Women's Forum: IR and Reg FD Highlights.

• Author: Humphries, Nancy

FEl's Senior Vice President for Public Affairs, Grace Hinchman, welcomed more than 40 attendees to the Women's Forum luncheon at the FEI Summit. Participants included several women from FEI's executive level: Tracey Ball, Past Chair of FEI Canada; Dianne McDaniel, Phoenix Chapter incoming president; Alexis Dow, Portland Chapter, former member of FEI's Executive Committee; and Mary Jo Green, New York City Chapter, member of FEI's Executive Committee and incoming member of the Office of the Chair.

Amelia Thornton, chief administrative officer of the event's sponsor, Hyperion Software, introduced the featured speaker, Nancy Humphries, vice president/investor relations for BellSouth Corp. Humphries discussed the increasing importance of investor relations (IR), driven by growing needs of individual investors, the international community and requirements of Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD). The IR role, previously a stepping-stone to higher-level corporate positions, has gained importance due to the business media's insatiable need for news and thus provides an opportunity to create value for an organization, she said.

As the point person for the past 10 years for BellSouth's one million-plus shareholders, Humphries offered three observations: 1) surprising Wall Street is a no-no; 2) sustained earnings growth drives stock prices; and 3) IR is really show biz -- it's putting on a good face.

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