Aon Insights Series UK 2024

At the end of April, we brought together clients, colleagues and industry peers for the first Aon Insights Series of 2024 at The Biltmore Hotel, in London. Delegates were welcomed by Jason Disborough, Jane Kielty LLB ACII and Greg Case.

Here's how it went:

Professor Trevor Williams kick-started the day with a global economic update, discussing the current economic landscape, the global risks that are feeding into uncertainty, and the impact of emerging technology. Professor Williams shared that while the data shows a global economic recovery is underway and growth is forecasted to be widespread, the UK is lagging, with the slowest growth of the G7 economies.

Our first panel session focused on the interconnected risk of Cyber, with Phil Simons, Sean Madden, Cristina Palomo and Richard Waterer. Moderated by Spencer Lynch. Diving into the human factor of cyber risk, the financial implications of cyber attacks, the risks to brand and reputation, AI, the impact of geopolitics, and of course, how these risks may be managed.

Cyber and AI came up in many of the sessions over the course of the day, further demonstrating the importance and intrinsic nature of this risk.

Next, we turned to the Treasurers' POV, with Alison Straszewski, James Paterson and James Kelly giving their perspective on the key issues impacting their role – volatility, the agility needed to keep up with changes (such as AI), the expanding breadth of the role and decision fatigue. Moderated by Lori Goltermann.

Robert Michael brought us back into the room after lunch, where we heard from Uzma Stamp, Sinead O'Donnell Chartered Fellow CIPD and Peter Frampton on 'How performance and expectations are changing the Workforce'. Moderated by Michael Burke. Discussing the challenges in talent, retention and recruitment, the importance of data and the need for autonomy in hybrid working decisions.

Then we broke out into our key insight tracks – Risk Capital and Human Capital.

Jason Disborough spoke with Tom Richardson and Aon's Guy Malyon about how Associated British Foods shaped their Risk Management and Risk Financing decisions. Michael C. led the discussion on optimising capital structures and financing terms in M&A, with Katia Robard Riscala, Euan Shirlaw and Aon's Stuart Lawson .

Over on the Human Capital track, Ranko Kunzemann and John McLaughlin looked at Future Skills - discussing identifying the critical skills your organisation needs using Skills Modelling, using skills to bridge the gap between business and people strategy, using skills to futureproof and the need to invest in HR skills.

This was followed by Alison Kanabe (MSc, BA (Hons), APMI, CIPD) and Emma Potter who delved into driving an equitable future for your workforce, focusing on Health, Wellbing and Pay Transparency (hint: new pay transparency regulations are coming!). Moderated by Lisa Patel. Touching on the importance of good communication, the generation challenge and the role of data.

Finally, we were on the edge of our seats as Sir Alex Younger, Former Chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Servce (MI6) presented his keynote on geopolitics and its impact on business security. Moderated by Julie Page. Discussing the threat of disinformation, the advent of AI, the importance of understanding the geopolitical picture and answering the question - 'when are things going back to normal?'.

The night ended in London's famous Quaglino's, where we were treated to the jazz stylings of Goodwin’s Gatsby.