In the last episode in our 'Clusters Think In' podcast series, Hashi Mohammed, Contributing Editor at Tortoise Media is joined by Michael Anstey, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital, and Dan Metcalf, Director of Marketing & Communications at the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, to discuss how successful clusters can help the UK’s regions and nations to become internationally competitive. 
Dan explains that it is vital that UK clusters are more proactive in investing in communications activity, which is underdeveloped compared to other international competitors who are constantly revisiting their brand and positioning in the marketplace to remain at the forefront of investor attention. He believes that the UK has a lot of strengths which are competitive globally but needs to break free of the conservative behaviour around science and technology infrastructure investment in order to be world-leading – to go faster will mean investing with conviction and require greater risk-taking. 
Michael highlighted the importance of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc to the UK economy explaining that it is one of the most exciting places for novel innovation in the world – as good as anything you will find in the US, Israel or Asia – with the potential to truly inspire people. He argues that mega clusters are emerging internationally and connecting clusters in the UK to scale up and create a far larger, compelling narrative and proposition is vital. This also creates the opportunities to expand into other regions and drive employment and investments in the rest of the country 
'Clusters Think In' is a podcast series included as part of the CBI's series of Thriving Regions events. Listen and subscribe to the series here.

In the fifth in our 'Clusters Think In' podcast series, Hashi Mohammed, Contributing Editor at Tortoise Media is joined by Kirsty Lloyd Jukes, Head of Investor Relations at Waymo, part of Alphabet, and Prof Simon Collinson, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Regional Engagement at the University of Birmingham, to discuss how leadership in place can be developed to drive successful clusters across the regions and nations of the UK and the decisive role business can play in shaping future economic growth.
Simon explains the importance for a place to build a clear narrative and story to create an identity and momentum to attract investment, emphasising that a cluster approach can help deepen external knowledge of a place and its attractiveness. He emphasises the importance of clear targeted policies and simple engagement points for investors, reducing the complexities in the landscape of support for business and building up capacity in regions in understanding the dynamics and intelligence behind business investment decisions to shape attractive and compelling propositions. 
Kirsty highlights the leadership role that businesses can play in articulating their differentiators and investment decisions to explain why they have chosen a specific location for their company, which can also help attract other investors. She says it is vital for businesses to understand the size of the opportunity in a place and embrace a mindset of collaboration rather than competition - advocating that a clusters approach can really bring this to life, as a hub for talent and investment.
'Clusters Think In' is a podcast series included as part of the CBI's series of Thriving Regions events. Listen and subscribe to the series here.

In this episode, we explore how net zero remains a massive opportunity for growth despite current economic challenges. But is the UK positioning itself to keep its global lead on this? And how can firms convert their ambitions to reality – moving from commitments to implementation? 

We recap on the trends that were discussed at this year’s CBI Achieving Net Zero conference and how we overcome the challenges, why firms need to start thinking about their impact on nature and what steps they can take to make the most of the opportunities.

Joining the CBI's Associate Editor Joe Marshall in conversation are: 

Tom Thackray, Programme Director, Decarbonisation, CBI 

Tania Kumar, Head of Decarbonisation, CBI

Supporting resources: 
 

Toolkit: how your business can take action and seize net zero opportunities 

5-minute watch: Why the business role is critical on the path to net zero 

Toolkit: managing rising energy costs 

#netzero #cop27 #decarbonisation #ccc

In this week's episode, recorded 20 July 2002, the CBI’s Chief Campaign Director, Syma Cullasy-Aldridge, is joined by David Buttress (Co-Founder of Just Eat and the government’s new cost-of-living Tsar), Pete Holland (Anglian Water) and Paul Stroud (HSBC) for a conversation on the government’s new campaign – Help for Households - and how businesses are continuing to step up and support customers and employees with the cost-of-living crunch.

Chaired by Liz Moseley, Tortoise Media.

For more on our CBI @10am programme of webinars, and to view previous sessions, visit our hub at https://www.cbi.org.uk/cbi-10am/

In the fourth in our 'Clusters Think In' series, Hashi Mohammed, Contributing Editor at Tortoise Media is joined by Simon Robeson, Managing Partner at North East Capital, and Rachel Shatliff, Managing Director, Business Banking North at HSBC plc, to discuss how clusters can help leverage access to finance at a regional level to drive growth.
In this episode we discuss how successful clusters can help to leverage the strength of the UK finance sector, build out regional business finance and support firms across the country in accessing the finance they need. Rachel explains the importance of needing to shout about the successes taking place in the regions and to move the dial in elevating the opportunities that exist in their area and the commercial potential they offer, to attract investor interest. She emphasises the importance of not trying to replicate other areas but building on your own unique strengths and promote this as examples which cannot be done anywhere else. Simon talks about how clusters can really work in drawing in further investment and wider business growth and ‘spin-ins’, wanting to be part of a successful story and place. He thinks investors will be even more committed to leveraging funds from London over the long haul if they feel that there is a safe partner or institution in a region which can professionally manage access into the businesses located there – this is essential in building interest and confidence to invest. 
'Clusters Think In' is a podcast series included as part of the CBI's series of Thriving Regions events. Listen and subscribe to the series here.

In this session, recorded 14 July 2022, we explore the current external challenges businesses are facing and the importance of businesses preparing for what is on the horizon now to mitigate the cumulative burden of the hangover from COVID-19 and challenging headwinds firms are facing, whilst discussing what the CBI is calling on from the government and how firms can take control. 

Hosted by Maxine Bligh, Commercial Director - Proposition and Transformation, CBI

Participants:

Nathan Brown, Principal Policy Advisor, Innovation Team, CBI

Tim Andrews, Digital Transformation, Manufacturing Technology Centre

The Latin American economy is growing, presenting businesses with an opportunity to take advantage of the enormous potential in these markets. As a result, the CBI’s North America office has partnered with businesses and governments in Latin American countries to give CBI members the insights they need to do business here. Of particular value in the field of advanced manufacturing and the changes sparking from the 4th Industrial Revolution. We gathered experts from Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico to showcase the main opportunities for investment opportunities in their respective markets and how UK businesses, considering their vast experience in the tech and innovation fields, can expand their footprint to Latin America. 

Joining the CBI's Washington Senior Policy Advisor, John Bleed, today are:

Brazil: Martyn Holmes, Chief Commercial Officer of Embraer Commercial Aviation

Colombia: Mauricio Concha - Investment Promotion Manager at Invest Pacific (investment promotion agency for the state of Valle Del Cauca, Colombia)

Mexico: Iker Jimenez, Head of Global Investments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico

In this session, recorded 13 July 2022, the CBI’s Matthew Percival (Programme Director, Skills & Inclusion, Changing Workforce Programme, CBI) is joined this week by Gareth Vale (Operations Director, ManpowerGroup) and Joëlle Warren (Executive Director, Warren Partners) for an expert discussion on the current recruitment challenges facing firms and what businesses can do to respond.

Chaired by Liz Moseley, Editor & Partner, Tortoise Media.

For more on our CBI @10am programme of webinars, and to view previous sessions, visit our hub at https://www.cbi.org.uk/cbi-10am/

Firms across the UK are continuing to grapple with the cost-of-living squeeze, rising inflationary pressures and ongoing global supply chain challenges. Alongside this, businesses in the Devolved Nations also face their own unique set of challenges and opportunities. This podcast is designed to give firms, across the whole of the UK, insight into the political and business environments within Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Join John Foster (Director, Policy Delivery Unit, CBI), Angela McGowan (Director, CBI Northern Ireland), James Sloan (Principal Policy Adviser, CBI Scotland) and Leighton Jenkins (Head of Policy, CBI Wales) to hear a unique “Devolved Nation” take on CBI activity, and how each Devolved Administration is responding to current events. Including:

Chaired by Jeevan Vasagar, Editor, Tortoise Media.
Recorded live on Wednesday, 06 July 2022.

CBI @10am is a free webinar hosted live every Wednesday at 10am (UK). To find out more, and to catch up on previous sessions, please visit our hub at https://www.cbi.org.uk/cbi-10am/

In this session, recorded 23 June 2022, we explore how increased engagement in international markets through exporting has the potential to create significant business and growth opportunities for SMEs, including the value of exporting for SMEs and what the CBI is doing to support them, first-hand insights into exporting, resources to support SMEs with exporting and a case study from Plum Products on how they have successfully exported and access international markets and what it’s meant for the business.

Joining the CBI' Chief Commercial Officer, Deborah Fraser, are: 

Will McGarrigle, Head of Global Trade, CBI 

Abi Brodie, Vice President, Sales, DHL Express UK

Philip James, International Sales Director, Plum Products

Supporting resources: