The Bottom Line

WPP boss Karen Blackett talks to Evan Davis about building a racially diverse business.

The Black Lives Matter protests have prompted boardroom soul-searching about how to engage a more racially diverse workforce. Good intentions have been around for decades and have encouraged much talk about removing biases from mainly white corporate cultures. But this has still not led to the change people want. Hardly any large UK firms have black, Asian or minority ethnic chief executives.

Evan Davis and guests explore the practical solutions to achieving racial equality at work and the potential benefits to the economy.

Guests

Karen Blackett, OBE, UK head of the ad giant WPP

Dr Kamal Munir, reader in strategy and policy at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

Judith Hackitt, independent director at HS2 LTD

Producer: Lesley McAlpine

Produced in association with The Open University

Has staying at home during lockdown made us think more about our travel habits? Are you less likely to want to get on a bus or a train to get to work or are you itching to get on the next available flight? And what about the business travel industry? Are companies realising tele-conferencing is now just as acceptable and a cheaper option than a business flight? Evan Davis and guests discuss.

GUESTS

Laura Shoaf, managing director, Transport for West Midlands

Simon Jeffrey, policy officer, Transport and Devolution, Centre for Cities

Michael Valkevich, vice-president, Global Customer Group, EMEA, CWT

Presenter: Evan Davis

Producer: Julie Ball

Editor: Hugh Levinson

Zoom meetings and working from home. Two habits which office workers have picked up during the enforced lockdown. But will these behaviours habits stick?

Guests

André Spicer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, City's Business School, University of London

Produced by Lesley McAlpine

The programme is produced in association with The Open University

Evan Davis and guests ask if now is the time to exploit scientific research more effectively to help business recover from the coronavirus crash. The UK has traditionally been better at basic science research than its commercial exploitation - with examples ranging from computing to the discovery of graphene, where international companies have benefited more from those discoveries. The Bottom Line examines the government’s idea of creating an agency, similar to the legendary US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to invest in, and commercialise UK science and technology projects.

The US agency DARPA, was set up to invest in technology after they got behind in the space race with the Russian launch of the Sputnik in the 1950's. Although the agency's remit is to work on defence projects, several of its discoveries have spawned more commercial uses, most famously the Internet.

Guests:

During the pandemic, businesses have faced severe tests, from supply chain shocks to fluctuations in consumer demand. How resilient are companies in dealing with the unknown? In recent years the focus has been on getting costs down, creating lean supply chains, and delivering returns to shareholders. But has that emphasis left supply chains insecure in the face of shocks? Will companies learn to value resilience over mere efficiency?

Guests

Dr Sandra Bell, founder and chief executive of The Business Resilience Company.

What have you learned about yourself in lockdown? What is it you crave, what have you found you barely miss? Evan Davis and guests contemplate life after lockdown and changing consumer habits. A surge in the sale of bikes, toilet roll panic buying, and flour flying off the supermarket shelves. Will these consumer habits stick? Have we learned to value other things in life than shopping? Or will we just want to borrow and spend at the first possible opportunity?

Guests:

Kate Ancketill, founder and CEO, GDR Creative Intelligence

Producer: Lesley McAlpine

Will Western economies and companies decouple from China? For decades, the world has relied on this rapidly emerging economy as its factory, producing everything from toilet rolls to iPhones. But post Covid-19, US trade wars and tensions with Hong Kong, is that all about to change? Evan Davis and guests discuss

GUESTS

Liam Casey, CEO and founder, PCH International

Diana Choyleva, chief economist, Enodo Economics

Dr. Yu Jie, senior research fellow, China, Chatham House

Should the government continue to bolster companies, large and small when lockdown is finally eased? If so what businesses do you choose to save and what are the criteria? Evan Davis and guests discuss.

GUESTS

Michael Jacobides, holder of the Sir Donald Gordon Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, London Business School

Julie Palmer, Regional Managing Partner, Begbies Traynor, Insolvency practitioners

Mark Blyth, Director of the William R Rhodes Centre for International Economics and Finance, Brown University

Produced in association with The Open University

Can new businesses survive without some form of hype or over-promotion? Or will consumer or investor disillusionment inevitably correct this? One recent example where hype came back to bite a company founder is that of the shared office space provider, WeWork. Its stock market valuation fell from $50bn to near bankruptcy over the course of a few weeks.

GUESTS

Brent Hoberman, serial entrepreneur and investor, chair and co-founder of Founders Factory and First Minute Capital