Business in Focus

In March 2020, almost overnight, COVID-19 transformed the working patterns of people across almost every industry — in the UK and around the world. In this episode, host Emily Khan is joined by Darren Jukes, PwC's Leader of Industry for Industrial Manufacturing and Cat Mccusker, our Education Leader. We take a look at the emerging trends that are likely to stick around and examine the role the workplace will play in our lives in the future.

The world is facing huge challenges in the face of climate change and growing inequality. Businesses, governments, the financial community and other stakeholders see the 2020s as the decade for action, with major new commitments to achieving net zero emissions. In this episode, we discuss how organisations can invest in real assets - the built environment and infrastructure that surrounds us - in a way that has a positive impact on the environment. Host Rowena Morris is joined in our virtual studio by Lawrence Slade, the Chief Executive of GIIA, and Colin Smith, who leads our Infrastructure Deals Team globally and is responsible for our Energy, Utilities, Mining and Infrastructure Transactions Practice in the UK.

Black Friday has become a significant event in the retail calendar over recent years. For many people, it’s the biggest opportunity of the year to bag a bargain - even overtaking the Boxing Day sales in recent years. So it’s a big deal for retailers, who use Black Friday to drive sales and clear excess stock. Retail experts Lisa Hooker and Jac Windsor join host Paul Lenarduzzi for this episode, discussing how recent COVID-19 restrictions have impacted consumer behaviour ahead of this year’s Black Friday on the 27th November. We also share practical tips to help businesses respond to these trends in the lead into the festive period and those all-important Christmas sales.

We all know the right nutrition can improve our performance. But for elite athletes, eating well isn’t just a lifestyle choice – it's a crucial part of their success, enabling them to train, recover and perform to their full potential. In this episode, host Rowena Morris is joined in our virtual studio by Greg Rutherford, MBE, a retired British long jumper who won gold for Great Britain at the Olympics, Marc Fell, a performance nutritionist at British Athletics, and Alex Cooke, a data intelligence partner at PwC.

Our data intelligence experts know even the smallest detail can make the biggest difference and we are working together with British Athletics to give coaches and athletes access to powerful insights that will help improve performance. Our partnership with British Athletics showcases our ability to combine business understanding and human insight with technology innovation to deliver greater results for any organisation.

As shoppers return to the high street and pubs and restaurants reopen their doors, life is slowly starting to look a little more like what we’re used to. In this episode, host Rowena Morris is joined by two experts from our Business Restructuring practice, Steve Russell and Issy Gross, to examine what recovery is going to look like for many businesses over the coming months. We take a look at how businesses can strategically restructure in response to new challenges, making the road to recovery as smooth as possible.

To find out how you can act now to recover, visit our website: https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/business-restructuring

For many organisations, COVID-19 has highlighted the discrepancy between the skills people have and those needed for jobs in a digital world. In this episode, Fiona Camenzuli and Lord Gavin Barwell join host Emily Khan to discuss the role of government and business in helping people develop the skills they need to succeed in the future. 

The COVID-19 outbreak has thrown into sharp relief the importance of community, collaboration, and acting with purpose. As we start to think about the economic recovery, we have a unique opportunity to build on this positive trend for purpose-driven action. In this episode, guest host Heather Melville is joined by two of PwC's Government and Health Industries experts, Quentin Cole and Dan Burke, to explore how government and business can collaborate to make the UK fairer and better positioned for the future.

Organisations’ infrastructure and real estate needs are shifting rapidly, and keeping pace with new trends will be fundamental to the UK’s recovery. In this episode, real assets experts Simon Hampton and Neil Broadhead join host Paul Lenarduzzi to discuss how firms can adapt and explore how the public and private sectors can work together to create a better built environment for the future.

From online shopping to conscious consumerism, COVID-19 has fast-tracked the evolution of several existing consumer trends, many of which will be sticking around for some time. In this episode, retail experts Jac Windsor and Lisa Hooker explore what the future might hold for the retail sector and share practical tips to help businesses respond to emerging trends.

Over the lockdown period, many businesses have taken huge steps to protect against the new wave of cyber attacks. At first, it was a case of adapting quickly to new threats. But with many of us set to be operating in this new environment for the foreseeable future, companies must now think about their long-term approach. In this episode, host Rowena Morris is joined by two of PwC's cyber security experts, Rachel Mullan and Kris McConkey, to discuss how the cyber threat landscape has evolved since the beginning of the pandemic, including how cyber criminals have capitalised on the situation. We take a look at how businesses are responding to increased threat activity and explore the potential conflict between investigative findings and the possibility of regulatory action.