Gillian Tiltman is senior vice president and head of investor relations at Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM). She previously served as a managing director, portfolio manager for the real estate securities group at Neuberger Berman Europe Ltd.
In addition to asset allocation, investment decisions, and portfolio construction across Europe, Tiltman was also responsible for marketing and promotion for all REIT strategies. Earlier in her career, she worked for M&G Investment Management, Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank. She is based in London.
You joined Iron Mountain in January 2022 after a career in portfolio management and investment banking. What are some of the biggest adaptations you’ve had to make?
I started my career advising companies in investment banking in 2003 and in 2008 began engaging with them as a shareholder when I moved into asset management. I’ve always been fascinated by how businesses operate from the inside to create value for their shareholders. As a shareholder, I spent a tremendous amount of time analyzing companies and speaking to management teams and executives.
Even with years of this experience, moving to work within a company to execute and drive results, as well as being responsible for crafting the story to communicate to the investment community, is an immense privilege and an opportunity that I never could have imagined.
Running portfolios as a fund manager provided a great deal of flexibility and whilst I was continually learning something new and sharpening my skills, making the switch to the corporate side has been a steep learning curve, and I feel tremendously energized and engaged by it. I feel very much a part of our journey as a company at Iron Mountain.
What do you anticipate will be key concerns or questions from investors in 2023?
The current interest rate environment and global economic instability is top of mind for investors and will continue to be going into the new year. Iron Mountain has been very stable and successful because of our business model of integrating our core records storage business with our more growth-oriented segments of digital solutions, data center, and asset lifecycle management. Investors will continue to be interested in how we can drive our growth agenda in a turbulent environment.
Do you expect that increased regulatory disclosures in areas such as sustainability are likely to be a persistent theme in the year ahead?
I would not necessarily characterize increased regulatory disclosure as a "persistent theme,” instead I would suggest that we have moved towards "institutional reality." Many companies are not waiting to act nor tracking what will be required, but they are actively disclosing and working to ensure that their sustainability disclosures align with the same rigorous standards as their mainstream financial disclosures.
What are some aspects of Iron Mountain’s strategy that you most hope to highlight to investors this year?
Earlier this year we announced our new project Matterhorn operating model, the next transformational phase of Iron Mountain’s growth journey. We have a unique and durable business model, with an excellent track record of financial execution and global operational excellence.
Our growth strategy has taken us into expanding our sustainable solutions such as Iron Mountain data centers, which offer 100% clean energy powered co-location facilities and also our asset lifecycle management (ALM) business, which provides customers with circular solutions in areas such as electronic waste. These solutions build upon our existing platform of services, strengthening our market leadership in high-growth areas, and providing sustainable solutions for our customers to support their business and social goals.