2026 NIRI Southwest Regional Conference
August 13-14, 2026 | Clubs of Prestonwood - The Creek, Dallas, TX
Agenda
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Diamond Sponsor: Toppan Merrill
Take advantage of break times to explore the Service Partner Showcase and discover innovative tools and services supporting the IR profession. Be sure to play the BINGO Networking Game by visiting sponsor booths for a chance to win prizes.
Before founding Jasper Street, Rob was the Head of Investment Stewardship for the Americas and Asia at Vanguard. His responsibilities included company engagement, corporate governance research, policy development, proxy voting, and ESG integration.
Read more
TBD – Longer Description
Gold: Broadridge
Investor relations sits at the center of capital markets intelligence, but how can that insight influence boardroom discussions?
Read more
In this session, experienced board members discuss how IROs can bring valuable insight into the boardroom, strengthen communication with directors and help leadership teams make more informed strategic decisions.
Gold:
Take advantage of break times to explore the Service Partner Showcase and discover innovative tools and services supporting the IR profession. Be sure to play the BINGO Networking Game by visiting sponsor booths for a chance to win prizes.
Bronze: Big Pivot Partners
Deepfakes. Synthetic media. Coordinated social attacks. AI-enabled disinformation campaigns are becoming a real risk for public companies and investor relations teams.
Read more
This panel will discuss how bad actors are using new technologies to influence perception, amplify short narratives, and create confusion in the market. What IROs, legal teams and executives should do now to prepare.
- Announcement coming soon!
- Moderator: Heather Wilson, FTI Consulting
Gold: FTI Consulting
In this session, a leading investor relations recruiter shares an inside look at how the IR hiring process works today.
Read more
Attendees will gain practical insights on how recruiters evaluate candidates, what differentiates top IR professionals, and how to position their experience effectively throughout the search process. This session is designed to help IR professionals better navigate career transitions and stand out in a competitive market.
The trading floor sees what dashboards miss. In this fireside chat, Citadel Securities pulls back the curtain on how liquidity is really made and how IROs can read market signals without overreacting to noise.
Read more
In this fireside chat, Pete Giacchi of Citadel Securities sits down with Christina Kao to demystify what a Designated Market Maker does day to day, how DMMs engage with IR teams around earnings and other key events, and what IROs should focus on when volatility picks up. The conversation closes on the IPO market: where investor appetite stands today and what new-issue activity means for existing issuers.
- Pete Giacchi, Head of DMM Floor Trading, Citadel Securities
- Moderator: Christina Kao, DMM Capital Markets, Floor Trader, Citadel Securities
Kick off the conference by reconnecting with peers over drinks and conversation while exploring sponsor booths showcasing the latest tools, technologies and services shaping the future of investor relations. Be sure to participate in the networking BINGO game by visiting the booths for a chance to win gift cards and prizes announced on Friday.
Diamond: Citadel
This private dinner brings together SWRC speakers for an evening of conversation and connection following the first day of conference programming. The gathering provides an opportunity for presenters to exchange ideas and meet fellow speakers.
Diamond:
Friday, August 14, 2026
Start your Friday with an intimate breakfast connecting IROs and chapter leaders with NIRI National leadership.
Read more
This informal session offers the opportunity to engage directly with Matt Brusch, hear brief updates on NIRI’s advocacy efforts and strategic priorities, and discuss what matters most for members in the year ahead. Whether through casual conversation or short remarks, this is a unique opportunity to build connections and gain perspective in a small-group setting.
Management access is one of the most valuable currencies in investor relations.
Read more
This session will explore how IROs can strategically allocate investor meetings, balance the needs of existing shareholders and prospective investors, and maximize the impact of conferences, roadshows and non-deal investor engagement.
Gold:
The sources of capital in today’s markets are expanding beyond traditional institutions. Family offices and alternative investors are becoming increasingly influential participants in the shareholder base.
Read more
This session will explore how IROs can identify and engage these investors, understand how they approach investments and adapt their outreach strategies in an evolving capital markets environment.
- Marcia Nelson, Executive Director, Family Office Coverage, Texas Capital
- Family Office Portfolio Manager #1
- Family Office Portfolio Manager #2
- Moderator:
Gold: Texas Capital
Take advantage of break times to explore the Service Partner Showcase and discover innovative tools and services supporting the IR profession. Be sure to play the BINGO Networking Game by visiting sponsor booths for a chance to win prizes.
Bronze:
The question is no longer who you meet. It is how you engage!
Read more
This panel highlights how companies are modernizing earnings delivery, rethinking analyst engagement and extending the value of investor days. Learn what’s working, what’s scalable and how to adapt these approaches within your own program.
Gold: Open Exchange
This session is limited to 3 breakout sessions.
- Topic/Breakout #1:
- NYSE Texas, from Wall Street to Y’all Street — partnering to build your IR strategy to capture opportunity
- Sponsored by NYSE-Texas
- NYSE Texas, from Wall Street to Y’all Street — partnering to build your IR strategy to capture opportunity
- Topic/Breakout #2:
- The Evolution of Investor Outreach: Data Driven Engagement
- Sponsored by NASDAQ
- The Evolution of Investor Outreach: Data Driven Engagement
- Topic/Breakout #3
- When Activists Call: A Real-Time Response Workshop
- Sponsored by Edelman
- When Activists Call: A Real-Time Response Workshop
Read more
- Topic/Breakout #1: NYSE Texas, from Wall Street to Y’all Street — partnering to build your IR strategy to capture opportunity
- Description: More to to Come Soon!
- Sponsored by NYSE-Texas
- Description: More to to Come Soon!
- Topic/Breakout #2: The Evolution of Investor Outreach: Data Driven Engagement
-
- Sponsored by NASDAQ
- Description: Investor engagement is becoming more deliberate, data‑driven, and outcome‑focused—particularly as conference calendars remain full but investor attention is harder to earn. Drawing on insights from Nasdaq’s Global Issuer Pulse, this session examines how leading issuers are refining targeting and outreach strategies to improve meeting quality, allocate executive time more effectively, and drive stronger ROI from conferences and investor engagement.
-
- Topic/Breakout #3: When Activists Call: A Real-Time Response Workshop
- Sponsored by Edelman
- Description: An activist investor has disclosed a position in your company. The Board wants answers. Management is looking to IR for guidance. The media is calling. What happens next? In this interactive workshop, participants will work through a realistic shareholder activism scenario, navigating investor communications, board dynamics, media scrutiny, stakeholder engagement, and response planning while pressure-testing their organization’s preparedness.
- Topic/Breakout #1: NYSE Texas, from Wall Street to Y’all Street — partnering to build your IR strategy to capture opportunity
- Topic/Breakout #2: The Evolution of Investor Outreach: Data Driven Engagement
- Topic/Breakout #3: When Activists Call: A Real-Time Response Workshop
Take advantage of break times to explore the Service Partner Showcase and discover innovative tools and services supporting the IR profession. Be sure to play the BINGO Networking Game by visiting sponsor booths for a chance to win prizes.
Bronze:
Diamond, DFIN
As investor relations professionals, we sit at the intersection of data, narrative, and trust. Financial information moves quickly, but attention is limited. The real challenge is not just delivering information, it is making the right information land, stick, and travel.
Read more
In this interactive keynote, Kristin Graham of Unlock the Brain explores the neuroscience and psychology behind attention, decision making, and narrative clarity. Drawing from research in neuroeconomics and behavioral science, she shows how the brain processes complex information and why the most effective communicators translate data into stories that investors actually remember.
Participants will explore:
- What neuroscience reveals about attention and information processing in a digital world
- Why signal beats volume when communicating complex financial information
- The brain science behind why stories travel further than statistics
- Simple frameworks to organize complex information quickly and clearly
Diamond Sponsor: DFIN
- Topic/Breakout #4:
- TBD
- Sponsored by S&P Global Market Intelligence
- Speakers
- Moderator: S&P Global Market Intelligence
- TBD
- Topic/Breakout #5:
- TBD
- Sponsored by Q4
- Speakers
- Moderator: Q4
- TBD
- Topic/Breakout #6: Texas Legislation – How it is Driving the Future of the US Capital Markets & Corporate Listings
- TBD
- Sponsored by The Texas Stock Exchange
- Speakers
- Moderator: Jeff Karcher, The Texas Stock Exchange
- TBD
Take advantage of break times to explore the Service Partner Showcase and discover innovative tools and services supporting the IR profession. Be sure to play the BINGO Networking Game by visiting sponsor booths for a chance to win prizes.
Bronze:
Artificial intelligence (“AI”) is creating new opportunities for efficiency and insight, while also raising important questions around governance, compliance and risk management.
Read more
This panel will explore how leadership teams are approaching AI adoption responsibly, balancing innovation with oversight and developing practical frameworks for implementing AI across the enterprise.
Gold:
Investor relations often sits at the center of complex conversations between management, investors and the board. In this session, experienced IROs and an IR advisor will discuss how they navigate difficult situations, balance competing stakeholder expectations, and help leadership teams communicate with clarity and credibility.
Gold:
Wrap up the conference with one last opportunity to connect with peers and visit sponsor booths showcasing the latest tools, technologies and services supporting the IR profession. Be sure to complete your Networking BINGO card by visiting the booths for a chance to win gift cards and prizes.
Diamond: FTI Consulting
Service partners will begin breaking down their booths following the close of the Service Partner Showcase. We appreciate your support in helping conclude a successful conference.