Horasis Global Meeting13-15 June 2016, Liverpool, United Kingdom

a Horasis leadership event

Co-hosts:Liverpool City CouncilInternational Festival for Business

Report

Horasis is a global visions community committed to enact visions for a sustainable future (http:/www.horasis.org)

Upcoming Horasis events:

Horasis India Meeting Cascais, Portugal, 3-4 July 2016

Horasis China Meeting Interlaken, Switzerland, 7-8 November 2016

Horasis Asia Meeting Bangkok, Thailand, 27-28 November 2016

Horasis Global Meeting Cascais, Portugal, 28-29 May 2017

© Horasis

2016 –All rights reserved

The publication was prepared in cooperation with Liverpool John Moores University.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means.

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Horasis Global Meeting13-15 June 2016, Liverpool, United KingdomExhibition Centre Liverpool · Kings Dock

a Horasis leadership event

Visions for Tomorrow – from Uncertainty to Confidence

Co-hosts:

Liverpool City Council

International Festival for Business

Co-chairs:

Bo Inge Andersson Chief Executive Officer, Bo Group Enterprises, Sweden

Carla Cico Member of the Supervisory Board, Alcatel-Lucent, France

John Holland-Kaye Chief Executive Officer, Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom

Naveen Jain Co-founder and Chairman, Moon Express, USA

Shaikha Al Maskari Chairwomen, Al Maskari Holding, UAE

Martin Richenhagen Chairman, AGCO Corporation, USA

Dhruv M. Sawhney Chairman, Triveni Engineering & Industries, India

Takumi Shibata Chief Executive Officer, Nikko Asset Management Co., Japan

Antonio Simoes Chief Executive, HSBC Bank, United Kingdom

Jaan Tallinn Co-founder, Skype, Estonia

Shirley Yeung Founder & Managing Partner, Dragonrise Capital, China

William Zhang Chairman, Europe-China Culture and Economy Commission, China

Academic Partner:

Liverpool John Moores University

Philanthropy Partner:

United Way Worldwide

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Religious leaders at the Horasis Global Meeting

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Community building at the Horasis Global Meeting

Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Summary 10

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Foreword

By Frank-Jürgen Richter, Chairman, Horasis, Switzerland

The inaugural Horasis Global Meeting was held at a time of momentous eventsworldwide, including the UK referendum,the U.S. elections and the ongoing civil warin Syria. It was co-hosted by LiverpoolVision and the International Festivalof Business. The delegates and speakers’visions cross borders and as many issues areregional, if not pan-continental or global,and with their knowledge freely shared, itaimed to unravel fact from fiction developingco-operative solutions to support futureactions world-wide with confidence.

Attending were several key Ministers andcivic leaders, professors from world-leadinguniversities and more than 300 chief exe -cutives of globe-spanning businesses,entrepreneurs and innovators including themeeting co-chairs Bo Inge Andersson,Chief Executive Officer, Bo Group Enter -prises, Sweden; Carla Cico, Member of theSupervisory Board, Alcatel-Lucent, France;John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive

Officer, Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom;Naveen Jain, Co-founder and Chairman,Moon Express, USA; Shaikha Al Maskari,Chairwomen, Al Maskari Holding, UAE;Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, AGCOCorporation, USA; Dhruv M. Sawhney,Chairman, Triveni Engineering & Industries,India; Takumi Shibata, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Nikko Asset Management Co., Japan;Antonio Simoes, Chief Executive, HSBCBank, United Kingdom; Jaan Tallinn, Co-founder, Skype, Estonia; Shirley Yeung,Founder & Managing Partner, DragonriseCapital, China and William Zhang, Chair -man, Europe-China Culture and EconomyCommission, China – illustrating the globalreach of this community.

Other notable speakers included KrisPeeters, Deputy Prime Minister, Belgium,and former South African president andNobel Peace Laureate F W de Klerk whoillustrated how to equip the world’s youthfor a future of peace and prosperity. Festival

‘We are excited to welcome some of theworld’s most visionary thinkers andmost powerful political and businessleaders to Liverpool.’Max Steinberg, Chief Executive, Liverpool Vision, United Kingdom

Plenary on Rebuilding Faith

Max Steinberg, Chief Executive, Liverpool Vision, welcoming participants

Ji Bo, Assistant Dean, CKGSB, China

Terry Leahy, Chairman, B&MRetail, United Kingdom

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Chairman Max Steinberg opined of theHorasis meeting ‘...we are excited to wel -come some of the world’s most visionarythinkers and most powerful political andbusiness leaders to Liverpool.’

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer,George Osborne, presented the openingaddress. His viewpoints – local, Europeanand global in reach – provided a soundbase for the rest of the meeting. The initialplenary, discussing ‘where are we at, whereare we going?’ followed along the samelines – suggesting novel routes to solutions,and new mechanisms whereby we mightdevelop forms of dialogue that could createbetter accords. Later the UK government’svision was extended by Sajid Javid, Sec -re tary of State for Business, Innovation andSkills and Mark Price, Minister of Statefor Trade and Investment. Close to the UKbut from a European perspective, JohnBruton, former President of Ireland andHenning Christophersen, former Vice-President of the European Commission,discussed the current challenges for Europe,including the question of the UK refe ren -dum. As they had drafted the wording ofArticle 50 of the Treaty on European Union(the mechanics of a nation to leave the EU)their discussion was greatly appreciated bythe global audience.

The world faces challenges that demandshared attention. We all think of the MiddleEast conflict that draws in not only localcombatants and consequently creates amassive migrant crisis for its boarder nationsas well as for Europe. But globally powerfulnations are drawn in to act as mediatorsand peace-keepers: new solutions to oldproblems must be found. If we remove thisregion from our thoughts, the world is be -coming a slightly more peaceful according tosome assessors. Yet we must strive to do better.

Corruption is the bane of society and in allnations its effects fall unfairly upon the poor.We must applaud commentators for riskingtheir lives in some instances, and for bringing

Opening Plenary

George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, during his opening speech

Evgeniya Shamis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sherpa S Pro, Russia

Ola Olabinjo, President, Heritage Bank, Nigeria

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to light the efforts of the law-makers.Commentary does not necessarily meanthere is more corruption, but rather thatdetection and the application of the law isbecoming more stringent. Equality issought and gradually is being achieved, aswe were to hear from Afghan and Nigeriangovernment representatives.

The meeting took place with major globalaccords in place. All nations are signatoriesof the UN’s Sustainable Development Goalsto be met by 2030. This seems far off andmany goals are difficult to reach. The HorasisGlobal Meeting looked not only to Ministers

but to CEOs who can create many forms ofaid and to the entrepreneurs and inno va -tors who will create devices and solutionspresently unknown. For instance – to makeeducation more widely attainable withoutrace or gender issues; to deliver sustainableelectricity to remote communities; and tospread medical aid fairly as well as to developnew drugs and treatments. In parallel,nations who signed up to the UN’s 1997Kyoto Protocol to mitigate adverse climatechanges have further extended this at theUN’s 2015 Paris summit: its ramificationswill be great.

To reach these goals will be difficult duringthis period of economic stress when theglobal GDP is expected to grow only slightly,or even stagnate, in the near future. Nationsthus hesitate to spend on many positionsthat might support wealth generation andthus increase well-being. This meetingaddressed such issues in detail, ranging fromthe need to develop Venture Capital as wellas Philanthropy, or reducing resistance tostart-up innovation in case it fails. We needto embrace failure as a learning mode,though this is finely nuanced with respectto blatant negligence, which also occursround the world.

Boardroom dialogue session

Ferial Mostofi, Chairwomen, KDD Group, Iran

Ketan Patel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Pacific Capital, USA

Lord Mark Price, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, at the opening dinner

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Indeed we must review how we valuesociety as a whole – people are its life-force,and all must feel needed and valued moreequally. Several discussion streams touchedon equality of opportunity and how we allmust develop this concept: we need toempower youth but not for them to bedestructive; and we need to redevelop faithnoting much of that is determined by ourinner faith rather than by a defined church.How might faith support youth, business, andethics and how it could redevelop trust inour institutions were questions addressedby Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of the Art of Living Foundation, India, andImam Irfan Chisthi, the ExecutiveImam of Manchester’s central mosque.

Above all a balanced view is needed and wehope that our discussions will have achievedthis – round the tables, while taking coffeebreaks, and at meal-times. Through germinaldiscussions between people of all nationsand their leaders in politics, commerce and

business we hope a broad view will havebeen instilled. We hope that lasting friend -ships will have been nurtured – even if weagree to differ, since tensions discussed canlead to considered cooperation. We hopealso the intersection of the global Horasiscommunity and the International Festivalfor Business-delegates will also lead tonew and beneficial relationships building aricher society.

Finally Horasis is glad to announce the nextmeeting and to welcome you all to the2017 Horasis Global Meeting that will beheld in Cascais, Portugal, 28-29 May 2017.

‘The most important impact in theworld will be greater understanding of different points of view.’Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Nina dos Santos, Anchor and Europe Business Editor, CNN International, hosting a plenaryMiguel Pinto Luz, Vice Mayor of Cascais, announcing the 2017 Horasis Global Meeting

Frank-Jürgen Richter, Chairman, Horasis, welcoming participants

Niraj Sharan, Chief Executive Officer, Aura Inc., India

Akinori Niimi, Managing Partner,ACA Inc., Japan

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Summary

By Timothy J. Nichol, Dean, Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom

The Horasis Global Meeting’s title wasVisions for Tomorrow – from Uncertainty toConfidence and participants were asked toengage in a series of plenary and board -room sessions that both highlighted thereasons for uncertainty and exploredpotential solutions.

The opening address was provided byGeorge Osborne, Chancellor of theExchequer, United Kingdom who welcomedparticipants to the International Festivalfor Business (IFB2016). The purpose of thefestival was simple – following on from the2014 Festival George Osborne had told theorganisers that ‘I want it bigger... I wantmore business deals and more investment’.

He thanked Liverpool for hosting IFB2016and noted that it was a ‘tribute to Liverpoolthat it is able to support such an inter -natio nal festival’. He reminded us that theIFB2016 is ‘all about the trade we do withthe world ‘and referred the appropriatenessof Liverpool hosting the event because it wasa ‘city built on its links around the world’.

He further highlighted the innovation andinvestment taking place in the Liverpoolcity region, referring to Unilever’s advancedmanufacturing centre, the support and thecreation of ‘12,000 small businesses’.Identifying the links between the Universi -ties, ‘the investment going into science inthe Universities here…you’ve got sensorcity which is all about turning science andthings developed in the laboratories andturning them into things that can be sold’.

‘Liverpool is a city built on its linksaround the world.’George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer,United Kingdom

Shaikha Al Maskari and George Osborne

Rodria Laline, Chairwoman, Intrabond Holdings Asia, Hong Kong SAR

Richard Bradley, Professor of Philosophy, London School ofEconomics and Political Science, United Kingdom

Harry Anastasiou, Professor,Portland State University, USA

John Cook, Chairman, Rock Lake Associates, Switzerland

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His opening address foreshadowed some keythemes debated during the course of themeeting – innovation, entrepreneurship,investment, technology, global trade andeducation.

Welcoming the Horasis participants, JoeAnderson, Mayor of Liverpool, highlightedthat ‘Liverpool was a good example of thedebate that will take place’ as it was a ‘cityion decline ... that is now growing ... onceagain using its port as a platform’ for growth.He noted the many uncertainties facing theworld arising from globalisation, climatechange and migration, amongst other butstressed that it was important that we must‘recognise how we cope with the uncer -

tain ties and how we manage them in apartnership approach’.

This report is an attempt to summarise thediscussions which took place at the GlobalMeeting. It is a record but also potentially astimulus for further reflection and debate.

The world’s economic and geo-politicalframework is increasingly characterised byuncertainties. The meeting asked how andwhere ought we to navigate and how mightwe re-define them as opportunities toestablish confidence? Uncertainty existsfor many reasons. In the opening plenarysession Antonio Simoes, Chief ExecutiveHSBC Bank, United Kingdom, identified

Timothy J. Nichol, Dean, Liverpool John Moores University, summarizing the Horasis Global Meeting

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, initiator of the International Festival for Business

Julian Savulescu, Professor of Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor,University of Sheffield, UnitedKingdom

Lindley Edwards, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, AFG Venture Group, Australia

Yves Leterme, Former Prime Minister of Belgium, making a special address

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volatile financial markets, Europe’s humani -tarian crisis, global terrorism, businessfailure and political uncertainty as significantsources of uncertainty across markets.

Looking to the future, Nik Gowing,International Broadcaster, United Kingdom,challenged participants by asking ‘how muchis the next twenty years, or what youassume will be the next twenty years,actually going to happen in the nexttwenty months ... what about artificialintelligence, big data, ... about all thechallenges that are coming down the roadabout robotics, about the effect on the middleclasses and the blue collar communities …Big things are happening’.

A broader perspective was provided by aboardroom session on Geopolitics, whereparticipants debated the impact of war,terrorism, climate change, oil prices,poverty, unemployment, political polari -sation, radicalisation and technology. Suchissues are the source of fear and anxiety andin extreme circumstances has caused thebreak-down of civil society.

Societal and lifestyle changes were alsohigh lighted by participants in a detaileddiscussion on the future of lifestyles. Therewere uncertainties about the future way wewill live and interact with others as a con -sequence of technology, economic andagricultural changes. Jan Stael vonHolstein argued that this raised fundamentalquestions about our purpose and the needfor toleration and continuous learning washighlighted. Tensions exists between whatwe might wish for the future and what mightactually happen but we must accept thatchange is an inherent part of life. How canpoliticians, business and civic leaders makesense of societies that are both complexand dynamic?

Discussion during the course of the meetinghighlighted some of the pressures for change.A discussion on demographics noted that

Jan Stael von Holstein, Visiting Professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hong Kong

Przemyslaw Aleksander Schmidt,Chairman, Fund for MunicipalInvestments, Poland

Mikael Hagström, Member of the Board, United States Council forInternational Business

International Broadcaster Nik Gowing chairing the opening plenaryAddress by Huang Weiping, Special Adviser to the State Council of the PRC, China

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population profiles across the globe arechanging and creating different challenges.In Europe, for example, populations areageing because people are marrying later,families are smaller, and health care andlifestyles have improved. John Bruton,Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) ofIreland, argued that Europe would haveslower growth because of the ‘relative ageingof our societies ... as more retire and fewerenter the work force’. Longer working livesand an increase in the participation rate wasrequired. Supporting this, Hill Kulu,Pro fessor of Demography, LiverpoolUniversity, noted that the proportion ofthe 65+ population in Europe had grownfrom 10% in 1950 to 15% currently.

Kris Peeters, Deputy Prime Minister,Belgium, gave an example of how govern -ments could implement structural labourmarket reforms and make welfare spendingadjustments in response to an ageingpopulation. In the context of improvingBelgian competitiveness, he noted the im -portance of innovation, investment, budget

discipline and ‘tax shifts, pension reformsand labour market reforms’. Further, socialinnovation is necessary. He referred to theneed to ‘stimulate people to work longer’and how the government must ‘have workablework’ for the ageing work force. As seen inFrance, however, modernising labourmarkets is not without its challenges.

A longer working life and lack of growth,however, has created problems of youthunemployment in Europe. Participantsnoted that this is a problem too, in India,the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere butfor other reasons. Here population growthand falling mortality rates have significantlyincreased the proportion of younger people.

‘Social innovation is necessary.’Kris Peeters, Deputy Prime Minister, Belgium

John Bruton, former Prime Minister of Ireland, with Nina dos Santos

Hill Kulu, Professor of Demography, University of Liverpool

Baron Jean-Christophe Iseux von Pfetten, President, Institute for East West StrategicStudies, United Kingdom

Natasha Lance Rogoff, Founder,Ingredients for Education, USA

Kris Peeters, Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, keynoting the meeting

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Kolapo Lawson, Chairman, LawsonIndustries, Nigeria, for example, noted thatprojections of Nigerian population growthover the next 15 years would suggest 82%of the population will be under 20.

Population increase without parallel eco -nomic growth feeds concerns about healthcare access, social welfare, employment,engagement in civic society and socialstability. Participants argued that economicgrowth fostered by government investmentin economic and social infrastructure togetherwith private sector enterprise will becritical if economies are to meet supplyside labour market growth.

A boardroom dialogue session on the futureof health recognised that improved healthprovision has impacted upon world demo -graphics. Public health developments, newmedical interventions and greater publicawareness has extended life expectanciesin developed countries. Gene mapping,gene editing and stem cell advancementsprovide significant opportunities in thefuture to address current health issues.However, access to effective health careglobally remains an issue. For Naveen Jain,Co-Founder and Chairperson, MoonExpress, USA, access will be facilitated bytechnology, particularly by sensor techno -logy ‘which is becoming more and morepowerful’... and which will ‘be able todiagnose diseases better than any doctor’.

Not all improvements have been beneficial.An ageing population brings increasing care,medical and welfare costs and higherinciden ces of age related diseases such asdementia and diabetes. Justin McCarthy,Senior Vice President, Pfizer, USA, forexample, noted that delaying ‘the onset ofdementia by as little as five years reducesmedical costs by $21bn’.

Participants noted that obesity is a significantissue in developed countries across all age

Kolapo Lawson, Chairman, Lawsons Corporation, Nigeria Naveen Jain, Co-founder and Chairman, Moon Express, USA – we need to disrupt the status quo

Justin McCarthy, Senior Vice President, Pfizer, USA Yariv Cohen, Chairman, Kaenaat, United Kingdom

Daryl Brewster, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Committee EncouragingCorporate Philanthropy, USA

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groups. Prevention is preferable to treat -ment but this is dependent upon effectiveprevention programmes, education andappropriate patient attitudes. PatriciaHewitt, Chair, UK India Business Council,former Secretary of State for Health, UnitedKingdom, for example, argued that patientshad to become both interested in healthand willing to act positively to maintaingood health.

Population growth brings with it issuesaround food supply and agriculture pro -duction. A projected future population of10 billion requires agricultural innovation.Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, AGCOCorporation, USA, noted not justinnovations in ‘food storage silos, foodtransportation, drying and containerschilled with solar panels’ but outlined theindustrialisation of farming, supported bytechnology-enabled interventions. Thisincluded GM technology, the use of dataanalytics, mobile and sensor technology tosupport more efficient and effective pro -duction. As a result ‘farming gets moredirected into the area of manufacturing’ and‘looks more like a process in manufacturing’.

Populations are not just growing they are alsomoving, leading to increasing urbanisation.

Here, participants reflected that informedinterventions can help positively steer anddevelop society. Urbanisation goes hand inhand with economic development and citiescontinue to draw workers from rural areas,offering access to better jobs, salary andlifestyles. Such migration also boosts tradeand the local economy. Cities therefore havethe potential to attract and keep hold oftalented individuals, which in turnencourages inward investment.

There are example of success. Tan ChinNam, Chairman, Temasek ManagementServices, Singapore, argued that Singaporedemonstrates the beneficial impact of goodgovernance and integrated planning.

Patricia Hewitt, Chair, UK India Business Council, former Secretary of State for Health, United Kingdom

Peter Armand, Chief Executive Officer,AFCapital, Russia

Mirwais Alizai, Chief ExecutiveOffier, Grand Technology Resources,Afghanistan

Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, AGCO Corporation, USA Tan Chin Nam, Chairman, Temasek Management Services, Singapore

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Similarly, Karen Tang, Executive Director,The Better Hong Kong Foundation, HongKong, noted that Hong Kong’s need to growvertically has provided an opportunity todevelop urban efficiencies, as illustrated bythe territories’ transportation system.

Charles Tang, Chairman, Brazil-ChinaChamber of Commerce & Industry, however,referred to the loss of agricultural land,

particularly in China because of ‘urbanexpansion and industrial parks’.

A significant source of fear and uncertaintyis attributed to technological change.Technology has enabled globalisation andhas been a source economic growth.Disruptive technologies have changedmarkets, made goods and services redundantand opened up formerly closed markets tonew entrants. Ann Winblad, ManagingPartner, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners,USA, drew attention to the potential ofemerging technologies in artificial intelli -gence, the Internet of Things, data assetusage and smart big data. Application iswidespread and Christiane Riedel, COO,Centre for Art and Media, Karlsruhe,Germany, spoke of the creativity arounddata generated art and the use of roboticsin art production. Technology, too, has arole in energy policy. In the context ofclimate change and the need for economicgrowth the issues are around the increasingproduction of clean energy and the provisionof affordable and accessible energy. HenryWeill, Professor, MIT Sloan Manage mentSchool, USA, outlined the challenged ofgetting clean energy to where it needs tobe but, as Ruben Atekpe, President,Mecowa Group, Ghana, noted, there are

‘Asia-Pacific holds an importantposition in the pursuit of world peaceand development.’Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa, Chairman, Institute ofStrategic and International Studies, Malaysia

Angie Hobbs, Professor of Philosophy, University of Sheffield,asking a question

Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy, City College of New York, chairing the panel ‘The Future of Thought’

Karen Tang, Executive Director, The Better Hong Kong Foundation, Hong Kong

Charles Tang, Chairman, Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Brazil

Ruben Atekpe, President, Mecowa Group, Ghana

Ann Winblad, Managing Partner,Hummer Winblad Venture Partners,USA

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obstacles particularly in relation to highstart-up costs. The future, suggested IvoPropopiev, Publisher, Economedia,Bulgaria, would see the digitalisation of theenergy market and the entry of technologygiants such as Google and Facebook.

More imaginative thinking is required.Calling for a more integrated approachKris Peeters argued that ‘we need aEuropean energy union ... we must havethe ambition to be the world leader aboutrenewable energy’.

But technological development raisesconcerns. Shoummo Acharya, CEO,eTrans Solutions, India, stressed thattechnology needs to be ‘more inclusive’and presents a ‘huge challenge’ socially.Raj Samani, CTO, Intel Security, UnitedKingdom, spoke of personal data being the‘new oil of the internet’ but highlightedthe growing dependency on technologyand the threats to security.

Technology will have a significant impact onsociety and its impact will be both uncertainand profound. Julian Savulesco, Professorof Practical Ethics, Oxford University,United Kingdom, highlighted that sciencegives us the ‘power to change’ but also to

‘destroy ourselves’. Lou Marinoff, Pro-fessor of Philosophy, City College of NewYork, USA, remarked that the developmentof robotics and artificial intelligence requiresus to engage with ‘a new spectrum ofthought’. Adrian Moore, Professor ofPhilosophy, Oxford University, UK was ofthe view that such developments challengeas to ‘what it means ... how it is to behuman’. In these circumstances AngieHobbs, Professor of Public Understandingof Philosophy, University of Sheffield,United Kingdom, believed it was importantthat we remained ‘passionate, compassionateand courageous’. Space was needed for‘structured and unstructured’ thought in aworld described ashypercomplex.

Adrian Moore, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oxford,United Kingdom

Panayiotis Hadjipandelis,Executive Chairman, Hellenic Mining Group, Cyprus

Christiane Riedel, COO, Center for Art and MediaKarlsruhe, Germany

Henry Weil, Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management, on the future of energy

Shoummo Acharya, Chief Executive Officer, eTrans Solutions, India

Raj Samani, Chief Technology Officer, Intel Security

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The ability of leaders to respond to suchchallenges was questioned by severalparticipants. Her Highness Shaikha AlMaskari, Chairwomen, Al MaskariHoldings, UAE, for example, remindedparticipants that no one had predicted thefall in oil prices and its impact on incomeand cash flows in oil based economies. Thisreflected a lack of caution and ‘complacency’and she reflected that the ‘situation is veryinsecure ... no one can tell what willhappen tomorrow’.

In a boardroom discussion on Learning fromHistory participants noted that historyoffered an opportunity to learn from thepast and so avoid making the same mistakes.An awareness of the past might also allowus to recognise its relevance to the presenttime. As Izabella Kaminska, FinancialTimes, United Kingdom, noted ‘historyrevolves in cycles’. Relying on the past topredict the future in rapidly changing timeswas highlighted by Parag Amin, Presi dent,Radiqal, USA. He noted ‘The best solutionshould be to learn from history. However,history is like looking through the rearwindow. We need to be looking throughthe windshield and look forward’.

The challenge posed by this Horasis GlobalMeeting, however, is how is it possible to

‘Afghanistan is fighting on behalf of our neighbouring countries.We are the battle front.’Sham Bathija, Senior Economic Adviser to the President of Afghanistan, Afghanistan

Plenary – World Economic Outlook

Ravi Velloor, Associate Editor, The Straits Times, Singapore

Parag Amin, President, Radiqal, USA

Venkat Matoory, Chief Executive Officer, Junior Achievement of India

Peter Williamson, Professor,University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Conrad Wolfram, Chief Executive Officer, Wolfram Research

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Izabella Kaminska, The Financial Times – Learning from History

Marios Kyriazis, Founder, ELPIS Foundation for IndefiniteLifespans, Cyprus

Sach Chandaria, ManagingDirector, Catisa, Switzerland

move from this uncertainty to a positionwhere people feel more confident andsecure. The plenary and dialogue sessionshighlighted three main areas of developmentthat will provide some insights into bridgingthe gap between uncertainty and confidence.

First, there is the dynamism of internationalbusiness. Business is at the heart of societyproviding the setting within which inno va -tion takes place, new products and servicesare developed, employment is created andfunds are made available for social and eco -nomic investment. Mark Price, Ministerfor Trade and Investment, United Kingdom,summed this up when he said ‘the moresuccessful our business the more successfulour society’.

Secondly, the meeting explored technology’spotential to impact on every aspect of ourlives.

Finally, there is a willingness of businessleaders and corporations to identify issuesaffecting society in order to address thecauses and find solutions. These issuesinclude climate change, poverty, the break -down of trust and the role of religion andethics in civil society.

‘The more successful our business the more successful our society.’Mark Price, Minister for Trade and Investment,United Kingdom

Lord Karan Bilimoria, Chairman, Cobra Beer Partnership, United Kingdom – how to manage globaliaztion

Robert Friedman, Editor-at-Large, Bloomberg News, USA, hosting a plenary

A question from the audience – Shiv Pande, Visiting Professor of Ethics and Leadership,Gauhati University, India

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Globalisation has transformed the worldeconomic landscape. In his address to theparticipants at the opening dinner, MarkPrice reflected on the UK’s current 6thplace in the list of the world’s exportersbut noted the UK Government’s intentionto rise in the league tables by getting‘another 100,000 companies exporting’.Trade has three benefits; first it was goodfor GDP and the balance of payments;secondly companies that exported weremore ‘innovative, resilient to downturnand more profitable’; and thirdly growththrough export is good as ‘business was aforce for good’ and the ‘well being of societywas inextricably linked to the success ofour business’. In terms of future areas of

growth he particularly referred to the needfor the EU to create a digital single marketand stressed the UK Government’s inten -tions to press the WTO to ‘embrace adigital transformation’.

Robert Friedman, Editor-at Large,Bloomberg News, USA, however,questioned whether globalisation, whichhad been ‘in the last 50 years ... the biggeststory’ driven by technology and the ‘move -ments of ideas, data, information, moneyand people’ had reached its peak. Furtherhe asked whether future growth anddevelopment was threatened by the rise ofprotectionism and popular political move -ments referring to the ‘ascendance of some

William Zhang, Chairman, Europe-China Culture and EconomyCommission, China

Brainstorming about the future of manufacturing

Dhruv M. Sawhney, Chairman, Triveni Engineering & Industries, India

Joachim Reidiess, President, Dr Wirth Group, Germany Erik Berglof, Professor, LondonSchool of Economics and PoliticalScience, United Kingdom

Vanessa Evers, Professor of Human Media Interaction,University of Twente, The Netherlands

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of those points of view’ in the UK the USand elsewhere.

In the opening plenary William Zhang,Chairman, Europe-China Culture andEconomy Commission, China, had arguedthat a natural response to uncertainty is aninstinct to protect ourselves. Illustrating thisview, Dhruv M. Sawhney, Chairman,Triveni Engineering & Industries, India, spokeof the optimistic conditions developing in

India around technology, governance, thedevelopment of good politics at state level,the fall in corruption at the top and Indiansociety’s potential for enterprise. This ledhim to predict India’s potential for growthrates within the next three years of ‘9% -10% for the next 10 years’.

It is a paradox, however, that at a time ofIndia’s growing openness an increasingrange of non-tariff barriers were appearingas a result of declining confidence and anincreasing fear of job losses. He feared‘globalisation is now going in reverse’ andcalled for ‘a level playing field’ to avoid thedangers of India or China restricting theirmarkets.

‘China will never seek hegemony. China will not follow the footsteps offormer European colonial powers.’Huang Weiping, Special Adviser to the State Council of the PRC, China

Michael Hayde, Chairman, Wester National Group, USA Ivan Tselichtchev, Professor of Economics, Niigata University of Management, Japan

Felix Zhang, Founder, Envision Energy, China

Uri Dromi, Director General, The Jerusalem Press Club, Israel

Carla Cico, Member of the Supervisory Board, Alcatel-Lucent, France

Marcelle Speller, Executive Chairman, Localgiving Foundation Shirley Yeung, Founder & Managing Partner,

Dragonrise Capital, China

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Carla Cico, Supervisory Board Member,Alcatel-Lucent, was equally questioning.She said that we ‘need to revise the rules ofthe game’ for globalisation ‘as it is beingdone, it clearly doesn’t work ‘because thereare no rules that apply to everyone’. Sheattributed protectionism to both economicand emotional fear experienced by peoplewho ‘fear that their whole home will betaken away. There were important questionsto ask about globalisation’.

The need for and means of growth wasdiscussed in detail by participants in anumber of sessions. The current state ofthe major developing economies, China,Russia, India and Brazil attracted significant

attention. Shirley Yeung, Founder & Ma-na ging Partner, Dragonrise Capital, China,reminded participants that despite theglobal context China was still growing. Shenoted the success of China’s tech sectorwhere of the top 10 market cap techcompanies in the world ‘4 of them comefrom China’. She reflected too on the declinein the traditional areas of the economy. Inresponse the government was ‘putting up alot of start up capital and setting up a lotof incubators’ to support young entrepre -neurs. She believed a combination ofnimbleness on the part of the governmentand ‘resilience’ would prevail.

Saruhan Hatipoglu, Chief Executive Officer, BERI, USA, on the BRICS’ economies

Chris Weafer, President, MacroAdvisory, Russia Mohamed Elmandjra, Chairman, Blue Mango Capital, Morocco

Bo Inge Andersson, Chief Executive Officer, Bo Group Enterprises, Sweden

Roger King, Member of the Supervisory Board, Orient Overseas International, Hong Kong SAR

Heinrich Weiss, Chairman, SMS Group, Germany

James Fierro, Founder and ChiefExecutive Office, ECO CapacityExchange, United Kingdom

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Bo Inge Andersson, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Bo Group Enterprises, Sweden,stressed the potential for growth of theglobal car industry across China and Indiabut reflected on the importance of oilprices as a driver for growth. In Russia, forexample, he was of the opinion that thecurrent issues were ‘mainly based on oilprices’ but sanctions were also significant.He did feel that ‘it would be good for Russiato have ten years of low oil process andten years of sanctions’ yet he was ‘still anoptimist’ in respect of Russia’s economicfuture. Chris Weafer, President,MacroAdvisory, Russia, reflected this, stating‘Russia has reduced its oil vulnerabilityand is now socially and politically stable’.

The importance of the BRIC countries wasemphasised by Saruhan Hatipoglu,CEO, BERI, USA, who argued that ‘theBRICS need to be the engine for globalmarkets’ and that although they ‘currentlycontribute 15% of global GDP – by 2021,this will be 25%’.

Looking to the future, a larger questionwas posed by Roger King, Member ofthe Supervisory Board, Orient Overseas

‘The European Union needs a newvision – a new project its people canfeel passionate about.’Nina dos Santos, Anchor and Europe Business Editor,CNN International, United Kingdom

Jeffries Briginshaw, Chief Executive Officer, BritishAmerican Business

Mats Hellström, Former Minister for Foreign Trade, Sweden

Thorsten Botz-Bornstein, Associate Professor of Philosophy,Gulf University, Kuwait

Petros G. Doukas, Chairman,Capital Partners, Greece

Fumbi Chima, Chief Information Officer, Burberry Group,speaking about corporate globalization

Oltmann Siemens, Trustee, Orient Institute, Germany

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International, Hong Kong SAR, when hestated that ‘BRICS is a thing of the past,there are three clusters which will replaceit: Middle East/North Africa, South EastAsia and the surrounding nations of China’.

What will drive the next wave of globali -sa tion? Fumbi Chima, CIO, BurberryGroup, United Kingdom, pinpointedcompetition in local markets remained a keydriver in developing global competitiveness.This was supported by several participantswho saw the need for governments tosupport what Ivan Tselichtchev, Professorof Economics, Niigata University of Manage -ment, Japan, described as ‘domestic globalwinners’. He went onto to note the future

importance of ‘mega agreements’ and theneed to support emerging economies byworking together with international andregional insitutions’.

In a discussion on trade JeffriesBriginshaw, Chief Executive,BritishAmerican Business, UnitedKingdom, confirmed the importance oftrade agreements in the future, a positionsupported by Mats Hellström, FormerMinister of Foreign Trade, Sweden.Additionally, participants reflected on theneed for complexity to be removed fromthe banking system. Petros G. Doukas,Chairman, Capital Partners, Greece, stressedthe need for the G7 and G20 to addressthe banking system. PzemyslawAleksander Schmidt, Chairman, Fundfor Municipal Investments, Poland, high -lighted the complexity around process andthe quantity of paper work. ‘The futurefocus shall be on fair trade rather than freetrade,’ he said.

In a discussion on the future of Money,participants did, however, remark on demandas well as supply side issues in the bankingsector. Steven von Gronigen, CEO,Raiffeisen Bank, Romania, said ‘there is aconfidence problem worldwide with regard

Chris Skinner, Publisher, TheFinanser.com, hosting the session on the Future of Money

Martin Haemmig, Visiting Professor, Renmin University, China

Gregory Bedrosian, Co-founder and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Redwood Capital Group, USA

Bob Leslie, Founder, Sedicii, Ireland, about venture capital Edouard Cukierman, Founder andChairman, Catalyst Fund, Israel

Paul Smith, President, CFA Institute, USA

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to investment and ‘who will repay their debt’.He went onto add the that ‘uncertaintyaround the economy leads to a lack ofspending’.

More broadly regulation was seen to be an issue. Chris Skinner, Publisher,TheFinanser,com, United Kingdom, pointedout that ‘regulators have lost their gripbecause local institutions have now becomeglobal’. Paul Smith, President and CEO,CFA Institute, USA, added that ‘regulationin the West is about how you stop someone,whereas in China their main concern isabout promoting growth’.

A discussion on Freeing Capital and BoostingInnovation provided insights into the im-portance of research and development,access to finance and developing intellectualcapital. Edouard Cukierman, Founderand Chairman, Catalyst Fund, Israel, notedthat Israel’s experience was that productionwas more likely to be done there if this wasthe location of the R&D and had supportedIsrael’s 3%-4% growth over a 20 year period.Bob Leslie, Founder, Sedicii, Ireland, con -firmed the Israeli governments’ commitmentto R&D noting that 4% of GDP wasinvested in R&D.

Urs Gredig, Anchor, Swiss National Television, in conversation with Kris Peeters Henning Christophersen, former Vice-President of the EuropeanCommission, speaking about the current challenges of Europe

Steven van Groningen, Chief Executive Officer, Raiffeisen Bank, Romania

Sajid Javid, UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation andSkills, about the UK government’s initiatives in manufacturing

Leo J. Hindery, jr., Founder and Managing Partner,InterMedia Partners, USA

Tarek Tawfik, President, Cairo Poultry Group, Egypt

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Access to finance for companies was also anissue. Participants’ views on the complexityof the banking system has been noted abovebut issues were raised about access for newcompanies. Edouard Cukierman statedthat whereas 85% of funding goes to moremature companies in Israel 85% of funding isinjected into start ups. Martin Haemmig,

Visiting Professor, Renmim University,China, confirmed Israel’s success in startup activity but also raised the issue of theimportance of the university sector insupporting innovation and growth.Gregory Bedrosian, Co-Founder andCEO, Redwood Capital Group, USA,emphasised this by reminding participantsthat Silicon Valley had grown from theuniversity.

In a discussion in Europe’s competitiveness,John Bruton noted the importance ofputting in place ‘better banking super visionon a uniform basis’ and mechanisms ‘toidentify major macro economic imbalanceswhich are signals of things going wrong’.He argued that the banking union shouldbe strengthened and called for more‘genuine’ investment.

Developing this further, HenningChristophersen, Chairman, DanishCouncil for Europe, Former Vice-Presidentof the European Commission, highlightedthree points. First, the north-south divide inEurope was partly explained by northernEurope’s flexible labour markets. Secondly,he called for more support for SMEs, feelingthat they ‘should be better treated’. Thismeant less red tape and tax relief in areas

‘We need to create an environment inwhich innovation, an effective R&Dinfrastructure, access to development,skills based education and a supportivefiscal policy promotes the developmentof manufacturing.’Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Business,Innovation and Skill, United Kingdom

Joseph Carter, Deputy Director General, Thunderbird School of Global Management

John Manners-Bell, Chief Executive Officer,Transport Intelligence

Daniel F. Muzyka, President, The Conference Board of Canada

Pierre Cohade, Chief Executive Officer, Triangle Tyre, China John Grogan, Chairman,Mongolian-British Chamber ofCommerce, United Kingdom

Tarek M. Ragheb, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, INTech International

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such as succession. Finally, he called formore investment in infrastructure, whichhe described as being in a ‘miserable statuswherever you go’. The regulatory regimediscouraged private co-investment as aresult of which there was a ‘lack of goodprojects in the pipeline’. Importantly, inthe context of Europe, he noted that thesechanges ‘were all within the competencesof the individual states’ and was not an EUissue.

In a discussion of the future of manufac tu -ring Sajid Javid , Secretary of State forBusiness, Innovation and Skill, UnitedKingdom, reflected upon the transfer ofmanufacturing from the UK to China,India and other nations and asked what theUK’s response should be. He rejected theidea of competing by seeking to reducelabour and raw material costs, which hecategorised as a ‘race to the bottom’.Instead, he stressed the need to create anenvironment in which innovation, aneffective R&D infrastructure, access to

development, skills based education and asupportive fiscal policy promoted thedevelopment of manufacturing. This position reflected a discussion amongparticipants asking how high-performancecorporation be can supported? PierreCohade, CEO, Triangle Tyre, China, notedthat businesses like stability and predictabilitybut the new environments is unstable andunpredictable. Joseph Carter, DeputyDirector General, Thunderbird School ofManagement, USA, put this down to‘increasing volatility, complexity andambiguity’. Exploiting technology, thinkingcreatively, developing a strong brand,main taining a skilled workforce were allhighlighted. The source of innovation was

‘Parents should try to get theirchildren to learn about elegance and suitability.’David Tang, Founder, Shanghai Tang, Hong Kong

Blair Sheppard, Global Leader for Strategy, PwC, United Kingdom

Brook Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer, IBLFGlobal – Realigning GlobalGovernance

Stacy Kenworthy, Chief Executive Officer,HellaStorm, USA

James Rubin, Former US Assistant Secretary of State, speaking about migration

During one of the panels

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also discussed. John Manners-Bell, ChiefExecutive Officer, Transport Intelligence,United Kingdom, for example, noted theinnovation in the SME sector that was thenbought up by larger companies.

Leadership in this context is critical. In thecontext of the modern corporation DanielMuzyka, President, The Conference Boardof Canada, Canada, noted the need for‘leaders throughout the organisation’ toincrease motivation and productivity. Thequality of leadership was challenged byBlair Sheppard, Global Leader forStrategy, PwC, United Kingdom, who wasof the opinion that many ‘leaders todaygrew up in a world where they didn’t needto lead’. This supported Jospeh Carter’sargument that we needed top down manage -

ment and‘bottom up, entre pre neu rial ideasand creativity.

Risk and leadership was discussed. In thecontext of small technology firms StacyKenworthy, Chief Executive Officer,HellaStorm, USA, said that ‘he would ratherfail fast and fail cheap’. Martin Haemmigprovided evidence that the failure rate inGermany was the highest but that failure atsuch an early stage put no strain on finance.

A number of discussions highlighted theneed to address the issue of trust. A dis -cussion around re-aligning governancehighlighted a number of issues amongstthe most important being the prevalenceof corruption. Brook Horowitz, ChiefExecutive Officer, IBLF Global, UK, notedthat ‘corruption is at the forefront’ of issuessuch as social inequality. It was noted thatbusinesses are both victims but also partici -pants in corruption’. It was recognised thatgrowth and corruption could go hand inhand and although corruption at the top ofan organisation could be easily tackled thismight not be the case in a subsidiarylocated in another country.

In some jurisdictions re-establishing securityis important to support the development

Prabhu Guptara, Executive Member of Board, Relational Analytics, sharing his views

Antonio Simoes, Chief Executive, HSBC Bank, United Kingdom Alex Anyse, Partner, The MASY Group, USA

Enzo Quattrociocche, Secretary General, European Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (EBRD)

Sham Bathija, Senior Economic Adviser to the President of Afghanistan, about geopolitical threats

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of good governance and reducing distrustand apprehension. The role of governmentis critical. Stability was also seen to beimportant to business and growth.Additionally, the need for effectivecommuni cation by decision makers washighlighted in addressing the trust deficitin many countries.

Reflecting on the banking sector AntonioSimoes stated that this was the leasttrusted sector where even employeeslacked trust in their own organisations. In

his opinion it would ’take a generation tore-build trust’. Authentic leadership wasrequired to build ‘internal credibility’. Henoted that banks ‘need conviction aboutthe things that don’t change ... banks arehere to serve society ... if companies havea deep sense of purpose that serves youwell’. In the short term ‘trust-worthiness’should be the aim of the banking sector.

Shaikha Al Maskari noted, too, people’slack of trust in ‘numbers and science’ andquestioned people’s ability to learn totrust. Prabhu Guptara, Executive BoardMember, Relational Analytics, United King -dom, noted that ‘trust in individuals is lostif we don’t do what we say’ and further that‘trust in institutions has been lost …[at]

‘It will take a generation to re-buildtrust in the financial sector.’Antonio Simoes, Chief Executive, HSBC Bank, United Kingdom

Diana Skelton, Deputy Director General, ATD Fourth World, France

John B. Kidd, Research Fellow, Aston Business School

Alan Belfield, Member of theManagement Board, Arup, United Kingdom

Andreas Irmen, Professor,University of Luxembourg

Mo El-Fatatry, Founder, Masar Smart Energy, FinlandSein-Way Tan, Chairman, Green World City Organization, Australia

Natalie Samovich, Co-founder, Enercoutim, Portugal

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every level’. Angie Hobbs reminded par-ticipants that trust manifested itself inboth ‘heathly and unhealthy forms’ and thatwe needed to ensure heathly forms of trustwere developed.

Participants asked how trust might berebuilt. Some were of the opinion thatthere was a divide between the elites andimproved communication was required.Others suggested a generational divide andopposing views were given of the character

of the millennials. Some felt that they caredabout the world and wanted to trust butthey could not see people they could trustin. In particular, current leaders had simplygot it wrong about some of the major issuesfacing the world.

These major issues were debated in thedialogue sessions. A discussion aroundclimate change reflected the urgency ofthe need for action at a global level. Theevidence of climate change and its causes –rising tides, shifting weather patterns,polluted environments – were testified toby by the discussion participants. Sein-WayTan, Chairman, Green World City Organi -sation, Australia, remarked that China had16 cities in the top 20 world’s mostpolluted but now none due to morecountries becoming polluted.

The solutions, too – coordinated inter -natio nal action, the need for companies toaccept the consequences of their actionsand to change what they do and the needto find alternative forms of energy – werewell understood and agreed upon.Technology will play a part. Mo El-Fatatry,Founder and CEO,Masar Smart Energy,Finland, noted that the ‘self use of solarwill be a new theme’ and referred to the

‘I question people’s ability to learn to trust.’Shaikha Al Maskari, Chairwomen, Al Maskari Holding, UAE

Motoko Imada, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Infobahn Holdings, Japan

Mikhail Treyvish, President,OmniGrade UniversalCrowdsourcing Agency, Russia

Rohit Nayak, Chief Executive Officer, EcoAd, India

Yatindra R Sharma, Managing Director, KHS India

Metin Guvener, Chairman, Triangle Group, United Kingdom

Her Highness Shaikha Al Maskari, Chairwomen, Al Maskari Holding, UAE

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potential of micro solar grids to reducethe cost of energy in the developing world.John B. Kidd, Research Fellow, AstonBusiness School, United Kingdom, gavethe examples in architecture where zeroomission buildings are possible.

Fighting poverty was also discussed. Threethemes emerged from the discussion.First, there was discussion of charitableschemes targeting the relief of povertyaround the globe. Diana Skelton, DeputyDirector General, ATD Fourth World,France, spoke of the difficulty sometimesof getting to the targeted audience and thepossibility of some relief schemes clashingwith one another. The creation of ‘networksof solidaity’ was seen as an answer. Therole business was also considered and inparticular the potential of companies to do

more for society through engaging incorporate social responsibility. The thirdpoint, however, looked for a longer termsolution through the empowerment of theindividual. Yatindra R Sharma, Mana gingDirector, KHS, India, for the poor and‘fool emphasised the need for skills, edu ca -tion, confidence building, access to healthcare, a system that spoke out/corruptionproof’ financial support.

Metin Guvener, Chairman, TriangleGroup, United Kingdom, wanted businessto be a platform for empowerment throughentrepreneurial engagement. Rohit Nayak,CEO, EcoAd, India, took this further andset out the benefits of creating womenentrepreneurs. This would be done througheducation, skills development and tacklinggender inequality. This was seen as a

Jeremy Bowen, Middle East Editor, BBC, with James Rubin

Sasha Gainullin, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Tangiers Group, Malta

Fakhri Ahmadov, ManagingDirector, Ahmadoff & Company

Ayoob Kara, Minister of Regional Cooperation, Israel, speaking about the Middle East

Soroosh Mohammadi, Managing Director, Morra Capital, UAE

Michael Parkinson, Professor, University of Liverpool,United Kingdom

Harald Einsmann, Member of the Supervisory Board, Tesco, United Kingdom

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‘bottom up’ approach which, in the longrun, may have more traction that charitablesolutions which might not address in thelong run the fundamental issues regardingresources, health care and social support.

The issue of gender inequality is not justan issue touching the relief of poverty. Adiscussion on the promotion of diversityfocussed on positive action in somecountries that had resulted in change.Harbeen Arora, Chancellor, Rai Uni ver -sity, India, spoke of the access women haveto senior jobs in Sweden. Rudi Guraziu,Executive Chirman, International Businessand Diplomatic Exchange, United Kingdom,noted that ‘26% of the board members inthe Bank of America are female (against atarget of 30%). Motoko Imada, Founder

and CEO, Infobahn Holdings, Japan, high -lighted the need for significant change inJapan where only 1.4% of directors arewomen but where legislation has set atarget for 2020 of 30%. The barriers togender equality were recognised, not justin terms of culture, political systems,religion but also in expected family rolesand societal attitudes.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of theArt of Living Foundation, India, urgedwomen ‘not to ask someone to empowerthem’ rather they ‘should just come up andempower themselves’ and to take a lead inreligious and secular life. Iman IrfanChishti, Executive Iman, ManchesterCentral Mosque, characterised women as‘innovators, movers, shakers ...rolemodels ...exceptional in their spirituality’.

Migration was an issue of particular concern.Jeremy Bowen, Middle East Editor, BBC,

‘Women should not ask someone toempower them – rather they shouldjust come up and empower themselvesand to take a lead in religious andsecular life.’Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of the Art of Living Foundation, India

Serigne Mansour Sy, President,Federation of Islamic Associationsof Senegal

Imam Irfan Chishti, Executive Imam, Manchester Central Mosque

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, The Art of Living Foundation, India

Paul Bayes, Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Liverpool and Thomas Williams, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Liverpool

Brian J. Grim, President, Religious Freedom & BusinessFoundation, hosting the session about faith

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United Kingdom, led an absorbing dis cus -sion on the middle east. Ayoob Kara,Minister of Regional Development, Israel,said that Europe had made a mistake inaccepting so many refugees from the middleeast into Europe. It was a mistake becauseEurope would ‘lose itself’ and would berequired to ‘change values’. Border securityand a policy of returning refugees wasnecessary.

James Rubin, Former US AssistantSecretary of State, USA, concentrated hisremarks on the consequences of a ‘war ofunprecedented proportions’ in Syria inwhich ‘half the population has either moved... or left’. He reported that ‘six to sevenmillion ended up in Turkey, Lebanon andJordan and now a million or so were inEurope’. Reflecting on the west’s actionshe argued that Syria happened withoutIraq the case would have been sufficientfor intervention. Interventions did nothappen and the position deteriorated andcould deteriorate more. For him the mostimportant lesson was ‘what happens in theMiddle East matters’. In the short term apragmatic policy that maintains stability isnecessary to stop the further destabilisation.James Rubin saw in the Egyptian positionsome lessons for democracy.

In a broader boardroom discussion on thefuture of democracy concerns were ex -pressed by a number of participants over thethreats to democracy. Lord Alderdice,Member of the House of Lords, UnitedKingdom, for example, was of the opinionthat ‘liberal democracy was breaking down’because many feel threatened and becomedefensive. Prabhu Guptara noted thedecline in democracy and freedom as aresult of a number of factors. In the Westhe attributed this to ‘political correctness,

‘A pragmatic policy that maintainsstability is necessary to stop thefurther destabilisation of Syria.’James Rubin, Former US Assistant Secretary of State, USA

Plenary – Towards a More Competitive Europe

Baroness Valerie Amos, Director, SOAS University of London

David Fergusson, President, The M&A Advisor, USA

Joanna D. Haigh, Co-Director Grantham Institute,Imperial College

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indecision and spinelessness’ while elsewherelimited freedom of thought, structures ofoppression declining freedom of informa -tion in countries such as China and Indiaand a denial of the freedom to be literate.If freedom is to flourish values supportingthe rule of law, the notion of living aProtestant Lifestyle, promoting literacy andengaging with our enemies was necessary.

A dialogue session on Caring, Consultingand Forgiving focussed on responses to

war and terrorism. Chitra Narayanan,Associate Fellow, Geneva Centre forSecurity Policy, Switzerland, reflected onhow, in certain parts of the world, humanemotion seemed to have reverted to ‘anunprecedented level of extreme violence’.The corrosive impact of terrorism oncommunities was noted by Baroness Amos,Director, SOAS, United Kingdom, as shepointed out that ‘terrorism brings aboutmuch more than the humanitarian aspect;it is destroying communities’. Further thedisplacement of individuals is not a shortterm problem. She reported that ‘theaverage displacement following conflict orterrorism is 17 years. That is the average,which means many people face many yearsmore displaced’.

The participants also discussed the role of women, both as victims of war andterrorism and in relation to conflict reso -lution and peace. In relation to sexualabuse for example, Chitra Natayananspoke of the need for rehabilitation withoutstigma being attached to victims. She notedtoo, how, in the face of terrorism, com -muni ties were rallying around and gettingon with their lives to show terrorists thatthey cannot win.

‘We must safeguard individualliberties despite terrorist threats.’Yves Leterme, Former Prime Minister of Belgium;Secretary-General, International IDEA, Sweden

Brian A. Gallagher, Chief Executive Officer, United Way Worldwide, chairing the panel on philanthropy

A working session

Egemen Bagis, Former Ministerfor EU Affairs, Turkey

David Marsh, Managing Director and Co-founder, Official Monetary and FinancialInstitutions Forum

Chitra Narayanan, Associate Fellow, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Switzerland

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A final area of discussion that engaged manyparticipants was that of education. This wasseen as important, not just to impart skillsand knowledge that empowered andinformed but also because of its ability totransform lives and develop character andattributes. Few discussions did not refer tothe need for education systems to engagewith the major issues debated by partici -pants. A detailed boardroom discussionhighlighted continuing issues aroundunequal access, often based on income orgender. The potential for technology toallow for innovation in curriculum designand delivery was noted as an area ofdevelopment.

How we think, how we view and assessinformation was of particular concern tothe group discussing the future of Thought.Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophyat the City College of New York, remindedus of the statement ‘as we think so we shallbecome’ and urged us to develop educationssystems that supported us in ‘confronting

the challenges’ and ‘thinking constructively’.He called us to adjust our systems so wewere ‘educating for a global humanity’.

A number of participants argued that theworld needed to engage in a different typeof thinking if it was to tackle the majorproblems. William Zhang emphasisedthe while ‘confidence allows us to embracethe world with positive attitudes’ un cer -tainty lead us to ‘instinctively protectourselves’. In doing so we ’live in our ownworld with the door closed to others’. We‘make a fuss of the problems we are havingwhile at the same time we keep a blind eyeto the misery of others’.

‘Turkey will continue its commitment to the reform process for EU membership.’Egemen Bagis, Former Minister for EU Affairs, Turkey

Kevan Watts, Vice Chairman Banking, HSBC Bank, on the future of growth

David Tang, Founder, Shanghai Tang, Hong Kong, on the future of lifestyles

Phil O’Reilly, Managing Partner,Iron Duke Partners, New Zealand

Peter Samuelson, President, First Star, USA

Experiencing the Horasis atmosphere

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Shaikha Al Maskari similarly argued thatwe needed to think globally and to create‘think tanks of goodwill, understandingand trust’. She noted that we are where we are because we failed to notice all thenegative thoughts developing. It is onlythrough addressing the way that society isbrought up that we can move beyondreligion and emphasise ‘conscience,collaboration and compassion’. She stated‘we need to heal and educate the newgeneration to have more understandingand more compassion that we can all livetogether’.

A discussion around philanthropy providedinsights into the way corporate society has

moved beyond the narrow perspective ofshareholder value. Brian A. Gallagher,President and Chief Executive Officer,United Way Worldwide, USA, said thatthere had been a ‘change in the waybusinesses look and interacts with society’and that lines were ‘becoming blurred’.Daryl Brewster, Chief Executive Officer,Committee Ecouraging CorporatePhilanthropy, USA, argued that the biggestcompanies in the world ‘were looking athow they can engage socially, developing abetter social strategy’. The attitudes ofmillennials was once again noted. Leo JHindley Jr, Founder and ManagingPartner, Inter Media Partners, USA,recorded that ‘young millennials find theirpurpose through common purpose’ andthere was a belief that they wanted to bephilanthropic from an earlier age.

Phil O’Reilly, Managing Partner, IronDuke Partners, New Zealand, argued thatphilanthropy should become second natureand for Peter Samuelson, President, FirstStar, USA, corporate philanthropy couldbuild communities from the ground up byfinding gaps and acting. The benefits ofphilanthropy were also not seen to bepurely external. For Daryl Brewster ‘socialstrategy is a core business strategy’ and in

F.W. de Klerk speaking to Max Steinberg

Agata Mlynarska, Journalist and Anchor, TVP1, Poland, moderating a session

Emily Grundy, Professor ofDemography, London School ofEconomics and Political Science

Arad Rostampour, Founder andChief Executive Officer,Zenamins, USA

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Lord Alderdice, Convenor of the Liberal Democrat Party, United Kingdom

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the medium term companies would see areturn on their investment.

From a faith perspective Paul Bowes,Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, argued that‘what we need from business leaders isreligious literacy ... to be able to listen tothe voices of faith and not to seesecularism as some sort of adult thing thatgoes beyond’. Brian Grim, President of theReligious Freedom and Business Foundation,USA, stated that evidence existed thatsocieties with freedom of religion or beliefwere more ‘peaceful societies, morecompetitive societies’ in which there was...‘more innovation, more foundations forbusiness and social success’. However, henoted that religion could be a force forgood and evil.

Iman Irfan Chishti spoke of the positiverelationship between Islam and enterpriseand peace but recognised current problems.He noted that ‘Islam is the counternarrative’ to the activities of those whohad ‘hijacked’ Islam. Sri Sri Ravi Shankarspoke too, of the contribution Hinduismhad made through its diversity, harmonyand spirituality, out of which came inno -vation. The need for the world to acceptreligious toleration was expressed by his

statement that ‘we can’t say that anyreligion has an exclusive right to heaven’.

Max Steinberg, Chief Executive, LiverpoolVision, United Kingdom, introducedF.W.de Klerk, Former President ofSouth Africa, Nobel Laureate for Peace,South Africa, describing him as one of the‘greatest political figures of the recent past’and recognising his ‘contribution to history... in initiating and then handing overpower to Nelson Mandela in Africa’s firstvelvet revolution’.

F.W. de Klerk began his presentationsetting out the ‘absolute link between anumber of factors and the prevalence offactors in some societies’. He stressed the

Nobel Laureate, F.W. de Klerk, Former President of South Africa

Antoine Blondeau, Chief Executive Officer, Sentient Technologies, USA

Rajita Kulkarni, President, World Forum for Ethics, Belgium

Caring, Consulting and Forgiving – Sean Cleary, Chairman,Strategic Concepts, South Africa

David J. Lipkin, Correspondent, Maariv Newspaper, Israel, speaking about urbanization

Session chair Lawrence Pratchett, Dean of Business,Law and Government, University of Canberra,Australia

correlation between conflict and poverty,the lack of democratic structures, limitedaccess to education and the inability ofsociety to accommodate religious andethnic diversity.

The solutions to conflict, therefore, arefound in policies that promote securitythrough the rule of law, address poverty,foster economic growth and investmentand support balanced labour relations.Further, government needs to ensure goodgovernance, access to decent education,accountable and open democratic institu -tions and social unity through shared valuesand the accommodation of diversity.Minorities, in particular, must feel thatthey are part of a greater whole.

Particular attention must be given to theprospects of a nations’ youth. He notedthat the ‘world’s youth can be bestequipped ...by providing them with decenteducation and training..decent healthservices and an environment in which theycan develop social and physical skills ...healthy social and economic environmentsfor the development of strong, healthyfamilies ...rapid and sustained economicgrowth to ensure that there are job oppor -tunities’ and a ‘culture of toleration andrespect ...where important minorities needto feel that they are part of a greater wholeand a strong ethical environment’.

Reflecting on the impact of globalisationhe argued that we needed ‘to realise thatwe live in a totally different world’ whichrequired ‘not only adaptation but alsofundamental change’. He challenged themajor international institutions, the UN,IMF and World Bank to reflect on theirpurpose in a changed environment andrecognise what was needed to be done andthe powers they needed to achieve theirobjectives.

But is there an appetite amongst leaders forchange? If so, how might change be initiated?

Kumar Iyer, British Deputy High Commissioner in Mumbai, India,making a point

Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Nicco Group, India, speaking whereas Roger King looks on

Abla Abdel Latif, Chairman, Presidential Council for EconomicDevelopment, Egypt, speaking about the current sitution in Egypt

Rana Mitter, Professor,History and Politics of ModernChina, University of Oxford

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Alf Erik Lundgrenn, Chairman,Nordic Invest SIA, Latvia

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F.W.de Klerk noted that recognition of theneed for change could start through theprocess of deep self-introspection. It wasthis process that led to the conclusion thatapartheid was morally indefensible andbecame the basis of change. Engagementin the process of deep introspection couldprovide leaders with an understanding ofhow they needed to respond to changes.

Looking to the future of South Africa,F.W. de Klerk noted that he was ‘concernedbut not alarmed’ regarding the pressures onthe constitution, criticism of the President,economic decline, unrest in education andviolence. He remained optimistic, however,that intellectuals will emerge to steer theANC towards a moderate position focussedon it original origins and committed togrowth and education.

Looking to the future it was noted thatF.W. de Klerk Foundation will continue towork to protect the constitution bychecking all legislation, interacting with

parliamentary committees and opposingacts where necessary. Similarly, the GlobalLeadership Foundation will continue toprovide discrete support to leaders topromote good governance worldwide.

A comprehensive review of Nigeria'seconomic position was presented byAdeyemi Dipeolu, Chief EconomicAdvisor to the Vice President of Nigeria.He began by reflecting upon the present‘great uncertainty’. This, he said, wentback to 2008 but had been affected by thefall in oil prices caused by the technologicalshift related to shale oil production. Theimpact was reflected in increased levels ofinequality, youth unemployment, and thethreat to jobs and cultural values caused by

‘The recognition of the need for changecould start through the process of deepself-introspection.’F.W. de Klerk, Former President of South Africa,Nobel Laureate for Peace, South Africa

Closing Plenary – Visions for Tomorrow

Peter Tufano, Dean of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford,on leadership

Karen Harris, Managing Director,Macro Trends Group, Bain & Company, USA

Toks Abimbola, Vice President,Shoreline Power, Nigeria

migration. Terrorism and the political unrestin the Niger delta added to the uncertainty.

The government was intent on reform andhe outlined the main policy interventionsdesigned to stimulate growth.

Investment was the key. Infrastructureinvestment was highlighted and new projectsincluded rail and road development.Attention would also focus on energyproduction and problem of gas supplies tothe power stations was being dealt with aswas the capacity of the current electricitytransmission network.

Investment in education is a critical policywith support being provided to creategraduate jobs in teaching and other areas,increased investment in schooling andtargeted bursaries to support STEM students.

Growth in agriculture was being targeted,it being noted that production of rice andwheat was already increasing to meet demand.

In the digital and creative sphere, thegovernment was setting up a series ofsupercomputing hubs and was planning totrain 65,000 people in digital skills. Thevibrancy of the creative industries,particularly in music and film, wasreflected in Nigeria’s successful filmindustry.

Other reforms will see measures to improvesecurity, remove trade barriers, and reformgovernment through better governance.Tackling corruption will be critical toimproving governance and the desire tostamp out corruption is held by those at thetop of the political system.

‘Investment in education is a criticalpolicy of the Nigerian government.’Adeyemi Dipeolu, Chief Economic Advisor to the Vice President of Nigeria, Nigeria

Summit co-chair Jaan Tallinn, Co-founder, Skype, Estonia During the closing dinner

John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Heathrow Airport, on the closing plenary

Mark Hollingsworth, Chief Executive Officer, The Nutrition Society, United Kingdom

Pierre Lagrange, Managing Partner, GLG Partners,United Kingdom

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Shamsudeen Usman, Minister ofNational Planning (ret.), Nigeria

Concluding the session, Adeyemi Dipeolu,emphasised his confidence that the currentNigerian government was serious aboutdealing with Nigeria’s current issues. He said that Nigeria should not look tooutsiders for help. Rather, in a functioningdemocracy the government must learn tosolve problems itself and must ultimatelyaccount for its actions to its people.

In the final plenary session of the HorasisGlobal Meeting alternative scenarios ofwhat the future might be were presented.

A radical vision of the future, but one ex -pressed with confidence of its consequences,was that argued by Naveen Jain, Co-founder and Chairman, Moon Express,USA. Looking at the potential of futuretechnologies, he stated that these ‘are goingto change the way humanity has ever lived’.Important areas of life – education,healthcare, energy – were all areas where

technology has the power to disrupt. Ourmind set was important. Europe, he believed,reflected a ‘mind set of scarcity rather thanabundance’ and a sustainable world couldonly be achieved if we created abundance.He warned that ‘the future is going toembrace you’ ‘you don’t have the choice’.Embracing change, identifying the problemsand using technology to find solutions wasthe way forward.

A more cautious view was proposed byJaan Tallin, Co-Founder, Skype, Estonia.He referred to the common assumptionthat problems were created by humanintelligence and that human intelligencewould sort them out. In the context of therise of artificial intelligence and its future

‘Future technologies are going tochange the way humanity has everlived.Technology has the power todisrupt.’Naveen Jain, Co-founder and Chairman, Moon Express, USA

Briefing session on Nigeria Adeyemi Dipeolu, Chief Economic Advisor to the Vice President of Nigeria

Takumi Shibata, Chief Executive Officer, Nikko Asset ManagementCo., Japan, summarizing the results of the meeting

Ana Garcia Sineriz,Journalist and Writer, Spain

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development he questioned whether thisassumption was coming to an end. He spokeof the paradox of the threat to humanityposed by the creation of intelligent machines,which has been recognised by pioneers incomputing science, but also the fascinationin this area of science. He noted how theimportant philosophical issues around thepotential of AI is being debated by the AIcommunity.

Both views reflected something of therevolutionary potential of the technology.An alternative, more reformist view wasposited by two other Panelists. JohnHolland-Kaye, CEO, Heathrow Airport,United Kingdom, was concerned how we

dealt with the consequences of growth and‘how we become responsible citizens’. Inthe context of what ‘kind of neighbour’does he want to be he referred to theconflict between the impact of growth andthe local communities. In the context ofhis own industry, issues relating to ‘carbon,air quality, noise and traffic congestion’were examples of the issues companiesneed confront. He urged companies totake the initiative in taking a ‘sociallyresponsible view’ and urged the corporatesector to make sure that ‘we are doing theright things ourselves and not waiting forgovernments to intervene’.

Sonia Medina, Climate Change Director, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, about climate change

Panellists prepare the next panel

Terry Scuoler, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, EEF, United Kingdom

Sandra Wallace, UK Managing Partner, DLA Piper, United Kingdom

Lawrence Bloom, Secretary General, Be Earth Foundation, on climate change

M. A. Zaman, Chairman, Royal Falcon Fleet, UAE, studying the programme

Social stability was also critical to TakumiShibata, CEO, Nikko Asset ManagementCo, Japan. He spoke of the sense of anxietyfelt by people, particularly the middle classand noted that globalisation had resulted in‘young people facing competition fromyoung people’ in other countries. Socialstability had to be maintained building ontraditional senses of community supportedby social welfare systems developed.Structural reform was necessary and thiswas ‘about telling the government to getout of the way’. The tension, for example,between the act of the central bankers whouse Quantitative Easing to stimulate aneconomy at the same time as the regulatorsare ‘putting their left foot on the break’was evidence of governments’ failure to‘strike the right balance between goodintentions and unforeseen results’.

The participants’ responses to these positionsfocussed once again attention on theconcerns of the Horasis Global Meeting.In particular, and regardless of whether wefaced revolution or reform, comments drewattention to need for us, as responsible,engaged human beings, to ensure we didnot lose sight of the need to continue todebate and address the issues of poverty,wealth distribution, unemployment andequality.

‘Social stability had to be maintainedbuilding on traditional senses ofcommunity supported by social welfaresystems developed.’Takumi Shibata, CEO, Nikko Asset Management Co, Japan

Roger Griffin, Professor of Modern History,Oxford Brookes University

Hugh Sanderson, Executive Managing Director, FirstEnergy Capital Corporation

Janet Hemingway, Professor,Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Bruce Muirhead, Chief Executive Officer, Eidos, Australia

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Sharing a light moment

Will Butler-Adams, ChiefExecutive Officer, BromptonBicycle

Where are we at? Where are we Going?

Delegates exchanging business cards

Delegates taking notes

Harbeen Arora, Chancellor, Rai University, India, asking a question

Christiane Riedel, COO, Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe,Germany and Heli Bathija, Director, Geneva Foundation forMedical Education and Research

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Members of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra playing during the opening dinner

Classic Chinese music

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In front of the house where The Beatles composed and rehearsed their earliest songs

The Beatles Story The Cavern Pub in Liverpool

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The Albert Dock at night

Horasis: The Global Visions CommunityThurgauerstrasse 40CH-8050 ZurichSwitzerland

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