Festival of IR

Independent

Deborah specialises in financial training for all levels from beginners to advanced. She presents a comprehensive range of courses to a diverse range of corporate clients and financial institutions and specialises in making complex technical subjects comprehensible. 

Deborah qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Young and then worked in Corporate Finance gaining wide ranging experience in a variety of corporate and financial institutions. She then worked as a financial consultant to companies assisting them in raising finance and structuring.

Independent

Deborah specialises in financial training for all levels from beginners to advanced. She presents a comprehensive range of courses to a diverse range of corporate clients and financial institutions and specialises in making complex technical subjects comprehensible. 

Deborah qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Young and then worked in Corporate Finance gaining wide ranging experience in a variety of corporate and financial institutions. She then worked as a financial consultant to companies assisting them in raising finance and structuring.

Independent

Deborah specialises in financial training for all levels from beginners to advanced. She presents a comprehensive range of courses to a diverse range of corporate clients and financial institutions and specialises in making complex technical subjects comprehensible. 

Deborah qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Young and then worked in Corporate Finance gaining wide ranging experience in a variety of corporate and financial institutions. She then worked as a financial consultant to companies assisting them in raising finance and structuring.

Independent

Deborah specialises in financial training for all levels from beginners to advanced. She presents a comprehensive range of courses to a diverse range of corporate clients and financial institutions and specialises in making complex technical subjects comprehensible. 

Deborah qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Young and then worked in Corporate Finance gaining wide ranging experience in a variety of corporate and financial institutions. She then worked as a financial consultant to companies assisting them in raising finance and structuring.

Independent

Deborah specialises in financial training for all levels from beginners to advanced. She presents a comprehensive range of courses to a diverse range of corporate clients and financial institutions and specialises in making complex technical subjects comprehensible. 

Deborah qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Young and then worked in Corporate Finance gaining wide ranging experience in a variety of corporate and financial institutions. She then worked as a financial consultant to companies assisting them in raising finance and structuring.

Independent

Diane is a Fellow of the Investor Relations Society. She is an IR specialist with over 25 years’ experience gained in a variety of disciplines including corporate in-house, consultancy and banking. Understanding, attracting and engaging with appropriate shareholders has been a key part of IR experience. During 10 years spent in-house she was involved in developing strategies to increase and improve two way communication with shareholders. She has dealt with investors from all regions, investment styles and size. During 14 years with Citi Depositary Receipts’ Diane advised clients on cross border communication during listing, capital raising and shareholder expansion. She has been a member of the IR Society since 1994, a board director from 2000-2006 and Chairman of the Society from 2003-2005.

Lorraine established IR-connect as a new investor relations consultancy in 2015. Prior to that she had been IR Director at Standard Life plc, Head of IR at The Phoenix Group, and an equity analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. She originally trained as a chartered accountant, and has also worked in strategy, corporate finance and banking.

Lorraine established the IR-connect consultancy in 2015 which specialises in IR for IPOs, and personalised IR mentoring for executive and non-executive directors, IR Directors and IROs. She runs a number of courses for the IR Society including the Diploma modules. Prior to setting up her consultancy company, she was IR Director at Standard Life plc, Head of IR at The Phoenix Group, and an equity analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. She originally trained as a chartered accountant, and has also worked in strategy, corporate finance, private equity and banking.

Managing Director - Lavender Bank Partners

As a leading leisure sector analyst, Geof has charted, analysed and in some cases helped to reshape several leisure industries, and his extensive experience makes Geof perfectly placed to assess the corporate strategies of the good, the bad and the ugly that make up the constituents of the public and private markets. 

Geof has 38 years combined industry and investment banking experience and has spent the last 30 years in a Top 3 rated sector equity research team, working for Wood McKenzie, NatWest Markets, Banker’s Trust and Deutsche Bank, where he was MD of the Pan European Travel & Leisure Research Team. Having seen a variety of valuation methodologies come and go and come back into fashion again - and some new ones invented - Geof has developed a detailed understanding of how companies and managements should be viewed and rated, and how companies should deal with both the buy- and sell-side communities. 

During his city time, he has acted as corporate research broker to over 20 different Plcs, been involved in over 40 M&A transactions, and directly or indirectly, in over a dozen IPOs. Geof currently runs his own strategic consultancy business, Lavender Bank Partners.

Mike has been helping companies communicate with SRI investors for the past 15 years, during which time he has worked on the buy-side, sell-side and most recently for the independent communications platform, SRI-CONNECT. Mike has spent 18 years as an SRI Analyst, initially at Jupiter Asset Management and then at HSBC Global Equities where he established the first SRI research on the ‘sell-side’ and, most recently, at Citi Investment Research. Mike is currently Editor at SRI-CONNECT and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Society’s advanced IR ESG/Sustainability course, introduced in 2016.

Independent

Deborah specialises in financial training for all levels from beginners to advanced. She presents a comprehensive range of courses to a diverse range of corporate clients and financial institutions and specialises in making complex technical subjects comprehensible. 

Deborah qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Young and then worked in Corporate Finance gaining wide ranging experience in a variety of corporate and financial institutions. She then worked as a financial consultant to companies assisting them in raising finance and structuring.

Lorraine established the IR-connect consultancy in 2015 which specialises in IR for IPOs, and personalised IR mentoring for executive and non-executive directors, IR Directors and IROs. She runs a number of courses for the IR Society including the Diploma modules. Prior to setting up her consultancy company, she was IR Director at Standard Life plc, Head of IR at The Phoenix Group, and an equity analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. She originally trained as a chartered accountant, and has also worked in strategy, corporate finance, private equity and banking.

Sue is a Fellow of the IR Society. She was Chair of the IR Society from 2014 to 2016, during which time the Society launched its Diploma in IR (which she continues to support as an examiner) and its Code of Conduct. She was previously Chair of the Education Committee.

A CIMA-qualified accountant, she first started working in investor relations in the late 1990's, at GKN plc. She was involved in the demerger of its joint venture businesses and the subsequent listing of Brambles Industries plc in London; as well as the late unwinding of this dual-listed company structure. Most recently, Sue spent seven years as Executive Team member and Director of Communications for AMEC plc, during a period of significant and successful transformation.

Sue is a board member at MAC (the Midlands' most visited arts centre) and a Trustee and Treasurer of Re-engage (which brings older and younger people together for social gatherings).

Sue is a Fellow of the IR Society. She was Chair of the IR Society from 2014 to 2016, during which time the Society launched its Diploma in IR (which she continues to support as an examiner) and its Code of Conduct. She was previously Chair of the Education Committee.

A CIMA-qualified accountant, she first started working in investor relations in the late 1990's, at GKN plc. She was involved in the demerger of its joint venture businesses and the subsequent listing of Brambles Industries plc in London; as well as the late unwinding of this dual-listed company structure. Most recently, Sue spent seven years as Executive Team member and Director of Communications for AMEC plc, during a period of significant and successful transformation.

Sue is a board member at MAC (the Midlands' most visited arts centre) and a Trustee and Treasurer of Re-engage (which brings older and younger people together for social gatherings).

Lorraine established IR-connect as a new investor relations consultancy in 2015. Prior to that she had been IR Director at Standard Life plc, Head of IR at The Phoenix Group, and an equity analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. She originally trained as a chartered accountant, and has also worked in strategy, corporate finance and banking.

Independent

Diane is a Fellow of the Investor Relations Society. She is an IR specialist with over 25 years’ experience gained in a variety of disciplines including corporate in-house, consultancy and banking. Understanding, attracting and engaging with appropriate shareholders has been a key part of IR experience. During 10 years spent in-house she was involved in developing strategies to increase and improve two way communication with shareholders. She has dealt with investors from all regions, investment styles and size. During 14 years with Citi Depositary Receipts’ Diane advised clients on cross border communication during listing, capital raising and shareholder expansion. She has been a member of the IR Society since 1994, a board director from 2000-2006 and Chairman of the Society from 2003-2005.

Jon’s unique background means that he is ideally suited to helping professionals develop their writing skills. Jon is a Cambridge English graduate, a qualified teacher of adults and an Associate Tutor at Goldsmiths University, where he teaches management at BA and MA level, giving him a deep understanding of the challenges and requirements for effective business writing. He has been commissioned by several IR teams to assist in writing critical communications at times of significant change and has lots of experience helping businesses frame and couch language for both internal and external communications. He has delivered writing skills training for the IR Society for several years and has also trained special-interest professional groups in writing skills, including banks, regulators and government departments. Jon is also a qualified business psychologist and a chartered management accountant. 

Jon’s unique background means that he is ideally suited to helping professionals develop their writing skills. Jon is a Cambridge English graduate, a qualified teacher of adults and an Associate Tutor at Goldsmiths University, where he teaches management at BA and MA level, giving him a deep understanding of the challenges and requirements for effective business writing. He has been commissioned by several IR teams to assist in writing critical communications at times of significant change and has lots of experience helping businesses frame and couch language for both internal and external communications. He has delivered writing skills training for the IR Society for several years and has also trained special-interest professional groups in writing skills, including banks, regulators and government departments. Jon is also a qualified business psychologist and a chartered management accountant. 

Sue is a Fellow of the IR Society. She was Chair of the IR Society from 2014 to 2016, during which time the Society launched its Diploma in IR (which she continues to support as an examiner) and its Code of Conduct. She was previously Chair of the Education Committee.

A CIMA-qualified accountant, she first started working in investor relations in the late 1990's, at GKN plc. She was involved in the demerger of its joint venture businesses and the subsequent listing of Brambles Industries plc in London; as well as the late unwinding of this dual-listed company structure. Most recently, Sue spent seven years as Executive Team member and Director of Communications for AMEC plc, during a period of significant and successful transformation.

Sue is a board member at MAC (the Midlands' most visited arts centre) and a Trustee and Treasurer of Re-engage (which brings older and younger people together for social gatherings).

Founding Partner and Head of Chair Advisory at Fidelio Partners

Gillian Karran-Cumberlege leads Fidelio Partners Board Practice, supporting Chairmen and CEOs in building effective Boards and Executive leadership teams which drive value for stakeholders and shareholders. In this context Gillian is actively engaged in promoting greater Board effectiveness through increased diversity. Fidelio is accredited by the Hampton-Alexander Review for its contribution to increasing gender diversity on Boards and leadership teams ‘Beyond FTSE350’.

An internationally recognised thought leader on ESG, Gillian is a Board and Steering Committee Member of Chapter Zero, which supports Board Directors to address climate change on the Board Agenda. Gillian is also an advisory Board Member of the German British Forum. Previously Gillian served as an Independent Board Member of Jaguar Land Rover India and a Member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Board (2015-2018).

Prior to founding Fidelio Gillian held senior executive roles within some of Europe’s leading corporates; this included Global Head of Investor Relations / Capital Market Communications for Volkswagen AG (2000 – 2007) sitting on the Group Governance and Marketing Committees – the most senior female executive globally. Previously Gillian had enjoyed a highly successful career in banking for example heading Group Investor Relations for UBS (1998- 2000). She started her career in Banking Supervision with the Bank of England.

Gillian has an MA in History from Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and attended the Harvard General Management Programme.

Chief Executive Officer, EMEA - Orient Capital

Alison joined Orient Capital in June 2010 bringing a wealth of investor relations and analytical experience. Since she joined she has been instrumental in building the brand of Orient Capital initially in the UK, from forging partnerships with numerous brokers and advisers, to latterly developing the Orient Capital and D.F. King brands across EMEA.  As part of ASX listed, the Link Group, she has P&L responsibility for the Corporate Markets business.  Alison joined Orient Capital from Capita where for 7 years she was Head of IR Services, than latterly Managing Director of their IR Services business.  Previously Alison managed the UK Client reporting team at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, specialising in shareholder analytics for UK large/mid cap companies. Alison has a French and German Languages degree from Kingston University and started her career as a translator before working in investor relations for a mining company in Canada.  She was appointed to the IR Society Board in 2014 and is responsible for chairing the Membership Committee.

Group Investor Relations Director - Lloyds Banking Group

Douglas heads up the Investor Relations team at Lloyds Banking Group having been a senior member of the team at Lloyds Bank and subsequently Lloyds Banking Group for the last ten years. 

During this time he has been involved in all the normal Investor Relations activities including the development of the investment proposition, briefing of institutional investors and the development and production of corporate results and announcements.  In addition he has been integrally involved in all the corporate actions and transactions undertaken by the Group during this period including the acquisition of HBOS, the capital raisings and the various business disposals.

Prior to joining the Investor Relations team Douglas held management positions within Group Strategy, Group Risk and Private Banking having initially joined Lloyds Bank on the graduate development programme.

Douglas is also a Board member of the IR Society