IR Webinar: Preparing for and pre-empting shareholder activists

Alistair is an Investor Relations and Corporate Communications specialist with over a decade of experience advising management teams of UK and international companies. He has helped management teams strengthen their relationships with investors, build support for their strategies and compete effectively for investment. He has successfully steered companies through critical moments including profit warnings, transactions, M&A, IPOs, placings, disposals, CVAs, administrations, restructuring programmes, crises and activism. He also has particular expertise across ESG, digital communications, crisis and issues management. He holds both The Certificate and The Diploma in Investor Relations. Alistair has a degree in International History and Politics from the University of Leeds.

Edward Bridges is a Senior Managing Director and the Global Head of M&A and Activism within the Strategic Communications segment at FTI Consulting, based in London. Mr. Bridges joined the firm in 1994, and over the past 30 years, he has specialised in advising firms in developing communications strategies to support their corporate ambitions through capital markets-funded growth. Mr. Bridges’ team has advised on many complex M&A transactions, equity and debt IPO, recapitalisations and debt issuances and restructurings. Since 1999, he has advised on the FTSE 100 IPOs of Dimension Data and PartyGaming, as well as some of the UK’s most substantial businesses on their financial calendar and M&A communications strategies. Additionally, Mr. Bridges contributed to the IPOs of Wizz Air and Amadeus IT Holdings, one of the largest and most successful Spanish IPOs of the past 15 years, among many others.

Tom Matthews is a partner in our global M&A and Corporate practice based in London. Tom is also Head of the Firm's EMEA Activism practice. Tom has over 20 years' experience advising corporates, investment banks, private equity and hedge funds and family offices on international public and private M&A transactions, joint ventures, primary and secondary equity raisings and sell-downs, and listed company advisory and corporate governance matters. Tom also advises a number of companies, activist funds, founder shareholders and other active shareholders on their shareholder engagement campaigns and responses.

Jamie Stanton leads the Capital Markets team at Q4 Inc., focusing on delivering data-driven insights that empower IROs and CFOs to make smarter decisions. Passionate about the digital transformation of the capital markets, Jamie is dedicated to modernizing how public companies engage with the investment community. Prior to Q4, he advised companies across the spectrum from mega-caps to nano-caps on IR best practices within the consumer sector at IHS Markit.