SPRING 2023 | CONTENTS


President and CEO Matthew Brusch, CAE


Director of Communications and Editor-in-Chief Al Rickard, CAE arickard@niri.org


Art Direction THOR Design Studio www.thor.design


Letters to the Editor IR UpdateTM


welcomes letters to the


editor. Please send feedback to arickard@niri.org.


About NIRI Founded in 1969, NIRI is the professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, shareholders, securities analysts, and other financial community constituents. NIRI is the largest professional investor relations association in the world with members representing over 1,500 publicly held companies and $12 trillion in stock market capitalization.


About IR UpdateTM IR Update is published by NIRI: The Association for Investor Relations, as a service to its members.


ISSN 1098-5220


© 2023 by NIRI: The Association for Investor Relations. All rights reserved.


For change of address, contact: NIRI–IR Update


Phone: (703) 562-7700 memberservices@niri.org www.niri.org


28 DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION Web Accessibility Guidance


Raises Litigation Threat One year after the U.S. Department of Justice released guidance about website accessibility, lawsuits in this area are increasing. Public companies must take steps to ensure accessibility and meet ADA requirements. BY ALEXANDRA WALSH


36 NIRI CONFERENCE Connect With the Community at the BY AL RICKARD, CAE niri.org/ irupdate IR UPDAT E ■ SPRING 2 0 2 3 1


2023 NIRI Annual Conference Community, learning, networking, and career-building take center stage June 6-8 in Chicago for the world’s largest gathering of IR professionals.


12 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Artificial Intelligence:


Humans Are Still in Charge The early days of AI are fraught with uncertainty. But given the right parameters it has strong potential to help investor relations professionals. BY EVAN PONDEL, IRC


18 RETAIL INVESTORS


Look in the Mirror: You’ll See a Retail Investor


The importance of redefining and reconnecting with retail investors. BY KIMBERLY ESTERKIN


DEPARTMENTS 2 AT THE BELL


The More Things Change… BY KATIE ROYCE, CFA


4 NIRI NOW


NIRI Announces 2023 Class of Fellows


6 SPOTLIGHT ON THE CEO Mark Clouse


Campbell Soup Company


11 SPOTLIGHT ON ADVOCACY


NIRI Advocates on Six Key Issues BY NIELS HOLCH


42 PAST IS PROLOGUE Rebounding from 9/11 and a “Kinder, Gentler” SEC


44 Q&A WITH NIRI MEMBERS A Classy Event With Classic Cars

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48