Elevating Investor Relations: A Global Conversation

Join Mark Hayes and David Grunfeld as they sit down with Ian Matheson, the CEO of the Australasian Investor Relations Association, to discuss the Australian stock exchange, global IR practices, AI, and more! 
To learn more about Breakwater Capital Markets' podcasts, check out our website today: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Join Mark and David this week as they chat with Matt Brusch, CEO & President of NIRI: The Association for Investor Relations. 
Episode references:
Brunswick 2026 US Investor Survey: https://review.brunswickgroup.com/article/investor-survey-2026/
Erik Carlson’s AI LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7498416088293101568/
Sam Levenson’s earnings call Q&A post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7498037845379551232/
NIRI Investor Relations Charter (IRC)®: https://www.niri.org/credentialing/overview/
NIRI Fellows: https://www.niri.org/community/fellows/
NIRI Chapters: https://www.niri.org/community/chapters/
NIRI Membership: https://www.niri.org/membership/
NIRI Annual Conference: https://www.niri.org/niri2027-interest/
NIRI Advocacy Positions: https://www.niri.org/advocacy/advocacy-news/
NIRI Semiannual Reporting Resources: https://www.niri.org/advocacy/advocacy-news/sec-semiannual-financial-reporting-resources/
NIRI Advocacy Fly-In: https://www.niri.org/events/2026-legislative-and-advocacy-fly-in/
To learn more about Breakwater Capital Markets' podcasts, check out our website now: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Join David Grunfeld and Mark Hayes as they sit down with Matt Hall, CEO of the UK Investor Relations Society. The trio will discuss the IR Society Annual Conference 2026, best practices, the future of IR and so much more. 
To watch on our YouTube, click here: https://youtu.be/Fhj8XjPKvg8 
To learn more about Breakwater Capital Markets Podcasts, click here: https://breakwaterstrategy.com/capital-markets/elevating-ir-a-global-conversation/

Hear David Grunfeld and Mark Hayes discuss how individual investors have a role to play for companies within their investor relations strategy.
Originally published to YouTube on Feb. 12, 2026

In this edition of Elevating IR, David recaps his experience at the recent PIF Forum in Saudi Arabia and he and Mark discuss global impacts of the expanding global capital markets access.
Originally published on Feb. 19, 2026. 

Elevating IR discussion on how companies can best report the ROI on their AI investments. 
Originally published on Feb. 5, 2026. 

Mark and David talk about how public companies should frame the potential negative impacts of AI on the business to drive confidence and valuation resilience.
Originally published on Feb. 26, 2026. 

Ahead of NIRI's Annual Conference in Chicago, Mark Hayes and David Grunfeld sat down to discuss what investor relations best practices look like in the Middle East right now, and what global IR teams can learn from them.
Here are a few themes from the Elevating IR conversation worth carrying into your next earnings call:
- Middle East capital markets are resilient and the IR practices emerging from the region offer a useful framework for any management team preparing for Q2 earnings.
- The IR story must now carry a resilience layer. Growth narratives alone are no longer sufficient. Investors are asking sharper questions: supply chain exposure, margin sensitivity to logistics costs, balance sheet durability under sustained volatility.
- The AI question has evolved. Investors are no longer asking whether you are using AI. They are asking whether AI is improving your economics and competitive position.
- Management credibility looks different today. What investors are looking for from leadership has shifted materially from two or three years ago, with greater emphasis on strategic foresight, adaptive capacity, and the ability to pull multiple levers when conditions deteriorate.
Originally published on Jun. 3, 2026. 

Mark Hayes and David Grunfeld discuss client and investor communications as we navigate through uncertain times and a new normal of volatility.
 
Originally published on Apr. 30, 2026. 

David Grunfeld and Mark Hayes discuss the valuation narrative gap on this episode of Elevating IR. Together they unpack one of the most significant structural shifts in investor relations today in relation to the gap.
The data behind this is striking. Across the companies Breakwater analyzed, roughly 65% of valuation reset events now occur outside of an earnings call. And the primary driver is not a miss on reported results, it is investors concluding that the thesis no longer holds.
The implication for how IR teams structure their communications is substantial. What investors are actually trying to underwrite, risk and resilience, strategic actor exposure, durable growth architecture, competitive moat, is largely absent from prepared remarks.The companies that recover from valuation reset events in roughly 99 days share a common characteristic. They have built the communication architecture to answer the question investors are actually asking, which is not what changed, but why the thesis still holds.
Originally published on Jun. 3, 2026.