An interview with Gulshen Patel, Independent IR and Corporate Communications Advisor

Tell us a bit about you and your role

A strategic IR and corporate communications leader with nearly two decades of experience across FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies, including Senior plc and Babcock International. A career spanning the full spectrum of IR — from building equity narratives and shaping shareholder strategy to navigating high-pressure special situations including activist defence and major corporate crises. Also a mentor with the IR Society.

Why do you think the theme of ‘IR as a Trusted Advisor’ is so important this year?

IR is no longer just a communications role — it’s a strategic function. Equal parts intelligence officer, market strategist and internal adviser, the IRO today connects macroeconomic insight with institutional sentiment, surfacing the right signals at the right time and shaping corporate strategy from the outside in. That unique outside-in perspective — seeing the business through investors’ eyes, correcting misperceptions, challenging internal assumptions — is something no other function can replicate. And in volatile markets, what IR is really managing is the signal the company gives — to the market, to the board, and to itself. That’s why trusted adviser capability isn’t optional right now. It’s what leadership teams actually need.

What insights will you be bringing to your panel?

Having led IR through hostile takeover defence, major supply chain crises and shareholder scepticism during complex capital allocation decisions, my approach is practical rather than theoretical. What actually works under real pressure — the frameworks, the instincts you develop, and why IRO credibility with the board becomes the difference between leading the narrative and being consumed by it.

Are there any other sessions you are looking forward to joining?

Plenary 3 on board-level influence is one I’m particularly looking forward to. IRO credibility with the board underpins everything — never more so than in a crisis. Plenary 1 on major themes and trends in IR and UK equities is equally compelling — timely given the topics at hand right now: geopolitical uncertainty, shifting investor priorities and the ongoing debate about London’s competitiveness.