Archived President's Letter - 2019

President's Letter - 2019

September 4, 2019

Dear NIRI Charlotte Chapter Members and Friends,

I hope everyone had an exciting summer and is now looking forward to the fall season with cooler weather and football right around the corner.

In a few weeks, we will kick off our 2019-2020 program year with a panel highlighting ‘The Activist Investor’s Playbook’ (details coming soon). We have planned several enticing events this year to ensure you’re educated on the important trends and issues affecting the world of investor relations, including a spring visit from NIRI President and CEO Gary LaBranche focused on The Future of IR.

Driving this excitement is your new NIRI Charlotte Chapter Board:

  • President: Jim Ryan, Senior Director, Investor Relations, Curtiss-Wright Corporation
  • President-Elect & Programs Chair: Sharon McGee, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development, Albemarle Corporation
  • Treasurer: Ben Krasinski, Director, Investor Relations, Premier, Inc.
  • Communications Chair: Dan Whalen
  • Membership Chair: Stephanie Gifford, Strategy, Corporate Development & Investor Relations, EnPro Industries, Inc.
  • At-Large Member: Roy Granato, President, Granato Creative Group, LLC
  • At-Large Member: Kay Sharpton, Vice President of Investor Relations, Evertec, Inc

In addition, I’d like to thank Roy Granato for serving as our past President and for his ongoing support as an at-large member of the Charlotte chapter board.

For those of you wondering why you hadn’t heard about the Charlotte Knights baseball game this summer – we are excited to announce that we have lined up a suite for a Charlotte Hornets basketball game this fall (note: seating may be limited and priority will be given to active chapter members). For those of you who aren’t current members – now is an excellent time to join the chapter.

Key objectives for this program year include:

  • Providing opportunities to learn about the biggest trends for today and the future of our profession
  • Discussing best practices and how to be most effective in our roles
  • Continuing to focus on driving attendance and expanding our membership, and
  • Networking with peers and forming new relationships

Current schedule of events (some tentative):

  • Thursday, September 26: The Activist Investor's Playbook - Panel Discussion (Joele Frank, King & Spalding)
  • Friday, October 18: IRO-only breakfast meeting
  • Wednesday, October 23: Charlotte Hornets Game, in the Uptown Suite
  • November:  Communication Patterns / Artificial Intelligence and IR
  • December: Holiday Party 
  • January: Annual Economic Forecast
  • Thursday, March 19: Gary LaBranche, NIRI President & CEO, The future of IR
  • April: IRO-only breakfast meeting
  • May: CFO Perspective

As always, the board appreciates hearing from its members about what you would like to get out of your membership.  What topics are of interest to you?  What would you like for us to do differently?  Please email me your thoughts at jim.ryan@curtisswright.com.

Thanks and look forward to seeing you at our next event!

Jim Ryan