CEO Update - June 2026
At the beginning of the month, I travelled to Chicago to attend the NIRI Conference.
Spread over several days, it’s one of the largest gatherings of North American and international investor relations professionals. It was fascinating to hear a keynote from SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who spoke candidly about his ambition for US Capital Markets. Despite the growing differences in size and scale, many of the themes resonated with discussions in the UK – easing the regulatory and compliance burden to encourage more listings and driving participation of small and mid-sized companies were both prominent themes.
Linked to the reduction in compliance burden, a topic of strong interest is the proposed US shift to semiannual reporting from the current quarterly model. Quarterly reporting is well established in the UK, and many were keen to understand how IROs on this side of the Atlantic handled the change, with some concerned about the potential ‘dark periods’ between formal reporting periods. One panel on the topic encouraged delegates to view the proposed changes as a vote for flexibility, allowing companies greater control over when and how they update their investors and stakeholders.
Returning to the UK, it was great to join the latest in our series of IRO breakfasts. June’s breakfast was a special edition for non-members of the Society to experience one of the most popular benefits we provide. We will have more of these coming up, so if you’re listening to this as a non-member, please do get in touch and I would love to welcome you to a future breakfast.
And then it was onto one of the biggest events in the Society’s calendar: our 2026 Annual Conference.
In the midst of a heatwave, in spite of train cancellations and school closures, over 330 made their way to the IET Savoy in Central London for a day of insight and discussion. The theme was ‘IR as a trusted advisor: creating opportunity to uncertainty’ where we explored how investor relations is becoming an increasingly strategic function in the face of rapidly changing market dynamics.
It was a fantastic day of candid insight and practical guidance from our panels and keynotes, excellently steered by our host Evan Davis. In amongst the main sessions and breakouts, I found the many informal meetings over coffee and refreshments immensely valuable.
Paul Walker’s keynote speech was valuable insight to start the day – we know our members have a shared interest in UK competitiveness and unlocking growth, and it was fascinating to hear the differences in the UK and US listing experience from a Chair’s perspective.
AI came up in almost every conversation, and it was interesting to investigate it from multiple facets – not only how it is shaping the markets we participate in, but also how it is shaping IR workflows, and even the future talent and capabilities that will be needed as the technology continues to evolve.
With levels of shareholder activism rising in the UK in recent years, the session on activism seemed increasingly timely, as boards increasingly look to IR not only for messaging support, but also for judgement, intelligence and an informed perspective on the shareholder base.
I wish I could mention every session but the video would be too long. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing write-ups, recordings, and key takeaways so if you were there you can revisit the important points, and if you weren’t, you can see what you missed!
In amongst the main sessions and breakouts, I found the many informal meetings over coffee and refreshments immensely valuable. We frequently talk about the strength of our professional community, and the conference was a perfect example of that. The executive team and I are very grateful to our many members, sponsors, and partners for making it happen. We’re already making plans for 2027, and I’m looking forward to sharing more details with you soon.
Have a great July, stay cool, and I hope to see you soon.