"That was a competitor call."

“That was a competitor call.”

I’ll never forget when our IR lead said that to me after we got off a call with a hedge fund. I was very junior at the time. She had been an MD on the sell side and now led M&A, Strategy, and IR - reporting directly to the CEO. She knew a lot. I treated her passing comments like gold.

Since then, I’ve spoken to thousands of investors - from the largest asset managers in the world to grandma’s investing club.

Talking to investors is a core part of the job in IR. I had a simple rule: if you’re a legitimate investor, I’ll call you back on behalf of the company.

Most conversations fall into patterns. The best ones - the ones that energized me and resonated with leadership - were the exceptions. You can tell when an investor sees the big picture. They’re not just chasing a quick pop. They’re trying to understand how strategy drives long-term value.

Those are the conversations that matter.

The ones that drag? The ones where the investor thinks IR exists to make the stock go up tomorrow. (Hopefully that’s not management.)