The Chapters Committee is focused on the roll out of the Middle East Investor Relations Society (ME IR Society) to the individual countries in the region and the overall development of the Society into new countries. The Chapters Committee is dedicated to ensuring all the Society’s different groups are equally supported and integrated within the overall framework of ME-IR Society.   

It will be the responsibility of each Chapter to set its own goals, which they feel are relevant and achievable given the market in which they operate. Such goals may include:

• Coordinating regular events – this could range from informal networking, to IR workshops and conferences.
• Establishing partnerships with exchanges and regulators.
• Promote membership of the Society – the Chapter may wish to set a target number of new company memberships to achieve by year-end.

We recognize that those individuals, who volunteer to join Chapters, are already very busy people and as such the Society aims to keep the duties associated with this commitment to a minimum.

Logistically the Society will assist in any way it can to help Chapters achieve their goals.

Members of the Chapter Committee include:

• Peter Gotke
  VP, Bank of New York Mellon
  Committee Chair 
• Arnold Chambon
  Corporate Business Development
  Thomson Reuters

Dedicated to the continuing development of IR standards in the region to the level of international best practice, the Education Committee organises a regular schedule of courses and workshops to aid and support the improvement of IR across the region. Overseeing the curriculum and training of Certified Investor Relations Officers, the Education Committee is at the heart of MEIRS’ efforts in the region.

The primary goal of the education committee will also be to promote and improve IR in respective chapters through training, placements and certified Investor Relations qualifications. (CIRO Level 1 & CIRO Level 2).

Throughout 2011 we will be holding regular training sessions for level 1 and level 2 certification in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

• Oliver Schutzmann
  Head of Investor Relations, Shuaa Capital
  Committee Chair
• Ben Franz Marwick
  Head of Investor Relations
  Emirates NBD
• Fiona Piper
  Vice President of Investor Relations
  DP World

Tasked with preserving, growing and developing the ranks of MEIRS, the Membership Committee is responsible for ensuring all relationships at MEIRS both internally and externally continue to strengthen as the Society continued to grow. The Membership Committee explores possible new alliances and partnerships with prestigious and relevant institutions and groups around the region, from individual advisors, corporates, exchanges and other global associations. The membership committee will also be responsible for annual membership satisfaction surveys.

Chairmen of the Membership and strategic Relationship Committee:

• Alex Menage
  Business Development Manager Corporate Services Rapidly Developing Economies
• Michael Chojnacki
  VP
  Bank of New York Mellon

The Regulation Committee maintains and develops clear channels of communication and dialogue with the region’s capital markets regulators and authorities. The RegCom has been established at the request of the Board of MEIRS to develop its position on specific public equity regulatory and market practice issues of concern, and then to assist the Board in developing MEIRS' approach to addressing these issues or their solutions with regulators, representative bodies or other market participants for the benefit of the members of the Society.   Among the activities of the RegCom, we have interpreted this remit to include the formulation of a strategy for (i) promoting improvements in the regulatory regimes in the Middle East to improve market transparency and investor confidence, and (ii) maintaining our members informed about important regulatory developments in the Middle East.

• Alex McDonald Vitatle
  Investor Relations
  HSBC Middle East
• Fiona Piper
  Vice President Investor Relations
  DP World
• Paul Reynolds
  Head of Debt and Equity Advisory
  Rothschild Middle East

Composed of panel of international investors, the Investor Advisory Committee will act as a sounding board for and advocate of IR issues for the region. The idea behind the panel is to create a two way feedback mechanism for institutional investors and our members regarding IR best practices.

The panel would ideally consist of 5-10 investors (institutional, active, perhaps with a focus on Emerging/Frontier Markets, MENA, fund manager or analyst).  Each investor will provide ME-IR Society with a short criterion of objectives that they expect from companies. These expectations will then be communicated to our members through this website and via the quarterly newsletter.

The panel will also provide advice to the board members of the ME-IR Society in the form of strategic direction and feedback. Though this initiative we could align our interests and the interests of investors. ME-IR Society members will be provided with the opportunity to ask the panel questions through this channel, which will be answered during a prearranged meeting or a call and transcribed.

• Hasnain Malick
  Head of MENA Equity Research
  Citibank

The Communications committee’s main functions are to co-ordinate and distribute the stream of news, announcements and developments happening at the Middle East Investor Relations Society to its members and key external audiences. Using channels such as the MEIR Society website, newsletter and influential regional media, the committee ensures all information and updates such upcoming events, changes within the Society and educational developments are communicated effectively and in the appropriate manner. The Communications committee also oversees the organization of MEIR Society events around the region.

• Maria Hunt
  General Manager
  ME-IR Society
• Michael Chojnacki
  VP
  Bank of New York Mellon
• Mustafa Alrawi
  M:Communications

The Finance Committee manages the Society’s internal income and expenditure, ensuring that it remains always in robust financial health.  The finance committee is responsible for advising the board of the society’s financial position and implements financial and internal controls.

• Ben Franz Marwick
  Head of Investor Relations
  Emirates NBD
  Committee Chair
• Alex Menage
  Business Development Manager Corporate Services Rapidly Developing Economies
• Michael Chojnacki
  VP
  Bank of New York Mellon

The aim of the Private Companies Committee is to assist companies trying to establish best practice in Investor Relations even if they are not public. The committee is be responsible for understanding requirements and questions of private companies, promoting IR best practices and providing support and education. The idea of creating this committee follows similar efforts by exchanges in other developed markets to extend their “soft version of oversight” on private companies which have a shareholder-base that resembles the minority shareholders in public companies, with the objective of ensuring that all shareholders in private companies enjoy equal access to information as shareholders of publicly listed companies do. The IR Committee will work initially with a small group of private companies in the UAE who are currently engaged in raising funds in the public market and/or planning to list on an exchange in the near future. The committee will also look to work with Exchanges, Regulators and global IR Associations such as the UK IRS and NIRI.

• Katherine D’Arcy (Katherine.darcy@gmail.com)