Kansas City Chapter

The Kansas City NIRI chapter welcomes all professionals involved in the practice of investor relations. Members include IROs from Kansas City and the surrounding area's largest publicly traded companies to those supporting the investor relations functions at emerging start-up organizations. We also welcome vendors, consultants and other suppliers. Meetings range from formal programs with sought-after speakers to informal Happy Hours, holiday events and casual networking opportunities. Come join us!

President’s Letter

Welcome to the Kansas City Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).

The NIRI Kansas City chapter was chartered in 2001, a result of the efforts of a small group of local IR professionals to formalize the network we had already developed. While many of those founding members have moved on, a few remain, and our chapter—small but mighty—continues to be a resource for education and FUN!

Kanas City is a unique city in that it covers two states, Kansas and Missouri, and is headquarters to several Fortune 500 companies and nearly 25 public companies, spanning a wide range of industries from consumer goods, financial services, healthcare, industrials, housing, retail and restaurants to transportation and utilities.

The diversity of the Kansas City public sector creates a meaningful pool of investor relations, corporate governance, and legal talent and expertise in the region. Our chapter is committed to providing professional development opportunities for current practitioners and corporate executives, as well as those who serve as general counsel or on a board of directors.

Investor relations is a strategic management responsibility that integrates finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community, and other constituencies. We recognize the demands and challenges faced by IRO teams and NIRI Kansas City provides a unique community where IR specialists will find a shared commitment to corporate governance, ethics and best practices in the investment management industry.

If you are interested in learning more about the Kansas City Chapter, please reach out to any of the Board members for more information.

Thank you for your support and I hope to see you in the near future!

Kind Regards,

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Chapter Officers

Theresa (Teri) Seck,, President

Portrait

Teri is the Head of Investors Relations for Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN). With a market cap of nearly $23B, Garmin is a consumer technology company that makes products that are engineered on the inside for life on the outside. She has held this position since January 2015. Prior to her current role, Teri was a Senior Analyst in the Financial Planning and Analysis team at Garmin. Before joining Garmin, Teri held various positions at Embarq/Sprint (now T-Mobile). Teri holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA from Rockhurst University.

Theresa (Teri) Seck, President
Garmin Ltd.

Kay Gregory,, Treasurer

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Kay serves as SVP and Director of Investor Relations for UMB Financial Corp. She joined UMB in 2010 and is responsible for all communication with the investment community. Prior to UMB, Kay was manager of shareholder relations at Embarq Corporation. Earlier she was manager of investor relations at Aquila, Inc. Prior to Aquila, Kay spent nine years at Boatmen’s Bank (now Bank of America) in various investment services and financial planning roles. She has more than 30 years of financial services industry experience. Kay has been a member of NIRI since 2000 and served on the NIRI annual conference committee in 2008 and 2009. She is a founding member of the Kansas City Chapter. Kay holds a BA in Business and International Relations from William Jewell College in Liberty, MO.

Kay Gregory, Treasurer
UMB Financial

Justin Taiber,, Membership

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Justin is a Senior Director of Investor Relations at T-Mobile, managing the company’s relationships with current and prospective debt and equity holders, as well as the broader external financial community, including sell-side analysts. Additionally, his team provides competitive analytics to assist company leaders with various business and strategic decisions. Justin joined Sprint, which was recently acquired by T-Mobile, in 2006. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He also holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from Luther College, where he played basketball while pursuing his degree.

Justin Taiber, Membership
T-Mobile

Jordyn Eskijian, Programs

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Jordyn is a Senior Financial Analyst, Investor Relations & ESG at H&R Block, a global tax preparation, financial products, and small business solutions company, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. She has held this position since 2021 and prior to her current role she was a part of H&R Block’s Rotational Financial Analyst program where she held positions on the Data Science & Analytics, Accounting, Audit, and Financial Planning & Analysis teams. Jordyn is currently serving on the NIRI 2023 Annual Conference Committee as head of the Marketing & Communications group. She is also a part of the Trulaske College of Business’ Alumni Advisory Board, the Mizzou Alumni Association, and the MuMu Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia, and is pursuing a Master’s degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Jordyn Eskijian, Programs
H&R Block

Debbie Hagen,, Communications

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Debbie launched Hagen and Partners in 1992 following a career in retailing, public relations, marketing/direct marketing and corporate communications working with some of Kansas City's leading companies including Macy’s Midwest, Wolferman’s (a division of Sara Lee Direct) and Ferrellgas. At Ferrellgas, Debbie served as Director of Communications for the company’s 3,000 employees and 500 offices across the country and was named to the Strategic Operating Committee. Debbie later worked for global PR/IR firm Fleishman Hillard. Debbie introduced Investor Relations services in 2001 to assist her firm’s publicly traded clients with a broad range of shareholder communications. Since that time, Hagen and Partners has worked with both emerging public companies and billion-dollar corporations. Debbie and her team have coordinated successful corporate and media events at both the Nasdaq MarketSite and the New York Stock Exchange.

Debbie Hagen, Communications
Hagen and Partners

Don Allen,, Advisor / Director-at-Large

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Don began his career as a journalist with UPI before holding senior management posts with Xerox, Digital Equipment and later with software firms including Wonderware Corp., FileNET Corp., Quest Software and Incuity Software. He twice managed his own IR/PR consulting firm for tech companies in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia and currently consults with clients in the U.S. and Canada. Don served four years on the NIRI national board and three years on the Canadian Investor Relations Institute board, and has taught on-campus and online IR programs. He is an author of “The New Investor Relations: Expert Perspectives on the State of the Art,” published by Bloomberg Press. Don holds a BA degree from the University at Albany (N.Y.), and has completed the Advanced Investor Relations Program at the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University.

Don Allen, Advisor/Director-at-Large
The Allen Group