John Dawson to Become Chairman of the Investor Relations Society

LONDON, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Investor Relations Society today announces that Richard Davies will be retiring as Chairman at the AGM on 21 June 2011. John Dawson, currently Deputy Chairman of the Society and Director of Investor Relations at National Grid plc will take over as Chairman and Karen Keyes, Head of Investor Relations at Logica plc will become Deputy Chairman after the AGM.

Commenting on his appointment John Dawson said:

'I am delighted to be taking over the Chairmanship in June at this exciting time in the Society's development. Richard Davies has provided inspiring leadership over the last two years and in particular he has helped to make the Society more relevant to the needs of its members. The quality of communication between companies and investors remains at the heart of an effective UK market. As regulatory focus on this area increases, the Society will play an even more important role in representing the voice of issuers. I look forward to taking on this challenge.'

Notes for editors:

John Dawson

John was formerly Director, Investor Relations for Cadbury, until its take over by Kraft Foods in 2010. John has been an active investor relations practitioner since 1997.

John graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1989 with an honours degree in Manufacturing Engineering and completed a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering and Management in 1990. Sponsored by TI Group through university, John joined TI's John Crane division in 1990, qualified as a Management Accountant in 1992 and, over the next eight years, worked in Malta, Italy and the UK. In 2000 John joined Exel plc as their Director of Investor Relations and subsequently as Director of Corporate Affairs. At Exel he was responsible for the development of Exel's corporate reputation, including investor relations, media relations and marketing, as well as internal communications. In 2004, John joined ICI, running the entire Group communications activities for the next four years until the Group was bought by Akzo Nobel in 2008.

Karen Keyes

Karen joined Logica in 2006 as Head of Investor Relations. While at Logica, Karen has been involved in the acquisition of WM-data and the divestment of the telecoms products business. Her previous role was Vice President, Investor Relations at Marconi Corporation Plc, where she worked on Marconi's disposal of its telecommunications equipment business to Ericsson. Prior to that, she spent seven years at Nortel Networks where her roles included business development and government relations. Karen has Masters degrees in Finance (London Business School) and International Political Economy (Carleton University) and a BA from McGill University.

The Investor Relations Society

The Investor Relations Society represents members working for public companies and consultancies to assist them in the development of effective communication with financial markets and to create a level playing field for all investors. It has nearly 600 corporate and individual members drawn both from the UK and overseas, including the majority of the FTSE 100 and much of the FTSE 250.

    
    For further information contact:

    The Investor Relations Society

    Richard Davies - Chairman
    +44(0)20-7492-0501

    John Dawson- Chairman-Elect
    +44(0)20-7004-3170

    Michael Mitchell - General Manager
    +44(0)20-7379-1763