The IR Playbook Every Company Needs Before Activists Show Up — Aaron Bertinetti

There are only two types of public companies: those with activists, and those that will have activists. Aaron Bertinetti has seen it from every angle — issuer, advisor, and proxy — and he's blunt about what most boards get wrong before the gate is ever rattled.In this episode, Joshua Wilson sits down with Aaron Bertinetti, CEO of Investor Engagement at Computershare North America, for a candid conversation on what modern investor relations actually looks like at scale. Computershare serves more than 25,000 listed companies globally and counts roughly 58% of the S&P 500 as clients — giving Aaron a panoramic view of how capital markets, activism, and investor engagement are evolving in real time. With prior leadership roles as Managing Director and Head of ESG for IR at JPMorgan Chase and global head of research and corporate advisory at Glass Lewis, Aaron brings rare cross-disciplinary perspective on IR strategy, shareholder activism preparedness, investor targeting, SPAC communications, and the operational reality of running an IR function in a fragmented tooling environment.🎯 What We Cover:Why the IR role has shifted from earnings execution to C-suite strategic advisorThe diplomat-negotiator skill set every modern IR professional needsActivism preparedness: building the playbook before the activist arrivesWhy stock monitoring and engagement intelligence are non-negotiableThe 1-in-300 problem with traditional investor targeting — and how to fix itWhy microcaps should hunt aspirational investors, not their competitors' holdersHow to bring CEOs and CFOs back actionable intelligence from the roadSPAC IR: building a public company narrative from day oneTailoring messaging to institutional, family office, and retail audiencesWhy operationalizing investor intelligence requires unified software, not more tools🤝 Connect with Aaron Bertinetti: 🌐 https://www.computershare.com/us/business/investor-engagement-2 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronbertinetti/📩 Connect with Joshua Wilson: Have a question about investor relations, capital markets, or building your IR strategy? Reach out directly. 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/ 🌐 https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/🎙️ Follow The Investor Relations Podcast: 🌐 https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/ ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@TheInvestorRelationsPodcastDisclaimer: Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, financial, or compliance advice. All views and opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of any regulatory agency, organization, or employer. Listeners should consult their own legal counsel, compliance teams, or financial advisors to ensure adherence to applicable regulations, including SEC, FINRA, and other industry-specific requirements. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services.Let’s Connect on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/To Contact Us, Please Visit:https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/contact/