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3 NOVEMBER
08.00 – 08.45 Welcome & Registration
Thinkers50 Co-founder Des Dearlove & CEO, Mikko Leskelä welcome guests
08.45 – 10.45 Part 1: Purposeful Leadership
Erin Meyer | Keynote Purpose Under Pressure: The Dilemmas That Define UsCorporate values are easy to proclaim. Their real meaning emerges when people face difficult choices between competing priorities. Erin Meyer explores how framing values through real-life dilemmas can turn abstract aspirations into practical guides for action. |
Jesper Brodin | Keynote Leading with ConvictionWhat does it take to put purpose at the heart of a global business, and keep it there when the pressure mounts? Former IKEA CEO, Jesper Brodin, reveals how IKEA successfully navigated through the dangerous times of the Covid crisis by becoming more deeply rooted in its purpose. |
Jesper Brodin
Ranjay Gulati | Fireside Chat Turning Conviction into ActionJesper is joined by Harvard professor, Ranjay Gulati, for a candid conversation about how to embed purpose into the operational heart of an organisation. How can leaders make the bold decisions required – and inspire those around them to create collective courage? |
Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli | Keynote Purpose Beyond the Western LensThe leadership stories defining the next 25 years will increasingly come from Africa, Asia and the Global South, where ingenuity, resilience and impact are not fashionable aspirations, but everyday imperatives. Nigerian social entrepreneur, Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, challenges Western assumptions. |
Q&A: Our speakers answer questions from the audience. | |
10.45 – 11.30 Networking break and refreshments
THINKERS50 STUDIO
Hosted by Aidan McCullen
11.30 – 13.00 Part 2: Navigating Technology Transformations
Rahaf Harfoush | Keynote Human After All: Navigating Technology Without Losing OurselvesDigital anthropologist, Rahaf Harfoush explores how technology that was meant to serve us is reshaping our behaviour, wellbeing and sense of self, and not always for the best. How can leaders navigate technological transformation with greater humanity, so digital tools don’t end up controlling us? |
Suresh Venkatarayalu | Keynote Rewiring Honeywell: Lessons from the AI Front LineAI transformation is not simply a technology project; it is an organisational reinvention. Honeywell CTO Suresh Venkatarayalu offers a warts and all account of what it takes to move from experimentation to enterprise-wide impact. |
Ana Paula Assis | Keynote Welcome to the AI Economy: Reading the Signals, Rewriting the RulesAI is reshaping more than individual companies: it is altering entire industries, economies, and global competition. Ana Paula Assis, Chair for IBM Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, explains the macro trends defining the emerging AI economy. |
Q&A | |
13.00 – 14.15 Networking lunch
THINKERS50 STUDIO
14.15 – 16.00 Part 3: Acquiring and Retaining Talent
Merete Hverven
Anne Morriss | Fireside Chat Acquired, Not Absorbed: How Talent Thrives After the DealHow do you nurture talent across acquired businesses through a talent driven M&A strategy? Merete Hverven, CEO of software company Visma, and Anne Morriss, co-author of Move Fast & Fix Things, explore how you balance autonomy with alignment, while creating the conditions for people to grow. |
Kevin Nolan
Kaihan Krippendorff | Fireside chat Closing the gap: Getting closer to customersWhat happens when an iconic American company becomes part of a radically decentralised global organisation? GE Appliances CEO Kevin Nolan reveals how the company has connected its people with Haier’s zero-distance business model, to unleash talent closer to the customer. Interviewed by Kaihan Krippendorff, co-author of Proximity. |
Francine Katsoudas
Keith Ferrazzi | Fireside Chat Are Humans Ready to Work with AI?We hear a lot about the challenges of humans working with AI. But what’s it like for AI agents working with us? Cisco’s Francine Katsoudas flips the question, sharing new research into human–agent collaboration, in conversation with Keith Ferrazzi. |
 Liz Wiseman | Keynote Multiply the Talent: Turning Capability into ImpactThe best leaders amplify the intelligence and capability around them. In our closing keynote, Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers and Impact Players challenges us to look beyond the global competition for talent to unlock the potential already in the room. |
16.00 – 17.00 Networking drinks
for Awards Gala ticket holders
The evening celebrates Leaders50, Thinkers50’s biennial recognition of outstanding leadership in practice.
Selected by the world’s leading management thinkers, the Leaders50 highlights 50 exceptional leaders whose ideas, decisions, and actions are shaping organisations and society.
At the London Gala, the new Leaders50 list will be revealed, alongside the presentation of the Leaders50 Awards, recognising individuals whose leadership stands out for its impact, innovation, and influence.
18.00 – 19.00 Leaders50 Awards Gala Drinks Reception
19.00 – 22.00 Leaders50 Awards Gala Dinner
Hosted by Des Dearlove, Stuart Crainer, Megan Reitz
Taking place Tuesday 3 November, our three deep Dive sessions will expand on conversations from the Main Stage the previous day. Each session will explore in greater depth one of the event’s core themes:
Purpose – Technology – Talent
Designed as a more intimate extension of the Summit experience, the three Deep Dive Sessions will bring together speakers, practitioners, partners, and attendees for facilitated discussions, collaborative conversations, and audience engagement in smaller group settings.
Hosted across London Tuesday afternoon, participation is complimentary for all Thinkers50 London Summit ticket holders (subject to capacity).
Attendees will be invited to indicate their preferred Deep Dive Session in advance, with further details shared closer to the event.
Deep Dive Purpose
Hosted at London Business School
Deep Dive Talent
Hosted at ESCP Business School London Campus
Deep Dive Technology
Hosted at UCL London Campus
Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
Contact us at:
enquiries@thinkers50.com
Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
Contact us at:
enquiries@thinkers50.com
Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
Contact us at:
enquiries@thinkers50.com
Thinkers50 Limited has updated its Privacy Policy on 28 March 2024 with several amendments and additions to the previous version, to fully incorporate to the text information required by current applicable date protection regulation. Processing of the personal data of Thinkers50’s customers, potential customers and other stakeholders has not been changed essentially, but the texts have been clarified and amended to give more detailed information of the processing activities.
