Modern finance leaders have had to navigate turbulent waters over the last five to 10 years, buffeted by waves of geopolitical and macro market forces, rising economic nationalism, trade protectionism and environmental instability. Add that to the unprecedented pace of technological change, shifting consumer behaviours and a reimagined workforce. Here to give us insight on how CFOs are dealing with today's tough climate while preparing for the future is Kwee Juan Han, Group Executive and Group Head of Institutional Banking at DBS, Marie Myers, CFO at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Andre Khor, Group CFO & Deputy CEO at Aster, part of the Chandra Asri Group.

Sources: FT Resources, Deloitte, Forbes, Protiviti

This content is paid for by DBS and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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It is no surprise that for decades the US has reigned supreme when it comes to early stage tech dealmaking. Its risk appetite, coast to coast funding options, integrated market and policy support has created a perfect environment for would-be entrepreneurs to find funding and grow their companies into global tech titans. But, there is no shortage of investable tech firms in the EU. From 2019-2024 the continent generated more high tech startups than the US every year, yet the US had four times more deal value in 2024, $209bn to Europe’s $62bn. Europe can create its own tech giants but to do so it needs to rebalance its venture funding environment to support the next generation of startups. Marie Gwenhaelle Geffroy, Head of Growth Capital & Solutions, Corporate and Institutional Banking at BNP Paribas discusses the strengths of Europe's tech industry and the role that banks play in funding the next generation of talent in Europe. Ben Blume, Partner at Atomico, highlights where European Venture funding is going, what Europe's strengths are and how we can compete with the US. Niklas Radner, Co-Founder & CEO at Nelly, gives insight into launching a tech start up in Germany, and the lessons learnt through his funding rounds.

Sources: FT Resources, CEPS, KPMG, Atomico, Dealroom, Houlihan Lokey, Investment Council

This content is paid for by BNP Paribas and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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The term polycrisis has been gaining traction in recent times as the world faces one disaster after another that are all interlinked. The far-reaching implications of a world at risk means boardrooms must remain agile to navigate their businesses past the rocks and into calmer seas. In a break away from our normal format, we've created our own boardroom. Sat around our virtual table today are three experts ready to discuss what risks are out there, how boards are dealing with them and what the boardroom dynamic needs to be to navigate a fast evolving and uncertain future. They are Sean McGovern, UK & Lloyd’s CEO at AXA XL, Pam Joshi, Global Head of Insurance and Risk Management at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Sarah Isted, UK Risk Leader at PwC UK.

Sources: FT Resources, IRM, GARP, ICAEW

This content is paid for by AXA XL and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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In today's digital world, artificial intelligence, data storage and cybersecurity are a critical triumvirate, intersecting to form a dynamic ecosystem that underpins modern technological infrastructure. They are strategic pillars that drive innovation, operational efficiency and risk management. Thus their interaction and integration is key to building resilient and secure digital systems capable of supporting the demands of our digitally dependent future. In this episode Charlie Giancarlo, CEO, Pure Storage discusses how important it is for an organisation where your data is, and how to correctly, safely and securely store it ready for our AI future. Nicole Carignan, SVP of Security and AI Strategy at Darktrace and Anthony Ferrante, Global Head of Cybersecurity at FTI Consulting, further extol why data is the backbone of AI, the importance of securing your data, as well as the vulnerabilites organisations face in a modern digitial world.

Sources: FT Resources, WEF, PWC, Allianz, National Cyber Security Centre, McKinsey, UK Gov

This content is paid for by Pure Storage and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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Biotechnology is the use of biology in the production of new products, services, and organisms with the aim of improving human health and society. In 2024, the global biotech market was worth $1.68 trillion. By application, the health segment was responsible for just over half of that figure. Not surprising when you think that healthcare focused biotech companies are battling to solve some of our biggest health concerns; turning an ageing society into a longevity society by supporting longer and healthier lives. In this episode of The Next Five, Paul Little, CEO of Vesper Bio discusses frontotemporal dementia and the impact of it on human health and society, the biotech solutions being sort to combat the disease as well as what he describes as a Malthusian crisis around biotech funding. Dr Ann Beliën, Founder and CEO of Rejuvenate Biomed addresses the problems of Sarcopenia as well as the biotech solutions for it and how Biotech companies use creative ways to secure funding. Gianmario Verona, President of Human Technopole, highlights the importance of industry collaboration and how innovation centres can help propel the biotech sector forward. 

Sources: FT Resources, WHO, JP Morgan, Alzheimersresearchuk, IQVIA 

This content is paid for by Yes Milano and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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Despite an interconnected and increasingly digitalised world, a historical black cloud has been hanging over an area of finance relied upon by institutions, retail and a billion people associated with migrant work: Cross-border payments.

Domestic money transfer has seen a dramatic overhaul due to the digital revolution of recent years. But sending money internationally is a whole different ball game. Each country operates their own payment systems at varying levels of technological maturity and regulation. Due to this, historically, sending money has been both time consuming and costly, whether that is B2B, B2C or C2C.

There has been improvements over the last few years, yet the industry still has some work to do. In this episode of The Next Five, Pratik Khowala, Global Head of Transfer Solutions at Mastercard discusses how scale and collaboration can solve some of the key challenges. Emanuela Saccarola, Head of Cross-Border Payments at Citi delves into the B2B landscape, echoes the need for industry collaboration and discusses the increasingly relevant role of digital assets. Josh Gordon-Blake, EVP and GM, MGO at MoneyGram highlights the importance of remittances to the global economy and what an overhaul of the payments system can do for millions of people. 

Sources: FT resources, Deloitte, IFAD, World Bank, Mastercard, Deutsche Bank, ECB, FSB, The Payments Association.

This content is paid for by Mastercard and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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In today’s competitive global landscape the responsibilities of CFOs are diversifying more than ever. The fast paced digital revolution, geopolitical uncertainty, economic volatility and the environmental impact of climate change means the modern CFO must adapt to future proof the financial health of their organisations. The need to remain agile and requires fleet of foot finance leaders. In the modern world, technology is helping CFOs to gain visibility over their business functions and react to an ever evolving global landscape. In this Episode of The Next Five, Anna Manz, CFO of Nestlé explains the need to keep pace with consumer change, how technology can help with forecasting, but that a team's ability to adpat to change is vital. Chris Thorn, UK CFO at Suez discusses the unique pressures and opportunities of private and public partnerships, how to react and work with regulation and legislation changes and the role tech also plays for CFOs. Salvatore Lombardo, CPTO at Coupa explains how technologies such as AI can be a welcome tool in the CFOs arsenal, if used correctly. Sources: FT resources, PWC.

This content is paid for by Coupa and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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The world is grappling with the need to hit the global Net Zero by 2050 target which means the net amount of greenhouse gases emitted into, and removed from, the atmosphere is zero by that date. All the while providing safe, secure and affordable energy for citizens. A tug of war between outcomes is afoot, where difficult decisions and trade-offs will need to be made by governments, energy majors and consumers. Energy security is key for economic resilience. Progress made in the last few decades in the UK and Euro area was buffeted by the Russia Ukraine war. Geopolitical events, such as mounting international tensions in the Middle East, could create further energy shocks. However, according to the European Security Mechanism, to enhance resilience to energy supply shocks, the EU needs to increase the use of domestically produced renewable energy. In this episode of The Next Five Torgrim Reitan, CFO and EVP at Equinor discussses the need for a balance between transitioning to renewables and offering stable supply of reliable energy sources such as natural gas. Rebecca Williams, Deputy CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) offers insight into the future for wind projects and how renewable energy can provide much needed energy security. Irina Kustova, Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy studies (CEPS), highlights the policy landscape surrounding the energy ecosystem and the challenges and opportunities ahead. Sources: FT resources, National Grid, European Commission, WEF, windeurope.org, European Security Mechanism, Mckinsey, S&P Global Commodities Insights, IEA.

This content is paid for by Equinor and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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We live in a world of tremendous uncertainty where businesses are increasingly challenged to adapt to a rapidly evolving risk landscape. Economic instability, rising geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, cyber threats and the energy transition, are just some of the concerns for boards and businesses globally. Companies need to prepare for risk and maintain resilience. In this episode of The Next Five, Vince Tizzio, President and CEO of AXIS highlights the important role that the insurance industry plays in managing risk, and the need for specialisation and collaboration within industries. John Doyle, CEO of Marsh McLennan, discusses the increasing climate related risk landscape and how technology is being used to help map global risk, as well as the risk reward balance of technologies such as AI. Mark Erickson, Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group at BlackRock offers insight into Blackrock's recent report on the insurance industry's views on climate and AI risk and opportunity. 

Sources: FT Resources, WEF, Mckinsey, EIOPA, KPMG, Swiss Re

This content is paid for by AXIS and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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If money makes the world go round, then data tells you how fast it’s spinning and when it might stop. 90% of all data was generated in the last 2 years and every 2 years the volume of data doubles. With 11 billion devices connected to the internet today, the annual global data generation in 2025 is expected to be 181 zettabytes, that’s 181 trillion gigabytes. To put it in context, we use about 3 gigabytes to stream netflix in high definition for an hour. In other words, the modern world can’t live without data. To continue to understand the world, especially as we move ever more into the digital age of AI, we must better understand the data we are creating. And this means in every part of life, including in business. Alexander Igelsböck, Co-Founder and CEO of Adverity joins us to show how data can unlock business opportunities and create a competitive advantage. Florian Jacquier, Global Head of Data Consumer Engagement at Nestlé, discusses the importance for large global companies to see, understand and action your data correctly. Dr Clare Walsh, Director of Education at the Institute of Analytics, highlights how data is used by organisations and governments and the importance of data policy and governance. 

Sources: FT Resources, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Tyger Vilan’s Spurious Correlations, Whatsthebigdata.com

This content is paid for by Adverity and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department.

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