This spring, four new words were added to the tail end of Amin Mousavian’s title at TMX Group, making him: VP, Investor Relations and Treasury and Interim Chief Risk Officer.
Such double- and even triple-barreled job titles have become increasingly common in the world of Canadian IR. Mousavian says that his colleagues – some who have added roles outside IR and some who haven’t – are also experiencing “an expansion of responsibilities within the IR part of the role.”
Mousavian’s experience lines up neatly with recent data.
In late 2024, in an IR career survey conducted by global management consultant Korn Ferry and NIRI in the U.S., nearly 80% of respondents said that they manage responsibilities in addition to IR, up from 62% who said the same in 2022. What’s more, 61% said that the IR function has been elevated within their companies.
Although the Korn Ferry survey focused on American IROs, CIRI President and CEO Nathalie Megann has seen the trend hold true in Canada. What’s more, she has learned from her IR counterparts in Europe, Asia and Australia that they, too, are witnessing a broadening of the IR role.
“We’re seeing a proliferation of additional duties added to the role of investor relations,” says Megann. Looking through a roster of CIRI members and their job titles, she found that IR duties are being coupled with tasks ranging from business development to corporate communications, treasury, risk management, and sustainability or ESG.
Walid Hejazi, Professor and Director of Academic Programs, including the IR Certification Program, at the University of Toronto’s Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, attributes the increased breadth of IR responsibilities to a growing audience for the types of messages IROs deliver. He finds, for instance, that IR professionals are increasingly responsible for explaining the implications of corporate strategies “to a number of various stakeholders, not just financial markets.”
Weighing the tradeoffs
Andrew Arnovitz, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Enterprise Risk Management at CAE, has seen IR evolve from a role “that’s very functional to one as a strategic business partner.” He continues: “When you think about the incredibly fortunate access the IRO has to some of a public company’s stakeholders – its public shareholders – it’s akin to having hundreds of really brilliant business minds consulting for you for free. And all you have to do is listen.”
After beginning his career on the sell side, Arnovitz was hired more than 20 years ago by CAE, a Quebec-based, high-tech simulation and training company for the aviation industry. At first he worked solely in IR, but over time he added strategic planning to his duties. In recent years, he’s continued to focus on IR and has assumed responsibility for enterprise risk management instead of strategic planning.
Mousavian also sees tangible benefits from the expansion of his role to include what he terms “adjacent functions,” namely, functions that traditionally “interacted with IR quite a bit.” He’s found that leading both IR and Treasury is helpful whenever his company is involved in a major transaction.
From a strictly IR perspective, he enjoys a front-row seat to the strategy behind, say, the decision to enter into an acquisition, and this direct knowledge helps him tell the right story to investors. Similarly, from a Treasury perspective, he is intimately acquainted with what levels of support to expect from the investor community whenever the company sets out to raise equity.
Not only can a more expansive remit help IROs do their jobs better, it’s a boon for investors too, says Mousavian, adding that the investor universe appreciates hearing directly from decision-makers in various corporate functions.
Arnovitz agrees: “It’s valuable for investors and analysts to know that when they’re talking to IR, they’re…not getting a message that’s ‘manufactured’ and replayed to them.” He continues: “Investors like to interact with the management of the company via the IRO.”
Jennifer McCaughey, Director, Investor Relations, at Calian Group, currently dedicates all her time to IR. In previous roles, she managed IR alongside a variety of different responsibilities. She believes that the scope of the IR function will ideally depend on the company’s organizational structure and the level of engagement from the financial markets.
During her 15-year tenure at TC Transcontinental, McCaughey began working in IR but, driven by ambition, gradually expanded her responsibilities to include ESG, external and internal communications and branding.
Her experience at Bombardier was in stark contrast. As a large-cap company followed by over 20 sell-side analysts, Bombardier required a significant IR commitment. Her role involved frequent roadshows and conferences, as well as constant interaction with both institutional and retail investors. “In an environment like that, the demand on IR is so intense that taking on a secondary role would be extremely challenging,” she says.
Looking back, McCaughey reflects: “The advantage of having a broader scope of responsibilities is that it’s excellent for personal growth and professional development. The downside, however, is that when the workload becomes too broad, investor relations can end up taking a back seat. You find yourself doing IR on the side, rather than giving it the full attention it deserves.”
An increasingly dynamic role
During 20 years of work in IR, McCaughey has seen the role evolve significantly from a traditionally “reactive” function to an increasingly “proactive and strategic” one.
At Calian Group, for instance, McCaughey dedicates more time than ever to engaging with the Board and shareholders. The benefits of such an approach are clear. Engaging in proactive dialogue “not only fosters trust and credibility but also supports better decision-making and ensures alignment on key issues,” she says.
A proactive approach to IR can extend to mastering ESG and sustainability, as is evidenced by the Korn Ferry survey. Fully 20% of survey respondents said that ESG/sustainability was now within their purview – and in Canada, similar trends have emerged.
“Over the past five years, I’ve definitely seen the role of investor relations officers grow in responding to investors’ requests for ESG and sustainability information,” says Sarah Keyes, Partner, Sustainability Strategy & Transformation, at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Toronto.
Keyes is convinced that what she calls “headwinds for ESG given the anti-ESG sentiment in the U.S.” are, in fact, putting more onus on Canadian IROs to up their ESG and sustainability games.
CIRI’s Megann agrees: “It’s super important that the investor relations person knows where their company stands in terms of ESG guidelines and plans.” She explains that when ESG/sustainability is part of an IRO’s remit, “it fosters consistency in messaging, and it fosters better collaboration.”
Preparing for the future
Asked what types of education or experiences he’d encourage IROs still early in their careers to pursue, Mousavian didn’t specify a single discipline, instead recommending that newcomers tap into the multitude of resources out there through networking. To follow this route, IROs might begin with the educational opportunities at CIRI, as well as finding a mentor.
Mousavian describes the IR community as “unique” in its willingness to place valuable resources within reach of junior colleagues, something he suspects is far less common within other career paths. “There are so many forums to interact with more senior IROs and learn best practices,” he says. “Tapping into those resources is a great way to figure out how to build knowledge and develop professionally.”
For budding IROs, cultivating skills for the future is likely to take on greater importance given events unfolding on the world stage.
University of Toronto’s Hejazi maintains that growing uncertainty is an enormous challenge for IROs, one that may prove daunting as it also elevates the importance of the profession. To support his claim, he cites the World Uncertainty Index, which spiked to all-time highs in January of this year.
Arnovitz is convinced that heading enterprise risk management, as well as IR, positions him to communicate in “the current environment of global volatility.” He therefore welcomes “this very direct access to the kind of information that investors are currently seeking.”
Going forward, Megann sees several possible ways for IROs to “gather intelligence – and communicate and explain about the risks out there.” With markets roiled by threats of tariffs and other actions taken by U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders, she envisions that IROs will be talking more about resilience and sound decision-making over the coming months and years.
“If periods of uncertainty continue, the IRO will have to be one of the beacons within their companies,” she says. “They’ll have to keep a calm head and a steady hand to steer through these periods of uncertainty.”