Toralf Haag has been at the helm of the multi-metal supplier and copper recycler Aurubis since 1 September. The business graduate (58), previously CEO of the Heidenheim-based technology group Voith, is the successor of Roland Harings (61).

Harings, who was in office since mid-2019, was forced to resign prematurely at the end of August following the crisis year 2023, involving plant accidents with three fatalities, and the discovery of metal theft and fraud which hit earnings.

Haag is the sixth CEO to be appointed since Angela Seidler took over as head of Investor Relations (IR) at the MDax company with responsibility for Aurubis' capital market communications. She moved to Hamburg in autumn 2011 from WestLB, which was on the brink of collapse at the time.

The IR department with its five employees reports to the CFO. With eight employees in Group Communications (PR), which she also took over in 2018, Seidler reports directly to the CEO. Her job title is Vice President Investor Relations & Corporate Communications.

The fact that Aurubis bundles capital markets and group communications with one person naturally makes sense to her. A „stringent one-voice policy“ is important, she says. The company's core messages should be the same, albeit with adjustments depending on the target group. There are currently no plans to expand the IR department at Aurubis. However, the topics have become more diverse over the past 13 years, Seidler notes. And they are coming faster. Today, the ability of IR to quickly establish a common language across the company on a wide range of topics is „a critical success factor“.

Collaboration with other areas such as the legal department has become even more intensive. „IR is and remains one of the most important interface functions,“ states the division head. This is associated with a high level of visibility within the company, which often has a very positive effect on the personal development of colleagues in the IR department. „I personally think that's great,“ says Seidler, who is not only one of the founding members of Women4Metals, an industry-specific initiative to promote women in the metal industry, but has also been a mentor for talented women employees at Aurubis for years.

The business graduate from Uelzen, who grew up in Wendland, studied at the universities of Kiel and Münster after graduating from high school in 1985 before starting a trainee programme at WestLB in 1991. In two decades at the Landesbank, she held various positions, including in corporate finance as a key account manager for groups in Western Europe specialising in mechanical and plant engineering, and the steel and metal industries.

It was in this role that Seidler came into contact with the Hamburg-based copper producer, which has been listed on the stock exchange since 1998 and was known as Norddeutsche Affinerie until 2009. When she was approached by Bernd Drouven, Aurubis CEO until the end of 2011 and now a member of the Supervisory Board of Salzgitter, the major shareholder with a stake of just under 30%, about a change and taking on the position of Head of IR, she „didn't have to think twice“.

Looking back on her experience since 2011, Seidler says that intensive dialogue with analysts, institutional investors and retail shareholders is still at the heart of IR work. Against the backdrop of consolidation in the banking market, and the trend for analysts to cover more and more companies, the company is satisfied with Aurubis' equity research coverage. Aurubis, with its various earnings drivers and markets, requires a lot of explanation.

Seidler also reports that the number of investor contacts has remained more or less constant over the years. Even if it was partially reduced after the end of the coronavirus pandemic, the shift towards virtual dialogue at investor conferences and roadshows is still noticeable. However, nothing can replace face-to-face dialogue:, and willingness to travel and meet up with investors is still a must for IR, she says.

When asked about the developments in IR work since 2011, the Aurubis division head says that the main changes have been in reporting requirements, particularly with regard to ESG key performance indicators and overall sustainability reporting. Governance roadshows were also hardly an issue at the beginning of her time at the company. On the other hand, process optimisation has played a major role throughout the entire period, be it in quarterly, annual or sustainability reports, or ad hoc publicity.

In times of scarce resources and cost optimisation, digital options such as collaboration software are now being used that did not exist over ten years ago. „Today, we are in a position where all key providers in the company – and even the Management Board– are working on a 300-page report at the same time,“ reports Seidler. Lengthy coordination rounds are a thing of the past.

Access to international investors has also changed. Thanks to modern investor targeting, Aurubis is approaching interested investors in other regions such as the USA, where it is supported by an outside agency. The company has recently built a new recycling plant in Richmond, Georgia.

The strategy has proved successful, and Aurubis has gained a number of new investors, says Seidler. „The topic of metal recycling, domestic raw material extraction, and independence from metal imports is attracting a great deal of interest from investors in the USA.," she notes, and the company is capitalising on this trend.

Seidler sees the greatest challenges for IR and PR work in the coming years in driving forward digitalisation and know-how with regard to generative artificial intelligence in the communication disciplines, managing reputational risks, for example due to fake news, and dealing with scarce resources– while at the same time dealing with increasing regulation and further reporting requirements.

In view of „information inflation“ , the company will focus even more on reaching the stakeholder groups relevant to Aurubis with content that is of interest to them. According to Seidler, the company will increasingly focus on data and effectiveness analyses.