EP29: Nick Stone - Navigating Challenges and Trends in the IR Space

Enquire, the Investor Relations podcast

There’s a lot that IR professionals can learn from their peers and from how other businesses manage investor relations. On the show this week is Nick Stone, Senior Vice President, Head of IR at GSK. We hear how he launched his IR career and his tips for success.

Lessons from a Head of IR

In this episode, Nick shares stories from his career, starting from his time studying law to getting involved in corporate strategy and business development, before making the move into IR. We hear how his experiences have shaped his career, including 17 years in corporate strategy, business development and IR at AstraZeneca, and how his experience provided him with a unique skillset for furthering his career in investor relations at GSK.

Nick explains the challenges of leading a large IR team, the importance of good internal communication, and how IROs can learn from peers to combat challenges and grow their careers. We also touch on the role of AI in IR. For Nick, while it provides opportunities to streamline workflow, his advice is that IROs should remain cautious when using it.

In This Episode:

• Nick’s career path from studying law to working in pharmaceuticals
• The transition from corporate strategy and business development to investor relations
• How previous roles provided him with a unique skillset for his IR career
• His transition from AstraZeneca to GSK and the focus of his team
• The challenges of building and leading a large IR team
• Changes in and engaging with the sell-side especially in the pharmaceutical sector
• How to measure success of an IR programme
• GSK’s approach to shareholder structure and global targeting
• GSK’s approach to governance and sustainability in IR
• Interacting with the board and communication within the business
• How AI can support IR
• Challenges and opportunities for IR in the year ahead
• Advice for aspiring IR professionals

Quotes:

“What you have to come back to is just really your core set of values. I need to be open and honest in terms of my engagement with the market. I have to be transparent.”

“Internal relationships in any organisation are incredibly important, from the board all the way through the organisation.”

“Everybody's going to want high quality global asset managers. You also really want to have a level of balance across regions of the globe so you don't have overexposure in certain instances.”

Resources:

• Connect with Nick Stone