Join us in celebration of the best in business and management thinking.
Great Hall
Session #1
14:30 – 15:00
Founder, Leadership Development Institute for Young Women
Julie Carrier, founder of the Leadership Development Institute for Young Women and Thinkers50 Gala Ambassador, explains how helping young women discover their leadership identity and potential in high school empowers them to succeed.
Great Hall
Session #2
15:00 – 15:30
Chief Learning Officer and Associate Professor of Education, Weill Cornell Medicine
Ruth Gotian, author of The Success Factor and Thinkers50 Gala Ambassador, leads a session on mentoring, offering practical tips on how to find a mentor and become one.
Great Hall
Session #3
16:05 – 16:35
Professor of Executive Education, Columbia Business School
Dorie Clark, author of The Long Game and Thinkers50 Gala Ambassador, provides a masterclass in the art of networking – in preparation for our upcoming drinks reception.
Great Hall
Session #4
16:45 – 17:20
Thinkers50 co-founder
Thinkers50 co-founder
Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, author of Becoming Coachable
Which coaches have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of coaching? Thinkers50, in partnership with 100 Coaches and BetterUp, is proud to announce the first inductees into Coaching Legends, acknowledging the legacy and influence of the coaching greats. Introduced by Marshall Goldsmith.
Great Hall
Session #1
09:15 – 09:45
Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School
From climate change to global poverty, stepping up to tackle the world’s wicked problems requires the courage to act. But what does this mean for leaders and their organizations? And how can the Thinkers50 community help drive the agenda?
In our lead-off session, Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson (author of The Fearless Organization and The Right Kind of Wrong) and Columbia Business School Professor Sheena Iyengar (author of The Art of Choosing and Think Bigger) dare us to do more – explaining why to make real progress we need to be braver. So how can we rethink failure to understand the right sort of wrong? And re-tool innovation to think bigger?
Great Hall
Session #2
09:45 – 10:15
Led by:
Executive Director, Duke University’s Coach K COLE
Author of Head & Heart and Adjunct Professor, Queensland University of Technology
Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior, IMD
If we are to be bolder and braver, we need leaders fit for purpose. In this session led by Sanyin Siang, Kirstin Ferguson (author of Head & Heart) and Alyson Meister (IMD Professor and author of ‘What’s Your Leadership Origin Story,’ (HBR)) explore how our expectations of leaders have changed. What kind of leaders will we need over the next decade? And how can we help the leaders we need become fit for purpose?
Great Hall
Session #3
11:00 – 11:35
Led by:
CEO and Founder, Candour
Barbara and David Zalaznick Professor of Business, Columbia Business School
The topic of diversity, inclusivity, and equity (DEI) has moved up the organizational agenda, but has it truly landed? DEI is about more than ticking boxes. Led by Ruchika Tulshyan (author of Inclusion on Purpose), Modupe Akinola (Faculty Director of the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Center for Leadership and Ethics), and Rukasana Bhaijee (Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Financial Times), explain why we need to include all our talent if we are to prosper as organizations and communities. So, how can we reconnect to empower the people who have been silenced and marginalized? How can we translate good intentions into reality and impact?
Great Hall
Session #4
11:35 – 12:05
John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia Darden School of Business
The best organizations are ones where people at all levels have a voice and are listened to – where they can speak out against wrongs, ask questions, blow whistles, and engage in vibrant performance-enhancing debate. Associate Fellow of Saïd Business School Megan Reitz (author of Speak Up) and Darden Business School Professor Jim Detert (author of Choosing Courage) argue that who gets heard is a function of power. So, how can we create psychologically safe workplaces where people feel free to speak their minds? And how can we disrupt hierarchy to reset the rules of dialogue?
Great Hall
Session #5
13:25 – 14:10
Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
Founder and CEO and Chief Tech Humanist, KO Insights
Technology changes fast, but humans don’t. So, as the business world scrambles to understand the opportunities and risks of technological shifts, from generative AI to robots, and quantum computing to the metaverse, what is the future for human workers? Digital explorers, Martin Lindstrom, Sinan Aral, and Kate O’Neill ask if it is possible to reset the digital revolution to make it more humane and people friendly. Is it enough to learn to co-exist with machines, or do we need to rethink what it means to be human?
Great Hall
Session #6
14:10 – 14:40
Professor of Executive Education, Columbia Business School
Generative AI has thrown everything we thought we knew in the air. From writers to musicians, many of the creative jobs we thought were immune turn out to be the first in its crosshairs. Goldman Sachs estimates that 300 million jobs will either be eliminated or largely diminished within the decade. Dorie Clark, author of The Long Game, and digital anthropologist Rahaf Harfoush argue that we are at our best when we face the future. So, how can we pivot for the new world of work? How can we reinvent ourselves to stay ahead of the technological tsunami?
Great Hall
Session #7
15:10 – 15:55
Founder, Adviser, Speaker, and Driver of Change, Winston Eco-Strategies
Professor at Tuck, Managing
Director at Innosight
Senior VP, General Counsel & Chief People Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.
The rise of aggressive carbon goals across the majority world’s multinationals could be taken as a sign that companies are taking sustainability seriously. But an anti-ESG backlash in the U.S., an unwillingness to challenge the status quo, and a lack of sufficient progress in tackling climate change and other global challenges, is frustrating many people in business and beyond. Andrew Winston, co-author of Net Positive, Scott Anthony, author of Dual Transformation, and Scott Milsten of e.l.f. Beauty, Inc., argue that it’s time to face the real challenges: the obsession with maximizing short-term shareholder value above all, along with vast misinformation and other forces dividing us. The clock is ticking, and the threats are existential. So, how can we become a sustainable species and build companies that profit from solving the world’s problems, not creating them — that is, businesses that give to the world more than they take?
Great Hall
Session #8
15:55 – 16:25
Professor of Strategy, Columbia Business School and Founder, Valize
Professor of Strategic Foresight, NYU Stern School of Business and CEO, Future Today Institute
We end the day with a call to action. Time zero events are red flags – they signal fundamental change. Spotting these inflection points early allows leaders to act while there’s still time. Rita McGrath, author of Seeing Around Corners, and CEO of the Future Today Institute Amy Webb, who pioneered a data-driven, technology-led foresight methodology, examine how we can spot these critical turning points. So how can we detect weak signals that predict big changes? And how can we extrapolate them to anticipate the future?
Great Hall
20:45 – 22:30
Thinkers50: Make A Difference
Here’s a chance to catch up with the latest season of Inside Thinkers50, our series of short behind-the-scenes videos, which debuted at the Thinkers50 2021 Awards Gala.
What does the Virtual Ticket include?
Zoom access (Zoom Webinar for the sessions and Zoom Meeting for networking breaks).
How and when will I receive links to live and recorded sessions?
Pre-event recordings are available on our website. You should have received an email with the link. If not, please email us at .
Links to join the event on 5-6 November will be shared on 30 October and again on 5 November.
Recordings from the event will become available the following week – keep an eye out for your email.
I can’t make it to the London event, may I have a refund?
Unfortunately we are unable to refund tickets. You can, however, request to transfer it to someone else.
Can I share my ticket with someone who can attend parts of the program in my place?
Unfortunately this is not possible. It is one ticket per person.
What does the in-person ticket include?
Access to the entire event 5 & 6 November including the Thinkers50 Gala Awards Ceremony, as well as access to the recordings.
Address
71 Basinghall St, London EC2V 7HH.
How to get to the venue?
What is the best option for parking?
Is there a meeting space where I can work for a bit?
Coworking spaces are available in the area:
What is the dress code?
Business casual on 5 November. Also daytime 6 November until 16:30, when there will be time to change for the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony, which is black tie (bow tie).
Where can I rent a tuxedo?
Can I change into my Gala Dinner Outfit at Guildhall?
You will be able to change in the Guildhall bathroom facilities. Note that while these are spacious, they do not include dedicated private changing areas (apart from the WC stalls). You will be able to familiarise yourself with the venue on Sunday, when no change of clothing is required.
Where can I leave my luggage / change of clothes at Guildhall?
Guildhall has a checked cloakroom available for you to leave coats/jackets and smaller luggage, though we cannot guarantee capacity for larger suitcases.
I have food preferences / allergies. How can I let you know?
Why is the catering mainly plant-based?
We selected the caterers for this year’s Thinkers50 Awards Gala for their focus on sustainable, seasonal produce, and respect for the environment. They also happen to be innovative, talented, and knowledgeable chefs! More information: https://bubblefood.com/
The Thinkers50 Awards Gala will be following the UK government Covid-19 guidelines, including:
Our Partners
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Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
‘Knowledge is the only resource that becomes more abundant when you give it away.’ These were the wise words of C.K. Prahalad’s father. The late, great CK was one of the giants of management thinkers. ‘The more you give,’ CK explained, ‘the more you get back.’ CK lived his life by that principle, giving his time generously to us at Thinkers50 and to many others.
If you would like to follow CK’s example, then please join our new initiative, Thinkers50: Make A Difference. The idea is very simple. We are inviting members of the Thinkers50 Community to give something back by donating their time and knowledge to a good cause. We like to call it knowledge philanthropy.
To get involved, sign up to our Make A Difference newsletter, which will keep you informed of charitable opportunities. Help us to scatter the seeds of ideas that can make the world a better place.
Sign up to Make A Difference.
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