Leading IR: Rob Gurner
13 Oct 2026
The Investor Relation Society
We spoke to Rob Gurner, Head of IR at Inchcape and Deputy Chair of the Society, about the principles that have shaped his IR career across multiple sectors, from quickly building industry knowledge and credibility to developing trusted relationships with investors and management.
You have worked across a broad range of sectors, including mining, media and advertising, satellite communications, fintech and automotive distribution. How have you approached getting to grips with each new industry and building credibility with investors and management?
The key element here is to come up to speed very quickly on your business. This includes reading a lot of materials, including research notes, investor perception studies, board reports and other internal documents, as well as meeting with key managers across the business. This helps to build internal relationships and ensures you gain credibility with investors.
Thinking about you experience across those different companies, is there a common thread running through effective investor relations, irrespective of sector, size, and structure?
Best practice IR is generally similar across different industries and companies. It’s all about making the lives of our stakeholders easier and making them look good! Internal stakeholders include management – IR can is a key internal strategic advisor here, in areas like investor sentiment and market intelligence.
This helps management to build the business and deliver against expectations. For investors, IROs need to ensure their company has a clear and concise corporate narrative and is always upfront and timely on any difficult issues. This ensures investors have a good grasp on the businesses in which they invest, to help them deliver for their own investors.
With that in mind, what is one question every IRO should regularly ask their investors?
'What can we do as a company, and as an IR team, to make your job easier?'
You completed both the Certificate and Diploma in Investor Relations. What motivated you to undertake the qualifications, and what value did you gain from formalising your professional knowledge?
The Certificate and Diploma were superb ways to learn about best practice in our world and to remind me of the various regulations we need to comply with. For anyone coming into the IR world for the first time, the Certificate in particular will give you the basics of IR – so, it’s a must-have!
As a Deputy Chair of the Society, as well as Chair of its Conference Committee, what do you see as the Society’s most important role in supporting the profession?
The Society plays a pivotal role in the UK IR world – in particular, by providing a platform for the exchange of ideas and views, promoting best practice and connecting people within the community. The Society is in a unique position here - there is no other organisation that has the depth of capability and breadth of membership to be able to do that.
You are passionate about mentoring and its value to those working in IR. What advice would you give to someone aspiring to move into an IR role, or someone who has recently started in one?
Don’t be afraid to take on new tasks or activities that you may find challenging or scary…getting out of your comfort zone is the best way to learn
And what is the best piece of career advice you have ever received?
Always keep your options open!
And finally, what are you reading at the moment?
Having recently been to Vietnam, I’m reading a detailed (and very lengthy!) history of the Vietnam War by Max Hastings
Rob Gurner is Head of Investor Relations at Inchcape and Deputy Chair of The Investor Relations Society, where he also serves chairs the Conference and Finance Committees. His career includes senior IR roles at Plus500, Inmarsat, Dentsu, Lonmin and G4S.