Brandi Floberg, Sr. Vice President

Q: As the small-cap team leader of the group, how do you customize your counsel for emerging and underfollowed companies?

Whether you’re a micro-cap company or a multibillion dollar established industry leader, the components to a successful IR program are the same: strategy and counsel, clear communications and systematic marketing.  We help our clients establish a fundamental IR infrastructure and specialize in evolving their messaging, increasing their  visibility among the Street and helping them achieve their next level of success. I find the most important thing is to listen. If you listen to management you can determine where the company is and where the company wants to be. If you listen to the Street you know what is resonating and what is missing. If you combine the two, you can develop the right message and strategy for raising awareness and bringing an emerging or unknown player into the limelight. 

Q: Are you an industry specialist, or more of a generalist?

Part of what makes our job interesting is that we get the opportunity to specialize in a variety of industries. Our clients run the gamut and keeping apprised of developments in the industries and peer groups of our companies is extremely important. So while I’m not an industry specialist, I happen to know the latest obesity drug that was rejected by the FDA, today’s copper prices and that tablets and 3D TVs were the hottest items at CES 2011.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of investor relations?

I love a challenge and with investor relations, there is rarely a standard or a quiet day. IR best practices always play a key role in our approach, however, each company presents a different opportunity and each management team holds a different vision. With this comes a chance to provide fresh ideas to help shape a company’s communications and different avenues to pursue accomplishing a variety of companies’ goals. One day you might be writing a 10-K market overview, another day you’re developing a strategic plan for increasing institutional ownership or cultivating sell-side relationships, and the next you could be writing a messaging thesis or even pursuing new market makers. Everyday is a new day. 

Q: What do your clients value most about your contribution to their programs?

As a team, we  truly cater to each client quite differently based on the goals of individual programs. Because our programs are so customized, ask our clients and you may get a different response from each one. An overriding theme is our counsel, solutions-oriented approach and heightened level of service. One of our most trusted roles is as advisors and it’s one that we take great pride in. Collectively, we have run the gamut of nearly every imaginable IR situation, which makes our team ideally equipped to handle any and every situation. We are available to our clients at all times and provide counsel on the most basic of IR best practices as well as crisis situations and everything in between.

Q: What are your interests outside of IR?

There’s life outside of IR? I thought it was its own extreme sport.