Heather Keeler-Hurshman, Director of Investor Relations at High Liner Foods, Inc., in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, is living proof that “big change fast” can and does happen. In the past 12 months, she moved from a 15-year career in finance at Emera Inc. into the investor relations role at a company in a completely different industry. During this time, she tore down her house, moving her husband and two children, ages six and eight, into temporary digs during the foundation-to-roof renovation; and she took up running again, completing her first 10K race in October.

With a big change usually comes a lot of personal growth,” says Keeler-Hurshman. “You’re usually uncomfortable for a while, but once you find your way, you say, ‘Wow, I never would have learned what I have if I hadn’t taken advantage of that opportunity.’”

IR Through Fresh Eyes

Keeler-Hurshman completed her commerce degree at St. Mary’s University in Halifax and earned a chartered accountancy designation from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Her financial background benefited her at Emera, where her most recent role was Interim VP Finance in one of Emera’s subsidiaries.

Early this year, though not seeking another opportunity, she was intrigued when she heard about the job opening at High Liner Foods, a small to mid-cap public company hiring its first full-time IRO after outsourcing the function for several years. “I’ve always been interested in the IR role and thought it would be a great way to grow professionally in a way that built on my financial reporting experience and communication skills.” Upon being offered the job, Keeler-Hurshman believed that if this opportunity wasn’t enticing enough to leave Emera, it was possible that she might never take the leap. “I was very fortunate to be given challenging opportunities and interesting roles while at Emera, and hadn’t really stopped to think before about whether I wanted to spend my entire career at one company, in one industry, and I decided I didn’t, that I wanted to broaden my horizons. The IR job almost seemed like fate and got me thinking that a change might be good,” she says.

In her new role, Keeler-Hurshman enjoys “the best of both worlds” because she’s still closely involved with financial reporting but also has the benefit of being involved with new activities that come with the IR role, like external communications. “Before I was behind the scenes, making sure everything was in accordance with GAAP and senior management had what they needed to talk to investors. I pulled information together for analyst calls, but I wasn’t actively involved in writing the scripts,” she explains. Among her new responsibilities at High Liner Foods are creating an annual IR plan, writing the company’s MD&A and drafting press releases.

Keeler-Hurshman reports to Kelly Nelson, High Liner’s CFO, who will retire next year after 30 years of service. Because High Liner has grown considerably in the past six years and has never had a dedicated IRO, part of her role will be determining what exactly the IR function needs to be going forward. The company has three analysts covering it, and one large stakeholder, representing a family interest that owns approximately 37% of the company’s stock.

Over the past few months, Keeler-Hurshman has focused on learning about the company and the seafood industry, and is thinking about the best ways to add value for external parties and to ensure investors, current and potential, are getting the information they need about the company. “I always keep in mind this question: If I were an investor, deciding where to invest my hard-earned money, what would I want to know about the company and its plans, to feel I made the best-informed decision? And I don’t only mean presenting the good. My job has to be to present a balanced view,” she says. “My job is definitely made easier by High Liner’s approach to always provide direct and honest communications. People here are very straightforward and open.”

Keeler-Hurshman also intends to add value by ensuring she represents the investor perspective to senior management and by raising awareness with employees throughout the company about the investor relations function. “Any time an employee talks about the company, they’re an ambassador and it’s important that we collectively deliver a consistent message to all of the company’s stakeholders,” she says.

A Learning Opportunity

Part of Emera IRO Jill MacDonald-Hennigar’s parting advice for Keeler-Hurshman was to join CIRI. This fall, Keeler-Hurshman attended her first CIRI event and was extremely pleased with the resources available.

One of the joys of accepting a new job is entering into an entirely different corporate culture. High Liner Foods, known at one time as National Sea Products, was founded in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in 1899 as a salt fish operation. Historically, the company was involved in catching the seafood it sold, until a moratorium on cod fishing in the early 1990s signaled the end of an era. High Liner, which is still readily identified by its ‘Captain Highliner’ logo, sold off the last of its fishing assets in 2004, and since 2007, has made a series of acquisitions that have transformed it into the largest supplier of value-added (processed) frozen seafood in North America, selling its products to both the retail and food-service markets in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Keeler-Hurshman is impressed by the strong corporate spirit at High Liner. “The cod moratorium placed High Liner in a real sink-or-swim position. The company has survived some very challenging times and there were points where its future was very uncertain. For those people working here, who experienced the struggles firsthand and have been part of the turnaround, the company’s growth over the past few years has been quite unbelievable and a real source of pride,” she says. “People are very committed to High Liner Foods’ success, and it’s nice to be part of a culture like this.”