2020 Untangled: The Year Everything Changed?

[Michael_Bird]

2020 wasn't the year that anyone expected. Did anyone have a global pandemic on their bingo card? Our organisations have changed, in some ways irreversibly. Through the tumultuous tide of compounding crises, strong leadership has been vital. So, how did they do it?

In a very special episode of Technology Untangled, host Michael Bird is joined by three senior business leaders: Edelman's EMEA President and CEO, Ed Williams, HPE's President and CEO, Antonio Neri, and ROKiT Venturi Formula E Team Principal, Susie Wolff.

We explore the astronomical challenges of helming international organisations through a crisis characterised by adaptability, strategy, setbacks, and triumphs.

Creativity in the time of COVID: with Ed Williams, Edelman
When Edelman's EMEA President and CEO, Ed Williams, first heard about the coronavirus during a talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos, it soon became apparent that a colossal crisis was on the horizon. Faced with the threat of an unprecedented crisis, Ed transformed communications agency Edelman's strategy overnight.

We talk about the impact of COVID restrictions on creative industries, how Ed's journalist background gave him the fortitude to endure, and why international business travel might not entirely recover.

The future of tech, accelerated: with Antonio Neri, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Has the world of work changed irreversibly? HPE's President and CEO, Antonio Neri, certainly thinks so. Antonio's overseen big changes at HPE before. However, 2020's full house of microeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical tension,
natural disasters, and the pandemic required swift and decisive leadership.

We discuss the importance of maintaining mental health during a crisis, how Antonio responded to bolster HPE's international workforce, and the realisation of his future enterprise predictions: edge-centric, cloud-enabled, and data-driven.

Balancing the wheel: with Susie Wolff, ROKiT Venturi Formula E Team
ROKiT Venturi Formula E Team Principal, Susie Wolff was in the middle of a race season when COVID struck. Races were canceled and Susie grappled with leading a dispersed global team and satisfying sponsors and stakeholders invested in events and complying to rigid health and safety protocols.

We discuss the logistical challenge and incredible show of unity that allowed Formula E to complete their season, leadership through adaptation, and the reprioritisation of professional and personal goals.

Michael Bird
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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