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.
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.
Ross is an experienced IRO with both an in-house and advisory background at the start of a 35yr City career, before moving into IR in 2009, where he has worked at a variety of FTSE100 and FTSE250 companies, including undertaking a NASDAQ IPO. Ross is currently Head of IR for FTSE250 ZIGUP plc which has recently won both UK and European mid-cap website awards. ZIGUP also won best innovation in IR in 2025, and launched the FTSE's first website-based AI search tool in 2024. He has led AI for IRO-focused seminars on the IR Society DELIVER programme and both moderated and spoken on a number of AI panels. Ross was a Board member of the IR Society 2014-25 and Deputy Chair 2023-25, over that period chairing both Education and Policy Committees. He is a member of the AI Working Group, as well as being a NED on technology consultancy, BlueHat Associates.
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.
