Ipsos CEO Ben Page delivered the keynote, setting the scene for the evening ahead by discussing societal changes in the UK since 1999, tracked by opinion polls taken by his company over the past 25 years. He painted a somewhat pessimistic picture of modern Britain, describing a nation feeling overwhelmed by technology and social media. Page reported, "At the beginning of the century, only about one person in 12 in the UK believed that their children would end up poorer than them... Now half the population of Britain believe that their children will be poorer than them."
However, Page also highlighted positive aspects, noting that Britain remains highly regarded internationally. "Britain actually, despite us, you know, hating ourselves... we're a more popular place to go and study virtually anywhere else except the United States. Britain remains one of the five most popular and respected countries on Earth - it just doesn't really respect itself."
Looking ahead, Page stressed the importance of adapting to climate change, demographic shifts, and advised organisations to focus on long-term planning. He emphasised, "Making space in your organisation to just put aside some time to think about the future is so important. The ones that have that clear long-term view and make time for the future, rather than bumble and muddle through, are the ones that ultimately do best."
The audience then heard from four guest panel speakers, each drawing on their career insights to discuss their vision of the future of business. Unsurprisingly, AI was a hot topic - while the Business School's Dr Nahid Yazdani spoke about the university's commitment to sustainability and net-zero.
Dr Yazdani discussed her current East Midlands Airport Green Futures research project, which is looking into sustainable solutions to decarbonise the airport. The project aligns with the UK government's net-zero agenda for 2050 and provides a complex yet manageable ecosystem that includes various stakeholders and transportation modes, making it an ideal case study for modelling decarbonisation efforts.
She concluded by emphasising the importance of a collaborative approach to address complex challenges like climate change: "It's important to be connected with people, Important to do collaborative work and to do the work for people, it's important to take them into decision making."
Next up was Oliver Dockray, Partner and Head of Tax Technology and Innovation at KPMG, who will be relocating their Nottingham office to the new Castle Meadow Campus when it opens. Dockray began his speech with a nostalgic reference to the first electronic spreadsheet, VisiCalc, highlighting its impact on accounting and role in launching Apple as a major personal computer provider. He drew a parallel between past predictions about computer spreadsheets and current speculations about AI's impact on professions, particularly accountancy.
Dockray noted, “At the same time VisiCalc was released, there was a huge prediction that accountants were done for,” yet what happened was an increase in more specialised roles within finance. He suggested a similar outcome with AI, expecting it to shift professionals from monotonous tasks to solving more significant problems.
And while AI’s potential for innovation is almost exponential, he underlined the risks inherent in using the tools. Referring to "hallucinations" - where AI comes up with completely false information – Dockray cited a recent legal case where fabricated accounts had been presented to HMRC by someone using AI as a shortcut, underscoring the necessity for critical thinking and scepticism when using artificial intelligence in professional roles.
Dockray concluded by noting the complex challenges AI will pose, such as tax jurisdiction issues for AI-generated inventions, and emphasised the importance of universities in training professionals to navigate these new complexities. He remains optimistic about AI's potential, stating, “there’s an awful lot of things that we’re going to have to spend a lot of time on before we have to worry about AI being able to take all our jobs away.”
Continuing the theme of the evening, Marketing alumna Vanja Ljevar shared insights from her customer analysis consultancy Kubik Intelligence.
Vanja Ljevar's speech emphasised the importance of being an "outlier" in today's business world. She argued that average companies often struggle due to lack of differentiation, while those who break the mould are more likely to succeed. Ljevar identified three major trends shaping the future: automation, globalisation, and personalisation.