The Think Tank saw CFOs, investors and senior IR leaders to discuss how the IR role is evolving amid changing capital markets, AI and technology
The IRO role is constantly evolving. From the impact of technology and AI to shifting investor expectations, IROs spin different plates to keep their strategy coherent and their company on track.
This balancing act was at the heart of discussions at the IR Impact Think Tank – West Coast 2026, where senior in-house IR leaders gathered at the El Prado Hotel, Palo Alto for a day of candid conversations about the challenges and opportunities shaping the IR function.
From maintaining disclosure to harnessing AI for deeper investor insights and rethinking engagement during periods of volatility, one theme ran throughout the day: IR is shifting from communications to a more strategic, intelligence-driven function at the center of corporate decision making.
Don’t forget your crisis plan
The opening panel explored ongoing macro uncertainty and how it is shaping how IROs communicate with the market. Will Zelver, senior director, investor relations at CrowdStrike Holdings, said that having a strong crisis plan is crucial. He added that his focus is ‘getting everybody on the same page in a quick and effective manner because then you can figure out what you’re going to say…make sure you know what your crisis response looks like before you have a crisis.’
Willa McManmon, vice president of investor relations at Ingram Micro, echoed a similar sentiment. ‘Every company should be prepared for a crisis, from an IR perspective, with IR, PR and legal together; otherwise you’re just scrambling,’ she explained. Zelver agreed, adding that successfully navigating volatile times is about getting ‘everyone on the same page and the right story’.
AI is not just a time-saving tool
As most IROs embrace AI as a productivity tool, the prevailing narrative centers on saving time. But Ryan Fenwick, director of investor relations and strategic finance at Palo Alto Networks, said that his team’s use of AI has also focused on enhancing the efficacy of their work.
He explained how his team is using AI to enhance earnings scripts. ‘We’ve developed these gems, and it is basically profiles of our executives who are going to be speaking on the call, trained based on sentiment, communication and even sentence structure of how our executives speak,’ he said. However, while version one’s outcome was not accurate, he noted that ‘you go through lots of iterations, around 100 revisions, and it sounds weird but having conversations with the tool, it helped develop my thinking.’
Adding to this, Bryan Kloster, manager of investor relations at AutoNation, said that while AI is a time-saving tool, taking that message to the C-suite is the wrong narrative. ‘AI will save 10 hours a quarter but AI will also let our small team do a lot more: cover more peers, build more models, prepare deeper Q&A and improve materials without adding headcount,’ he said.
IROs should ‘shift the focus on not talking about saving time but instead to how much more we can do because of it,’ he added, describing the outcome as creating a ‘super employee’. His final advice was succinct: ‘Don’t buy AI so we can save a bit of time. Buy it so your small team can punch above its weight.’
Cutting through the noise
When it comes to engaging effectively with the buy-side, IR leaders must refine their communication strategies to stand out.
Tony Righetti, senior vice president of investor relations at Five9, said it was important not to add to the market noise. ‘Don’t add more to the conversation, as the longer your message, the more difficult it is and the more likely investors are to pick up on something wrong,’ he explained. ‘When the noise is more on the negative side, think about maybe it’s time to clean up the business section for example, or maybe the key metrics or something else, use that negativity to focus your strategy.’
Chip Newcom, vice president of investor relations at Rivian, noted that in the automotive industry, ‘literally anything that is happening in macroeconomy’ impacts his company and prompts questions from investors. ‘It is mission critical when it comes to working with our investors to remind your management team: control what you can control,’ he added.
The beauty of the IR role
Moving from the IR to the C-suite can be a tricky path for ambitious IROs. In the panel titled ‘Climbing the C-suite ladder: an open Q&A with IROs that made the jump to the C-suite’ led by Victoria Hyde Dunn, vice president of investor relations at Informatica, alongside James Miln, CFO for Xometry and Kate Scolnick, vice president of investor relations at Freshworks, the discussion explored the expanded responsibilities of the CFO. It also reinforced the IR role as an ‘internal influencer and educator,’ as highlighted by Scolnick.
In moving from CFO at Owlet Baby Care back to IR, she explained: ‘I resisted taking on more responsibility in my earlier role because I felt that IR was important. It needed to be deep; it was very visible and I had a seat at the table with management.’ When pivoting into the CFO role, she realized that ‘all the financial decisions are mostly made by the business’. She came to understand that IR was not just ‘the voice to the market, but one of the important voices inside the company.’
Miln echoed a similar sentiment. ‘The beauty of the IR role is that you can come from different backgrounds; it’s not insistent on being from the sell-side or internal but that it’s the passion around loving numbers and telling the narrative around it,’ he noted.
As these discussions made clear, the IRO role is evolving beyond a communication position into a crucial part of shaping strategy, influencing corporate decisions and driving long-term value in an increasingly complex market.
