Business in Focus

Following the pandemic we’re more online, more aware of emerging technology and more likely to place as much greater emphasis on a brand’s reputation and purpose as their products or services. So what does this mean for businesses looking to connect with their customers? PwC’s Head of Industries, Quentin Cole, invites WPP’s Chief Client Officer, Lindsay Pattison, and Leader of Industry for Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Mary Shelton Rose, for a closer look at how the trends seen in this sector are creating opportunities and challenges for businesses of all sorts.

Where sports leads, business follows. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games  has not only created a showcase for sporting talent and the cultural vibrancy of its host city, but worked to place diversity, inclusion and accessibility at the heart of everything it does. As proud sponsors of Birmingham 2022, this episode explores how business can not only support these events, but use them as an opportunity to reinforce their social values and purpose for their people and communities. Join host Rowena Morris, PwC Head of Regions and Platforms Carl Sizer and four-time Olympian and Head of Inclusion and Engagement for Birmingham 2022 Donna Fraser OBE for a passionate and inspirational look at delivering on your purpose.

What does today’s external environment and its rapidly evolving risks mean for business resilience? Organisations of all types are now having to grapple with high impact, severe events at a pace that has been amplified by the move to digital. So how can business leaders move to an agile mindset that lets them respond and maintain reputation and trust with investors and the public? Host Emily Khan is joined by Paul Williams, formerly of the Bank of England PRA and special adviser on the topic of resilience, and PwC Crisis and Resilience partner Bobbie Ramsden-Knowles to explore the case for looking at resilience differently.

Supply chains and operations are now a boardroom priority. Brexit, the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine have all challenged existing models. And with digitalisation and the ESG agenda encouraging us all to think again about the competitive models of the future, how do we build successful, resilient and responsible supply chains? Podcast host Rowena Morris unpicks the current challenges and how businesses are responding with the support of PwC partners Fred Akuffo, Supply Chains and Operations, and Cara Haffey, Leader of Industry for Manufacturing and Automotive.

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We all know we need to get to net zero - and fast - but the challenge has always been putting it into practice. The scale of change required - and the amount of time to make it in - makes for a daunting prospect. Where do you start? (Especially when you’re a huge, complex organisation)? Which is why we’ve invited Jude’s ice cream, a certified B Corp and makers of carbon negative ice cream - to talk through their transformation journey and how purpose and the disruption of the pandemic became the catalyst for change

Transcript  - here

Recording - here

In the face of a rapid shift toward cloud and digital technology, how can businesses overcome the project delivery lag before seeing results? Amid a workforce crunch, the answer could be to look to new partnering arrangements. Joining host Rowena Morris are Darren Hardman, VP and General Manager at Amazon Web Services and David Allen, PwC Market Activation Lead for Execution Managed Services. Together they discuss how keeping pace with transformation should start with looking at the delivery as well as the solution.

The past two years have caused many of us to reassess what we look for in where we live. We explore that impact in our latest Good Growth for Cities index and what this means for the levelling up challenge across the UK. How can local authorities, central government, public and private sectors come together to create cities where everyone can live, work and socialise? Join host Rowena Morris, PwC Partner Karen Finlayson and John Walsh from Belfast City Council to hear about the importance of passion, purpose and partnerships in creating cities for all.