As with 2019, the key global trends of 2020 will be set alongside an undercurrent of unpredictability brought by the ever changing political, economic and social landscapes.

There are, however, some certainties for the year ahead. The key theme that will pervade every aspect of our lives will be sustainability. Leadership candidates in elections will be judged on their environmental credentials, businesses will be forced to take action and to consider the impact of their activities rather than just chasing profit. There is no doubt that there will be advancements in technology and human capabilities. Whether these are deemed to be a success or not will largely depend on whether they bring an improvement to societal, economic and environmental welfare.

To help deal with this state of uncertainty, we have listed some of our key speakers to aid you in upcoming event programs for 2020. 

Technology, AI, Cybersecurity and Blockchain

In 2019 we faced daunting questions of how today’s technologies would shape tomorrow’s world. In 2020, the way that society answers these questions will become clear.  It will be a decade that sees AI begin to tackle hard problems, but potentially create even harder ones.

Cybercrime has become a significant threat to the global ecosystem, threatening the weaknesses in both humans and technology. Jennifer Zhu Scott was invited to speak at TEDWomen 2019: Bold + Brilliant, and she shared her concerns regarding data. Personal data privacy is an issue that Jennifer shares on stage; “Whoever owns the data owns the future”.

Blockchain also remains in a frenzy of uncertainty. It continues its progressive development, but is yet to become mainstream, will the 2020s be the decade of mass adoption?

Our Experts

• Daniela Rus – Director of the MIT Computer Science and AI Laboratory
• DJ Patil – Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist appointed by President Obama
• Sebastian Thrun – World leading robotics developer, engineer and Founder of Google[x]
• John Elder – Founder of Elder Research
• Jennifer Zhu Scott – Leading expert in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Data Ownership
• Kathryn Parsons – Founder of Decoded and Leading Technology Pioneer.
• Dido Harding – CEO of Talk Talk (2010-2017) and current Chair of NHS Improvement.
• Samm Sacks – Expert commentator on U.S – China tech relationship and Former China technology sector lead at Eurasia Group.

Geopolitics

2020’s biggest geopolitical event will be the US election in November. This will be set on a backdrop of risk and uncertainty. There will be impacts on the ongoing Brexit negotiations, the US-China trade war, and the rise of great tension in Iran and the Middle East. Populism has undoubtedly been one of the buzzwords of the last decade, and the 2020 US election will be a strong indicator as to whether the tide has turned against it.

Our Experts

US

• Harper Reed – CTO for Obama for America 2012 and crowd sourcing and social media pioneer
• Brett Bruen – Director of Global Engagement in the White House under President Obama, CEO of The Situation Room consultancy.
• Kurt Volker – US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations (2017-2019) and US Ambassador to NATO (2008-2009)
• KT McFarland – Foreign Policy Expert, President Trump’s first Deputy National Security Advisor
• Samuel Woolley – expert in the manipulative use of social media for political or economic gain
• Vijay Vaitheeswaran – US Business editor for The Economist
• Mauro Guillén – Wharton Professor of International Management, explains how business leaders should navigate complex global events

 Europe

• Jeremy Hunt – UK Foreign Secretary until 2019
• Joshcka Fischer – Former Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany
• Helle Thorning-Schmidt – Former Prime Minister of Denmark and CEO of Save The Children International
• Jonathan Hill – Expert on the EU’s financial services industry
• Ivan Rogers – Former UK Permanent Representative to the EU
• John Hulsman – Leading expert on the political economy of the EU, US, Emerging Markets, and Asia
• Lionel Barber – Expert on US foreign policy and Transatlantic relations and Editor of the Financial Times (2005-2020)
• Gérard Araud – Ambassador of France to the United States from 2014 to 2019
• Jo Johnson – UK Government MP and Member of Cabinet until 2019, former FT journalist.
• Anne Applebaum – Expert on International Affairs and Foreign Policy
• Clint Laurent – Expert on global population and socio-economic trends and their impact on the world economy

Asia

• David Daokui Li – One of China’s most influential Economists
• George Yeo – Former Foreign Affairs Minister of Singapore
• Jamil Anderlini – Asia Editor for The Financial Times
• Tom Wright – Wall Street Journal’s Asia Economics Editor and Pulitzer Prize finalist
• Angie Lau – Thought-leader in Blockchain and CEO & Founder of Forkast News
• Kishore Mahbubani – Expert on the rise of Asia and US diplomatic relations
• Linda Yueh – Expert on the Chinese Economy

Global Economy Speakers

It is undoubted that the geopolitical events in 2020 will have a huge impact on the health and direction of the global economy. Any substantial political unrest will lead to financial instability. With pressure on governments and central banks, as well as financial organisations, to disregard traditional models and create sustainable models this will be the decade in which the incumbents need to think and act creatively in order to continue to thrive.

• Maurice Obstfeld – Chief Economist at the IMF – International Monetary Fund (2015-2018)
• Martin Wolf – Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times
• Danielle Di Martino Booth – Federal Reserve Advisor (2006-2015), expert on US and global financial systems
• Jean Tirole – Nobel Prize–winning Economist
• Lord Jim O’Neill – Former Economist of Goldman Sachs and Former Commercial Secretary to HM Treasury (2015-2016)
• Lord Mervyn King – Governor of the Bank of England (2003-2013)
• Andrew Sentance – Expert in Economic Policy, Business strategy, Climate Change and Aviation
• Kate Raworth – Creator of Doughnut Economics
• Pippa Malmgrem – Co-Founder at H Robotics Limited and Former economic advisor to the President George W Bush
• Willem Buiter – Global Chief Economist/Special Economic Adviser at Citigroup (2010-2019)

Sustainability 

With the continuation of our climate emergency, 2020 is predicted to be the year that sustainability moves out of the realm of Corporate Social Responsibility and into a core business purpose. Climate action, reducing inequality, and responsible consumption and production will become the greatest challenges faced. Teen activist, Greta Thunberg, showed the world that there is no one too young to input their say. Former CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman, is leading the way. He has already helped develop a fashion industry deal to cut waste and carbon emissions, and is working on rolling this out with as many other industries as possible.

• Mike Berners-Lee – Expert Writer and Researcher on Sustainability, Founder of Small World Consulting
• Joanna Yarrow – an expert in sustainable living and former Head of Sustainability for Ikea.
• Andy Baynes – Expert in Sustainable Design within Technology
• Diva Amon – Marine Biologist and Research Fellow at the Natural History Museum
• Michael Pawlyn – One of the world’s leading thinkers in sustainable architecture
• Gregor Paterson-Jones – Former Managing Director of the UK Green Investment Bank
• Lauren Bush Lauren – Co-Founder of FEED Projects
• Natalie Fee – founder of City to Sea and author of “How to Save the World For Free”
• Lewis Pugh – US Patron for the Ocean and World Record holding open water swimmer.

Futurists

We are in a position, where what has gone before does not necessarily dictate what will happen next. However, this does not been that history should be disregarded. We can learn from, and explain many phenomena through analysing social, economic and environmental developments through the ages. Whilst this does not enable us to predict the future, it can help us understand and adapt to the changes around us.

• Yuval Noah Harari – Expert on World History and International Best-seller
• Amber Case – Fellow at Harvard University, she studies how humans and technology interact.
• Lisa Bodell – Globally Recognized Expert on Innovation and Leading Change
• Niall Ferguson – Financial historian and expert on global developments
• Olaf Groth – Expert on Disruptive Technology Trends & Futures
• Kara Swisher – Renowned Technology Journalist & Co-Founder, Recode
• Anne Lise Kjaer – Futurist and Founder & Director of Trend Management Consultancy Kjaer Global
• Carl Benedikt Frey – Founding Director of Future of Work Programme and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University
• Daniel Susskind – Expert on the Future of Work
• Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli – co-authors of “Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference”

Wishing all our clients and speakers we represent across the world a Happy New Year from the Chartwell team.

To book any of these speakers contact us at enquiries@chartwellspeakers.com