IR Intelligence: We Are Now "C-Suite Lite" (And Other Lessons from the 14th TUYID Summit)
Dear Colleague,
What a sprint we are having as we close out 2025. December is always a month packed with final investor conferences, corporate meetings, award events, and professional association conferences. We work so hard throughout the year that we find ourselves rushing to the finish, but honestly, it is also energizing.
TUYID - Turkish IR Society always holds its key summit on December 12 (unless it falls on a weekend). This year, it took place at the renovated Sabancı Center last week. And what an atmosphere! With around 500 participants, it felt more like a family reunion – if your family included hundreds of professionals passionate about capital markets. Company representatives from across Turkey, both senior and aspiring IROs, gathered with their foreign counterparts and highly valued service providers.
This year’s motto was “IR Intelligence.” While we spend so much time discussing artificial intelligence, this summit was a powerful reminder of the human intelligence needed to do our jobs today. I had the chance to reconnect and meet with many people over coffee or lunch, and we all share similar issues, challenges, and “been there, done that” experiences.
This year, the panels were even more impressive, and I wanted to share with you three key takeaways from a day full of valuable insights.
1. The "C-Suite Lite": It’s Time to Own the Title
The Buyside panel provided valuable insights into how the Buyside perceives Turkish IROs and the Turkish market. I must say, we are doing a good job here in Turkey! If you have ever heard Mike Harris , Founder of Cribstone Strategic Macro, speak, you know he does not sugarcoat things. He coined a phrase that has stayed with me: "IR is C-Suite Lite."
Consider that. It perfectly describes the direction of our profession. We are the only function in the company, aside from the CEO and CFO, with a 360-degree view of the entire organization. We possess and provide information spanning strategy, operations, finance, and sustainability. We are expected to speak with the authority of the C-Suite, often without the explicit title.
Mike’s point was more a call to action. Being "C-Suite Lite" means we need to stop acting as messengers and start acting as strategic partners. When we enter an investor meeting, we should not just be prepared to recite the presentation; we must be ready to defend the strategy, explain operational nuances, and handle pressure just as a CEO would. It is a significant responsibility, but it is one we have earned.
2. Don’t Let the Macro Hijack Your Meeting
Corbin Advisors Founder and CEO, Rebecca Corbin ’s keynote was another highlight, focusing on outperforming, capital markets day, and best practices. She addressed a pain point we have all been feeling recently (and not just in Turkey): the "Macro Trap."
We have all experienced it. You walk into a meeting excited to discuss your company’s new product launch or efficiency gains, but end up spending 45 minutes answering questions about inflation, central bank policy, or geopolitical tensions. By the time you leave, you realize you did not tell your story at all.
Rebecca’s advice was blunt and necessary: "Do not get lost in the macro. Own your narrative."
She emphasized that we cannot ignore the macro environment. However, we should not let it take over. Of course, you will have to talk about macro factors and how your company is adapting to changes and challenges, but we must be disciplined enough to acknowledge external headwinds and then pivot immediately back to our specific, idiosyncratic growth story. If we let investors dictate the entire agenda with macro questions, we are failing to do our job. We have to be the ones to say, "Yes, the environment is challenging, but here is specifically how we are outperforming within it."
3. The "Three Times Sticks" Rule
Finally, a valuable piece of practical advice emerged from the panel discussions – something so simple yet often overlooked: the Rule of Three, affectionately called "3 Times Sticks." I apologize, as I do not recall who first mentioned it, but it was repeated throughout the day and referenced by several speakers.
The concept is straightforward: in the noise of the capital markets, telling an investor something once is equivalent to telling them nothing.
• Tell them what you are going to tell them.
• Tell them.
• Tell them what you told them.
If you want a key message to be understood and remembered, you must repeat it three times in different ways throughout your interaction. This is not being repetitive; it is being effective. Investors meet with dozens of companies each week. If you want your story to be the one they remember when they open their notebook on Monday morning, you must reinforce your key points consistently.
I highlighted only these three insights, but if you have not already heard Oskar Yasar from Broome Yasar Partners discuss his book, “The Global Investor Relations Revolution,” you should. Investor relations is like a kaleidoscope, with constantly changing elements and patterns, and the revolution is near. While his book provides an excellent background, my book offers practical tools, including how-to guides, checklists, and templates. Look for “The Investor Relations Playbook – Achieving Sustainable Success.”
On a final note, Amani Korayeim from Extel (formerly Institutional Investor) presented the trends and results of the 2025 survey. This session made everyone in the room sit a little taller, because in a region as competitive as Emerging EMEA, Turkish companies are not just participating – they are dominating. IR standards have become some of the most resilient and sophisticated in the region. This proves that when you own your narrative and maintain transparency, the market notices, regardless of the inflation rate.
Leaving the summit, I felt a renewed sense of purpose. We are not just IROs; we are the keepers of the narrative, the strategic bridge to the markets, and, indeed, the "C-Suite Lite."
Let us take that "IR Intelligence" and put it to work.
Did you attend the summit? Or maybe a summit? What was your biggest "aha" moment? Let us discuss in the comments!
Best, Muge
Your fellow IR Enthusiast!
Currently serving as the Director of Investor Relations and Sustainability at Galata Wind Enerji (GWIND.IS), Yücel brings a wealth of experience to the role, having begun her investor relations career in 2008 at Dogus Otomotiv (DOAS.IS). Her expertise in proactive strategies utilizing digital technology and AI, particularly in shareholder targeting, is instrumental in communicating Galata Wind's growth story. Traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Galata Wind operates wind and solar farms in Turkey and is strategically expanding into Europe, targeting a capacity of over 1000 MW by 2030.
Yücel has recently published "The Investor Relations Playbook - Achieving Sustainable Success", a hands-on guidebook on investor relations operations with templates, checklists and how-to guides. The book is available in print in Turkish and in digital form in English.