Peter Fisk

How will you shape the future of your business? What is your strategic vision to innovate and transform? Which ideas will you embrace and apply? And most significantly, how will you become a “gamechanger” leader of the future?

The Global AMP is all about transformational growth, of you as a leader, and how you can drive transformation in your business.

It’s not just about leading your current business, sustaining the strategies that others have created. As markets change, your business needs to change. You as the future leader, need to take your business to the next place. To change the game.

That means thinking beyond your current strategy, and your ways of competing and operating – beyond what your current leaders think, as priorities and possibilities. You need to challenge the conventions, the assumptions, and the limits.

Why does the Gamechanger Project matter?

This is your opportunity to develop a new blueprint for the future of your business – or even a new business of your own – and how you will make it happen. And it’s real. Not an exercise, or fantasy. Your future business starts here.

The gamechanger project is one of the most valuable parts of the Global AMP. Both in terms of learning, and ensuring you and your future business get a significant return on your time and financial investment. The project runs throughout the duration of the program – helping you to apply all the best ideas and tools as you progress – and presenting your blueprint on graduation day.

As Global AMP academic director, I’m here to help you. You can also talk to people in your own business – maybe find a sponsor (your CEO?) or develop a project team – even during these early stages. We will have group sessions, and one-to-one sessions, including during each of the XDots at the end of each module.  And you can contact me at any time for advice.

You can use any of the tools and templates from the Global AMP during your presentation, as you choose – however you should probably make some reference to your strategic purpose/vision, changing industry/markets, growth strategy, customer proposition, innovative solutions and business models, and transformation roadmap to get you there – and about you!

One more time, what is transformation?

Business transformation is about significant, lasting, non-reversible change to the way in which the company operates and creates value, typically where at least 25% of total revenues comes from new business units or business models. It can take time, but also sets the business on a new course for a better future. Here are some examples of such transformations:

• Adobe … transformed from product to service, from document software into digital experiences, marketing, commerce platforms and analytics
• Amazon … transformed its own infrastructure into “Amazon Web Services” which enables other organisations to operate their online businesses.
• DBS … transformed itself from a regional bank to a global digital platform, a “27,000-person start-up” and crowned “Best Bank in the World.”
• Microsoft … transformed from a business model based primarily on selling product licenses (IP), to a cloud-based platform-as-a-service business.
• Netflix … shifted from DVDs by mail into the leading streaming video content service and now a top original content provider.
• Ping An … transformed itself from insurance into a cloud tech business providing fintech and AI-based medical imaging & diagnostics.
• Tencent … transformed from social and gaming business to a platform embracing entertainment, autonomous vehicle, cloud computing, and finance.

An example we have explored is Orsted, the Danish energy company that transformed itself over the last 10 years from a state-owned, coal-fired utility into the world’s leading wind power business, and drove exponential growth through new global markets and services, while doing so. Sustainability was the obvious catalyst for transformation, but financially it was about letting go of the declining legacy business, to create a future growth business. Here is a 20 min video describing some of the challenges, changes and impacts in more detail:

And just as a reminder, here’s a short 3 min video from McKinsey to summarise some of the aspects of business transformation – from setting out a vision to engaging people, from seeing the opportunities for new growth and changing agendas of customers, from organisation culture change to business model reinvention, from improving the existing business to innovating the future business:

What are some examples of Gamechanger Projects?

Over the last few years, Global AMP participants have each developed their projects, and then taken them back to their businesses for implementation, and to shape their own futures. Here are just a few examples:

• In USA, Eloine is founder of a PR agency supporting African business. She had a passion to do much more for African companies, creating a venture fund and start-up incubator, connecting Africa with the world.
• In Portugal, Ricardo is CEO of a real estate business. He wanted to do more for clients, shifting from selling homes, to being a lifestyle hub for local communities, delivered with partners, driving new growth.
• In South Africa, Carel is MD of business banking. He wanted to improve the speed of offering business loans 10 times. He transformed the process, cutting through old red tape, and lunched a new service.
• In Turkey, Ahu was CEO of her family’s traditional car parts business. While sustaining the old business, she created a new ventures business to drive transformation, launching an electric charging business.
• In Mexico, Carlos was COO of a leading alcoholic drinks business. He wanted to explore how to tap into the fast growth craft beer market, and so created a new business model to support independent brewers.
• In Dubai, Sophie was founder of a woman’s forum and investment fund. She wanted to shift online to reach more people, creating a platform ranking companies on diversity metrics, and driving improvement.
• In Latin America, Carolina is CFO of an energy business. She explored how to use a key asset – the optic fibre distribution network – in new ways, shifting to also become a communications business.

Sometimes, people even find that the project takes them in new directions, and they start a new venture, either within or beyond their existing business, to make their dream come true.

And don’t forget about yourself … what will you do as a “transformational” leader, how will you step up and change yourself, how will you engage others – particularly your current leaders, and what’s your plan for the coming years?

How can you use the Gamechanger Toolkit?

You are smart and experienced, so you don’t need to just follow a process. But to help you, I have developed a toolkit with a wide range of templates and frameworks to help you think, and apply the Global AMP content.

• Gamechanger Toolkit … a collection of templates to help you think and develop, over the 6 months of your project

Use the tools gradually during the program – we will focus on specific ones, in specific sessions – but also you can jump around and explore ideas, go back and redo the early tools again later, and embrace others too.

I have brought together over 200 resources – inspiring articles, trend reports, case studies, toolkits and more – which you can explore for inspiration as you wish.

• Future Recoded … useful resources about futures, trends, scenarios, purpose, and change
• Growth Recoded … useful resources about strategy, markets, brands, customers, sustainability
• Innovation Recoded  … useful resources about innovation, creativity, design, business models
• Work Recoded… useful resources about people, organisations, teams, agility, transformation
• Leadership Recoded … useful resources about leadership, courage, and high performance

I have also profiled over 100 business leaders, and 100 most inspiring companies, largely through one to one interviews and published in my various books. You can dip into them here:

• 100 Leaders … from Anne Wojcicki to Bernard Arnault, Cristina Junqueira to Ben Francis, Zhang Ruimin to Zhang Yimin, and many more.
• 100 Companies … from %Arabica to 1Atelier, 77 Diamonds to A Boring Life, Aerofarms to Alibaba, Babylon and and more.
• Leadership Letters … inspiring letters including Satya Nadella’s first day as CEO, Richard Branson to his grandchildren, and Jack Ma stepping down
• Leadership Videos … inspiring videos of great leaders, like Jeff Bezos, Emily Weiss, Tan Le, Tobi Lutke, and Warren Buffett

Additionally there’s a wide range of useful resources – personally, I chose to search for new insight and ideas in Business Insider, CB Insights, Fast Company, Inc Magazine, McKinsey Insights, Strategy & Business, and many others.

 

Incredible technologies and geopolitical shifts, complex markets and stagnating growth, demanding customers and disruptive entrepreneurs, environmental crisis and social distrust, unexpected shocks and uncertain futures.

How do you make sense of today’s rapidly changing world? How will you succeed in tomorrow’s world?

We explore how businesses can survive and thrive, and move forwards to create a better future. How to reimagine strategy, to reinvent markets, to reenergise people. We consider what it means to combine meaningful purpose with superior profits, intelligent technologies with creative people, radical innovation with sustainable impact.

The old codes of business don’t work anymore. The most innovative companies – from Amazon and Anthropic, to Blackrock and Bytedance, Climeworks and Coupang, to DJI and Deepmind – succeed with new codes.

So what are the new ideas to win in a fast and dynamic world of Asian renaissance, entrepreneurial supremacy, social conscience and smarter machines? What can you learn from Jio’s revolution from petrochemicals to phones, and DBS’s transformation of banking? How can you be inspired by courageous leaders like 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki, Haier’s Zhang Ruimin and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser?

And apply these ideas to shape the future of your business. ​​

The Saudi Export-Import Bank aims to promote non-oil Saudi exports and enhance their competitiveness in global markets across various, this is achieved through providing credit solutions for export financing, guarantees, and export credit insurance with competitive advantages. These efforts align with the goals and foundations of Saudi Vision 2030, which focuses on increasing the share of non-oil exports in the non-oil GDP.

“We aim to maximize the economic impact of our activities and credit facilities by integrating with commercial banks to enable non-oil Saudi exports.”

Changing World, Leading Change

Key takeaways from the day will include

Markets are more crowded, competition is intense, customer aspirations are constantly fuelled by new innovations and dreams. Technology disrupts every industry, from banking to construction, entertainment to healthcare. It drives new possibilities and solutions, but also speed and complexity, uncertainty and fear.

As digital and physical worlds fuse to augment how we live and work, AI and robotics enhance but also challenge our capabilities, whilst ubiquitous supercomputing, genetic editing and self-driving cars take us further.

Technologies with the power to help us leap forwards in unimaginable ways. To transform business, to solve our big problems, to drive radical innovation, to accelerate growth and achieve progress socially and environmentally too.

We are likely to see more change in the next 10 years than the last 250 years.

• Markets accelerate, 4 times faster than 20 years ago, based on the accelerating speed of innovation and diminishing lifecycles of products.
• People are more capable, 825 times more connected than 20 years ago, with access to education, unlimited knowledge, tools to create anything.
• Consumer attitudes change, 78% of young people choose brands that do good, they reject corporate jobs, and see the world with the lens of gamers.

However, change goes far beyond the technology.

Markets will transform, converge and evolve faster. From old town Ann Arbor to the rejuvenated Bilbao, today’s megacities like Chennai and the future Saudi tech city of Neom, economic power will continue to shift. China has risen to the top of the new global business order, whilst India and eventually Africa will follow.

Industrialisation challenges the natural equilibrium of our planet’s resources. Today’s climate crisis is the result of our progress, and our problem to solve. Globalisation challenges our old notions of nationhood and locality. Migration changes where we call home. Religious values compete with social values, economic priorities conflict with social priorities. Living standards improve but inequality grows.

Our current economic system is stretched to its limit. Global shocks, such as the global pandemic of 2020, exposes its fragility. We open our eyes to realise that we weren’t prepared for different futures, and that our drive for efficiency has left us unable to cope. Such crises will become more frequent, as change and disruption accelerate.

However, these shocks are more likely to accelerate change in business, rather than stifle it, to wake us up to the real impacts of our changing world – to the urgency of action, to the need to think and act more dramatically.

The old codes don’t work

Business is not fit for the future. Most organisations were designed for stable and predictable worlds, where the future evolves as planned, markets are definitive, and choices are clear.

The future isn’t like it used to be.

Dynamic markets are, by definition, turbulent. Whilst economic cycles have typically followed a pattern of peaks and troughs every 10-15 years, these will likely become more frequent.  Change is fast and exponential, uncertain and unpredictable, complex and ambiguous demanding new interpretation and imagination.

Yet too many business leaders hope that the strategies that made them successful in the past will continue to work in the future. They seek to keep stretching the old models in the hope that they will continue to see them through. Old business plans are tweaked each year, infrastructures are tested to breaking point, and people are asked to work harder.

In a way of dramatic, unpredictable change, this is not enough to survive, let alone thrive.

• Growth is harder. Global GDP growth has declined by more than a third in the past decade. As the west stagnates, Asia grows, albeit more slowly.
• Companies struggle, their average lifespan falling from 75 years in 1950 to 15 years today, 52% of the Fortune 500 in 2000 no longer exist in 2020.
• Leaders are under pressure. 44% of today’s business leaders have held their position for at least 5 years, compared to 77% half a century ago.

Profit is no longer enough; people expect business to achieve more. Business cannot exist in isolation from the world around them, pursuing customers without care for the consequence. The old single-minded obsession with profits is too limiting. Business depends more than ever on its resources – people, communities, nature, partners – and will need to find a better way to embrace them.

Technology is no longer enough; innovation needs to be more human. Technology will automate and interpret reality, but it won’t empathise and imagine new futures. Ubiquitous technology-driven innovation quickly becomes commoditised, available from anywhere in the world, so we need to add value in new ways. The future is human, creative, and intuitive. People will matter more to business, not less.

Sustaining the environment is not enough. 200 years of industrialisation has stripped the planet of its ability to renew itself, and ultimately to sustain life. Business therefore needs to give back more than it takes. As inequality and distrust have grown in every society, traditional jobs are threatened by automation and stagnation, meaning that social issues will matter even more, both globally and locally.

The new DNA of business

As business leaders, our opportunity is to create a better business, one that is fit for the future, that can act in more innovative and responsible ways.

How can we harness the potential of this relentless and disruptive change, harness the talents of people and the possibilities of technology? How can business, with all its power and resources, be a platform for change, and a force for good?

We need to find new codes to succeed. We need to find new ways to work, to recognise business as a system that be virtuous, where less can be more, and growth can go beyond the old limits. This demands that we make new connections:

• Profit + Purpose … to achieve more enlightened progress
• Technology + Humanity … to achieve more human ingenuity
• Innovation + Sustainability … to achieve more positive impact

We need to create a new framework for business, a better business – to reimagine why and redesign how we work, as well as reinvent what and refocus where we do business.

Imagine a future business that looks forwards not back, that rises up to shape the future on its own terms, making sense of change to find new possibilities, inspiring people with vision and optimism. Imagine a future that inspires progress, seeks new sources of growth, embraces networks and partners to go further, and enables people to achieve more.

Imagine too, a future business that creates new opportunity spaces, by connecting novel ideas and untapped needs, creatively responding to new customer agendas. Imagine a future business that disrupts the disruptors, where large companies have the vision and courage to reimagine themselves and compete as equals to fast and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Imagine a future business that embraces humanity, searches for better ideas, that fuse technology and people in more enlightened ways, to solve the big problems of society, and improve everyone’s lives. Imagine a future business that works collectively, self-organises to thrive without hierarchy, connects with partners in rich ecosystems, designs jobs around people, to do inspiring work.

Imagine also, a future business which is continually transforming, that thrives by learning better and faster, develops a rich portfolio of business ideas and innovations to sustain growth and progress. Imagine a future business that creates positive impact on the world, benefits all stakeholders with a circular model of value creation, that addresses negatives, and creates a net positive impact for society.

Creating a better business is an opportunity for every person who works inside or alongside it. It is not just a noble calling, to do something better for the world, but also a practical calling, a way to overcome the many limits of today, and attain future success for you and your business.You could call it the dawn of a new capitalism.

More from Peter Fisk linked to these sessions

• Next Agenda of best ideas and priorities for business
• Megatrends 2030 in a world accelerated by pandemic
• 49 Codes to help you develop a better business future
• 250 companies innovators shaking up the world
• 100 leaders with the courage to shape a better future
• Education that is innovative, issue-driven, action-driving
• Consulting that is collaborative, strategic and innovative
• Speaking that is inspiring, topical, engaging and actionable

Savola is a leading strategic investment holding group in the food and retail sectors across the Middle East and North Africa region.

The business has a proud Saudi heritage, established in 1979 with an edible oils business, and now with an extensive international presence, and an ethical business model that sets it apart.

The group focuses on building a strong portfolio of assets in the food and retail sectors.

Through companies under two entities, Savola Foods and Savola Retail, it now operates a large numbers of grocery stores and produce everyday household staples loved by consumers in 50 countries. There are also investments in other companies in our core sectors and other industries.

Businesses and investments within the group’s portfolio include Savola Foods, Panda, Almarai, Herfy, Al Kabeer, and Kinan.

Strategic value growth of each investment, and of the group’s portfolio collectively, requires world-class thinking and action, driven by the leaders of each business, and their teams. In a changing world this requires continuous refresh and enhancement.

“Future Makers” is an accelerated leadership development program for Savola group companies

Markets are fast-changing, volatile and uncertain. Every sector is shaken up, with disruptive competitors, exponential technologies and new consumer agendas.

Sectors like food and retail are two of most dynamic arenas, driven by shifting culture, new generations, changing consumer behaviours, and issues like sustainability and food security, health and wellbeing.

This drives the need for relentless innovation, not just of products and services, but of channel structures and business models, organisation structures and processes. Fast, smart, agile, future-ready.

Leaders are the future makers. In this dynamic environment leaders require new mindsets – curiosity and vision, courage and influence – as well as many new strategic and technical skills.

This program is for the leaders, and next leaders, of Savola group’s companies – it combines the best world-class knowledge and practices, case studies, toolkits, activities, project work and more.

“Future Makers” is a unique, customised, accelerated leadership development program for Savola group. It is built on world class benchmarks of the leading business schools around the world.

This includes the changing roles, behaviours and mindsets of business leaders, and their teams. It also brings together the most relevant insights for inspiration, and the best methodologies for implementation.

In particular, it takes the Leadership Potential model of Korn Ferry, one of the world’s leading executive search firms, combined with the Advanced Leadership Programs delivered in institutions like Harvard and IMD, to companies like Nestle and Carrefour, and in KSA to other leading companies including Aramco and STC.

The program is developed and led by Peter Fisk, who is familiar to the Savola group, and its operating companies. He first started working with Savola Foods over a decade ago, and since with the board, group executive and opco leaders.

Peter is a an expert business advisor with 30 years experience across all sectors and international markets, including much work in the Middle East. He is also professor of leadership, strategy and innovation at IE Business School, where he leads their flagship executive development programs.

• Download Peter Fisk’s masterclass on Leading Transformation

Leaders shape their markets and organisation of the future, by addressing change and disruption in a way that is proactive not reactive, shaped in their own vision. This requires bolder thinking, embracing new insights and capabilities, to unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth. It means thinking about brands beyond products, partners beyond channels, occasions beyond drinking, and strategies beyond financial plans.

Future-ready strategy is about making better choices in an uncertain world. This demands deeper contextual understanding, unlocking assets in new ways, innovative approaches beyond product and promotion, and agile execution. It means working from the future back, combining small experiments with bolder shifts, letting go of the old, embracing the new. In this fast, high energy and interactive session, we seek to inspire leaders to think bigger, bolder and smarter.

Incredible technologies and geopolitical shifts, complex markets and stagnating growth, demanding customers and disruptive entrepreneurs, environmental crisis and social distrust, unexpected shocks and uncertain futures.

How do we make sense of today’s rapidly changing world? How do prepare for tomorrow’s world?

We explore how businesses can survive and thrive, and move forwards to create a better future. How to reimagine business, to reinvent markets, to reengage people. We consider what it means to combine profit with more purpose, intelligent technologies with creative people, radical innovation with sustainable impact.

We learn from the innovative strategies of incredible companies – Alibaba and Amazon, Biontech and BlackRock, Narayana and Netflix, Patagonia and PingAn, Spotify and Supercell, and many more. We also take a look at what this means for insurance, and some of the most innovative companies in the field.

• Deloitte Global Automotive Consumer Study 2025
• ADL Future of Automotive Mobility Report 2024
• McKinsey EV and Mobility Trends Report 2024
• The Crisis Facing EU’s Automotive Industry
• Mercedes Benz Capital Markets Day 2025

Creating a better future for your business

The old codes of business don’t work anymore. The most innovative companies – from Amazon and Bytedance, to Coupang and Deepmind – succeed with new codes. So what are the new ideas to win in a fast and dynamic world of Asian renaissance, entrepreneurial supremacy, social conscience and smarter machines? What can you learn from Jio’s revolution from petrochemicals to phones, and DBS’s transformation of banking? How can you be inspired by courageous leaders like 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki, Haier’s Zhang Ruimin and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser?

We live in a time of great promise but also great uncertainty.

Markets are more crowded, competition is intense, customer aspirations are constantly fuelled by new innovations and dreams. Technology disrupts every industry, from banking to construction, entertainment to healthcare. It drives new possibilities and solutions, but also speed and complexity, uncertainty and fear.

As digital and physical worlds fuse to augment how we live and work, AI and robotics enhance but also challenge our capabilities, whilst ubiquitous supercomputing, genetic editing and self-driving cars take us further.

Technologies with the power to help us leap forwards in unimaginable ways. To transform business, to solve our big problems, to drive radical innovation, to accelerate growth and achieve progress socially and environmentally too.

We are likely to see more change in the next 10 years than the last 250 years.

• Markets accelerate, 4 times faster than 20 years ago, based on the accelerating speed of innovation and diminishing lifecycles of products.
• People are more capable, 825 times more connected than 20 years ago, with access to education, unlimited knowledge, tools to create anything.
• Consumer attitudes change, 78% of young people choose brands that do good, they reject corporate jobs, and see the world with the lens of gamers.

However, change goes far beyond the technology.

Markets will transform, converge and evolve faster. From old town Ann Arbor to the rejuvenated Bilbao, today’s megacities like Chennai and the future Saudi tech city of Neom, economic power will continue to shift. China has risen to the top of the new global business order, whilst India and eventually Africa will follow.

Industrialisation challenges the natural equilibrium of our planet’s resources. Today’s climate crisis is the result of our progress, and our problem to solve. Globalisation challenges our old notions of nationhood and locality. Migration changes where we call home. Religious values compete with social values, economic priorities conflict with social priorities. Living standards improve but inequality grows.

Our current economic system is stretched to its limit. Global shocks, such as the global pandemic of 2020, exposes its fragility. We open our eyes to realise that we weren’t prepared for different futures, and that our drive for efficiency has left us unable to cope. Such crises will become more frequent, as change and disruption accelerate.

However, these shocks are more likely to accelerate change in business, rather than stifle it, to wake us up to the real impacts of our changing world – to the urgency of action, to the need to think and act more dramatically.

The old codes don’t work

Business is not fit for the future. Most organisations were designed for stable and predictable worlds, where the future evolves as planned, markets are definitive, and choices are clear.

The future isn’t like it used to be.

Dynamic markets are, by definition, turbulent. Whilst economic cycles have typically followed a pattern of peaks and troughs every 10-15 years, these will likely become more frequent.  Change is fast and exponential, uncertain and unpredictable, complex and ambiguous demanding new interpretation and imagination.

Yet too many business leaders hope that the strategies that made them successful in the past will continue to work in the future. They seek to keep stretching the old models in the hope that they will continue to see them through. Old business plans are tweaked each year, infrastructures are tested to breaking point, and people are asked to work harder.

In a way of dramatic, unpredictable change, this is not enough to survive, let alone thrive.

• Growth is harder. Global GDP growth has declined by more than a third in the past decade. As the west stagnates, Asia grows, albeit more slowly.
• Companies struggle, their average lifespan falling from 75 years in 1950 to 15 years today, 52% of the Fortune 500 in 2000 no longer exist in 2020.
• Leaders are under pressure. 44% of today’s business leaders have held their position for at least 5 years, compared to 77% half a century ago.

Profit is no longer enough; people expect business to achieve more. Business cannot exist in isolation from the world around them, pursuing customers without care for the consequence. The old single-minded obsession with profits is too limiting. Business depends more than ever on its resources – people, communities, nature, partners – and will need to find a better way to embrace them.

Technology is no longer enough; innovation needs to be more human. Technology will automate and interpret reality, but it won’t empathise and imagine new futures. Ubiquitous technology-driven innovation quickly becomes commoditised, available from anywhere in the world, so we need to add value in new ways. The future is human, creative, and intuitive. People will matter more to business, not less.

Sustaining the environment is not enough. 200 years of industrialisation has stripped the planet of its ability to renew itself, and ultimately to sustain life. Business therefore needs to give back more than it takes. As inequality and distrust have grown in every society, traditional jobs are threatened by automation and stagnation, meaning that social issues will matter even more, both globally and locally.

The new DNA of business

As business leaders, our opportunity is to create a better business, one that is fit for the future, that can act in more innovative and responsible ways.

How can we harness the potential of this relentless and disruptive change, harness the talents of people and the possibilities of technology? How can business, with all its power and resources, be a platform for change, and a force for good?

We need to find new codes to succeed. We need to find new ways to work, to recognise business as a system that be virtuous, where less can be more, and growth can go beyond the old limits. This demands that we make new connections:

• Profit + Purpose … to achieve more enlightened progress
• Technology + Humanity … to achieve more human ingenuity
• Innovation + Sustainability … to achieve more positive impact

We need to create a new framework for business, a better business – to reimagine why and redesign how we work, as well as reinvent what and refocus where we do business.

Imagine a future business that looks forwards not back, that rises up to shape the future on its own terms, making sense of change to find new possibilities, inspiring people with vision and optimism. Imagine a future that inspires progress, seeks new sources of growth, embraces networks and partners to go further, and enables people to achieve more.

Imagine too, a future business that creates new opportunity spaces, by connecting novel ideas and untapped needs, creatively responding to new customer agendas. Imagine a future business that disrupts the disruptors, where large companies have the vision and courage to reimagine themselves and compete as equals to fast and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Imagine a future business that embraces humanity, searches for better ideas, that fuse technology and people in more enlightened ways, to solve the big problems of society, and improve everyone’s lives. Imagine a future business that works collectively, self-organises to thrive without hierarchy, connects with partners in rich ecosystems, designs jobs around people, to do inspiring work.

Imagine also, a future business which is continually transforming, that thrives by learning better and faster, develops a rich portfolio of business ideas and innovations to sustain growth and progress. Imagine a future business that creates positive impact on the world, benefits all stakeholders with a circular model of value creation, that addresses negatives, and creates a net positive impact for society.

Creating a better business is an opportunity for every person who works inside or alongside it. It is not just a noble calling, to do something better for the world, but also a practical calling, a way to overcome the many limits of today, and attain future success for you and your business.You could call it the dawn of a new capitalism.

• Workshop Summary: Leading into the Future by Peter Fisk
• Additional Materials: Leading into the Future by Peter Fisk 

It’s time to reinvent the rules, operating paradigms, and business mindsets of the past. Prioritising human performance can help organisations make the leap to the future, to embrace the opportunities of change, and shape a better future for their organisations and themselves.

We live in a world where business is no longer defined by sectors or geographies, organisations are not limited by physical resource or existing capability, and performance is not about financial results alone. Work is no longer defined by jobs, the workplace is no longer defined by location, many workers are not conventional employees, and HR is no longer a defined function. These old boundaries have become constraints, and acknowledged as irrelevant,

Business leaders, from board members to team coordinators, are the driving force of not just a change in practice, but also attitudes and behaviours that can imagine new possibilities, and deliver practical realities.

• Global Human Capital Trends 2024 by Deloitte
• Workforce 2.0: Unlocking Human Potential by Mercer
• A New Future of Work by McKinsey
• The Human Capital Era by Forbes

According to the excellent Workforce 2.0 report, based on research with 12,000 global C-level executives, the rise of new work models is almost as significant to the future of organisations as digital tech and AI, and more important that shifting economies, and climate change:

So what are some of the big themes and emerging trends in human capital, and how it drives both public and private organisations forwards?

• Future Ready: Does your organisation have the mindset, talent, capabilities to envision a better future, and to deliver the transformational projects and practices to make that happen?
• Thriving Beyond Boundaries: Organisations are moving beyond traditional boundaries, both physical and organizational, to create more flexible and inclusive work environments. Example: NEOM in Saudi Arabia is developing a cognitive city that aims to be sustainable and hyper-connected.
• From Function to Discipline: HR is evolving from a siloed function to a boundaryless discipline that integrates with the people, businesses, and communities it serves. Example: Deloitte is focusing on human performance and creating value for all people connected to the organization.
• Reskilling Revolution: Upskilling and reskilling the workforce to meet the demands of a rapidly changing job market. Example: Amazon has invested heavily in training programs to help employees transition to new roles within the company.
• The Great Reevaluation: Redefining the employee value proposition to attract and retain top talent. Example: Google offers a range of benefits and perks, including flexible work arrangements and wellness programs, to keep employees engaged and satisfied.
• The Algorithmic Advantage: Leveraging technology, such as AI and data analytics, to enhance workforce management and decision-making. Example: IBM uses AI-driven tools to help HR professionals make data-informed decisions about talent acquisition and management.
• Microcultures: Enabling a “culture of cultures” tailored to the needs of local teams while aligning with organization-wide values. Example: Microsoft supports diverse teams and encourages local cultural practices within its global offices.
• Play and Experimentation: Creating digital playgrounds where employees can experiment and innovate in a safe space. Example: IDEO encourages employees to engage in creative workshops and brainstorming sessions to foster innovation.
• Human Sustainability: Prioritizing human sustainability by creating value for employees and ensuring their well-being. Example: Patagonia focuses on sustainability and employee well-being, offering programs like on-site childcare and environmental initiatives.
• Platforms of Talent: Instead of thinking of organisations as platforms for development and delivery of products and services, ecosystems connecting with suppliers and customers, think of them as platforms that bring together unique, diverse and unlimited talent. How can that deliver more?

And we know what this demands in terms of people. To thrive in the future, businesses will need to adopt new mindsets, develop key capabilities, and nurture specific talents:

Mindsets

• Growth Mindset: Embracing challenges, learning from failures, and persisting in the face of obstacles.
• Customer-Centric Mindset: Prioritizing customer needs and experiences in all business decisions.
• Sustainability Mindset: Integrating sustainable practices into business operations to ensure long-term success.
• Innovation Mindset: Encouraging creativity and experimentation to drive continuous improvement and new solutions.

Capabilities

• Digital Literacy: Proficiency in using digital tools and platforms to enhance business processes and decision-making.
• Agility: The ability to quickly adapt to changing market conditions and customer demands.
• Data Analytics: Leveraging data to gain insights, make informed decisions, and predict future trends.
• Collaboration: Working effectively across teams and departments to achieve common goals.
• Cybersecurity: Protecting sensitive information and systems from cyber threats.

Talents

• Critical Thinking: Analyzing information objectively and making reasoned conclusions.
• Emotional Intelligence: Understanding and managing emotions, both one’s own and those of others.
• Leadership: Inspiring and guiding teams to achieve their best performance.
• Communication: Clearly conveying ideas and information to diverse audiences.
• Problem-Solving: Identifying issues and developing effective solutions.

Emdad Al Khebrat, is the pioneer of business and human capital solutions within the Middle East, with exceptional services to elevate the growth and productivity of individuals and organisations. It is part of Elm Group which provides business and digital services to over 60,000 private and public organisations, helping them deliver increased efficiency and speed of operation. Emdad Al Khebrat was launched in 2014 with a vision to be the leading partner for  business and human capital solutions to support growth and productivity of individuals and organisations and enable them realise an effective and sustainable impact.

• Download: Gamechanging Leadership by Peter Fisk. 

Incredible technologies and geopolitical shifts, complex markets and stagnating growth, demanding customers and disruptive entrepreneurs, environmental crisis and social distrust, unexpected shocks and uncertain futures.

How do you make sense of today’s rapidly changing world? How will you succeed in tomorrow’s world?

We explore how businesses can survive and thrive, and move forwards to create a better future. How to reimagine strategy, to reinvent markets, to reenergise people. We consider what it means to combine meaningful purpose with superior profits, intelligent technologies with creative people, radical innovation with sustainable impact.

The old codes of business don’t work anymore. The most innovative companies – from Amazon and Anthropic, to Blackrock and Bytedance, Climeworks and Coupang, to DJI and Deepmind – succeed with new codes.

So what are the new ideas to win in a fast and dynamic world of Asian renaissance, entrepreneurial supremacy, social conscience and smarter machines? What can you learn from Jio’s revolution from petrochemicals to phones, and DBS’s transformation of banking? How can you be inspired by courageous leaders like 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki, Haier’s Zhang Ruimin and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser?

Changing World, Leading Change

Key takeaways from the keynote will include

Markets are more crowded, competition is intense, customer aspirations are constantly fuelled by new innovations and dreams. Technology disrupts every industry, from banking to construction, entertainment to healthcare. It drives new possibilities and solutions, but also speed and complexity, uncertainty and fear.

As digital and physical worlds fuse to augment how we live and work, AI and robotics enhance but also challenge our capabilities, whilst ubiquitous supercomputing, genetic editing and self-driving cars take us further.

Technologies with the power to help us leap forwards in unimaginable ways. To transform business, to solve our big problems, to drive radical innovation, to accelerate growth and achieve progress socially and environmentally too.

We are likely to see more change in the next 10 years than the last 250 years.

• Markets accelerate, 4 times faster than 20 years ago, based on the accelerating speed of innovation and diminishing lifecycles of products.
• People are more capable, 825 times more connected than 20 years ago, with access to education, unlimited knowledge, tools to create anything.
• Consumer attitudes change, 78% of young people choose brands that do good, they reject corporate jobs, and see the world with the lens of gamers.

However, change goes far beyond the technology.

Markets will transform, converge and evolve faster. From old town Ann Arbor to the rejuvenated Bilbao, today’s megacities like Chennai and the future Saudi tech city of Neom, economic power will continue to shift. China has risen to the top of the new global business order, whilst India and eventually Africa will follow.

Industrialisation challenges the natural equilibrium of our planet’s resources. Today’s climate crisis is the result of our progress, and our problem to solve. Globalisation challenges our old notions of nationhood and locality. Migration changes where we call home. Religious values compete with social values, economic priorities conflict with social priorities. Living standards improve but inequality grows.

Our current economic system is stretched to its limit. Global shocks, such as the global pandemic of 2020, exposes its fragility. We open our eyes to realise that we weren’t prepared for different futures, and that our drive for efficiency has left us unable to cope. Such crises will become more frequent, as change and disruption accelerate.

However, these shocks are more likely to accelerate change in business, rather than stifle it, to wake us up to the real impacts of our changing world – to the urgency of action, to the need to think and act more dramatically.

The old codes don’t work

Business is not fit for the future. Most organisations were designed for stable and predictable worlds, where the future evolves as planned, markets are definitive, and choices are clear.

The future isn’t like it used to be.

Dynamic markets are, by definition, turbulent. Whilst economic cycles have typically followed a pattern of peaks and troughs every 10-15 years, these will likely become more frequent.  Change is fast and exponential, uncertain and unpredictable, complex and ambiguous demanding new interpretation and imagination.

Yet too many business leaders hope that the strategies that made them successful in the past will continue to work in the future. They seek to keep stretching the old models in the hope that they will continue to see them through. Old business plans are tweaked each year, infrastructures are tested to breaking point, and people are asked to work harder.

In a way of dramatic, unpredictable change, this is not enough to survive, let alone thrive.

• Growth is harder. Global GDP growth has declined by more than a third in the past decade. As the west stagnates, Asia grows, albeit more slowly.
• Companies struggle, their average lifespan falling from 75 years in 1950 to 15 years today, 52% of the Fortune 500 in 2000 no longer exist in 2020.
• Leaders are under pressure. 44% of today’s business leaders have held their position for at least 5 years, compared to 77% half a century ago.

Profit is no longer enough; people expect business to achieve more. Business cannot exist in isolation from the world around them, pursuing customers without care for the consequence. The old single-minded obsession with profits is too limiting. Business depends more than ever on its resources – people, communities, nature, partners – and will need to find a better way to embrace them.

Technology is no longer enough; innovation needs to be more human. Technology will automate and interpret reality, but it won’t empathise and imagine new futures. Ubiquitous technology-driven innovation quickly becomes commoditised, available from anywhere in the world, so we need to add value in new ways. The future is human, creative, and intuitive. People will matter more to business, not less.

Sustaining the environment is not enough. 200 years of industrialisation has stripped the planet of its ability to renew itself, and ultimately to sustain life. Business therefore needs to give back more than it takes. As inequality and distrust have grown in every society, traditional jobs are threatened by automation and stagnation, meaning that social issues will matter even more, both globally and locally.

The new DNA of business

As business leaders, our opportunity is to create a better business, one that is fit for the future, that can act in more innovative and responsible ways.

How can we harness the potential of this relentless and disruptive change, harness the talents of people and the possibilities of technology? How can business, with all its power and resources, be a platform for change, and a force for good?

We need to find new codes to succeed. We need to find new ways to work, to recognise business as a system that be virtuous, where less can be more, and growth can go beyond the old limits. This demands that we make new connections:

• Profit + Purpose … to achieve more enlightened progress
• Technology + Humanity … to achieve more human ingenuity
• Innovation + Sustainability … to achieve more positive impact

We need to create a new framework for business, a better business – to reimagine why and redesign how we work, as well as reinvent what and refocus where we do business.

Imagine a future business that looks forwards not back, that rises up to shape the future on its own terms, making sense of change to find new possibilities, inspiring people with vision and optimism. Imagine a future that inspires progress, seeks new sources of growth, embraces networks and partners to go further, and enables people to achieve more.

Imagine too, a future business that creates new opportunity spaces, by connecting novel ideas and untapped needs, creatively responding to new customer agendas. Imagine a future business that disrupts the disruptors, where large companies have the vision and courage to reimagine themselves and compete as equals to fast and entrepreneurial start-ups.

Imagine a future business that embraces humanity, searches for better ideas, that fuse technology and people in more enlightened ways, to solve the big problems of society, and improve everyone’s lives. Imagine a future business that works collectively, self-organises to thrive without hierarchy, connects with partners in rich ecosystems, designs jobs around people, to do inspiring work.

Imagine also, a future business which is continually transforming, that thrives by learning better and faster, develops a rich portfolio of business ideas and innovations to sustain growth and progress. Imagine a future business that creates positive impact on the world, benefits all stakeholders with a circular model of value creation, that addresses negatives, and creates a net positive impact for society.

Creating a better business is an opportunity for every person who works inside or alongside it. It is not just a noble calling, to do something better for the world, but also a practical calling, a way to overcome the many limits of today, and attain future success for you and your business.You could call it the dawn of a new capitalism.

More from Peter Fisk linked to these sessions

• Next Agenda of best ideas and priorities for business
• Megatrends 2030 in a world accelerated by pandemic
• 49 Codes to help you develop a better business future
• 250 companies innovators shaking up the world
• 100 leaders with the courage to shape a better future
• Education that is innovative, issue-driven, action-driving
• Consulting that is collaborative, strategic and innovative
• Speaking that is inspiring, topical, engaging and actionable

Leaders shape their markets and organisation of the future, by addressing change and disruption in a way that is proactive not reactive, shaped in their own vision. This requires bolder thinking, embracing new insights and capabilities, to unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth. It means thinking about brands beyond products, partners beyond channels, occasions beyond drinking, and strategies beyond financial plans.

• Download a summary of Peter Fisk’s Leading with Strategy masterclass

Future-ready strategy is about making better choices in an uncertain world. This demands deeper contextual understanding, unlocking assets in new ways, innovative approaches beyond product and promotion, and agile execution. It means working from the future back, combining small experiments with bolder shifts, letting go of the old, embracing the new. In this fast, high energy and interactive session, we seek to inspire leaders to think bigger, bolder and smarter.

How will the drinks industry change?

Over the next 5-10 years, the global drinks industry, including companies like Campari, Diageo, Beam Suntory, and Pernod Ricard, will likely experience significant changes. These changes will be driven by shifts in geography, sociodemographic factors, consumer preferences, and broader industry trends. Below are some key areas of change and their potential implications for these companies.

Shift 1: Geographic Market Shifts

 The global beverage market is expected to evolve with both emerging markets gaining importance and developed markets seeing more nuanced changes. Key regions of change include:

Emerging Markets

• Asia-Pacific: Countries like China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia will continue to be key growth drivers. The middle class is expanding, and urbanization is increasing, resulting in higher disposable income and changing drinking habits. China and India are especially important for the spirits industry, where premiumization and Western-style drinks are becoming more popular among young, affluent consumers.
  • Impact on Companies: Companies like Suntory (with strong operations in Japan and growing interest in China) and Diageo (with a significant presence in India) will likely see demand for both premium and locally adapted products. Diageo’s focus on Johnnie Walker and Guinness could benefit from increasing urbanization and aspirational consumption.
• Africa: African countries, particularly Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, are witnessing rapid economic growth and urbanization. As the population becomes more youthful and middle class expands, there’s rising demand for both alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages.
  • Impact on Companies: Firms like Diageo and Campari may see an increased demand for local spirits (e.g., gin, rum) and premium alcoholic beverages. Additionally, there may be opportunities in non-alcoholic beverages, such as energy drinks or premium soft drinks, as well.
• Latin America: Latin American markets like Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina will remain important but may experience slower growth due to political instability and economic factors. However, the rising demand for premium spirits, particularly in the tequila, rum, and whiskey categories, could drive continued expansion in the region.
  • Impact on Companies: Companies such as Diageo (with its premium tequila portfolio like Don Julio) and Campari (with its rum portfolio) will likely see both volume growth and higher-value sales from premiumization trends.

Developed Markets

• North America & Europe: While these regions remain significant for global players, growth will be driven by more niche markets and product categories, particularly premium, health-conscious, and convenience-driven beverages. Younger generations are shifting away from traditional alcohol consumption and are more focused on low- or no-alcohol drinks.
  • Impact on Companies: Companies like Diageo, Campari, and Ricard will need to continue expanding their premium offerings and innovate in the low- and no-alcohol space to appeal to younger, health-conscious consumers. There will also be a push toward sustainability and better-for-you options, such as low-sugar, organic, or functional beverages.

 Shift 2: Sociodemographic Changes

 Several key sociodemographic shifts will affect consumption patterns:

Aging Populations

• Europe, Japan, North America: The aging population in mature markets like Japan and parts of Europe (e.g., Italy, Germany, and France) will lead to increased demand for more moderate alcohol consumption and healthier, lower-alcohol alternatives.
  • Impact on Companies: This demographic shift could drive companies to develop more premium but lower-alcohol options, such as lighter wines or spirits with lower ABVs (alcohol by volume), catering to older consumers who are more health-conscious.

Youth and Millennial Consumption

• Generation Z and Millennials: These cohorts are more health-conscious, seek authenticity, and are inclined toward unique, sustainable products. They are also more open to trying diverse alcoholic beverages, such as craft cocktails, hard seltzers, or cannabis-infused beverages.
  • Impact on Companies: Companies like Campari and Diageo must cater to a new wave of consumers by investing in trendy spirits (e.g., tequila, craft spirits) and low-alcohol alternatives (e.g., non-alcoholic spirits, seltzers). Diageo’s acquisition of the hard seltzer brand “Pura Still” and Campari’s focus on innovative cocktails suggest these shifts are already being embraced.

Diversity and Inclusion

• As younger consumers increasingly demand inclusive and diverse representation in advertising and product offerings, brands will need to reflect a more multicultural and socially aware identity.
  • Impact on Companies: Companies will need to prioritize diversity not just in marketing but also in product development and corporate social responsibility. Inclusivity initiatives could become a key part of brand strategy.

Shift 3: Changes in Beverage Categories

 The following trends will significantly impact the types of products in demand:

Premiumization

Consumers are increasingly opting for higher-quality, premium alcoholic drinks, including craft spirits, luxury wines, and aged liquors. This trend is particularly notable in whiskey, gin, and rum categories.

• Impact on Companies: Companies like Diageo, Campari, and Suntory will benefit from their premium portfolios. Diageo’s investment in premium whiskey brands (e.g., Buchanan’s and Johnnie Walker) and Suntory’s focus on high-end Japanese whiskey position them well to take advantage of this trend.

Health-Conscious and Functional Beverages

Health concerns are shaping beverage choices, with more consumers opting for low- or no-alcohol drinks, functional beverages (e.g., kombucha, CBD-infused drinks), and products with fewer artificial ingredients or lower sugar content.

• Impact on Companies: Companies like Diageo (with its low-ABV offerings like Guinness 0.0 and Tanqueray 0.0) and Campari (with its innovation in lower-alcohol products) are responding to this trend. Developing non-alcoholic products will be essential for maintaining relevance among younger, health-conscious drinkers.

Sustainability

Sustainability will become an even more critical factor in consumers’ purchasing decisions, with an increasing preference for environmentally conscious products and sustainable packaging.

• Impact on Companies: Drinks companies will need to ramp up sustainability initiatives across the supply chain, from sourcing raw materials to packaging and transportation. Diageo, for example, has set ambitious goals for net-zero carbon emissions, and Campari has pledged to reduce its environmental footprint, positioning them to capture the growing “conscious consumer” segment.

Convenience and Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Options

RTD cocktails, hard seltzers, and other easy-to-consume alcoholic beverages are gaining traction, particularly among younger consumers and in markets where convenience is highly valued.

• Impact on Companies: RTD beverages are an area of rapid growth, and companies like Suntory (with their popular Ready-to-Drink beverages in Japan), Diageo (with products like Smirnoff Ice), and Campari will continue to innovate in this space. The trend toward on-the-go, premium RTD drinks (e.g., canned cocktails) will also shape the future.

Cannabis-Infused Beverages

As legalization spreads, cannabis-infused beverages are expected to carve out a significant niche in the alcohol and beverage markets, especially in North America.

• Impact on Companies: Companies like Diageo (which has already entered the cannabis beverage market in Canada) and others will likely expand their portfolios to include cannabis-infused drinks, tapping into this growing segment as it becomes more mainstream.

Shift 4: Technological Innovation

Advances in technology will also play a role in the drinks sector. AI, automation, and data analytics will improve production efficiency and create new product development opportunities.

• Impact on Companies: Companies will need to leverage technology to personalize offerings, optimize supply chains, and create smarter marketing strategies. For example, data analytics can help predict shifts in consumer preferences, allowing companies like Diageo and Campari to adapt more quickly.

 The drinks industry over the next 5-10 years will see both challenges and opportunities for global players like Campari, Diageo, Suntory, and Ricard. The key to success will lie in being agile and responsive to evolving consumer demands—whether it’s by tapping into emerging markets, aligning with health and wellness trends, or embracing sustainability and innovation in new product categories. The companies that can effectively navigate these shifts while maintaining brand identity and delivering premium, authentic products will be best positioned for growth in the years to come.

Thinking like a disruptor brand

Here are some disruptors, including in the world of alcoholic drinks, and how they engage consumers, partner with other brands, develop new channels to market, add adjacent services, and introduce new pricing models:

Disruptive drinks brands

• Seedlip: Known as the world’s first non-alcoholic spirit, Seedlip has created a new category in the spirits market, appealing to health-conscious consumers and those who prefer non-alcoholic options.
• Bacardi: Bacardi has been experimenting with sustainable packaging, including launching the first glass spirits bottle fueled by hydrogen, which cuts greenhouse gas emissions by over 30%.
• The Pathfinder: This fermented ‘spirit’ has gained popularity for bridging the gap between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, offering versatility in cocktails.
• BrewDog: Known for its bold marketing and innovative products, BrewDog has disrupted the craft beer market with unique flavors and limited-edition releases. They engage consumers through experiential marketing, pop-up bars, and exclusive events1.
• Diageo: The parent company of Johnnie Walker, Diageo has embraced sustainability and innovation with initiatives like the “Society 2030: Spirit of Progress” plan, which focuses on reducing water usage and promoting responsible consumption.
• Suntory: This Japanese beverage giant has scored highly in areas like e-commerce, AI, and health & wellness, positioning itself well to benefit from industry disruption.
• EcoSpirits: Focusing on closed-loop packaging, EcoSpirits aims to reduce waste and promote sustainability in the spirits industry.

 Engagement and Partnerships

• BrewDog: Engages consumers through bold marketing campaigns, pop-up bars, and exclusive events. They also partner with other brands for limited-edition releases and collaborations.
• Seedlip: Partners with bars and restaurants to offer non-alcoholic cocktail options, promoting the idea of “mindful drinking.”
• Diageo: Collaborates with tech companies like Thinfilm to develop smart bottles with NFC sensor tags, enhancing product safety and preventing tampering.
• Suntory: Partners with local farmers and grain suppliers to adopt sustainable practices, promoting responsible consumption and environmental stewardship.
• EcoSpirits: Works with eco-friendly packaging companies to develop closed-loop systems that reduce waste and promote sustainability.

 New Channels and Services

• BrewDog: Explores new channels like virtual events and online tastings to reach a wider audience.
• Seedlip: Develops adjacent services like cocktail-making kits and virtual mixology classes to engage consumers.
• Diageo: Invests in e-commerce platforms and AI-driven marketing to enhance consumer engagement and streamline operations.
• Suntory: Expands into health & wellness services, offering products that cater to consumers seeking healthier lifestyle choices.
• EcoSpirits: Introduces new pricing models that incentivize consumers to return bottles for recycling, promoting a circular economy.

Innovation in business models

• Premiumisation: Brands like Bacardi are focusing on premium spirits, offering high-quality, artisanal products that cater to consumers seeking luxury experiences.
• AI and Data Analytics: Companies are leveraging AI to enhance consumer experiences, personalize marketing efforts, and streamline operations.
• Sustainability Initiatives: Brands are adopting eco-friendly practices, such as using recycled materials, reducing carbon footprints, and promoting responsible consumption.

How Campari Could Embrace These Ideas

• Non-Alcoholic Spirits: Campari could develop its own line of non-alcoholic spirits to tap into the growing market of health-conscious consumers.
• Sustainable Packaging: Campari could invest in sustainable packaging solutions, such as biodegradable bottles or reusable packaging, to reduce environmental impact.
• AI Integration: Campari could use AI to personalize marketing campaigns, improve customer engagement, and optimize supply chain management.
• Storytelling and Authenticity: Emphasizing authentic storytelling and brand heritage can create a deeper emotional connection with consumers.

How will you lead the future? How will you shape it to your advantage? How will you future proof your business?

• Download a summary of FUTURE MAKERS keynote by Peter Fisk. 

Superfast-gaming chips and fat-busting superdrugs, asteroid-chasing rockets and carbon-capturing technologies, 4 day working weeks and chess reinvented as a reality TV game, health-enhancing fashions and the rebirth of the hairy mammoth. Nvidia is transforming tech, while Novo Nordisk innovates healthcare, KinetX changes the space race, while Climeworks eliminates carbon.

We used to marvel at innovations with a leap of imagination. Ideas and technologies that promised to transform our world, but seemed a little out of reach. Now, science fiction has collided with practical reality, powered by mind-boggling technologies that are evolving at incredible speed, but also rapid social and cultural change, accelerating human possibilities into practice.

Next is now, not only because of the pace of innovation, but also the convergence of pathways – technologies, industries, customers, applications and expectations.

What’s happening in gaming today, shapes new experiences in retail or finance. New possibilities of space travel accelerate the evolution of EVs. Clean energy meets green cement. Pharma tech meets fashion tech. Physical and digital are one, fast developing markets outpace the old stagnated developed markets, and GenZ outthink their GenX leaders.

The future is already here, even if it’s unevenly distributed. Curiosity drives creativity, enabled by new capabilities to address the biggest challenges. So what could you do? What’s your vision of next, and how do you start now?

For Siemens Energy, this future is everything. The challenge of transformational change is at the heart of their business, and contribution to society.

The energy system is being radically transformed, driven by our concerns for the environmental, technological innovations, and diverse market forces.  4 Ds – decarbonization, digitalization, decentralization, deregulation – are shaping this transition towards a more sustainable, resilient, and efficient energy system of the future.

Decarbonization refers to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy production and consumption, especially from fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Decarbonization is essential for mitigating climate change impacts, such as global warming, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss, as well as for improving air quality, public health, and environmental justice. This is the key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the first stated goal of the forthcoming COP28 conference, and the centre of all efforts to address the climate change. Currently, there are calls to triple the renewable energy capacity and double the energy efficiency by 2030 – and ultimately by 2050 to achieve a 90% renewable energy share in the global electricity mix and achieve net zero emissions. It can be achieved by:

• Increasing the share of renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass, in the energy mix, by providing policy and regulatory support, incentives, and subsidies, as well as investing in technology innovation and infrastructure development.
• Using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for thermal generation, which can remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or from industrial sources, by creating a market and a regulatory framework for carbon pricing, as well as supporting research and development and demonstration projects.
• Improving energy efficiency and managing demand for energy, by implementing standards and labels for appliances and equipment, providing information and feedback to consumers, and promoting behavioral changes and lifestyle choices.

Digitalization refers to the use of information and communication technologies to monitor, control, and optimize the operation and planning of the energy system across multiple pathways and scales. Digitalization can enhance the performance, reliability, and security of the energy system, as well as create new value propositions, business models, and markets for energy services. It can be achieved by smart meters, AI, ML, Big Data, Blockchain, IoT and more:

• Installing smart meters, smart devices, and smart platforms, which can provide real-time data and communication, as well as balancing supply and demand, by providing feedback, incentives, and recommendations to consumers and prosumers.
• Using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and big data, which can improve the efficiency, reliability, and security of the energy system, as well as reduce costs, emissions, and waste, by automating and optimizing various tasks and processes, such as customer service, marketing, software development, and manufacturing.
• Using blockchain, internet of things (IoT), and edge computing, which can enable faster, more reliable, and more secure digital connections, as well as support the integration of distributed energy resources, autonomous transportation, and smart cities, by enabling decentralized and transparent transactions, and creating virtual replicas of physical assets and systems.

Decentralization refers to the shift from large-scale, centralized power plants to smaller, distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar panels, microgrids, battery storage, and electric vehicles on houses, offices, factories, and roads. Decentralization can enhance the resilience, reliability, and flexibility of the power system, as well as empower consumers to participate in energy markets. It will be enabled by innovations in rooftop solar panels, battery storage, and microgrids. Plus tools like FIT, net metering, energy communities with P2P trading, and more:

• Promoting and supporting the growth of distributed generation, by providing feed-in tariffs (FIT) and net metering schemes, as well as reducing the barriers and costs for interconnection and integration to the grid.
• Fostering the development of energy communities, which enable consumers to share and trade their electricity with others, by providing legal and regulatory recognition, incentives, and support, as well as facilitating the participation and collaboration of stakeholders.
• Enhancing the resilience and reliability of the power system, by using energy storage and smart grids, which can provide backup power and ancillary services, as well as cope with the variability and uncertainty of renewable energy sources.

Deregulation refers to the liberalization of the energy market and the removal of barriers for new entrants and innovative business models. This can increase the competition, transparency, and diversity of the energy sector, as well as foster social and environmental justice. It can be enabled by retail competition, prosumers, distributed renewable generation and much more:

• Introducing retail competition in the electricity sector, which allows consumers to choose from different providers and plans, and offers lower prices and increased choices, by creating a market and a regulatory framework for electricity trading, as well as ensuring fair and efficient market functioning .
• Encouraging the participation of consumers and prosumers in energy markets, by providing smart export guarantee, FIT, and local energy hubs, which allow consumers to generate their own electricity and sell the excess to the grid or to others, by creating a market and a regulatory framework for electricity trading, as well as ensuring fair and efficient market functioning .
• Promoting the development and adoption of renewable energy sources and distributed energy resources, by providing policy and regulatory support, incentives, and subsidies, as well as investing in technology innovation and infrastructure development, by creating a market and a regulatory framework for electricity trading, as well as ensuring fair and efficient market functioning .

The key is how these 4Ds work together

• Decarbonization is made more feasible by Decentralization, as smaller, localized renewable energy sources often have lower carbon footprints than large, centralized fossil fuel-based power plants.
• Digitalization supports both Decarbonization and Decentralization. Digital technologies can optimize the use of renewable energy sources, improve energy efficiency, and manage decentralized energy grids.
• Deregulation (or Democratization) can accelerate Decarbonization, Decentralization, and Digitalization by opening up energy markets to competition, encouraging innovation, and empowering consumers.

 

Incredible technologies and geopolitical shifts, complex markets and stagnating growth, demanding customers and disruptive entrepreneurs, environmental crisis and social distrust, unexpected shocks and uncertain futures. How do you make sense of today’s rapidly changing world? How will you succeed in tomorrow’s world?

We explore how businesses can survive and thrive, and move forwards to create a better future. How to reimagine strategy, to reinvent markets, to reenergise people. We consider what it means to combine meaningful purpose with superior profits, intelligent technologies with creative people, radical innovation with sustainable impact.

Future World, Change Drivers

Fast and uncertain futures. Incredible technologies and geopolitical shifts, complex markets and uncertain dynamics, demanding customers and disruptive entrepreneurs, environmental crisis and social distrust, unexpected shocks and uncertain futures. How do we make sense of today’s rapidly changing world, and move forwards when everything is so uncertain?

• S Curves, Megatrends and Scenarios
• Netflix, Climeworks, and Nvidia
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwsAf0do-yo

 Exploring future options. Markets are increasingly boundaryless, solutions don’t fit into the old boxes, and innovation is everywhere. This makes it hard to frame and focus on what matters most, and how to balance the short and long-term needs of your business. How do you deliver in existing markets, while also creating the future

• Exploit and Explore, Frame and Focus
• Amazon, LVMH and Ping An

Accelerating growth. Articulating your direction with purpose and vision in a world that might seem stagnant, chaotic and uncertain. Connecting the strategic imperatives so that people engage with the bigger picture, why now is the time to let go of the past. Consider how they contribute, and how they need to change as the world changes

• Purpose, Vision, Strategy and Storytelling
• Monster, Neom and Schneider Electric

Game Changers, Growth Mindset

Innovate and transform. Innovation can take many different forms, from new business models to ecosystem design, to reframe markets and redefine business,  typically enabled by sustained transformational change. Relentless innovation leads to business transformation, shifting to radically new domains and approaches.

• Moonshots and Transformations, The Big Shifts
• BYD, Maersk and Tesla

Changing the game. Innovation is not enough. In rapidly changing markets, we need to do more to compete, to transform how the market works, not just our business.  Look beyond products and services, to reinvent markets and experiences, operating models and business models – the game. How could we change the game to deliver our innnovations better?

• Distruptive Strategies, Gamechanger Strategies
• ASML, Haier and NotCo

Step up to lead the future. Value creation in fast changing markets demands leaders to embrace new mindsets and approaches, to engage people in an inspiring future story, and to accelerate its delivery to be a performer and transformer at the same time – to be curious, creative and courageous. How will you change yourself, as the world changes?

• New Leadership DNA, Growth Mindset
• Microsoft, DBS and Novo Nordisk

More about Everllence

When MAN Energy Solutions reintroduced itself to the world as Everllence on June 4, 2025, it wasn’t just a fresh coat of paint. The new name announced a sharpened strategic intent: to become the industrial decarbonization partner of choice across shipping, power, and process industries. The company’s message is concise and ambitious—“moving big things to zero”—and it’s backed by a portfolio that spans future-fuel marine engines, carbon capture and compression, grid-scale heat pumps, hybrid power systems, and green hydrogen via its electrolyzer affiliate.

More than a new name

For 260+ years, the firm (formerly MAN Diesel & Turbo, then MAN Energy Solutions) has been synonymous with heavy-duty engines and turbomachinery. As Everllence, the brand signals a pivot from “maker of big kit” to system integrator for decarbonization, aligning identity with the businesses driving its growth. The company explicitly framed the rebrand as a milestone in strategy, not a change in ownership or product withdrawal—it remains part of the Volkswagen Group, with the rebrand applying globally through 2025.

The business now orients around three high-impact vectors:

1. Maritime transition: engines and retrofit paths to run on methanol and, increasingly, ammonia—plus hybridization and digital optimization. Collaboration with major shipowners is central, exemplified by an MoU with Eastern Pacific Shipping to co-develop ammonia handling and crew training for dual-fuel engines, easing one of the sector’s biggest barriers to adoption.

2. Industrial carbon management: compressors and process integration for carbon capture, liquefaction, and transport—with the flagship Brevik cement project (Heidelberg Materials) designed to capture around 400,000 tCO₂/year and feed Norway’s Northern Lights storage system under the Longship program. The recent first shipments and injection underscore the scaling reality of CCS infrastructure.

3. Thermal electrification and energy storage: mega heat pumps and electro-thermal energy storage (ETES) that couple electricity, heat, and cold for cities and industry. The 70 MW seawater heat pump in Esbjerg, Denmark—now delivering fossil-free district heat—shows Everllence’s ability to decarbonize at municipal scale and operate real assets, not just sell equipment. ETES adds multi-vector storage and sector coupling.

A fourth pillar sits upstream: green hydrogen. Through its majority stake in H-TEC SYSTEMS (since rebranded as Quest One), Everllence has a route into PEM electrolyzers and the e-fuels value chain. That positions the company across both demand (engines) and supply (electrolysis) of future fuels—rare vertical coherence in a fragmented market.

Strategy for the future: from components to outcomes

Own the transition pathways, not just the products.
The shipping sector won’t flip fuels overnight. Fleet operators need sequenced pathways: today’s efficiency and hybridization; next, methanol at scale; then ammonia for long-haul deep sea. Everllence already markets hybrid marine systems and dual-fuel engines; expanding standardized retrofit kits (engines, tanks, safety systems, digital tuning) could make conversions faster and cheaper, turning capex hesitancy into phased commitment.

Package heat as a service for cities and industry.
The Esbjerg project is a proof point. Scale it into a replicable “district heat decarb kit”—seawater or river-source heat pumps, ETES buffers, and controls—sold with performance guarantees and energy-as-a-service contracts. This moves Everllence up the value chain, monetizing outcomes (CO₂ cut, cost predictability) rather than just equipment.

Industrial carbon hubs and CO₂ logistics.
Brevik/Northern Lights shows the template: capture + compression + shipping + storage, enabled by policy. Everllence should lead regional CO₂ hub consortia around cement, steel, and chemicals clusters—providing front-end engineering, compression trains, heat integration, and O&M—while co-developing standardized LCO₂ shipping and terminal packages with partners. Policy momentum in Europe creates a window for first movers to lock in platform roles.

Hydrogen-to-X integration.
With Quest One’s PEM stack ramp-up, Everllence can stitch together electrolyzers + compression + e-fuel synthesisinto modular plants near ports and industrial parks. Target early bankable offtake (e-methanol for Maersk-type demand signals; refinery hydrotreating; fertilizer blending), with containerized 10–50 MW blocks scaling to 100 MW+. This leverages proven vendor-customer relationships in maritime and process industries.

Digital performance layers.
Create a unified DecarbOS™ (name illustrative): a digital twin and optimization layer spanning engines, heat pumps, ETES, and electrolyzers. Features: fuel-pathway advisory, emissions accounting, predictive maintenance, and guaranteed-uptime SLAs—turning disparate assets into managed decarbonization systems with measurable results.

Who is shaping energy’s future?

• Wärtsilä (competitor/peer): Pioneering hybrid marine systems, energy storage integration, and full-stack EMS. Lesson: sell systems and lifecycle optimization, not discrete components.

• Rolls-Royce Power Systems (mtu) and Cummins/Accelera (competitors): Progress on hydrogen-ready engines and fuel-agnostic platforms. Lesson: future-proof today’s assets with credible upgrade paths.

• Siemens Energy and GE Vernova (system peers): Grid, turbines, HVDC, electrolyzers (Siemens Energy via partnerships). Lesson: platform thinking—tie hardware to grid and market operations, not just plant operations.

• Aker Carbon Capture, SLB (Capturi), and Baker Hughes (collaborators/competitors): Modular capture tech, project delivery, and compression/process depth. Lesson: go ecosystem-first—pair Everllence compression and heat integration with third-party capture skids to accelerate deployments.

• Alfa Laval and ABB (enablers): Heat integration, marine electricals, and power management. Lesson: unlock efficiency via integration.

• Northern Lights (Equinor, Shell, TotalEnergies) and Heidelberg Materials (reference customers/partners): Show how policy + offtake + technology catalyze first-of-kind projects—then scale.

What could Everllence do next?

Launch “Green Corridor Kits” for shipping.
Pre-engineered packages for specific trade lanes (e.g., Asia–Europe ammonia pathways, Transatlantic methanol). Bundle engine conversions, fuel handling, safety and training (building on the EPS ammonia MoU), plus digital routing to minimize fuel penalties. Work with classification societies and insurers to derisk operations.

Create a District Heat Decarbonization JV model.
Replicate Esbjerg with municipal utilities: Everllence provides design, EPC(M), and long-term O&M; a finance partner brings capital; the city pays per MWh of low-carbon heat with indexed contracts. Include ETES for arbitrage and peak-shaving.

Build CO₂ Hub Alliances in three clusters.
Target a cement/chemicals port cluster (e.g., North Sea), a steel cluster (e.g., Rhine-Ruhr), and a Mediterranean chemicals hub. Offer a capture-compression-logistics backbone with modular LCO₂ terminals designed with shipowners. Use Brevik as the anchor case.

Standardize “Power-to-Fuel” modules at ports.
With Quest One, field 10–50 MW PEM blocks paired with e-methanol synthesis and Everllence compression. Prioritize sites with curtailment-prone renewables and captive maritime demand. Secure offtake MOUs with shipping alliances to improve bankability.

Offer Emissions-as-a-Service contracts.
Wrap engines, heat pumps, and CCS equipment with SLA-backed emissions outcomes (e.g., tonnes CO₂ avoided per year) and shared-savings models—aligning incentives with customers’ net-zero goals and reporting needs.

Expand hybrid and battery integration for workboats and short-sea.
Scale standardized hybrid packages (gensets + BESS + EMS) where payback is strongest—tugs, ferries, offshore wind service vessels—creating a feeder market for future-fuel engines as bunkering scales.

Policy and standards leadership.
Use reference projects to inform codes for ammonia safety, CO₂ shipping, and district heat electrification—lowering soft-costs market-wide and making Everllence equipment the default spec.

Bringing it together

Everllence’s edge is credibility at industrial scale. Few companies can talk across the entire chain—from making green molecules to burning them efficiently, from capturing CO₂ to storing it, from harvesting low-grade heat to dispatching it as reliable heat. The rebrand is the promise; the strategy is to productize that breadth into repeatable, financeable decarbonization blueprints.

If Everllence leans into platform roles (corridors, hubs, city heat), packages integrated systems (engines + heat + storage + digital), and monetizes measured outcomes, it can convert its historic hardware strengths into compounding service revenues—while genuinely “moving big things to zero.” The building blocks are already visible in shipping, CCS, and heat electrification; now it’s about scaling playbooks, not just sales.

• Download Peter Fisk’s keynote: INVINCIBLE! 
• Download Peter Fisk’s masterclass: HOW TO BE INVINCIBLE

Keynote

INVINCIBLE! … Building brands for profitable, sustainable growth

Superfast-gaming chips and fat-busting superdrugs, asteroid-chasing rockets and carbon-capturing technologies, health-enhancing fashions and the rebirth of the hairy mammoth. In a world of fast and relentless change, the future is already here … or simply, next is now.

Marketers are the future champions, leading their organisation forwards, seizing the new opportunities in dynamic markets, combining new customer agendas with incredible new technologies, driving new ideas and innovations, and delivering sustainable growth.

However the old ways of marketing don’t work … making more, advertising more, selling more. Customers and society expect business and brands to do more for them, to be more relevant, to address the big challenges, to define and capture the new value equations.

Colossal transforms genetics, while Novo Nordisk reinvents healthcare,  SpaceX redefines boundaries, and Climeworks eliminates carbon. Monster is the world’s fastest growing brand, while Authentic finds new life in old brands. Bad Bunny engages hearts, Schneider reinvents business models, Xiaomi redefines price points, and DoorDash delivers anything.

Marketers need the courage to step up, to inspire their business colleagues, to lead this exciting future. To be more purposeful and profitable, to address the biggest problems, to be platforms for change, to harness the new value equations, to have the courage to create new visions and ways forwards.

Invincible brands succeed with more vision, more innovation and more love. Less carbon, less waste, circular business models and social initiatives, are good but not enough. We need a new code for how business works, how brands grow, and marketers succeed.

Masterclass

HOW TO BE INVINCIBLE: How to build brands for profitable, sustainable growth

Incredible technologies and geopolitical shifts, complex markets and stagnating growth, demanding customers and disruptive entrepreneurs, environmental crisis and social distrust, unexpected shocks and uncertain futures.

How can marketers step up to lead the business agenda?

We explore how to make sense of today’s rapidly changing world, and understanding how to prepare for, and succeed, in tomorrow’s world. We explore how businesses can survive and thrive, and move forwards to create a better future.

How to reimagine business, to reinvent markets, to reengage people. We consider what it means to combine profit with more purpose, intelligent technologies with creative people, radical innovation with sustainable impact.

• Build your “Book of Dreams” … Start from the future back. Marketers need foresight and imagination to make sense of changing markets, to address new agendas, to embrace the best new opportunities, and find purpose and direction in a world that might seem stagnant, chaotic and uncertain.
• Create your “Platform for Change” …. Innovation can take many different forms, from new business models to ecosystem design, to reframe markets and redefine business, built on a purpose to do more, a movement that believes in this, and communities of customers. AI and big data, social and mobile, are enabling tools.
• Deliver more “Profit with Positive Impact” …. New value systems demand new mindsets, to engage your people, customers and investors in an inspiring future story, and to accelerate its delivery – exploiting the present and exploring the future – and you – to be curious, creative and courageous as a brand and business leader.

This is an inspiring, interactive, and highly practical workshop for business leaders and brand marketers, to explore the new frameworks, toolkits and approaches that are being embraced by the world’s most enlightened companies. It is also about you as a leader, having the courage and confidence, to step up, and redefine your business future.

Peter Fisk

Peter Fisk works with business leaders to reimagine their markets and strategies for a better future. He brings together the best in strategy and innovation, brand and customer thinking to drive smarter, sustainable growth.

He leads GeniusWorks, an innovative business accelerator, based in London, and is a professor of leadership, strategy and innovation at IE Business School in Madrid, where he is responsible for the Global Advanced Management Program. He also works independently and with other business schools. He founded the annual European Business Forum, publishes the monthly ”Fast Leader” magazine, and features on the Thinkers50 guru radar of top business thinkers.

Peter’s business career was forged in a superconductivity lab deep under the Alps, accelerated by managing high-flying brands like Concorde, shaped by working in corporations in North America and Asia, evolved by leading a digital start-up, and formalised as CEO of the world’s largest marketing network.

He has over 30 years of practical business experience, working with over 300 companies and 55 countries … from Adidas’ growth into new markets to Asahi’s consumer-centric innovation, Cartier’s redefined luxury and Coca Cola’s growth strategy across markets, McKinsey’s leadership development to Microsoft’s new approach to strategic innovation, P&G’s direct to consumer strategy and Pfizer’s future scanning, Santander’s future bank vision and Sompo’s digitally-minded leaders, Suntory’s approach to strategy and innovation, Takeda’s patient- centric healthcare and Tata’s growth as a global business.

In Turkey, Peter has worked with many of the leading companies, developing their business and brand strategies, coaching their leaders, driving innovation projects and supporting their transformational growth – from Arcelik and Aster, Eczacibasi to Efes, Koc and Sabanci, Pinar and Ulker, Turkcell and Yapi Kredi.

Peter’s first book “Marketing Genius” fused the brains of Einstein and Picasso to ask how would they do business today, and was translated into 35 languages. His next 8 books explore the renaissance creativity of Leonardo da Vinci, in “Creative Genius”, how to innovate with purpose for positive impact, in “People Planet Profit”, and learning from the world’s most innovative companies, in “Gamechangers”.

His latest book “Business Recoded” challenges leaders to have the courage to create a better future, harnessing the opportunities of a post-pandemic world, through 7 shifts built on deep dives with 49 of the world’s most inspiring business leaders today. It is shortlisted for CMI Business Book of the Year, and was reviewed by the Financial Times with “Wow. The book you have to read now”.

Contact me at peterfisk@peterfisk.com

More free downloads:

• New research: The World’s Most Sustainable Innovators
• New research: Gamechangers Turkey: The Most Sustainable Innovators
• Video: Business for a Better World
• Article: Sustainable Advantage
• Book: People Planet Profit: Sustainable Innovation by Peter Fisk
• New research: Ipsos Global Trends Report
• Resources: Sustainable Futures Project

More from Peter Fisk:

• Keynote speaking: inspiring speaker on future megatrends, disruptive innovation, and courageous leadership
• Business workshops: world class facilitation, applying the most innovative ideas practically
• Executive education: customised, leading edge, in-house programs and with top business schools
• Strategic consulting: expert, collaborative, facilitate support and advice to boards, executives and project teams