Best Practice Committee

Julian Smith

Managing Director at BRR Media

Chair of the Best Practice Committee

Julian Smith has worked in the capital markets and investor relations ecosystems for over 25 years.  He is Managing Director at BRR Media, a leading agency specialising in helping companies to create engaging online videos and live events for investor relations and critical stakeholder communications worldwide. 

Prior to joining BRR Media, Julian worked in investment banking for 18 years, both on transactions and continuing advisory mandates across different teams in M&A, equity capital markets and corporate derivative solutions, latterly leading the corporate broking team at Jefferies.

Amani Korayeim

Director, Europe/Emerging EMEA Corporate Product & Strategic Partnerships at Extel (prev Institutional Investor Research)

Amani is Director Corporate Product & Partnerships Europe/EMEA at Extel (previously Institutional Investor Research). In this capacity, she is responsible for supervising the Corporate IR product within these regions and oversees critical client relationships, strategic partnerships, the introduction of new research products, and the expansion into new markets. She collaborates closely with Investor Relations and executive management teams, leading workshops to assess capabilities and shape IR engagement and outreach strategies.
Amani holds the Certificate of Investor Relations (CIR) from the UKIRS and earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics & Politics from Queen Mary University, London. 

Andrew Gwynn

Director of Investor Relations - Tesco

Andrew joined Tesco as Director of Investor Relations in 2024 where he leads a team of five. Prior to joining Tesco he spent 18 years on the sell-side focused on food retail and more recently, food delivery. Much of Andrew’s sell-side career was spent at Exane BNP Paribas where he was often voted one of the leading analysts in the space. He also worked at JPMorgan, UBS and Merrill Lynch. Prior to his analyst career, Andrew trained with Deloitte and Touch as a chartered accountant but his very first job before university was working in the produce section at Tesco. Andrew won Best Newcomer to IR at the 2025 Best Practice awards.

Anthony Hamilton

Director Investor Relations - WPP

Anthony has over 20 years’ experience working for FTSE 100 and 250 companies in investor relations, communications, economic and strategy roles. Anthony is currently Director Investor Relations at WPP, one of the world’s largest marketing communications companies. Prior to this he was at Vodafone in a number of roles including Head of Investor Relations. Before this he worked for Corus Group, as Acting Director Investor Relations, and its predecessor British Steel, as an economist and strategic adviser. He is an active mentor, providing guidance and counsel for those who either are or feel disadvantaged.

Holly Grainger

Director of Investor Relations - Wickes Group plc

Holly has held senior roles in Investor Relations at Wickes, Aston Martin and easyJet.  Prior to her move into IR, she spent 15 years as an investment analyst and portfolio manager, in both equities and credit, at asset managers Aviva, F&C and Baring Asset Management and in a senior role at a hedge fund.  Outside the corporate world, she developed and marketed a niche consumer product which she invented, patented and brought to market.  Holly graduated from the University of Exeter with a BA (Hons) French & German and is a CFA charterholder.  

Katya Gorbatiouk

Head of Funds, Primary Capital Markets and Sustainable Finance Committee - London Stock Exchange

Katya has over 20 years of experience in international capital markets. 

Katya served on the judging panel for the IR Society 2021 Best Practice Awards in ESG Communications.  Her article on the evolution of corporate communications was published in the 2021/22 issue of the IR Society Journal Informed.

Katya has recently chaired the Board Effectiveness & Stakeholder Governance working group at the Institute of Directors’ Centre for Corporate Governance.  She co-authored an IoD publication on best practices of enacting a stakeholder-centric approach by corporate boards and led the creation of the Centre’s content related to board effectiveness. 

Her early career includes 14 years in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Barclays, in New York and London.

Katya has been a long-standing board member of organisations with high social impact, such as the the Global Leaders Program (Washington DC), London Music Fund and London Symphony Orchestra. 

Liz Cole

Head of Policy and Communications - IR Society

Liz joined the IR Society in January 2022 as head of policy and communications. Liz qualified as a lawyer with Linklaters, where she practiced in the corporate tax department for five years. In 2003, Liz joined the technical strategy department at the ICAEW where she was responsible for policy, representations and member guidance on various aspects of business law including company law, distributable profits, insolvency, data protection and workplace pensions. Liz graduated from the University of Oxford with an MA in Biology.

Al Loehnis

Independent

Al Loehnis is an executive coach and consultant, helping agencies, entrepreneurs and senior leaders to accelerate their personal and business growth. He has over 25 years experience in IR and corporate communications, with particular expertise in digital. After starting his career as a sell-side analyst, Al was a founding director of Investis (IDX), Europe's leading specialist in digital communications. He subsequently spent five years as a Partner at financial PR agency H/Advisors Maitland. He was a Director of the Investor Relations Society from 2004-13.

Simon McGough

President, Investor Relations - Wood Group

Simon is President Investor Relations at Wood Group. Prior to that he was Director of IR at Babcock International, an aerospace and defence company, from 2018-2021. He was previously Head of Investor Relations at Johnson Matthey Plc, a chemicals company, and helped reset their equity story in 2017. Before that, Simon worked at Vodafone for a number of years including roles in business intelligence, commercial finance and four years in their investor relations team. He is a Chartered Accountant and started his career with KPMG.

Stephen Butler

Executive Director, Reporting and Advisory - Luminous

Stephen Butler leads the Reporting and Advisory division at Luminous and sits on the Executive Board and Senior leadership team.

During his time with the company, Stephen has guided the development of Luminous’ reporting, advisory, and research capabilities, shaping their strategic direction and earning recognition through multiple awards from leading UK industry bodies.

He is an active contributor to corporate reporting and the sustainability agenda in the UK and Europe, serving on the ICAEW Corporate Reporting Faculty Board and previously as a non-executive member of the Financial Reporting Council’s Advisory Panel.

Stuart Morgan

Head of IR, IAG

Stuart is currently Head of Investor Relations at International Airlines Group (IAG). Prior to this Stuart was in similar roles at Capita, easyJet, National Express and Eurofins Scientific. Stuart holds a degree in Law and Accounting from the University of Manchester. He is a Chartered Accountant having qualified at PwC.

Matt Hall

CEO - IR Society

Matt is CEO at the Investor Relations Society, where he is responsible for the delivery of the Society's strategic and operational objectives.

Prior to joining the Society, Matt held senior roles for representative membership organisations within financial and professional services, including UK Finance, the Chartered Insurance Institute, and TheCityUK. Matt is a Non-Executive Director at the Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) and has an MBA from Bayes Business School.