With a career that has spanned more than 20 years, John Vincic—Principal of Oakstrom Advisors—is an experienced investor relations (IR) and communications practitioner who works directly with senior executives and company directors of public companies. His international network of contacts includes institutional investors, investment bankers, research analysts, traders, and institutional equity salespeople.
Continue reading to learn more about a typical day for John as he advises senior executives across a broad spectrum of industries on IR, corporate reputation management, strategic communications planning, media relations, and corporate branding.
 | “Variety is the spice of life for an IRO—no two days are ever the same.” John Vincic Principal, Oakstrom Advisors |
6:30 AM – 8:00 AM — Client Emails
On most—if not all—mornings, John begins his day by tuning into how the markets are performing. He will then draft and circulate industry updates for his clients. These briefing notes take an hour and a half (give or take) and include financial data, industry trends, and any noteworthy points from competitors.
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM — Internal Staff Preparation
On this particular day, John is actively working with internal team members to prepare a client for a day of marketing and introductions to various investment bankers, as well as sales, trading, and research analysts. These introductions are meant to grow the awareness and familiarity of his client to brand new audiences.
During these staff meetings, John goes over the meeting schedule with the team and client and provides background and information on several of the key meetings.
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM — Client Meetings
Throughout the remainder of his morning, John carves out time to meet with his clients to discuss any predetermined strategies designed to help them achieve their functional and broader business objectives. Items that may be addressed include:
- Strategic IR planning and consulting
- Special situations communications advisory services for M&A, proxy contests, takeover defense, and shareholder activism mandates
- Executive coaching and training
- Corporate communications planning and strategy
- Media relations and social media
- Crisis and issues management
- Digital media; including website, presentation and factsheet development
This executive coaching helps John’s clients significantly enhance long-term shareholder value for their companies.
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM — Inbound Media Response
At the beginning of his afternoon, John responds to an inbound media request for a client from a top-tier Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail. These requests are common practice and are conducted through the phone or email.
During said conversations, John will speak to the designated reporter regarding the following:
- What the desired topic is
- Who they’re looking to speak to within the [client’s] company
- What questions they plan to ask
- The final publishing deadline
- Whether the reporter is getting other voices and opinions, such as analysts, competitors, etc.
After having the first touch-point with the reporter, John will return to his client with the necessary information and work together to craft an appropriate media response.
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM — Review Published Media and Debrief CEO
As John continues through his afternoon, he spends 45 minutes reviewing a Reuters article that covers a recent interview with a CEO client.
Before debriefing with the CEO, John reviews the article’s significant remarks to see if any immediate damage control was necessary. Luckily, no major fires need to be put out. John returns to his client with do’s and don’ts for future interviews.
Crisis communications and issues management is standard practice for John. He works closely with clients to implement various communications strategies and issues management plans that help navigate scenarios that may impact their reputation or interrupt business.
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM — Quarterly Conference Script Review
Later in the day, John spends about 90 minutes drafting and editing an end-of-quarter script for a mining client’s Q4 conference.
This earnings call script includes details such as the financial results for the given quarter, an overview of the company’s future goals, plans for moving forward, and any significant milestones for the business. John will also work with the client to create key points that summarize how these plans impact the company’s future financial performance.
This aspect of John’s role ensures his clients and their management teams deliver effective presentations while simultaneously being prepared to answer the most difficult questions from current and potential shareholders.
4:15 PM – 5:15 PM — Conference Planning
As the work day continues, John spends an hour planning for upcoming conferences. This includes BMO Capital Markets’ Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference, and PDAC: The World’s Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention.
During this preparation, John uses Irwin’s Investor Targeting solution to find the right-fit investors for his client based on relevance, investment style, sector, current holdings, and more. He also uses the platform to export tearsheets to provide his clients with the proper context on various investor profiles before they meet the potential shareholders in person.
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM — Investor Presentation Review
On an irregularly long day, John spends his final work hours meeting with an Australian-based CEO to discuss and review the company’s investor presentation for the BMO Capital Markets’ Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference.
This presentation covers:
- Corporate profile
- C-suite executives and various other members of the board
- Company strategy
- Overview of company assets
- Capital structure
- The financial position of the company
- Upcoming catalysts that the company will be implementing to create shareholder value
John works with his clients to help shape their company’s strategic narrative while developing the framework and design for high-impact investor presentations (and fact sheets) that deliver compelling investment propositions.
Wrap-Up for the Day
While John’s days are usually quite busy, a 12-hour working day is not a regular occurrence. Due to various clients located in different time zones worldwide, this schedule was longer than average.
Other common activities in John’s line of work (but didn’t occur on this particular day) include:
- Financial Media Relations
John and his team will create media relations plans to support a company’s broader business objectives through proactive stakeholder outreach. Whether drafting public news releases or preparing public responses, Oakstrom Advisors provides crucial media relations support.
- Capital Markets Outreach
John leverages his international network of contacts and manages inbound and outbound communications with the right institutional and retail investors, sell-side research analysts, equity salespeople, and investment bankers for his clients.
- Social Media Planning
John’s services include creating targeted social media programs that deliver high-impact results to amplify his clients’ strategic messaging, news, and information to a broader universe of stakeholders.