about program

The ability to translate financial results, your business model, and company strategy into clear and compelling narratives has become a defining capability for high-performing organizations. This executive panel brings together seasoned Corporate Communications and Investor Relations professionals to explore the powerful intersection where quantitative rigor meets qualitative storytelling, and how that convergence drives measurable business outcomes.

Panelists will share insights on how strategic narrative-building shapes investor confidence, strengthens stakeholder alignment, and elevates a company's market position. From earnings calls and annual reports to ESG disclosures and crisis communications, the discussion will examine how today's most effective finance and communications teams craft messages that are not only accurate and transparent, but resonant and persuasive.

Attendees can expect a candid conversation covering the evolving expectations of stakeholders from customers and employees to institutional investors and analysts, and the role of messaging and modern financial storytelling to deliver a unified strategic voice.

Light bites and beverages will be provided.

When: Thursday, May 28, 2026
Time: 5:30—8:00 p.m. CT (5:30 p.m. Check-in / 6—8 p.m. Program & Open Networking)
Where: 161 N. Clark Street, 12 Floor Amenity Center, Chicago 60601 (Directions)

SPEAKERS

Pauli Cohen
Director, PR & Communications | Topstep
Pauli Cohen is a communications strategist, brand marketer, and senior client advisor who brings nearly two decades of experience to her current role as Director of PR and Communications at Topstep. Throughout her career spanning top integrated agencies and in-house leadership roles, she has built and executed multi-channel marcom programs for some of the world's most recognized brands — giving her a rare dual perspective on what it takes to shape narratives that resonate and deliver results.
 
From guiding Kimberly-Clark and Astellas Pharma through complex internal communications to leading Colgate's first-ever Optic White launch at Cohn & Wolfe, Cohen has consistently operated at the intersection of strategy and execution. She's stewarded brands through pivotal moments — including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing at Trusted Media Brands, a 50-year company rebrand at FCL Builders, and a first-of-its-kind celebrity spokesperson deal between Good Foods and Danica Patrick that generated over 184 million media impressions. Her client roster reads like a who's who across industries: Target, Robinhood, Mondelez, Mars Wrigley, Walgreens, Guaranteed Rate, Crate and Barrel, and more.
 
Prior to joining Topstep, Cohen served as Senior Vice President of Communications Strategy and Client Service at AKA, a video-first marketing and communications company, where she led the client service practice, drove new business development, and helped transform the agency's revenue model from project- to retainer-based — securing millions in incremental growth.
 
Her core areas of expertise include corporate reputation and positioning, executive and C-suite counsel, enterprise engagement, change management, internal communications, and earned media strategy. Whether scripting a global investor relations simulcast or media training a mayor's staff of 50, Cohen brings the same instincts to every engagement: curiosity, creativity, and a genuine commitment to authentic storytelling.

Brian Lantz
Vice President, Investor Relations & Communication | Ferguson
Brian Lantz is a respected business leader whose four-decade career has been defined by driving growth, transformation, building high-performing functions, leading two public company spin-offs and a listing move from London to the NYSE.
 
Today, he serves as Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications at Ferguson, where he plays a central role in shaping the company’s financial narrative and guiding its communications strategy with investors, media, associates and other stakeholders. Lantz was responsible for helping transition sell-side coverage and the share register to the U.S. from the U.K. Before joining Ferguson, Lantz spent a decade at Fortune Brands where his influence and impact were instrumental in the new public company’s journey. He joined Fortune Brands in June 2011, building the investor relations and communications functions from the ground up and elevating the company’s engagement with shareholders. As Senior Vice President, Communications & Corporate Administration he held a uniquely broad portfolio of responsibilities, including investor relations, corporate communications, government affairs, real estate, security, and aviation. In this role, he not only shaped Fortune Brands’ communications but also helped drive value and efficiency.
 
Lantz’s evolution into communications and investor relations began at Hanesbrands, formerly known as Sara Lee Apparel, where he held key finance roles — moved to sales leadership roles with major retail partners including Walmart — and eventually led the spin-off from Sara Lee, building the investor relations function and leading transformation initiatives for the newly formed public company.
 
Through his career, Lantz has been known for his ability to create a strategic vision and bring people together to create solutions and institute robust processes that support disciplined execution. He artfully leads with seasoned judgment enabling his teams to deliver consistently strong results.

Lantz holds a B.S. in Business Administration / Finance from West Virginia University and an MBA from the University of Tampa – John H. Sykes College of Business.
 
Alex Straus
Senior Manager, Investor Relations, Nuvalent
Alex Straus is an investor relations and communications professional specializing in the biotechnology sector, currently serving as Senior Manager of Investor Relations at Nuvalent, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing targeted therapies for cancer. In his role, he partners with executive leadership to shape investor messaging, manage relationships with institutional investors and sell-side analysts, and translate complex clinical and scientific data into clear, compelling narratives for the investment community.

He has built his career at the intersection of capital markets and corporate communications, with experience spanning investor relations, capital markets transactions and corporate positioning across companies ranging from early-stage privates to Nasdaq-listed issuers, including support of clinical milestones and financing activities.

Prior to joining Nuvalent, Straus advised biotechnology companies on investor relations and financing initiatives at THRUST, including Septerna’s $331 million upsized IPO. He has worked across both agency and in-house environments, including at Amgen, where he contributed to corporate affairs strategy for TAVNEOS (avacopan) and supported the integration of investor relations and communications following Amgen’s acquisition of ChemoCentryx, gaining firsthand experience in M&A communications.

He began his career at Real Chemistry, where he supported investor relations for SMID-cap and private biotechnology companies and contributed to a range of public and private market transactions, including venture financings, IPOs and follow-on offerings.

MODERATOR

Joe Caminiti
Senior Managing Director | Alpha IR Group
Joe Caminiti is a Sr. Managing Director in Alpha IR Group’s Chicago office. Caminiti joined the firm in 2016 and has significant experience designing, implementing and leading investor relations programs across all market capitalizations, while managing communications in special situations across multiple sectors – such as IPOs, spin-offs, bankruptcies, private placements, financial restructurings, shareholder activism and M&A. He has led many IR advisory projects and Wall Street engagement strategies, while executing targeting, shareholder base analysis, quarterly reporting, and perceptions studies.

Prior to joining Alpha IR, Caminiti worked as a research analyst on the investment team at Mesirow Advanced Strategies, an institutional alternative investment manager focused on the hedge fund space. At Mesirow, he was responsible for conducting research, producing hedge fund investment strategy analysis, and providing investment recommendations for the firm’s portfolios. Prior to Mesirow, he began his career at BMO Global Asset Management, serving in a support role for the team’s trading operation.

Caminiti graduated from Marquette University with a B.S. in Business Administration with a dual concentration in Finance and Operations. He is a CFA Charterholder, and an active member of the Chicago CFA Society.

Questions? Please send an email the Programming Committee at [email protected].

Program Details

Refunds:
All ticket sales are final. Substitutions may be made at any time.