audience and we thank him for his outstanding service.” Foster’s well-earned retirement has already begun: “I have
free time to do what I want and spend more time with my family.” He and his wife moved to South Lake Tahoe where they recently bought a house. Some of his family lives in the area and in nearby Sacramento. He plans to go skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. Reflecting on the evolution of the IR profession, Foster noted
that IROs continue to grow in stature and influence in public companies. “IROs interface a lot with the CFO, CEO, and operational lead-
ers,” he says. “I circulate analyst reports on a daily basis so they see what analysts are saying not only about FedEx but also about our competitors and peers. Being involved with the CEO and CFO every day and keeping them up to date on the company and what Wall Street is thinking is very important. And I think that gets you a seat at the table for strategic planning. Tey want to know what you think and it’s just not the quarterly earnings calls anymore. IROs can influence a lot of things that the company is doing.” Foster went the extra mile to learn the businesses he repre-
sented. Early in his career ARCO paid for him to earn a master’s degree in petroleum engineering. “It’s always good to have the technical background,” he says. “It opened doors.” He also earned an MBA in finance. Foster has fond memories of ARCO in the 1980s when he and
the CEO traveled together on the company jet to visit institutional investors. “Te CEO really listened to investors and took their ideas to heart,” he says. “And he came back and implemented a lot of things that he knew he should be doing. It really worked and the stock just took off.” One notable event last year that helped culminate his 17 years
at FedEx was a big investor day at the New York Stock Exchange where the company made several major announcements. “We had more than 100 people there and NYSE said it was the largest meeting they have had since the pandemic,” he says. “We filled the boardroom and webcast it around the globe. We laid out our game plan year by year and it was well received, because we had lots of data to back up the numbers.” Foster points to technology as the biggest change in the IR
profession, and he remembers when IROs used fax machines. “Technology makes you more efficient,” he says. “We regularly had back-to-back Zoom calls around the world with investors and analysts. I always told my teams that we should have the latest technology.” He was part of the NIRI volunteer group that created the Senior Roundtable in 1994. “Senior-level NIRI members wanted
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“Being involved with the CEO and CFO every day and keeping them up to date on the company and what Wall Street is thinking is very important. And I think that gets you a seat at the table for strategic planning. They want to know what you think and it’s just not the quarterly earnings calls anymore. IROs can influence a lot of things that the company is doing.”
a new education and networking event that went beyond the an- nual conference,” Foster explains. “So the NIRI Board decided to create a new group and event for senior practitioners who have been doing investor relations for 10 years or more. And it really worked. I have a big plaque from the inaugural Senior Roundtable that has hung on my wall ever since.” Another highlight of his career was serving as an inaugural member of the NIRI Certification Council that created the Investor Relations Charter (IRC)®. He also served on the NIRI Disclosure Task Force in the 1990s that created the first Standards of Practice for earnings disclosure. Looking ahead, Foster sees investor relations becoming more
strategic. “I think more IROs will have a seat at the table,” he says. “I think there’ll be more senior positions in companies. It’s be- come more and more important. People keep saying activism is dying and it’s not. Your company has to stay on its toes and keep delivering for shareholders. In order to do that, you’ve got to have an investor relations team that knows the company, the strategy, and the financials. Maybe more IROs will become CFOs and maybe more IROs will become board members. I think the inves- tor relations function will continue to be elevated.” IR
Al Rickard, CAE, is Editor-in-Chief of IR Update;
arickard@associationvision.com.
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