To determine the members of Extel 2026 Emerging EMEA Executive Team, we surveyed global buy-side analysts, money managers and sell-side researchers at securities firms and financial institutions that cover the region, including those who cast and received votes in this year’s Emerging EMEA Research Team survey. Research results reflect the opinions from 454 investment professionals at 247 financial services firms. The voting process is entirely independent and unprompted, with participants ranking companies and executives without a pick list or pre-selected options, ensuring unbiased and genuine feedback.
We asked the participants to rank the chief executive officers, chief financial officers and investor relations professionals at the companies in their coverage universes. CEOs were ranked on their credibility & leadership and communication. CFOs were ranked on their ability in financial stewardship and communication. IR Professionals were ranked on their Authority & Credibility and Business & Market Knowledge. For the Investor Relations programs, companies were ranked on the following attributes: quality of meetings; quality of earnings calls; pro-active communication; consistency of financial disclosure; and granularity of financial disclosure. Additionally, voters also ranked companies on the quality of investor/analyst events, company board on their tenure and board refreshment and strategy & stewardship, and ESG.
Voters rank up to five companies across various attributes. Points are awarded inversely to rank—5 points for first place, 4 for second, and so on. These points are aggregated to produce detailed rankings for CEO, CFO, IR Professional, IR Program, ESG, Company Board, and Investor/Analyst Events voting categories. The overall rankings combine buy-side and sell-side votes for a balanced, comprehensive perspective. The overall rankings in each of the categories are based on combined buy- and sell-side votes. Separate rosters (buy side, sell side) are also available for each award classification.
The same approach as above was used to create the 2026 Emerging EMEA Large Cap and Emerging EMEA Small & Midcap Executive Team rankings. Companies with greater than $5 billion in market capitalization are considered Large Cap; companies with less than $5 billion in market capitalization are considered Small & Midcap.
Honored Companies are companies who achieved at least one published position. To earn the designation of Most Honored Company, a company must achieve a weighted score of six or more points across the seven categories in the combined, buy-side and sell-side rankings, wherein each first-place position is worth three points; second place, two; and third place, one. When a tie exists in the weighted score, companies are ordered according to the number of ranked positions they received.
To be eligible for inclusion on the 2026 Emerging EMEA Executive Team, a company must be headquartered or have operational or executive headquarters in the region. We keep confidential the identities of the survey respondents to ensure their continuing cooperation. Voters must meet eligibility requirements, and winners must achieve a minimum vote count. All ballots are subject to review by our Research Operations Group.
The emerging markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are known more for their differences—culturally and geographically—than their similarities. But when it came to battling geopolitical uncertainties and volatility this year, some of the leading companies of the region were united in their steadfast approaches, cutting across sectors such as telecommunications, finance, healthcare and energy.
Geopolitical tensions affect the energy sector mainly through price volatility, supply chain pressures and uncertainty around security of supply, according to Georgios Stassis, chairman and CEO of PPC Group, one of the leading electricity producers and suppliers in Greece. Stassis said these challenges highlight the importance of the strategy PPC Group is already pursuing: more domestic clean energy, stronger grids, flexible generation and reduced exposure to imported fossil fuels over time.
