Jun, 2007

Class of 2007

Tom Katzenmeyer (1) and Amie Preston (7) – Limited Brands ‘Tom had only five minutes to get dressed for this thing,’ said Preston, vice president of IR, at the photo shoot. ‘I’m just happy to find a place to sit down – I’m seven months pregnant.’

Carol DiRaimo (2), Mindy Jack (3) and Ceo David Goebel (4) – Applebee’s The Applebee’s troika appeared fresh from issuing a statement that the company had offered hedge fund activist Richard Breeden a seat on the board.

Andrea Shaw Resnick (5) – Coach Look for the ‘Andrea Satchel’ at Coach this season. It’s named for this investor relations officer, who was promised her own design if the stock got to $50. It did.

Dan Janki (6) – GE This triple winner seems weary of questions about legendary former Ceo Jack Welch. ‘Jeff Immelt has been in the role for five years now,’ he pointed out.

Kelly Tompkins (8) and Kathie Rogers (9) – Rpm International The duo from Rpm produced an award-winning ‘warts and all’ annual report.

Chris Peterson (10) – Procter & Gamble The general manager of global investor relations was brimming with recommendations about the latest in the P&G pipeline. ‘Have you tried Crest ProHealth toothpaste?’ he asked. ‘Or the Venus Breeze 2-in-1 razor?’

Peggy Foran (11) and Amal Naj (13) – Pfizer Foran is a corporate secretary who was one of the first to hold a vice president of corporate governance title. She came along with Amal Naj, her new vice president of investor development.

Gary Kohn (12) – Western Union An IR natural: ‘I’m a numbers guy who likes to talk. I found heaven.’

Blair Christie (14) – Cisco Systems The trip to New York was a short break from the demands of two children under five. ‘It’s sad when I get excited to get on a plane just so I have time to look at my email,’ Christie said.

Ken Parks (15) – United Technologies United’s ‘Curious?’ corporate advertising campaign came out on top in a crowded field.

Jim Burns (16) – Hewlett-Packard ‘I’d like to thank IR magazine for not having an award for board of directors scandal management,’ said Burns.

Carl Lukach (17) – DuPont Of his award for most improved IR, Lukach said: ‘I’d love to win it two years in a row.’

Kim Johnson (18) – The Hartford Financial Services Group Johnson couldn’t resist recounting the grueling job interview of her newest IR staffer, John Reilly, who was also at the awards. ‘We put him through the ringer,’ she admitted.

Louise Giles (19) – GM Giles wasn’t sure how the award for best IR website would play back in Detroit next to the ‘car of the year’ and ‘truck of the year’ awards GM just won.