Ep 04: From Accounting to Investor Relations with Simon McGough

Enquire, the Investor Relations podcast

Joining us in conversation today is Simon McGough, who has recently started a new position as President of Investor Relations at Wood engineering and consultancy group. He has held a range of senior positions, including acting as a director for Babcock. Additionally, he is involved with the Investor Relations Society in the UK and sits on the Best Practice Committee. During this episode, you’ll hear Simon’s tips for anyone exiting accounting and kicking off a career in investing, drawn from his own experience. You’ll hear what he is planning for his new role, and which aspects of the culture at Wood he has appreciated most. He shares his plans in terms of engaging with the board and how he hopes to improve the executive team’s access to the market. We touch on sustainability before diving into some differences between his role at Babcock and his work at Wood. You’ll also hear about trends he has noticed in the market, along with the shifts he has seen in investor relations. We talk about targeting, innovation, and competition in the IR space, as well as what his work as part of the Best Practice Committee involves. Tune in today to hear all this and more.

Key Points From This Episode:

• An introduction to today’s guest, Simon McGough, and his investing background.
• His tips for anyone exiting accounting and kicking off a career in investing.
• How an accounting background can serve as a strong foundation for working in investing.
• What his plans are for his new role as President of Investor Relations at Wood.
• Why working remotely across cities and countries is both a challenge and an opportunity.
• How he starts the conversation by saying that he doesn’t know anything and why this is effective.
• An aspect of the culture at Wood he has appreciated: transparency across departments.
• What has made his work easier: he is replacing a team that has been doing it well.
• Why he thinks that weekly distribution with senior management is essential, with a monthly wider newsletter.
• How IR acts as a link between the market and the company, working both ways.
• His plans in terms of engaging with the board and his focus on improving the executive team’s access to the market.
• What his relationship with the sustainability team looks like.
• The enviable position where the team members are all dedicated to sustainability.
• A comparison between his role at Babcock and his work at Wood.
• What he has noticed about the shift in investor relations.
• What interests him about the different questions that different PMs have.
• The work the team does on targeting.
• Trends he has noticed about how we interact with the market.
• Why there have been improvements with the way that things run in the industry.
• IR innovations and why he feels under-indexed on this.
• How he has never felt in competition with anyone in IR.
• The role of video content in marketing.
• Why a site visit is the best way to understand what a company does.
• His work as part of the Best Practice Committee with guidelines, awards, and qualifications.
• Why experience is everything and asking questions is essential.
• The upcoming results on 8 March delivered in person, followed by a hybrid version.
• The probability of retail investor engagement going forward.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Simon McGough on Linkedin
Best Practice Guidelines

Wood PLC
Investor Relations in the UK

Equitory