Meet the Future Readiness Award Advisors: Arturo Bris

Introduced for 2025, the Thinkers50 Future Readiness Award honours an individual who has significantly advanced our outstanding and practice of future readiness. Established in partnership with the Royal Academy of Management, Oman, the Award recognises thought leadership that offers clear insight into how leaders can embed future-facing capabilities – balancing long-term innovation and short-term adaptability – at the heart of their organisations.

Nominations for the Award are assessed by an expert Panel of Advisors, selected for their expertise in futures thinking. One of the Advisors is Professor Arturo Bris, Director of the World Competitiveness Center at IMD. Thinkers50 co-founder, Des Dearlove, asked him about his work and what being future ready means.

Des Dearlove: Professor Bris, your own research and consulting activities have focused on the international aspects of financial regulation and on the relationship between income inequality, social mobility, and competitiveness. How does your work influence how you think about the future and future readiness?

Arturo Bris: When measuring the success of an economy, determining the key objectives of public policy is paramount. Future readiness refers to the ability of nations to respond to future challenges, with the goal of increasing prosperity, reducing inequalities, increasing quality of life, and overall make nations and people more competitive.

Des Dearlove: What do you believe are the most significant trends shaping the future in the next five and ten years? Given your research area, what do you see as the biggest threats and opportunities?

Arturo Bris: Technology is definitely a big trend that will transform our lives. But beyond the obvious, there are new forms of working and new jobs that will change our societies. Political fragmentation is leading to more protectionism and inward-looking policies. We are also moving into a borderless world where mobility of people, capital, ideas, and data are going to make us more global.

Shaping the future while managing the present

Des Dearlove: What skills do you think will be most important for organisations and nations to develop to be future ready? 

Arturo Bris: First of all, the agility to respond quickly to the unknown. This is both an individual leader and organisational skill. Coupled with that is the ability to master the current business opportunities while finding new growth – what we call ‘ambidexterity’ at IMD. Finally, the ability to look beyond our business, our country, our customers, to identify trends and signals regarding how markets are changing.

What does future ready leadership look like?

Des Dearlove: What are the most important qualities or characteristics that future ready leaders require? And how can they best develop them?

Arturo Bris: Based on the previous response, leaders need to be in a constant state of crisis management to address the unknown. This does not require a panic attitude, just the awareness that the world changes very fast and we need to be ready to respond. A focus on the short term is also as important as having a long-term vision. Future readiness requires the ability to respond to short-term shocks as well.

Des Dearlove: What advice would you offer leaders who want to be proactive in creating future ready organisations? How can they create a culture that is resilient, and future ready? 

Arturo Bris: Share Knowledge and Practice Across Borders. Global companies benefit from cross-market learning. Leadership should promote information and practice sharing between markets to find adaptive strategies quickly. Successful leaders need to create cross-functional task forces spanning multiple markets to surface localised strategies and scale what works.

Des Dearlove: Thank you Professor Bris.

Future Readiness Award

Nominations for the Future Readiness Award close on 30 June 2025. The shortlist will be announced 4 August and the Award will be presented by the President of the Royal Academy of Management at the Thinkers50 2025 Awards Gala in London’s historic Guildhall.

READ MORE ABOUT THE FUTURE READINESS AWARD