London, Thursday 7th July 2016. The Institute of Industry Analyst Relations, the not-for-profit professional association established to raise awareness of analyst relations and the value of industry analysts, has announced the winners of the IIAR Analyst Professional of the Year 2016 and the IIAR AR Team of the Year 2016. The survey looked at the analysts’ perception of how AR professionals are performing as a whole and compare it with results from the past, according to the ‘Three Rs’ of AR:
• Responsiveness
• Relationship
• Results
“Whilst responsiveness is still the single most important determinant of AR performance, a new improved methodology provides unique insights into the evolution in industry analysts’ perception of AR performance.” said Neil Pollock IIAR Board Member and Professor at Edinburgh University (@neilpollock, LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/neil-pollock-123b59).
For the 2nd consecutive year, IBM has maintained the top rank for best AR team all around, followed by number two Cisco and ex-aequo in third position HP and Dell.
IIAR AR Team of the Year 2016: IBM
“IBM is delighted to be recognized by analysts and IIAR as having a leading analyst relations program. We work hard to create a shared agenda that integrates analysts' research, market trends and IBM's strategic direction. It couldn't be done without a great AR team, expertise from across the business and deep relationships with the analyst community.” said Mike Bizovi, VP Analyst Relations IBM (@IBMITAR, LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-bizovi-663686).
In the regional category, the accolades go to:
• IIAR AR Professional of the Year 2016 for EMEA: Signe Lønberg, Loenberg AR
o “Thank you so much for the nomination we are very grateful and excited to be recognised by the analyst community and the IIAR… thank you!” said Signe Lønberg, Loenberg AR (@signeloenberg, LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sloenberg)
• IIAR AR Professional of the Year 2016 for North America: Peggy O’Neill, Senior Director, Analyst Relations Informatica
o “It’s an honor to be recognized for analyst relations work, my heartfelt thanks go to the analysts who participated in this process and to IIAR for organizing this. The industry analyst relations profession is still a young but important function, as we are the biggest internal advocates for analysts in our organizations. In my opinion, analyst relations has actually gotten easier in the last decade as the analysts have become more transparent to work with, are planning their research agendas with greater lead times, and best practices are better understood now. My mother still has no idea what I do, but as long as my analysts understand and appreciate my role, that’s the important thing!” said Peggy O’Neill, Senior Director, Analyst Relations Informatica (@pegoneill, LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggyoneill).
• IIAR AR Professional of the Year 2016 for Asia Pacific: Susan Prakasam, Microsoft
o “I feel grateful and honoured to be recognised by this award. I couldn't be more energised in serving the analyst community in Asia-Pacific, who provide Microsoft with both critical insights and offer a credible and highly-transparent channel of customer feedback. Whilst this is important at any time, it takes on even greater significance as Microsoft continues on our journey of transformation as an organisation.” said Susan Prakasam, Microsoft (@suprakasam, LinkedIn:
https://sg.linkedin.com/in/susanprakasam).
This survey was sent to over 7,000 industry analysts from firms across the world, and was designed to gauge the opinion of AR professionals across various criteria for the year 2016. It was conducted by the IIAR using AR Insights. Among the participants, Gartner was prevalent with 27% of the overall responses.
“We are really pleased that the best of our peers have been recognised. These awards are validations of the development of the analyst relations profession over the past years, precisely the goal we had when setting-up the IIAR.” said Ludovic Leforestier IIAR Board Member and Director Thought Leadership at BearingPoint (@lludovic, @BearingPointAR, LinkedIn:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/leforestier).
