Investor Relations

After first accusing Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson of lying about his educational record, the activist hedge fund investor Third Point is now demanding that the CEO step down by Monday.

Thompson’s claim was that he held a bachelor’s degree in both accounting and computer science from Stonehill College. Actually, he only has the accounting degree. A Yahoo spokesperson called it an “inadvertent error,” but Third Point, which has gone after the Yahoo board in the past for its poor performance, is having none of it. They want Thompson to resign as well as another board member, Patti Hart, who Third Point also accused of having discrepancies in her educational record.

AllThingsD has called Thompson out, saying the “error” goes back years, when he was CTO at PayPal. Business Insider is calling Yahoo’s response “outrageous and insufficient.”

So Yahoo’s latest CEO could be brought down by a resumé scandal. That position should just remain vacant forever.

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The recession is slowly turning around and unemployment numbers remain high. But company CEOs are seeing their salaries bounce back. According to a USA Today analysis, CEOs got a two percent raise in 2011. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman raked in more than $43 million last year.

“The latest rise shows that despite the hand-wringing in recent years over the large pay packages many CEOs receive and attempts to reform, the boards are right back to approving increases,” the article says, paraphrasing comments from Eleanor Bloxham, CEO of the Value Alliance.

With say on pay still an issue, one wonders about the IRO’s role in communicating with stakeholders about executive compensation. According to the latest research from IR Insight, the role of investor relations is actually pretty small. But that doesn’t mean they’re excluded all together.

In today’s guest post, Tom Johansmeyer, a New York-based freelance writer and consultant with IR magazine, looks closely at the results of this latest research and offers tips for how IR pros can be prepared when they’re called into action.

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KCSA Strategic Communications‘ new tool, The IR App, is now available for download on the iPhone and iPad. The app gives public companies the opportunity to create a customized app containing live data feeds with stock information, analyst coverage, news releases, SEC filings, and more within two weeks time.

“Using this app shows a company’s willingness to embrace 21^st century technology, demonstrating that it is willing to go that extra step for its investors and stakeholders,” said Jeff Corbin, CEO of KCSA in an email.

IROs have been notoriously slow to adopt digital technologies in their work because of fears that they’ll end up on the wrong side of government regulations. Corbin said they’re beginning to loosen up, whether they want to or not.

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Fleishman-Hillard has beefed up its investor relations and research offerings in Asia with a new team that builds on their financial comms and financial service public affairs practices.

Ruby Yim will lead this expanded Global Capital Markets Services group based in Hong Kong and serve as the global co-chair of the team. She was previously managing partner at Taylor Rafferty and served as GM at Thomson Financial Investor Relations in  the Asia-Pacific region. She will have three other experienced practitioners working with her. The group will have four teams to deal with client issues, working with regional F-H teams.

F-H launched a China practice in September.

Investor relations pros occupy an interesting position in the communications world, skirting the area between finance and economics and traditional PR. We see their work during quarterly earnings and financial announcements, which has the capacity to move markets. Yet, their work is also done quietly, without the hoopla of celebrity events or (in many cases) a big social media presence.

Next month, IR Magazine is publishing a supplement, “Profiling the Best IROs in the U.S.,” that will take a closer look at the qualities of a good IRO. To provide a preview, Tom Johansmeyer, group marketing director at IR Magazine publisher Cross Border, has given us an exclusive list of some of the criteria they found in their reporting. (Johansmeyer is also a contributor to our sister blog SocialTimes.)

Click through for the details.

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He has the abs but not the image.  Youth clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch released a statement this week stating they will pay Mike Sorrentino, a.k.a. “The Situation” from MTV’s Jersey Shore to stop wearing their apparel.  The brand extended the offer to the rest of the cast as well.

According to the statement  the tan and tacky bunch’s “association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand.”  So much so they put the announcement in the investor relations section of Abercrombie.com (NYSE: ANF).  Was the statement designed to juice the brand a bit just a day before earnings?

Click here and here for more on the enduring impact of the trash talking stars on everything from handbags to the reputation of Italian-Americans.

No word yet on whether The Situation will accept the offer or not, and how much it’s worth.

Abercrombie’s full statement after the jump:

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An analysis conducted by XbInsight takes a close look at the 33 companies shortlisted for this year’s European IR awards and found that while many of these companies make the contact info for their IRO easy to find, others are keeping it under lock and key.

Novo Nordisk of Denmark, the Netherlands’ Sligro Food Group, and Belgium’s Umicore all scored highest (nine out of 10 points), for making their IRO accessible with phone numbers, email addresses, and other info. Novo Nordisk also provides mobile numbers and photos.

The companies on the bottom barely give any info at all.

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