Lambert, an investor relations, public relations and integrated communications agency, announced that Julia Ward joined the company as Managing Director. In this role, Ward will maximize her 20-plus years of investor relations (IR) expertise to drive strategy, growth, and account management initiatives for the financial services division within the Capital Markets group.
“Julia’s expertise and relationships in the financial services industry are critical to developing and executing strategies that differentiate our fintech, banking, and payment services clients from the competition to create long-term shareholder value,” stated Lambert’s Chief Strategy Officer Mike Houston.” Adding her capabilities further strengthens our industry-leading talent bench that continually ranks among the top teams in the country for IR, private equity, and M&A transaction communications.”
With decades of corporate IR and finance leadership experience, Ward’s expertise spans financial services, utilities, and commercial and professional services industries. She was honored as a Top IR Professional in 2020 by Institutional Investor’s All-American Executive Team rankings. Her other career achievements include advising large-cap organizations on how best to improve their credibility, increase their analyst coverage, broaden their investor base, and achieve an optimal valuation.
Most recently, Ward served as Senior Vice President of Investor Relations at First Horizon Corporation, where she helped develop and manage the institution’s proactive investor relations strategy. Before that, she spent over four years at Zions Bancorporation as Vice President and Senior Investor Relations Officer, where she played a key role on the top-ranked investor relations team. She has held various leadership and analyst positions with a select list of large-cap organizations, including National Grid USA, Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, Public Service Enterprise Group and Invesco (Chancellor Capital Management). Ward earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).
“Leveraging my large-cap corporate in-house experience, I’m excited to lead Lambert’s investor relations counsel for the banking and financial services practice,” stated Ward. “Lambert’s full-service capabilities are impressive and unique in that the organization is purposefully structured to provide clients with specific industry expertise.”
About Lambert
Founded in 1998, Lambert invented the PR and IR integrated agency model with over 20 years of continuous growth attributed to the firm’s laser focus on strategic communications and bottom-line results in the achievement of client goals. The award-winning national agency is a top-40 PR and top-15 IR firm with top-5 specialties in automotive and mobility, education, and M&A/private equity, alongside robust practice areas in consumer packaged goods, healthcare and biotech, and tourism and hospitality. The firm’s reach spans major talent hubs, including New York City, Detroit, St. Louis, Houston, and Phoenix. Lambert is a founding partner of TiiCKER, a shareholder loyalty, marketing, and perks platform, and an equity partner in minority-owned independent marketing agency 9th Wonder. Lambert’s Founder and Chairman Jeff Lambert is the global board chair of PROI Worldwide, the world’s largest and most diverse partnership of PR firms, and named 2021 Ally of the Year, the top diversity award in public relations issued by Diversity Action Alliance.