IR Webinar: AI in Action - from first steps to becoming a Frontier Firm for Investor Relations

This webinar is part of the AI Working Group’s 2026 programme. Adoption of AI tools by IROs has been growing, but for many it remains at an early stage, often with uncertainty as to where to start and how to apply, especially in the new world of agentic tools. This webinar brings together Microsoft AI leaders and IROs Ross Hawley and David Irish to look at the dynamic of AI moving from experimentation to enterprise scale, plus what does it mean to be a Frontier IR team?

In this interactive webinar, you will principally hear from Microsoft, exploring how they see early adopter IR functions using AI in their activities, such as compressing earnings cycles, sharpening regulatory drafting, managing knowledge at scale, and generating sharper market perception intelligence,  all while preserving the governance and insider-risk controls the IRO profession requires.

David and Ross will provide the in-house view from the large and small team perspective, and their reflections on the potential of agents and of Microsoft Co-pilot, being the AI platform most available to IROs at an enterprise level. 

The session will cover:

• A clear framing of the Frontier Firm model and what AI transformation looks like for IR specifically

• Experiences and reflections from an in-house IRO journey

• Three live demos drawn from real IR use cases

• A practical view of how to engage with Microsoft and the partner ecosystem to start your own journey

Whether you are early in your AI exploration or already piloting use cases, this session is designed to give you concrete ideas you can take back to your team and a chance to ask the questions that matter most.

Host

Matt Hall

CEO - The Investor Relations Society

Matt Hall

CEO - The Investor Relations Society

Matt is CEO at the Investor Relations Society, where he is responsible for the delivery of the Society's strategic and operational objectives. Prior to joining the Society, Matt held senior roles for representative membership organisations within financial and professional services, including UK Finance, the Chartered Insurance Institute, and TheCityUK. Matt is a Non-Executive Director at the Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) and has an MBA from Bayes Business School.

Speakers

Ross Hawley

Head of Investor Relations - ZIGUP

Ross Hawley

Head of Investor Relations - ZIGUP

Ross is an experienced IRO with both an in-house and advisory background. Originally in equity capital markets banking, Ross has over 20 years of in-house corporate experience, including FTSE100 businesses such as Rolls-Royce, where he was Assistant Director of IR; and Man Group plc, the alternative investment manager, where he was involved in a very wide range of capital raisings and corporate transactions for over a decade. Ross was a Director of the Investor Relations Society from 2015-25.

David Irish - Co-chair of the Policy Committee

Deputy Director, Investor Relations - Vodafone Group

David Irish - Co-chair of the Policy Committee

Deputy Director, Investor Relations - Vodafone Group

David is a Deputy Director in Vodafone Group’s Investor Relations team. David began his career at KPMG, where he qualified as an accountant and worked with corporate clients and institutional investors across tax and corporate finance. David joined Vodafone in 2018, initially as the valuations expert within Group FP&A, before moving into the Investor Relations team in 2020. In his first three years in the team, David designed and executed Vodafone’s ESG IR programme and led the production & delivery of Vodafone Group’s annual report. David has completed the three levels of the CFA program and is a graduate of Exeter University.

Peter Woodhams

Senior Copilot Solutions Engineer, Microsoft

Peter Woodhams

Senior Copilot Solutions Engineer, Microsoft

Bio coming soon.