Monthly Archives: January 2015

“Has technology rewired our brains?” asks Tom Chatfield, a leading thinker on digital culture

Jan 28, 2015

by Raleigh Addington

Has technology rewired our brains, making us less human as a result? Tom Chatfield is a leading thinker on digital culture, is an enthusiastic downloader of the latest apps, and an early adopter of anything small and shiny that promises to smooth his path through life. But Tom can’t help feeling a little anxious about the …

Posted in Speakers We Admire, Business & Entrepreneurs, Technology & Innovation | Tags:Tom Chatfield, Future Trends, Anxiety, Digital Culture, The Economist

Q&A with Simon Wheatcroft: the blind ultramarathon runner who adapts technology to achieve the impossible

Jan 27, 2015

by Raleigh Addington

Simon Wheatcroft lost his sight at seventeen and began a journey of adapting technology to achieve the impossible. Through the aid of a smartphone and the feeling underfoot, he learnt to run solo outdoors and ran his first race just seven months later – a 100 mile ultramarathon. Ben Horne, Head of Online Content at Chartwell, …

Posted in Speakers We Admire, Technology & Innovation, Sport & Adventure, Leadership & Motivation | Tags:Technology, Q&A, Ultra-distance Running

“The day of reckoning for the House of Saud is not far off” warns geopolitical risk consultant John Hulsman

Jan 26, 2015

by Raleigh Addington

John Hulsman, a leading expert on the political economy of the Middle East, has written for City AM that “the death of long-ruling King Abdullah reminds us of the Achilles’ heel of the system of absolute monarchy.” In this insightful take on the ins and outs of the Saudi succession, John notes that “to understand Saudi Arabia, …

Posted in Speakers We Admire, International Affairs & Security, Energy & Resources | Tags:House of Saud, Saudi Monarchy, Succession, King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia

Ambassador Curtis Chin outlines what Obama should have said about Asia’s rise but didn’t

Jan 23, 2015

by Raleigh Addington

In his annual State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama missed an opportunity to underscore the value of strengthened trade relations with Asia, says Curtis Chin, Managing Director of RiverPeak Group. Curtis believes that whilst it’s understandable that Obama mostly focused on issues at home while spending relatively less time speaking about foreign affairs, he did little to …

Posted in Speakers We Admire, International Affairs & Security, Politics & Government | Tags:President Obama, US Foreign Policy, US-China Relations, State of the Union address, US-Asia Strategy

Pedal power: British adventurer Sarah Outen endures the trans-US/Canada cycle leg of her round the world expedition

Jan 23, 2015

by Raleigh Addington

British adventurer Sarah Outen is three quarters of the way through a gruelling global expedition from London2London:Via the World, in which she is attempting to loop the planet using human power. She started in a kayak under Tower Bridge on April 1st 2011 and since then has kayaked, cycled, rowed and kayaked again east across …

Posted in Speakers We Admire, Sport & Adventure, Leadership & Motivation | Tags:London2London: Via the World, British Adventurer, Bicycling, Round the World Expedition

Renowned statistician Hans Rosling demonstrates the state of world inequality in seven snowballs

Jan 22, 2015

by Raleigh Addington

Income inequality and the gap between the richest and poorest is one of the items at the top of the agenda for the World Economic Forum currently taking place in Davos. This is because in developed and developing countries alike, the poorest half of the population often controls less than 10% of its wealth. While …

Posted in Speakers We Admire, International Affairs & Security | Tags:Davos, World Economic Forum, World Inequality, Income Disparities, Statistics