The Other Two-Way Street of IR: Partnering Internally to Strengthen Your External Story
The best IR teams don’t just bridge the company and Wall Street; they connect IR strategy with execution by involving colleagues a layer or two below the C-suite.
Armstrong World Industries’ (AWI) two-person IR team, led by VP of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Theresa Womble, runs a tight and effective operation. For this piece, we drew on insights from both Theresa and her former teammate, Dan Haldeman, who recently moved from Sr. Manager of IR to a role in supply chain finance. Together, they share practical ideas worth passing on to the broader IR community.
Here’s how the AWI IR team builds that two-way street by sharing insights that move the business forward and bringing feedback back to IR.
1. Whistle-Stop Tours: Listening to the Business
During quieter weeks between earnings cycles, the IR team schedules “whistle-stop tours”. These are focused chats with leaders in procurement, supply chain, commercial, and other functions.
The goal is to listen, not to present. The IR team opens with prompts such as “What are the top three things on your mind?” and “What challenges are you tackling right now?” These conversations usually start with investor questions or perception gaps. Talking directly with functional leaders helps the IR team understand the issues and opportunities that shape results. The payoff is a more grounded investor narrative and sharper strategic planning.
2. IR Roundtables: Translating Metrics into Meaning
If whistle-stop tours are the ears, the IR roundtables are the conversations. Held three to five times a year, these sessions range from intimate chats with smaller ESG or Legal teams to rooms of forty in Sales. The IR team explains what matters to investors, why it matters, and how each function can help.
For example, take Average Unit Value (AUV). It is a key metric for investors that reflects AWI’s ability to consistently increase the value derived from its products in key markets. Sales teams know they drive it through innovation, selling more value-added products, or expanding commercial relationships. But, it adds something special when they can connect the dots and see how other stakeholders outside the organization view these critical value drivers.
The IR team also ends up collecting stories from the field, ranging from improving product mix through direct customer engagement to how newly introduced products are being received in the marketplace. These stories strengthen and bring to life the pieces of the mosaic shared with investors.
3. Embedding IR in the Org: Creating Shared Context
Beyond stand-alone sessions, the team looks for ways to weave IR into everyday routines, especially within Finance and Accounting.
One example is the occasional “Anatomy of an Earnings Call” lunch-and-learn session. Newer team members and interns get a behind-the-scenes look at how quarterly numbers become the story the Street hears. They see how data flows in, how messaging is crafted, and where their own work fits.
The IR team also streamlines collaboration with their finance counterparts. If an existing report covers most of what they need, they adapt the rest. For repeat requests they share the ‘why’, not just the what. Over time this reduces friction and builds trust.
Finally, the IR team closes the loop. Through follow-ups, feedback sessions, and quick updates, they show partners how each data point shapes the story that reaches investors and how the market reacts. That bigger-picture view makes those teams feel less like cogs and more like contributors to the investor story.
In Closing
By putting simple, repeatable mechanisms like those above in place, the AWI IR team keeps information moving in both directions inside the company. Internal teams feel heard, understand investor priorities, and see how their work shapes the external narrative. The IR team gets fantastic inputs and feedback to improve their impact.
We left this conversation buzzing with ideas. It’s rare to get such an honest peek behind the IR curtain. How do you bring more teammates at your company into your IR journey?
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