Commercial Real Estate Investor Relations Manager

Whitestone REIT is a Houston-based, publicly traded real estate investment trust (NYSE: WSR) that acquires, owns, leases, and manages a quality portfolio of properties that offer significant growth potential meeting the daily necessities of fast-growing communities. Whitestone’s proven and differentiated approach of focusing on entrepreneurial client tenants that provide essential goods and services that support the communities located immediately adjacent to its properties and building the optimal mix of these tenants providing convenience and high-demand services within each center reduces risk and generates superior financial results for clients and Whitestone investors. 

The Investor Relations Manager will report directly to the Vice President of Corporate Communications.  This position will be responsible for individually, and in collaboration with the VP of Corporate Communications with developing, implementing and executing the company’s Investor Relations program. 

The qualified professional will help develop and/or maintain a platform to create visibility for the investor community around the organization’s potential, as well as the IR team’s priority goals.  The successful candidate will have direct knowledge of the inner workings of the capital and equity markets (REIT sector experience preferred), outstanding communication and interpersonal skills; comprehensive business acumen; strong analytical and modeling skills; disciplined time management and organization skills; and the executive presence and leadership ability to maintain a high level of trust, credibility, and confidence with the organization’s high-performance leadership team.

A qualified candidate is an individual contributor with high energy, focused and thoughtful communicator as well as a researcher and analytical thinker with a desire to work in a fast-paced, expanding, and well-established publicly traded commercial real estate firm.  Beyond functional skills and experiences, this individual must be results/outcomes focused and have a keen intellect, unquestioned ethics, a high sense of urgency, strong time and project management skills, and the ability to simultaneously execute on projects from a strategic and tactical perspective.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Research and analyze the Commercial Real Estate market on a daily basis;
• Track activity in the Company’s stock relative to indices and comparable companies;
• Track analyst coverage and modeling for Whitestone and designated peers to ensure accuracy and spot any relevant trends;
• Provide a variety of weekly trend and forward analysis reports to the executive team;
• Research on industry trends and publish reports on public companies, provide an understanding of investment criteria and decision making of investment choices;
• Lead the planning and organization of the Annual Shareholders meeting;
• Build and manage external relationships with investors and analysts;
• Monitor and track stock activity, industry and market trends and provide analyses and insights;
• Coordinate all aspects of the quarterly earnings call scheduling and preparation process, including analysis of business and financial results, agenda and content of presentations, including development of messaging and writing of financial communications;
• Prospecting, quality long-term investors.  Broaden awareness and interest in the company through a combination of conferences, non-deal road shows, in-person and telephonic meetings and financial/business media;
• Build and maintain relationships with mutual funds, public and private pension funds, insurance firms, high-net-worth individuals or institutions that include retirement funds for cities or states, as well as mutual funds;
• Manage and coordinate investor events to effectively use the CEO’s, CFO’s, and VP of Communications’ time and maximize positive impressions of target investor;
• Ensure compliance with all regulations and protocols applicable to investor relations and corporate communications;
• Facilitate process and scheduling of quarterly earnings release and call.  Prepare news releases, conference call scripts and practice questions (with answers when needed), work with business leaders to develop content and validate documents with legal and financial;
• Create engaging, highly-visual and insightful presentation content for current and prospective investors;
• Support annual proxy process, including coordination with proxy solicitor and investor meetings/communications as needed;
• Co-develop and manage the operating plan, budget and detailed execution of the annual IR strategy; and

• Other tasks and assignments, as directed by the VP, Corporate Communications and/or Executive Management.

   

Skills and Qualifications:

• Minimum 5 plus years’ experience in Investor Relations or Banking field;
• BA or BS required; MBA preferred.
• A clear and thorough understanding of the financial modeling techniques used by security analysts to project a company’s operating and financial performance and the resulting value for its stock;
• Previous public company and SEC Compliance experience, REIT capital and equity market experience preferred;
• A respected reputation within the investment or banking community, based on credibility, consistency, visibility, access, and depth and breadth of knowledge;
• An in-depth understanding of the financial and investment markets and the ability to establish new relationships in new industries quickly;
• Proven strong research, writing, editing and proof-reading skills, ability to quickly detect and correct errors;
• Proven relations with key contacts in the financial and investment communities and the ability to effectively network and establish new relationships quickly, strong interpersonal skills;
• High degree of resilience, and proven adaptability, and flexibility to pivot quickly as operating environment variables change;
• Must be organized and detail oriented with strong time and project management skills and the ability to multi-task;
• Must have excellent follow-up and delivery/closing skills;
• Very strong oral and written communication skills and presentation ability;
• An understanding of investor and stakeholder relations, strategic communications, media relations, and investor and legal regulations for publicly traded companies;
• High proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint; Proficiency with Contact Relationship Management data bases, Workiva, and NYSE and Bloomberg terminal platforms.