants will:

• Maximize shareholder value by clearly communicating the company’s story and proof points of success
• Align market expectations around the company’s strategy, earnings, capital allocation, board composition, and CEO compensation
• Find the right investors for the company
• Manage investor contact points such as conference calls, proxy voting, and road shows

Our Leveraging Investor Relations: Unlock Your Business’s Potential program is designed for high-level executives and professionals who play a pivotal role in their company’s investor relations and strategic communication. Ideal participants include:

• CEOs and CFOs: Chief Executive Officers and Chief Financial Officers who regularly engage in quarterly conference calls and must articulate their company’s strategic vision effectively to investors.
• C-suite Managers: Senior executives, including Chief Operating Officers (COOs), Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), and Chief Strategy Officers (CSOs), who are integral to the strategic planning and investor communication processes.
• Investor Relations Professionals: Investor Relations (IR) Managers and Directors responsible for managing communications between the company and its investors, analyzing investor feedback, and enhancing the company's market perception.
• Private Firms Considering Going Public: Executives and managers from private companies preparing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) who need to understand the dynamics of investor relations and how to communicate effectively with potential investors.
• Aspiring CFOs and CEOs: Senior finance professionals, such as vice presidents of finance, controllers, and treasurers, who aim to transition into CFO or CEO roles and need to develop their investor communication skills and strategic storytelling abilities.

The Leveraging Investor Relations: Unlock Your Business’s Potential program is designed to help participants—current and aspiring executives and investor relations professionals—craft an effective story to communicate their growth strategy. Over three immersive days, participants will learn how to provide proof points of success and incorporate feedback from shareholders into their governance. Additionally, they will refine their skills in targeting the investor clientele most appropriate for their company, ensuring their message resonates with the right audience. The curriculum includes:

1. Lectures: Engage in interactive exercises and dynamic sessions over three in-person days at our Manhattanville campus to deepen participant’s understanding of key concepts.
2. Case Studies: Delve into detailed explorations of real-world scenarios that illuminate key program concepts, providing a practical foundation for understanding complex issues.
3. Expert Panels: Gain insights from panels featuring industry leaders who address emerging issues in the field of corporate governance, bridging academic theory with real-world application.

Formulate Your IR Strategy : Discover how to evaluate a firm’s business model and its position within the competitive landscape, focusing on financial reporting, disclosure processes, forecasts, and earnings guidance. Learn to develop paths to higher valuation through effective communication strategies, manage regulatory report filings, connect with service providers, and measure the success of your efforts. This session equips you with the tools to enhance investor perception and achieve strategic goals.

Nurturing the Right Shareholder Clientele : Gain insights into identifying and understanding your current stockholders and potential target owners. Learn how to nurture relationships with key buy-side and sell-side analysts and understand trading behaviors in both the short and long term. This session explores how such analysis informs capital structure decisions, including debt and equity mix, on- and off-balance sheet financing, cash management, and the allocation of capital among CapEx (capital expenditure), intangibles, dividends, stock buybacks, and acquisitions.

Manage Quarterly Conference Calls: Learn the essentials of preparing and executing effective quarterly conference calls. This session covers what guidance to provide before, during, and after the call, how to keep the capital market informed of day-to-day events, and how to prepare the C-suite for the Q&A portion of the call. Discover strategies to reinforce the company’s long-term vision at appropriate times, monitor analyst feedback, and measure the call's impact through stock trading and social media messaging.

Manage Proxy Season: Navigate the complexities of proxy season by understanding governance trends and anticipating shareholder voting preferences. This session delves into handling shareholder proposals, including controversial ones, and managing the “get the vote out” campaign among institutional and retail investors. Learn to monitor voting patterns and develop post-voting strategies to improve governance practices going forward.

Messaging Strategy on Sustainability Practices: Develop a rigorous and authentic sustainability strategy that aligns with both company values and shareholder values. This session covers prioritizing key sustainability issues, understanding investor expectations regarding stakeholder behavior, and assessing industry and peer practices. Learn how to evaluate the company’s standing with rating agencies and create a clear communication plan for the company’s sustainability position. Consider innovative approaches, such as hosting a sustainability conference call similar to a standard earnings call to effectively convey your message.

What If an Activist Attacks?: Stay ahead of the latest trends in shareholder activism and proxy fights. This session explores why activists target companies and how they do it, including the intersection of activism and sustainability. Engage in self-reflection on whether your company’s governance, performance, and capital allocation need change. Prepare a mock activist deck to ensure management is aware and ready for potential activist approaches, and learn effective strategies for dealing with activists when they arrive.