Strategic communications plan

Very keen to see the newly reconfigured board develop a new strategic communications plan and present a summary to the next meeting of shareholders. I’d like them to assess their current modes & methods of communicating to various audiences; analyse the effectiveness to date; review the investor relations function (including putting agency relationships up for review where necessary); and outline a clear set of pathways to unlocking shareholder value and new interest from the various investor audiences (retail, institutional, medical & academic, trade & mainstream media, partners & other Pharma i.e. potential trial funders/future acquirers). The review and plan should also bear in mind our geographic footprint, the strengths and weaknesses in our current team composition, and consider carefully exactly who and where our target audiences are for the various desired outcomes.

IMO management & board should, following this sort of review, explain clearly to holders why certain comms channels are pursued/selected/prioritised over others if that is still the plan moving forward. There may be very good reasons for this remaining a “science-speak” type company rather than opening themselves up more widely to the “kitchen table language” type audience that I believe we need more of invested here, but that needs justifying. At the moment I’m not convinced of the current approach. The investor roadshow strategy should also be looked at - are we in front of the right institutional investors or not. The board is also quite capable of examining the share register and its movements in and around critical news events. A robust strategy to support and build sustainable share price growth should be an absolute priority of the board and chair.

If management requires more support or a reconfiguration of responsibilities to better target desired communications outcomes then that should be given effect by the board and resource as required. Lucy Turnbull would be the ideal director to drive and take oversight of this review, IMO.

Just putting this out there, because I think current shareholder dissatisfaction with the company’s valuation is justified and we need more than simply the CEO acknowledging that the share price doesn’t reflect the real value of this business.