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Series Two of Forum Radio begins with Erkin Bek. As most of us would like to find a way to prolong the tranquility of our summer rest into our autumn work schedule, Erkin is the one to teach us how to do it. Founder of the All Here Organisation and the World Meditation League, Erkin is a scientifically accomplished meditation practitioner but comes to it from a background as an entrepreneur – albeit one who wanted to make the shift from the material world. 'What I was looking for out there all over the world, eventually I discovered that it was not there to look for but it was something that was within me...I found the fulfilment that was the most natural place to call home.'

In this interview, we explore how meditation training builds long-term cognitive abilities and the shift from spirituality to consciousness with All Here's scientific approach. 

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We are delighted to start the second series of Forum Radio with Parag Khanna. Technically a Singapore member, Parag is perhaps more accurately a citizen of the world, having travelled to more than 150 countries and lived in several of them. A leading global strategy advisor, founder and CEO of Climate Alpha, author of several books – most recently, 'Move' – and a frequent speaker at Forum events, you can hear in this interview about the childhood that inspired his career, how he learned to challenge received wisdom after a trip to Venezuela and Colombia and why governments need to look at what their young people are doing to measure success. 

Plus, he tells us why he loves Forum: 'If it didn't exist, you would have to invent it. It's very much the embodiment of what we're talking about...creating this sense of community wherever you are, wherever you establish it and wherever you found it.'

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Juliet Stannard is our guest this week on Forum Radio. A longstanding member, Juliet moved to Singapore from Britain in 1993, and has built a successful career in property in the region. 

Juliet also talks movingly about the tragedy her family suffered in the Asian tsunami of 2004, and how they came through it with the support of friends. Since then, there have been further challenges but Juliet's extraordinary resilience, and that of her children, has kept them close. 

In Singapore, Juliet enjoys everything the city has to offer, and gives good tips for fellow Forum members looking to travel there. 

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This week is a special edition of Forum Radio – an interview with Forum’s founder, Simon Jacot de Boinod. Interviewed by his wife and co-founder, Jessica, Simon talks about how he came to create Forum and the exciting plans that are now in place for Forum 500, our future iteration of the club, launching in Singapore later this year.

 
‘I do see an opportunity for Forum 500 to be a think tank of practitioners. With careful positioning, I can see the outside world looking in at Forum 500 and wanting to know the opinion of Forum 500, because we’re all successful people across many sectors and cities. What’s more interesting is that we don’t have an agenda. We’re still at the coalface, working out how to run our businesses.’

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Ziad Salloum (Abu Dhabi) talks to Jessica Fellowes about his legal practice, advising governments and corporations in the UAE and elsewhere, his knighthoods from Italy and the Vatican, and how his father inspired him. Ziad grew up in the UAE – 'I used to be asked if I went to school on a camel' – and discusses the common misconceptions of the region that still exist today, as well as the exciting and fast-paced developments currently happening. 

'Women enjoy the same legal status as men, the same access to education, the same right to practice professions. They're also guaranteed the same access to employment, health, welfare, everything. And the law also mandates equal pay.'

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Betsy Pearce (New York) talks to Jessica Fellowes about her work as a lawyer and strategic advisor for creative businesses. In the past, Betsy has overseen deals with fashion giants such as Alexander McQueen and Gucci. She talks about how investors need guidance into how creatives work, and creatives need to understand the demands made by investment – sometimes the twain do not meet! 

'Ninety to 94 per cent of investors have to go through a succession crisis, which is expensive: when a fashion company has a founder leave, there's a ten to 15 per cent drop in revenue for the next two seasons,' Betsy explains. Tune in for all this – and more! 

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This week's interview is with long-standing New York member John McCormick. Jessica talks to John about his work at InnovaHealth partners, where investment in the healthcare space has brought him to some of the most cutting edge developments in recent years. John also talks about the importance of investing in women's healthcare – notoriously neglected and underfunded – and the new miracle drug, the likes of which only comes along every few decades. And, of course, AI: 'We see the large language model phenomenon as a real opportunity to design advanced devices in our research and development departments at our portfolio companies. It helps us do research and mine clinical data in ways we could have not seen before.'

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In this week's episode, Jessica talks to Anita Beacroft (Singapore). Born and raised in Sydney, before moving to Tokyo and Hong Kong, Anita began her professional career in finance and property. Following health challenges, she trained in energy healing modalities from Reiki to meditation, and now runs The Ascended Heart, a transformational coaching company. She talks about the unconscious divide between what people say they want and what their body says they really want.

'The work that I do often requires you to suspend doubt for a moment and lean in,' says Anita. 'But everybody's looking for that something special, that invisible edge...that will optimise their skill set and allow them to achieve something important, powerful and impactful. It's unusual work but I absolutely love it.'

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Michael Beneville (New York) is a familiar face to many of our members, as the co-founder of Beneville Studios, which hosts Forum breakfasts so brilliantly. An artist, storyteller and futurist, Michael talks to Jessica about his childhood inspirations, LA vs NY, how to ‘step into the shoes of your worth’ and growing a business that has no template. Beneville Studios today has created a wide range of innovative design, from the Empire State Building Experience to Area 15 in Las Vegas.

‘It takes a long time to climb up through the creative ranks and maintain whatever it is that you wanted to do. That’s a long road. Arguably, it takes thirty, forty years to even have something to say that isn’t derivative of everything else.’

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This week's conversation is with New York member James Greenberg, founder of Greenberg Art Advisory, member of the Whitney Museum Library Fellows and Vice Chairman for The Center for Arts Education. He is also an artist himself, working out of a studio in Greenpoint Brooklyn. 

Jim talks to Jessica about his training in art history, finance and law, and how this gave him a different port of entry into the art world: "I think I have a little bit of special sauce in that I understand all of the legal complications and ramifications with authenticity and provenance a little better having worked in the legal realm, and I also think my advantage includes a real understanding of materials from being a practicing artist who works in oil paint and stone."