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Taking Investor Relations to the Next Level

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Executive Changes and Departures

Jet Blue announced yesterday that CEO David Neeleman will be replaced by current President Dave Barger.  Neeleman will remain Chairman of the Board.

JetBlue stock was up 4.7% on the news. 

Executive changes and departures are like death and taxes.  They are somewhat inevitable.

Unexpected executive changes or departures make for interesting times in IR land. When such announcements are made calls flood into the IR department looking for the dirt behind the changes.  Regardless of whether there is a fascinating story behind the change or not the investment community is almost always able to conjure up some sort of juicy soap opera script.

So what is an IR department to do?

In short, it must execute on a well defined communications plan.

If the executive change was expected, then prove it, and get the word out quickly. If the change was not expected, then be upfront, be credible, and be ready to explain how the company won’t crumble during a reasonable transition period….and do it quickly….after all, millions of dollars of market capitalization are at stake.


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Published 11 May 2007 15:52 by Anil Dilawri

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  • Boyd Neil said:

    I wonder if the change has anything to do with JetBlue's problems at the begining of the year? Perhaps Mr. Neeleman got tired of the day-to-day hassles of CEO. And . . . why not add my URL to your blog roll?

    Cheers,

    May 14, 2007 14:24

  • Anil Dilawri said:

    Hi Boyd - I think the executive change had everything to do with JetBlue's problems earlier in the year.  The market appears to like the change, hence the appreciation in stock price on the news......On the blog roll front, I have added you....now I look very forward to you adding my blog to your blog roll!!!

    May 14, 2007 19:00

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About Anil Dilawri

Anil is Director of Hill & Knowlton Canada’s Investor Relations group. He provides strategic counsel and leadership to publicly traded companies and/or organizations that are planning an initial public offering. His value is his ability to develop modern day investor relations strategies, policies and procedures to ensure that a company’s investor relations program is effective in meeting the needs of shareholders, prospective shareholders, financial media, company management, and the Board of Directors. Anil has a vast amount of experience in communicating with members of the North American and European investment communities. This community includes sell-side analysts, buy-side shareholders, prospective institutional shareholders, retail shareholders, and financial media. Before joining Hill & Knowlton Anil was the head of investor relations for March Networks Corporation where he was the strategic leader and day-to-day contact for a number of March Networks’ key stakeholders, including financial analysts, shareholders, media, and industry associations. Prior to March Networks Anil was at Cognos Corporation where he held several senior positions in investor relations, product marketing, and research and development.
 
 
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