IWFM Conference 2021: Rt Hon Baroness Camilla Cavendish, Leo Johnson and Carl Benedikt Frey to tackle mega-trends

News

The three mega-trend speakers have now been announced for IWFM’s flagship conference and the workplace and facilities management event of the year: IWFM Conference 2021, which takes place Monday 13 September.

Themed ‘emerging stronger’ and in a format that could be seen as a literal manifestation of the hybrid workplace future we’re all anticipating as we emerge post-crisis, the aim of the event is to mark the start of a forward focused, positively charged revolution.

This year’s Conference will pair a physical delegate experience with a digital one in a curated blend of world-renowned thought leadership and cutting-edge best practice. Whether you’re ready for the city or your comfort zone’s the screen, we’re poised to immerse you in a brilliantly curated programme of razor-sharp insight, sideways humour and practical know-how.

A major part of that programme is our three mega-trend speakers: Leo Johnson on climate change; Carl Benedikt Frey on technology; and the Rt Hon Baroness Camilla Cavendish on the future of work.

Keep reading to find out more about their sessions and our amazing speakers.

Mega-trend one: Climate change with Leo Johnson
Climate change and the pressing need to decarbonise remains the biggest and most important social, economic, and political challenge of our time. The world has set targets to achieve net zero by 2050 and governments have published plans. But are we going far enough, fast enough? What can and should today’s businesses be doing?

Sustainability expert Leo Johnson has been active this space for thirty years; he’ll prime us with his reflections on the big questions and what’s needed to meet the challenge of the next thirty.

Leo Johnson bio
He heads up PwC’s Disruption practice and co-presents BBC Radio 4’s flagship Future Proofing series, exploring the big ideas shaping business and society. Find out more here.

Mega-trend two: Technology with Carl Benedikt Frey
The fusion of technologies – artificial intelligence, gene editing, advanced robotics that characterises this latest revolution is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological worlds. It will disrupt nearly every industry in every country, creating new opportunities and challenges for people, places and businesses.

Two and a half centuries ago the ‘first’ Industrial Revolution was a defining moment, but who then understood its consequences? Carl Benedikt Frey’s much celebrated book The Technology Trap demonstrates that the lessons of the past can help us more effectively to face the present as we live through another tech revolution.

Carl Benedikt Frey bio
Is a Swedish-German economist, economic historian, speaker and author. He is Founding Director of the Future of Work Programme at Oxford Martin School, Oxford University where he is based. Find out more here.

Mega-trend three: The future of work with the Rt Hon Baroness Camilla Cavendish
The hundred-year life is now a reality and the workforce will soon span five generations. Galvanizing Gen Z really matters, but what about those who remain active and productive past three score and ten? Robots can’t do everything and sectors with skills shortages are already asking people to stay on or “unretire” as we have seen in the NHS and elsewhere.

How to balance this out? As work and the workplace looks set for radical change, Camilla Cavendish will be reflecting on these themes, including the challenges and opportunities faced by employers.

Rt Hon Baroness Camilla Cavendish bio
An award-winning journalist and former Head of the Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street under Prime Minister David Cameron, the RT Hon Baroness Camilla is a member of the House of Lords and a Senior Fellow in Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, researching demographic challenges. Find out more here.

Book your ticket to IWFM Conference 2021 today by clicking here.