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MPW London 2019

MPW London 2019: A Conversation with Vera Jourova of the European Commission

Leadership

Věra Jourová, the European Commission's Commissioner for Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality, talks with Fortune's Maithreyi Seetharaman about Brexit, big tech, and how she has "dreamt about having a nickname from President Trump."

very was carrying a glass of champagne that she told me she'd bring up on stage left. She left images, image, images, Image for the one image that she does have is being absolutely blunt, which is a rarity. And the Brussels bubble. If I can say that you are frank, you are brutally frank. So give us your take on President Donald Trump and your relationship or your view of him since he's visiting tonight. And we've already lost one of our major guests to Buckingham ballots. Good evening, ladies. It's a pleasure for me to be here. It was a while ago before I got this first question, while by my view on Mr President Trump, I love the Duchess of Sussex. And I think that I sometimes use Mr Trump. The example is the case, because when I try to encourage the European women to go to politics and to increase the number off politicians in the Parliament, I always say, Do we need Mr Trump in Europe? Do we let this happen because in the Congress know after the elections that are more women? So this is my relationship to him, and by the way of I really dreamt about having a nickname from Mr Trump because he gave a nickname Thio. My colleague Margaret West Aga, who is the champion in fighting for fair competition in the U And I think he called her that horrible texts. Lady and I dreamt about being called that horrible privacy lady and I really try to figure out what to do to him till the end of my mandate, which should come in October. Well, you're getting there. I will see a round of applause. Um, you mentioned the European Parliament and more women being in the European Parliament of elections just thought over. As you see the shaping off not just the European Parliament and the number of people that came out. The turnout was so high that he had a record turnout for the European elections. When you look at Mr Trump across the ocean and you look at the rise of populism in Europe itself, do you find that concerning considering your background, considering your experiences and considering the fact that one of the main things that you've gone out and done is to try and protect European citizens? Oh, well, I think that the higher turnout in the elections means that the people in Europe realized that the European Union really matters on. After all, the results are not that bad. There was some apocalyptic visions that the number of populism nationalists will double and that we will have totally inefficient European Parliament which didn't come through but at the same John speaking about the populace. I always have a problem. Is that those who you said I am brutally at and then we'll be brutal. I will say it those who shelter most that we have to fight against populace and nationalists. They sometimes hide that they don't have a lot to offer. I think that the Democrats I'm liberals, liberals should offer solutions for the people which will increase their feeling off dignity and which will decrease their feeling off inequality and injustice. I think that we should do button. We probably promised good things in the elections because the results are not so bad. So when you look at the makeup as we go into a new European Parliament, a new European commission, a new European Central Bank governor, all of the five presidents are going to have a major change What can we look forward to in the next five years, going into a brand new decade that's going to be different on that's going to resonate with people in the ground so that the populist don't get the larger voice? What do you think? Well, I do hope that in those five big positions, there will be people which you have strong sense off reality that they will not keep dreaming about about the nice future. And using the phrase is, I think that we all need the people in high positions. Who will I'm fine with. It sounds horrible, but who will tell the people the truth? And who will have courage also to say unpopular things and to offer the solutions which are workable, which will which will help Europe to get through all the turbulent times in which will stabilize the situation and speaking for the five jobs? Five. For four years we've been about sometimes six shops. That idea, I think, very good ideas that there should be gender balance, and I believe we have a very strong women who could accuse by so some of these high position, because I do believe that if there are more women among the rule makers. I'm not only a roast acres. If we have more women in those positions Aah! Europe will be safer and better place to live. Well, staying with the blunt spirit, we did have a female prime minister or we still do for a few more days in this country. When you look at London, when you look out the UK on the breakfast scenario, I know this room is a bit regs, that tired. How tired are you of the word Brexit and having a conversation consistently about it in Brussels after today's encounter with British tabloid, I am pretty fed up of Brexit Really? Because every word you say is abused somehow against fuel Well, off course way need Thio. We all need to see the light at the end of the tunnel because this is unprecedented situation and off course. We politicians have a headache off all the negotiations on the different options on the hesitations on the British side. But what about the people who live in uncertainty? What about the U. K citizens living on the continent and by several Europeans living on on the British islands? They some of them but denied to cast their vote. Now in the European elections, which has to be investigated, how this could have happened and the people live in uncertainty. And I think that we have a responsibility, the lack of responsibility. I think it's the key, the thing which which I see very problematic. Do you think that we could pick up negotiations under a new government and under new leadership for this, like the doors closed? Well, politics is the future where we make compromises. But from the European side, we still believe that the British partners will decide what they want and that they will clearly say yes, this is what we want. We have the majority for it and we will go for it and how I still believe in spite of all that headache and all that very troublesome period, we we have behind us and maybe ahead of us so that we can find we must find a solution when the U and the United Kingdom will be strong bottler who will trust each other and who will be able to cooperate very closely. I still believe this is possible. We have to do everything to do that. Do you trust Big Tex? You let a big battle. But privacy they didn't bore me. This lady is so dangerous for me. This is trust and check exercises. Big tax. We have the gpr. When you were in introduce introducing me, it's a zit. The monster will come to the stage. I'm a normal person, but the GPR it's quite terrible set off through it should guarantee the protection of privacy. So the way we have to be very tough and we are very tough. We have some other regulations which in company in consumers policy, which I clearly said to the big attack coming from California from Trump Silicon Valley. These are European rules and we have very demanding European consumers who expect you to comply with our European standard. This is not the case that you will import Californian law to you. But then there are also areas where I believe in agreement with the high tech. Speaking about removing hate speech still in Europe, we rely on the agreement that they will be removing his speech, that they will clean up, that they will proactively cultivate the space we occupy on Dhere the agreement more or less wax. I spoke to two Milli Ah, quite quite a lot off managers off Victor companies who confirmed to me that they don't want to be the instrument for terrorism, hate speech, child pornography and many other fake news. This information for spreading off all those horrible things that they don't feel themselves goat in such situation that it must not intended to happen on Dhere. I trust that they want to do more. So So you see it. It's a kind of love and hate and my future Indian name one day maybe will be that the one who can sort the Facebook account Indeed what I did and it created a lot off fate. Wait, Uh, how come that politician can cancel a Facebook account? You will be dead the next next month. How very communicative of people. While I'm still alive. And I did it already two years ago you had a Facebook account. Then you shut it down. The global matted up I will put up with it. So here's my question for you. Because your grandmother at one point I understand told you that a woman doesn't isn't don't hurt she should not be heard on. You made sure that you've gone pretty much in the opposite direction. Who being heard? But you've had it. You feet Quite a significant personal price. Um, very. For those who don't know in the room went to jail for 33 days for a crime that she was cleared off. It was almost a setup. And in some ways it put her on this journey that has taken her to the European Commission as the commissioner for Justice on Even made her go out and get a law degree just to make sure that this didn't happen again. You come from Eastern Europe, your daughter, your life. You paid a huge price. Tell us a little bit about that. Thank you for asking me that. This is a long time ago and it doesn't hurt me so much anymore. In fact, I was accused of corruption by the people who stole the money from the national budget. They wanted to remove me from the ministry and to have a three right to use the money. And I didn't know that this can happen in the state where there is a respectable Ro Flo I simply didn't I realize that they can accuse me off corruption. It was It was a horrible accusation. I was so badly offended by that. And, uh, they would be to jail, and I off horribly shocked. And I didn't know how my Children took it outside. There was no no possibility off contact. Uh, my the moment when they detained me was shot by all the television. Uh, a little about a spectacular moment. It was a dirty political game. And your daughter had paid a significant price for it. Well, yeah, uh, my daughter I was there for 23 days, and then I went home and my daughter collapsed. And, uh, she and the psychologists say that when you have a shock which you cannot swallow, something can happen to you. And she had, like, switched off, and she was three or four months in bag, and I was teaching her again to walk and, uh, the picture or horrible on dhe fantastic time for us because we were, after all together, I was always doing a career not having time ful my Children. And suddenly I had my daughter and bat not ableto move and she told me Redeem a fairy tale. I'm so happy that you are here with me. And she was 17. I speak about almost adult lady. And yet you kept going with this journey off. Um, getting your voice heard getting your opinions heard when you look at that personal journey that you went through on you Look at your role in Brussels today and the fact that you grew up behind, um, the Iron Curtain. How much does that really influence? The way you try to communicate the divide sometimes that is perceived between east and west. The divide that sometimes a scene between information floats. How much of all of those personal journeys of yours really influence here? I would really like to build bridges between the Western East because that are a lot of misunderstanding on the West Side that I think that there is a kind of conviction that the should imitate the West and the is it a lot. We adopted a lot off legislation, and we reform the institutions and really tried hard. But we cannot lose from some kind of spirit and mentality and historical connections. And I think that there is still some remaining minute misunderstanding that we in the East. We don't want to imitate the West. We wanted to come to the U to enrich you by a special kind off experience and traditions and culture. This was the Czech president, Vaclav Havel, who used to say the Sri our toe join you because of the money and prosperity. It's better not to do that. They want to come to the club off European countries and bring something with us. And this is what I would like to in courage and hope in the spirit off bringing something to the table because there will be with us through dinner. And make sure you bump into her because she's a lot of fun. We've got 30 seconds to go through some questions that could be conversation starters for all of you. Right? First answer that comes to mind. Favorite song. Hey, Jude. The Czech version. Yeah. Can we hum it? No, she's a singer. Give up, Give up. Give it a shot. No. Yes. Go on. You can do that. Who will play? Yeah, Well, plea. Oh, no one's gonna play if you want to. Just come in here. That's good. just just a little bit. Yes. Hey, Theo. So there are a lot but your body a visible the sin in my eye and money U N Peace Neat trick bar the Prudhoe stubble. Hey! Hey, you! Hey, don't be included. A barrel a booty. Bobby Who ducks ball? You don't know this century, do you? I could invent something first for a year's intimation. You did that last three questions. Favorite book, I think Kundera. The Unbearable Lightness being David TV show TV show only the ones that I am display. Um I don't know. Okay, Best needs to eat in Brussels. I am prohibited to say that it's the canteen in the commission bested by If you ever got Don't hunch it was the advice off my arm high. What keeps you up at night? Ah, some off the nightmares. The British tabloids? Yeah, the horrible stories. The people write me my email. I am Justice Commissioner. I get the news about injustice. Well, on that note, favorite fellow you Commissioner, if she answers, this is gonna be a miracle. Favorite fellow. You Commissioner. There you go. I gotta Hey, Jude and an honest town as Estonian Vice president, But he's very honest and special personality. Well, on that note Thank you for your honesty, honor. Thank you. Okay.

As CEO of Procter and Gamble, Alexandra Keith is working to modernize their brands. You heard from her yesterday. Today she's going to be announcing a new partnership in the UK. So please welcome Alex Keith and Paris Liz. [ MUSIC ] [ APPLAUSE ] That music is so fitting for you. [ LAUGH ] So this is an exciting part of this conversation where you kind of get to know a little bit more about Paris because we know a little bit about Alex but I thought it's kind of an even keeled situation where. We need to understand who you are personally because we're talking about branding. So here is your rapid fire round. We have one minute to answer these questions. All time, since we're talking about music all through this lunch, all time favorite singer and song. Annie Lennox, Little Bird. There you go. She was here not long ago. Billy Joel, Vienna. One thing no one knows about you. I'm an obsessive compulsive cleaner. [ LAUGH ] I can do running pace time math in my head. [ LAUGH ] Best advice you ever got? Do what you can when you can. I'd say, follow your dreams. Paris Lees? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Clocks ticking down. Nottingham. [ LAUGH ] London. There you go. Favorite place in London? Hyde Park because I run. Dirty sweaty warehouse at 3 a. m. wearing Nike's. [ LAUGH ] Okay, okay Favorite seat in the plane? One where I don't have to get up for someone else. Business class [ LAUGH ] And how do you both de- stress? I run. [ LAUGH ] She runs a lot. Valium. [ LAUGH ] I like your solution better. I do, valium is underestimated. [ LAUGH ] I exercise, jog. I'll do the shrug as well, so introduce yourself Paris to this audience that may not know you. Hello ladies. Who is Paris? Who is Paris? I am a writer and campaigner and I'm probably best known in the UK for. Trying to raise awareness for transgender rights, and put forward the idea that trans people deserve to live their lives free from discrimination, and be treated with dignity. But I guess, I don't know, do a lot of different things, but that's probably the main thing. Writer, activist, and Tens of thousands of social media followers who take your word. Yeah, I don't keep count but- You don't keep count. It's 17, 000 on Twitter. Nope, guys, doesn't keep count. [ LAUGH ] There's a reason why we have you both here. You both are amazing at The ability to brand and rebrand. Alex, you came into this room at Procter & Gamble and [ UNKNOWN ] the way the brands were looked at, the ones that were not doing well put the company and the beauty business back on track. Tell me a little bit about the focus point at this point. Yeah, the study that you did. Yeah, tell me a little bit more. I'll talk and I'll focus today on our Pantene brand which is what we call it in the US. A little tomato, tomah- to. I think here in the UK it's Panten so forgive me. [ LAUGH ] I will call it Pantene but please think about Panten. It's a brand that's been around since 1945. And it is a fantastic product for hair. But as I came to this role, I really looked at that brand, which was not doing very well, and said the brand is really missing its mission and purpose. It's not emotionally connecting with women that we, you know, that we ultimately would like to use it. And especially in today's world, with the, Importance of purpose and mission for millennials and for people over particularly millennials and Gen Z, we're really trying to bring back the mission and purpose of our brands. So for Pantene, which is all about giving women the healthy, wonderful hair they wanna have. We looked at us we did a study with Dr. Mariela France at Yale University on the transformative power of hair. We did that, we've done a couple studies now with the The 8000 women in 11 countries around the world about the importance of hair to how they want to project themselves to the world and how they express themselves to the world. And what we found was, and we talked this morning a lot about fashion and And beauty and clothes and jewelry and all those things. But in all those countries hair is more important than almost anything else to the way a woman expresses herself to the world. So now, on our Pantene Brand Globally, we have a platform about the transformative power of hair. And that is coming to life differently in different countries around the world. And here in the UK I'm really proud to announce today on this stage we're partnership with Peris to help bring to life. Peris's story and journey and the power of her hair and the role her hair played. In her own story. [ APPLAUSE ] I think we touched a little bit on Paris's role in the UK. She is I think, in some ways, playing down how much influence she has in changing people's mindsets about issues that they might not understand. And her story is a powerful one. So, I want you to tell us a little bit more about this transformative power of hair and the purpose that, kind of got you from where you were from when you were very young to where you are now and what happened. Well, I think that, you know, genuinely when I first transitioned. As a teenager, I was messed about by the NHS like many trans people. And I wasn't actually getting the support that I needed, and I didn't have any medical interventions at that point, so I had the hormones and people reading me as male sometimes in public not all the time but enough to make me very anxious about leaving the house. I went home for a year at that time. The way that I was communicating to the world that I was female was essentially because I was physically I was exactly the same as I was a couple of months previously, it was the hair, it was the makeup, it was the clothes, and obviously these things don't Make us women. You can have a shaved head and you're still a woman, but it was so interesting to me that it's such a powerful way to communicate. Cuz you shaved your head at one point when you were a teenager. Yeah. When the start of the Paris [ UNKNOWN ] journey began you had shaved your head. Yeah cuz I knew that I wanted to go for it originally because I've known from a very young age the direction I wanted to go in and I had some really hard times as a teenager and I actually ended up in a young offenders institute and I felt like my life is ruined, I've messed up. I just can't even get through college, let alone mae this what seemed like a completely insurmountable change in my life. And there was no other way for me to express myself in person. All I had was my body. And it was this sort of cry for help. It was this sort of Just this complete despair and I think that there is an emotional element to hair. And I think for me, why it's not the only thing, but I think it's such a powerful expression of femininity because You know I think that my fear when I was growing up, the only time I ever saw trans people in the media or in advertising, we were presented as objects of pity, ridicule or disgust. You know we were never celebrated or you know shown basic humanity. And there was always this charactature of you've got too much makeup on and it's. Fake hair, fake boobs, but this idea that you are artificial, that you weren't who you said you were. And I think for me, my hair's my crowning glory because that grew out of my head. And I go to bed at night and it's there, and it's me. It's sort of indivisible from me. So It's just really nice that this is where the conversation is that in 2019 .>> And that's what it comes down to, at some point when you're looking at a change in your customer and the values that they're espousing and the change that people like you are bringing into the corporate world. When you look at A company like Procter and Gamble or any other corporate out there that is trying to achieve a new wave of branding. You talk about it the core being purpose instead of jumping on the bandwagon. Run us a little through the mentality that your approach has taken. The journey of the beauty product business and Procter and Gamble. I think ultimately I mean Procter and Gamble is a company that is very committed to innovation and product performance. But I think, and this has been a theme throughout the importance of people. Feeling connected to the brand and what the brand is about and what the mission of that brand and company is about is very important. So, we've done this work with our beauty brands and we have a broad stable beauty brands. One of our One of our most mission driven brands is a brand called SK2 in Asia that is all about changing destiny, and has a amazing emotional platforms about changing destiny for women in many countries These things are very important to tie to the benefits of the products so that the products and the brands are at the front and center because ultimately we're a company selling products and brands, but doing it in a way that makes them more important in people's lives. And Procter and gamble in general and I talked about this yesterday a bit. Views ourselves as both a force for growth and a force for good in our corporate social responsibility platform [ CROSSTALK ] . But it wasn't always like that, right? It was a cultural change that had to happen. Procter and Gamble has always viewed ourselves that way and led the way in many things over our. 175 year history but ultimately the cultural changes that we are putting at front in consumer facing now. Over the last five to seven years, we've come a lot more public about the things we are doing in the world, in the communities in which we live and work. And to bring Forward insights that spark conversation in the areas of gender, equality, diversity and inclusion, the things that we think matter to society, and forwarding society. But doing that in ways that fit with our brands, that don't feel co- opted and just latched on to. And that's why This transformative power of hair platform is so powerful globally because the 11 countries, they represent all the regions of the world. But what's interesting about them is how they're coming to life differently by country. And I'll just say in Japan for instance. there is a huge drive for conformity in Japan, which is probably not a shock to anyone. But women are really pressured, socially, into wearing their hair a certain way, to the point that in Tokyo over half of the public schools in Tokyo, if a young girl does not have straight black hair her parents have to sign a natural hair certificate to say that she did not Color or curled her hair. And panteen in Japan is now been kind of forwarding a conversation about why is this necessary, why do we need to do that. And it is generating tremendous conversation in the society between teachers and students and the news media, about why is that happening. So we're using these platforms to spark conversations that we think will help women have the hair they want. Ann, there's a very cute picture of Pantene's ambassador that you can Google. I'm not going to give it any more of a plug than that, but it's worth it. It's also Quite a name as well, in Japan In Japan In Japan, but parents when you decide to take your personal brand and add it to a corporate brand. What goes through your mind when you decide to make that association? Cuz again, you're not just an influencer, you are also an activist. Wow. It's a thin road to walk on. Yeah, my integrity's really important to me. And it's kind of my stock and trade really. But I've always been a pragmatist. And I don't really see myself as an activist per se, because that makes me feel that I should be handcuffed to the railings outside Downing Street or something. [ LAUGH ] But And that's just that's just not who I am. And I feel that I just, you know, think that trans people should be treated with respect. And I think that actually the, the way forward is I want trans people to feel included in things and, and not to feel excluded and stigmatize and oppressed and that you, you can't fully apply Participate in life. So, I welcome brands growing and going on a journey. And I think that you know, I'm very interested in speaking to the mainstream and, and taking, you know people with us because I think that's how you affect real change so there's always this thing of You know, was it tokenism, you were being asked to do this, and I kind of think so what? If that's the case, traditionally people haven't been handing it out on a plate to To people like me. It could be to a person of color, or any sorts of background you come from where you've been marginalized. If you can use the thing that makes you different to benefit in some way, Take it. Take that opportunity, and redress the balance a bit. So I think it's great. Look, I never actually thought that trans people would be celebrated. I thought we could maybe reduce a stigma. I didn't realize it would become aspirational. I didn't realize we'd be winning awards and appearing on the cover of magazines and stuff. Or at Fortune with powerful women. Yeah, at Fortune with powerful women and being in advertising I didn't realize that we could get to that. What a great message for kids to listen, if you're a working class kid living on a council estate like I was in the North in 2019 and your family's not supportive And it's still gonna be very much the dark, old days for you. We know that there's an epidemic of kids feeling suicidal in this country. I'm sorry to take it there, but we know that Nearly half of trans young people in Britain have attempted suicide. So we're not talking about thought about, or threaten to, they've actually attempted to take their own life. So within that context, being able to turn on the television, being able to look in a magazine, look online and see that there are brands Celebrating people from that community. It's like the middle ground has shifted in a way that, when I was growing up, you were getting people like Graham Norton on the television and it was still a little bit like, well, in my world, we're being told the Gay is a bad thing and you should be ashamed of that, but And here's this person who's got a hit TV show. So I think that that sort of cultural change, and that involves every aspect of the media, from the creative arts to advertising, cuz that's the world we live in. No, I agree with you. [ CROSSTALK ] Support and celebrate diversity. I absolutely agree but here's a question for you, Alex, as we Go into a couple of questions from the audience. Is this something that every company has to grapple with, that there has to be a purpose when they think about their brands having longevity? And be able to sustain another 150, 180 years of survival? I do think it's important for brands to connect with people and I think people that demand that People are putting out there for what it will take to connect you is is rising. But I think brands have to do in an incredibly authentic way. It has to be tied to what the brand's about. Otherwise it seems some like you've just hired somebody to you know? Show for you almost. All right. Chance to ask two experts about branding. Any questions from the audience? Ask us anything, as we've got no shame. And I have a bunch of questions here. So not to worry if you don't, but it would be lovely if anybody did. If not, here's what I'm going to turn around and ask you to do. From a personal branding perspective, I know a lot of us wonder about how do we go out and brand ourselves. It's a new environment for women, for minorities for everyone. So, personal branding advice, what do you do that people here can take away back to their organizations And kind of take them on their journey through their careers. Well I think as a crative person you should always try to find the thing that you can say that nobody else can say in quite the same way at any given moment in time. People may not like what you've got to say. But I know, for instance, some of my best articles have been things that. Nobody else could have said quite what I said at that time and I think as a creative person, that's your sweet spot. I think also, consistency, particularly in a social media age is quite important. You know, there are certain people that I go to. You know for the make up Jeter certainly plug a two fer a left wing political perspectives. You know I think that consistency in a really complex confusing world is really important people know what your brand is is about. Alex. Yeah, I think. Pearls of wisdom please. Yeah, I think both whether it's a personal brand or within a company or organization, I think about it as almost like a ven diagram. What do you love? And what are you really good at? How do those two things intercept and what What do you want to be known for and then seek out opportunities that allow you to to be known for that and and don't be afraid of the opportunities. Do things that you've never done before that will allow you to be known and I do think consistency to Paris's point. I mean once you're clear on that I I got this advice probably 15 years ago, and I decided I wanted to be known for really changing the game of the brands and the markets in which I competed and I went after that, and I think I've been reasonably succesful at it. Do you think you've done your parents proud, both of you? We've talked about children, I guess so. Yeah, I mean I was telling you my dad's 80 so he does not have a smart phone, but his little binder he calls his smart phone, he carries it around with articles about his daughter And bores all of his coworkers and friends with his little smartphone binder so I guess that's, yeah. Paris? I've reached the point that I'm working with Pan 10 now and being in [ UNKNOWN ] is just, couldn't be happier. I think she thought when I was younger I was gonna bring great shame on her and the family, and it's gone 180. Another thing I really just wanted [ UNKNOWN ] Brandi, which may seem so obvious, but I think authenticity is really important as well in a social media age, so I try to make sure that everything I do is really authentic. Authentic enough to make your mother proud. Yeah, yeah, she's kind of my biggest fan now. And, you know, I've taken it to Downing Street and stuff. So she's she like she's done all right, she only had one child. So you know, I feel like I've got a. [ LAUGH ] Well ladies, thank you so very much for giving us your advice. I know a lot of us will take it back to our organizations and personal branding, corporate branding. It's all important It's all about you. So, thank you. Thank you. [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

MPW London 2019: The Next Generation in Beauty Branding

Luxury

P&G’s Alexandra Keith and Journalist Paris Lees discuss.


[ UNKNOWN ] has this incredible story that we're not gonna be able to get into because of time, but you were one of those who left early in the route. You were a month old, or you were born in Dallas. The Iranian revolution, her parents left in that, and we were just talking about all the talent that left that country. Your cousin is the founder or the CEO of Uber founder Sir. So that's another story for another time. Right now we're going to talk about music and how Cobalt is was founded basically we know we kind of all know even if you're not following you don't follow the industry intently. We all know that in the digital age. The artists and musicians have become, they kind of got ripped off. I mean they haven't really- Not kind of, they did. [ UNKNOWN ] they haven't enjoyed the value of their music. And you're trying to bring that back, tell us how. So, content producers, singers, song writers which is what we deal with in music. They create their content and whenever you hear music, whether it's on the radio, whether it's in a pub, whether it's on TV and an advertisement on Spotify on you YouTube, they need to get paid. And when you think about it today, there's an explosion of data. You have to track this in over 200 territories. You have to track it over YouTube, Spotify In all those territories, but also as I mentioned before, radio, etc. So if you take one song, you take one hit song, that song will have somewhere close to 12 billion transactions that happen. Because it's played in all of these multiple sources. And in order then to pay this artist you have to track them, you have to track where this music is being played and then collect the money from all of this sources. And then distribute to the artist and the only way to do that accurately today is to have technology, is to have a technology platform that enables to do so. And it's only recent if you were to look in 2000. So, not even 20 years ago, we had roughly call it 4 billion physical transactions. So you and I would go into a store and buy a CD, and it would be roughly over 70 territories. Now we're talking about trillions of transactions. Over 200 territories. So Cobalt processes over 1. 5 trillion transactions every year and that's increasing. Interfaces with over 10, 000 income sources. So again, this is the the Apple Music Store. Spotify is the collection societies in order to collect the money and distribute it to the artists. So you were at Google Ventures before this, which was investing in cobalt, not surprisingly, and you made the jump. So it's a technology company .>> Yeah ,>> as you describe it, but your competitors are still to help people understand the competitors are universal Sony your old line. Yeah ,>> record companies. How do you compete, i mean they've got the big superstars right. Yes, so. We compete in various ways. So they have some of the biggest superstars. If you look at Cobalt on the publishing side we have Paul Martin. Paul McCartney is with us the weekend Childish Gambino. And Miles Davis. We service the rights of these artists. The way we compete is, we don't own rights. So the traditional system is, you sign with a label or publisher, and you sign your life away, you sign your rights away. With Cobalt you don't have to do that. The way we make money is we take a service fee basically from the revenue that you make. And what that has done is that it's made us one of most trusted partners to these creators. So are founder CEO Leonard who started this company 17 years ago with a single vision to Changed the music industry to make it transparent to make it fair to make it efficient. Literally gets hugs from artists. [ LAUGH ]. And he jokes about it but it's serious. He says we don't get sued. We get hugs because artists love us because we actually paid them. We are hand in hand They're partners. So explain you have a relationship with either to explain that relationship as a way to explain the company. Sure. So on the just two sides, there's two sides to two main sides to cobalt. There's the publishing side which is songwriting. And then there's the recording sides on sort of the label side which is the artists and with either, either assigned to glass node which is a record label started by Daniel glass one of the most renowned and respected independent record labels and. Daniel and [ UNKNOWN ] and his team decided to leave Universal and join the Cobalt Platform. So we have a partnership with them in order to help them grow and release their artists globally. And Daniel would say it much better than I do. But one of the reasons that Cobalt is such a great partner in today's day in age Thanks to this technology and thanks to the way we work is we release artists globally from day one. And that's really important today because if you look at some stats. So Spotify a few months ago released a stat where British artists. 80 % of British artists on Spotify. Get the majority of their streams outside of the UK. That's how important releasing music internationally is. Because fans are now all over the world, and we have such easy access to music. Beforehand, you and I would get access to our music through radio. We would figure out what's good or not- Which was the gatekeeper, radio acted as the gatekeeper. Yeah, And then record companies acted as a gatekeeper. They controlled what was on the radio. Right. And now anyone can get their music onto social media, in effect. Access fans before they even release any music. And so we and the artists have a direct relationship and we have that globally. So how do you see things changing and disrupting in the future? You've talked about the number of superstars versus kind of mid tier. How do you see that changing? Give us some numbers. Sure. So, roughly, if you look at artists worldwide, let's say there's roughly 3 million artists worldwide and The top 2000 are the global superstars. The Ed Sheerans, the Beyonces is of the world. Then there's that mid tier of roughly 5000 artists and those are the artists that can make a living from their music. They might not be superstars. But they'll still make a good living for music. And then the rest of those 3 million are the emerging artists, the completely unknown artists, they can't live off of their artist. And it's not because they're bad musicians, it's because it's really hard to get access. It has been very hard to get access. This is to audiences and also for labels to sign you. What we are doing with a wall which is a recordings arm, we're actually taking care of this mid tier artists as well as we have some great stars. Because we have changed the economics so instead of taking 80 % of the profits and only giving 20 % back, we flipped it. We take 20 % on average and give 80 % back to the artists. That means Means that you need four times less stream to actually make money. And they continue to own their rights. And they continue to own their rights. And they have access to a global audience. And we can do all of this because we have such a lean cost structure. Whereas if you look at the majors, because of the way the music industry was before, the cost structures were much heavier. They have Very heavy footprint, regional footprint, lots of offices, whether it's in France or the UK or the US, etc. And it's much more expensive for them to release music, therefore, they need to have superstars in order to make their economics work. So that's an expansion of the mid tier. Yes. And have you ever thought about culturally what that's going to help that's going to play out? quote Well, I think it's fantastic one because you get access to so much more. Your you know, your brain expands your your knowledge of music expands. I I have so much more music knowledge because I can access it so easily. And I think it brings cultures together. Because just like food, music is another way to get to know a culture. So in that sense, it's fantastic and at the end of the day you're making Young Artist able to make a living from their art and that culturally is great to do as well. ( inaudible ) we wish you the best of luck. What a great pursuit. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

MPW London 2019: A Conversation with Avid Larizadeh Duggan

Duggan, COO of Kobalt Music Group, sits down with Fortune's Nina Easton to talk about how data is transforming the music business.

[ MUSIC ] Good morning everybody. And I know that we're all delighted to be representing the fashion industry and also making it very clear How the industry is changing so much from within and very much from the leadership of people like Anya and Christina. So we're very very lucky. I'm sure that some of you may be fortunate enough to have an Anya handbag, or a Blanik pair of shoes. You may be very fortunate to have both. [ LAUGH ] So they really do epitomize. What it is to be at the forefront of thinking about what is luxury? What is beautiful design? How do you keep reinventing? In a way, we all know what a pair of shoes looks like, or how a bag might function. But they are really synonymous with How do we really think about technology, how do we think about materials and how do we think about the people that make the beautiful things that we have but also want to buy them. Talked about obviously 23 million people employed by the fashion industry, and 80 % of those are women, so to to have great female leaders like Anya and Christina here this morning Is really important. So I thought I'd begin by just asking them very briefly to in a way say why set up Hindmarsh bags? Well hello. First of all thank you so much for having me. It's wonderful to be here today and. So I started designing handbags when I was about five actually. I've always passionate about leather goods and actually how they make you feel. I think that's the bit that really interests me. And I started my company as soon as I can, which was 18. And I started in Florence where it's very much this sort of home of leather. Started selling to stores and then whole selling and then opening your own stores. And really, it was just the passion for craftsmanship and the joy of fashion and the difference it makes to your mood, really. Great, and Christina, yours is a slightly different route. It is, I I actually avoided fashion and went into architecture cuz I kind of grew up in a shoe box pretty much. [ LAUGH ] So I thought I'd go down a different adventure and did a walkabout until my mid 30s, and then as an idea was asked, was it destiny or choice For me, it was a serendipity and destiny that kind of drove me to or guided me to really understand what my purpose in life was. And I know now that that's to protect the legacy of what my mother and my uncle have built in almost 50 years and it's a very exciting journey to be on. Absolutely. Well, obviously as we know the idea of fashion forward, and in a way fashion is thought about in those terms all of the time. It seemed to be revolutionary but in many ways I think it is evolutionary. And one of the things we're considering at the moment is obviously The fashion industry's impact not just on the environment, but also on the peoples who are employed by it. And also, generally how do we meet the needs of a very changing consumer base? And but I thought I'd begin by asking, I mean, obviously, you know, the bag that you produce some years ago, you know, I'm not a plastic bag in a way signal way before blue planet and David Attenborough Really the issues around plastic. Do you want to say a little bit about why this is being so important to you? Well that was a project we did I think back in 2007 and was a time when I think we were all talking about the environment and yet we didn't quite understand what we could do as individuals. And I have felt that we were the platform of fashion. And fashion is an amazing platform for visibility and communication. If you like in those days, that sort of the formula of the hip bag to communicate the fact that we're all actually abusing waste and the misuse of plastic. And you know, the real concern of landfill and So, we design the bag that we sold for five pounds, which was quite revolutionary for us. But therefore was widely available, we distributed it in a way that was quite scarce, and it sold out very quickly. I mean, the project Went mad, and I think 80, 000 people queued in the UK for that bag, and went on around the world. 30 people ended up in hospital in Taiwan as the project was, when we stopped it, obviously. [ LAUGH ] [ LAUGH ] The point is, not quite what we had in mind, the point is actually when you throw something away, there is no away. And that was the line that really spoke to me during the project and the lovely outcome of that project that made people stop and think. And I think, well, it actually also dramatically reduced the consumption of plastic bags, people now realise that it's you know Reuse, reduce, recycle, is the main thing. So it was an incredible project and something that was a starting point for us and it's a journey for us all. I think that the other thing that's also really wonderful about your Presentations that you give rather than shows. I mean, I've been privileged to go to a couple of those. There was the one you did around the shipping forecast. [ LAUGH ] Yes. And also the recent [ UNKNOWN ] projects. And for me, it's a bit like I am not a plastic bag. It again makes people think differently about materials and our place in the world. Do you want to say a little bit about how you actually Arrive at some of these extraordinary events I think it's very important to connect people back to how things amazing I'm sure we both feel the same way about this that she people so disconnected I we're lucky because we we work with cross when all the time and and that you know I was I think that the so much talk about celebrity. And the culture of [ UNKNOWN ] not nearly enough spoken about the culture, and the heroes, and our craftsmen, and these are really clever people. I mean, it's awe inspiring, I find that's why I do what I do. And so to connect people back to how things are made is interesting and important in lots of ways. But, not least because actually they have much more respect for the product. If you realize how much love and Passion and training and skill goes into how things are made. You actually, don't abuse things in quite the same way. It's not so disposable. Totally agree. I think the interesting thing about Christine having studied architecture, is that I've often talked about the relationship between architecture and clothes and shoes. Because People tend to think of them in two dimensions. But in actual fact the materials, how they're constructed, if you get a pair of shoes that aren't properly made obviously they fall apart and you can't walk in them. So the understanding of construction Is really important and I wonder if you could obviously that's really important for the people that come and work in your company and the people that obviously buy your wonderful shoes. You talk a lot about responsibility and and also issues around our health and well being How do you How are you using the sorta wonderful construction that your shoes have to sorta highlights this sorta thinking about about fashion and how important it is? I think I look at fashion slightly differently. I look at the world of luxury and we look at the world of luxury say definitely. Luxury for us is time and freedom. It's not An object. And my uncle has been very fortunate for all of his life to been protected by time freedom totally privately owned family business always has been and that's one of the joys we have and you know for him to come to express himself on his culture and his intellect and his knowledge. In what happens to be a shoe is the beginnings of the foundation of creativity in its product shouldn't just be product for product sake. It is the word artists and has lost the Word Art in it you know this is one of the big passions I have is how do you celebrate that. So it's a very important part for us to make sure that everyone that's involved in the process of doing what we do is doing it out of a place of passion and love and respect and humility. Because really, the product is the outcome Of all the values and foundations of us as humans, whatever we end up doing and presenting. It happens to be that we do shoes, Annie does beautiful bags. And we need to protect the kind of forefathers of the object. Because like you say the more energy you put into something and I watched one also the factories and it's his happiest place he's talking to the objects he's talking to the last as he's He's drawing on them, he's breathing life into them. And as an architect, I know that buildings that took hundreds of years to build are still standing, thousands of years later. Because the energy put into something radiates back out Again, and you walk into a cathedral of thousand years and you can feel the energy. And I think nowadays consumers, they don't just want an object they want something that talks to them that has has a spirit has life has honesty and purity to it and people are getting very discerning now. Because they're being talked to so much that they shift out an instinct is starting to really kind of play a part in it and emotion and the human part, the human element. That's very important, so has been looking forwards. [ LAUGH ] I'm sure everybody, I mean that's a really interesting point because there's a lot of discussion all the time about mental health. Health and well being and we recognize that in many ways our society has has made me become dislocated. And people also talk about how important you know fashion clothing, shoes are to make us feel better about ourselves and in many ways you're able to spot when people are distressed because actually that's the thing. They begin to Guess about not not pay sort of care and attention to So, you know, I always get irritated when people think that fashion is frivolous, because actually it's supremely important to us on so many different levels. I know this is something that obviously interests you. You talk a lot about issues around mental health and advancing some of these debates and What has been that link? I mean I've talked a bit about obviously the energy and the creativity. Do you want to say a little bit more about that? I think, no, I think other than protecting my family legacy I think the most important thing, in my own personal life and in everything that we do as a business, is to smile. It's actually our number one, overriding, strategic Objective of the year is smile. And it sounds quite simple but actually making someone smile, smiling yourself is probably the hardest thing I've ever tried to get to. And making other people smile either within the workplace or challenging yourself to make people smile outside of that That's, if we can succeed in that, we've succeeded cuz no new miracle success that it's the intangibles now that I think are becoming really important in our industry. You know we Yes, I want to make someone smile with a beautiful object and not just an object that is disposable, but an object that is there to keep, and I love it when, I love it and kind of I'm challenged by the fact when someone says I have a pair of shoes, and they're in a box, I've never worn them. I'm like, no please wear them, please wear them. [ LAUGH ] They're there to make you smile, but it's It's important to do everything right even if it's communicating it. In the world, digital world that we're in now loneliness is an epidemic. And you're scrolling through Instagram images constantly, and you're kind of almost in an anesthetized state. But if something makes you stop and smile you're emotionally connecting, and I think it's the emotion part. Though we're getting you know its getting drained from us. It's almost we're being starved of it. So that's what we're trying to do things to make people smile not to consume but to smile. And I think for Anya I mean that's you done. You never mentioned to your amazing productions that you've done but also your your most recent postbox bag which today has been launched which is. And in a way, but that it's also years of research and experimentation, and keeping at the forefront of technology. But also, keeping that sense of heritage. Do you want to say a little bit about [ CROSSTALK ]? Well, I think to your very good point about the aim, I was talking about confidence earlier. You were talking about a smile, and they're the same thing, to a certain extent. For me I think that the word luxury is so overused it doesn't mean anything anymore. I think the same with the word brand. I think brand for me is about behavior actually and I think people really brands lose that. And I think luxury for me is about stories actually. And so you know I bought that beautiful pair of shoes. I wore them to my wedding. I went to a special place. They bring back lovely memories. They made me feel fantastic. I had this beautiful handbag. Every time I open it, I feel more organize because the post box, for example opens and has all those little credit cards on the inside. And how great that makes you feel when you all organize. You feel special things with you or I just love the feel Leather or I was given this by or in fact, we have a beautiful bespoke range where you can actually have your handwriting in Boston to the inside of a letter and a wallet, a secret message, a box neighbor, the photograph printing it onto the lining. Those are stories. Those are things you talk about, and those there's a reason for those things. And that's what luxury always used to be about. I think, and I think that Was a stage where luxury became very mass produced honestly. Without the care and the love that we talk about with our products and truly the passion that goes into no, I know I speak for both of us that goes into what we do is ridiculous in this bag. We're launching stairs been to over two years. The Making of every little diesel is because about. So the idea that being fast fashion or sorta,, mass producing is so far from that. So I think it's important to connect people back to those things. That's what matters and, and it feels in the light of everyone looking at sustainability it feels wholly appropriate actually, that's what we do. And we will be having to draw to a close in a minute. I just wondered if you could say what you think is the big challenge that you think you've got coming up over the next couple of years? From our perspective, you are wanting to do the right thing and make things in the right way. And also, we're employing lots of people, and it's a business at the same time as well. So Whilst trying to do the right and correctly- sourced materials and way of making things and transporting things. There's a real challenge as a business, speaking really honestly, because often that can be a hit on your margin, or it can be a hit on the prices to go up and actually customers don't want to pay more and businesses can't always afford taking it on margin cuz there's many bills to pay. So There's a period as we adjust to behaving in a more sensible, sustainable way. Well if you like, I think both the customer and the business have to kind of hold hands and partner a bit to get through that stage. Once we're through that stage actually, all the suppliers, the supply chain will realize that actually that is what is needed and they will change their practices as well. So, we're in the sort of stage, a lot has happened already, I believe And I think that we all need to just give a little bit to kind of nudge over into a more sensible way of making things. So can we agree? Christina, what about for you? I clearly agree. So there's actually another point that I think is gonna be the biggest challenge. It's the It's combating the Excel spreadsheet. [ LAUGH ] [ LAUGH ] It's like I go into buying equipment. [ LAUGH ] No, exactly, I wish it didn't exist. I mean it's created all sorts of problems. People, the world of the buyers buying for the consumer, as in big department stores, [ BLANK_AUDIO ] By numbers. They were kind of losing their instinct, and the passion, and the love for, this is actually a beautiful object. I'm going to take a risk. People are taking less and less risks because of numbers. And that really frustrates me because I believe that numbers are there, Fueled, whilst you're driving to, give you information as opposed to actually lead you and give you answers numbers, especially in our world which is underpinned by creativity and and the Genesis is creativity can't be defined by numbers. So we taking numbers With, using the science and actually finding art in it and finding the emotion in it I think is something that's gonna be a challenge in the future. I think both of these are really important points. I think we've ended up with a lot of the problems where we forgot about fashion and also the idea of luxury being so ubiquitous that it loses its meaning. Is partly driven by the fact that the full cost of making something isn't really taken into account and also how you look after and pay attention to the beautiful things that are created so they become these valuable Objects, which you do wear, and you do use. But you nevertheless want to be able to pass them down. Clothes, shoes used to have that sort of significance, and I think that's really important. Well I think one lovely takeout if you like from this movement towards us all being more sustainable and behaving in a way that's appropriate for the planet is actually much better to buy less beautiful things and wear them more. And that is a shift in thinking from how everyone's been behaving over the last 2030 years probably. And if that happens, it feels right in every level and it totally fits what we believe in, but it's also the right way to behave I totally agree. And on that Excellent bit of advice and support in every way. I really love to thank Anya and Christina for real insights into why they are so successful at what they do. Thank you so much. Thank you very much, Edina. Thank you. [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

MPW London 2019: A Conversation with Kristina Blahnik and Anya Hindmarch

Hindmarch, founder of Anya Hindmarch handbags, and Blahnik, CEO of Manolo Blahnik, talk reinventing luxury with Prof. Frances Corner of the London College of Fashion.

MPW London 2019: The Great Balancing Act

International

South Asia has had a tumultuous year, but for one of the most populous parts of the world, the battle to balance conflicting issues is a constant one

ladies, thank you very much. It's such a pleasure to be here and have bean after moderate the next 20 minutes, during which we're going to be talking about what's be entitled the Great Balancing Act. Working mothers, working women in this room. We're not just gonna be talking about that van that we deal with every day but geopolitical balancing out from the economic balancing act as well. It's no surprise to any of you in this room that over the last few years the world has been rocked by force. Is such a increasing political polarization the rise of populism and also trade protectionism that well? But these are the kind of issues we're going to be getting into with two illustrious guests. Your Excellencies High Commissioner Festival. Let me start out with you, your excellent High Commissioner, Rou Xi, The engine subcontinent Self Asia has also had a tumultuous here has no economically. Where do you think it's going to go from here? You're fresh out of an election cycle. What's gonna be the trajectory for India? Thank you so much. Uh, deny. And I think we can dispense with the Your Excellency bit waken be friends here. It's such a pleasure to be here among election gathering off most powerful women. I don't really drown myself in that group, but it's nice to have this thought for for atleast this one morning. So no. Yes, It is a very interesting time for India. We had a five year long government led by our Prime Minister, Prime Minister Moody, Uh, and he has been returned with the bigger mandate in India. This is the very unusual because we have a very large electorate, a very large, diverse country on electorate battle. Over 900 million people registered waters, so it is a very large country. And it is therefore ah, good thing that we have a strong government with can continue to take step forward for opening up our economy for, uh, you know, making in there more welcoming off people. But a delivery of service is for our people on dhe. So I hope that the tragic tree is going to be very positive. Obviously, the balancing act that you're dealing with is enormous. If you look at the size of the Indian population, demographics come into play. When it comes to Bangladesh, you with a population of 165. Five million people, which is well as a double what it was when your country was actually founded at the start of the 19 seventies. So what exactly is a nation like Bangladesh have to balance the moment in terms of the things that that really is the most challenging? I think that, you know Bangladesh is economic growth right now, which is really it's just leap frogging, you know, this year their economic growth expected rate is 8.13%. Last year it was 7.6%. Currently, we're in the club seven off. Those countries that rock five Asian countries into African countries were actually live from including India. You know who expected to use per capita growth is supposed to go more than double in next 7 to 8 years. So how do we keep up with that kind of economic growth and the sustainability of that and the risk factors informed, particularly with large populations, extreme weather conditions of the risk factors of their climate change? Its biggest challenge is you know Bangladesh is coastline. They're supposed to go inundated by 2050 and there'll be about 30 million people who might be climate displaced. So we're focusing in making money this more resilient. The climate resilience is going to be a major focus to cut down, and part of this whole comes in the international context of international diplomacy. You are two women who have some of the most important positions for your country, diplomatically speaking, as ambassadors urination when it comes to the United Kingdom. Obviously this is a very interesting time to be, Ah High Commissioner of your countries, because of Brexit. And the UK is aggressively looking elsewhere to forge partnerships of countries like you. Well, currently, you know, we enjoy him. We still I mean, last year Bangladesh entered the process of eldest graduation. And you know, I mean not only is our economic growth strong and robust, but our social indicators a very strong as well, you know, In the World Economic Forum Gender Gap report, Bangladesh is competing with countries or standing next to countries such as Iceland or Norway who capped Income is $65,000 plus on ours is under 2000. But we come to a political apartment of women were in the first top five countries in the world. So you know what I'm trying to say That, you know, in this New World order, which is actually policy centric and multi polar and quite unpredictable, both like in business and politics is quite disruptive behavior. And within that, what we're trying to focus on is our immediate neighborhood. So, you know, regional collectivity, power grid, the bunker, the shares with India these are the very comforting zones that we enjoy. We're just trying to focus in our neighborhood and create this power, energy, grid, dependability, trust. So I think basically, the world is suffering from a trust deficit everywhere but having good relations with the neighbours. Extremely important. We know we're surrounded on three sides by India and we share about 4000 kilometres of Kong border. So our relationship is, you know, the basic tenets of security trade this huge dependability on this area. I think that's our common prosperity tenet, where we work together. And this is how bunga urination on his friends. Your person from you? Yes. Yeah, Greg, from getting a country of a good friend. And by the way, she's the first foreign service. I mean, woman high commissioner from the Indian Foreign Service in London. And so am I. And it really surprises me that, you know, Indian, you know, with the first woman High Commissioner. So definitely, you know. Yes. These are very important positions. London, you asked me. And you know, I think we broke broken the glass ceiling to get here. It's quite difficult because these air tightly, you know, very reserved for men. I mean, I haven't heard that the war three of our nations have actually had female leaders. Yes, indeed. Of all three of us have had. And in India, I would say, and I'm sure it's the same. The Bangladeshis. Well, we've had ambassadors to, um, most of the, you know, important countries challenging, uh, you know, assignments we've had, I think two women ambassadors to the US We've had a woman ambassador to China. We've had several in Africa. In fact, I've bean ambassador to Africa twice in in the Middle East, as we call it gestation. Most parts of the world. We did have a number of women going as ambassadors somehow in the in the UK we didn't We didn't have any foreign service woman, come here before, So I suppose it was The chair was waiting for me. Well, we have a female prime minister for the next few days, and then who knows? So we're in good company. But obviously I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask you both about right in particular. Two. You have Commission of sushi. UK has over the last three years extolled the virtues of coming close ties with India in a post Brexit world. How do you think those times would look like? Well, you know, it's a little bit difficult for me to start projecting at this stage, but I would say this about India UK relations. Our relationship is based on very strong foundation India, and you have a very, very strong strategic partnership that span so many different areas. Whether it is the strategic cooperation or cooperation in the area of defense or education are science and technology research. I mean, you name it and there is either a working group on it or there is someone that's going on the good economic relationship. There is a very strong Indian diaspora here that is doing very well. Ah, large number of Indian companies are here. We have in fact this feel a recent report that was released see that we have a record number off 842 Indian companies in the UK and theirs combined. Turnover last year was £48 billion at the paid around £618 million. As the corporate tax at all these figures are up actually for the previous year. So we have, ah, very strong relationship on and as I see it in India's relationship with the U. K. Is not really based on you kids relationship with anybody else. So, uh, I think the status of UK, whether it is in Europe or whether it is out of Europe, I think we will find ways thio keep this relationship going to people. A strong I'm taking it forward because it's a relationship that's really important on it. Soon commission insider, obviously countries like you would also have to balance is the high Commissioner issue was just saying before the need to keep good relations with Europe. At the same time, it's always keeping good relations which countries like Bangladesh historically have long term relationship. Yes, with our relationship with actually you know, when we were, we came into being as a country. In 1971 became independent, the two countries who recognized during a war of liberation when we still didn't We're not recognized by the world. Number one was India and number two was United Kingdom. So Bangladesh fluid flag in London during the War of Liberation in August and in India in April. So therefore we have a very, very deep relationship with this country's both the countries on our relationship with you case basis, value based relationship. So they're common values such a human rights and democracy. Secularism which is very strong pillar of Bangladeshis identities. You know that we had we wanted the independence because we were suffocating in an Islamic republic of Pakistan. And hence we were born in the People's Republic and secularism, democracy and nationalism on three pillars of our constitution. So hence our relationship with Britain Brexit or no Brexit, you know, we will continue to remain very strong on dhe. You know, we currently we have a very strong trade partnership for Bangladesh. Britain is the third largest export destination. We have about $5 billion of trade and we Britain is also the third largest investor in Bangladesh. Every year we have 200 to 300 million investment from the United Kingdom. Last five years it was two million used. All of the UK has invested so definitely trade investment. You know, our common prosperity through bilateral trade investment is gonna be the main focus post Brexit. If there is Brexit, even if it's not viewing him doesn't large diaspora. It's when we have about 700,000 upon the dishes living here, starting some questions from the audience. Please raise your hand people to question for two High Commissioner's. Just be aware that I'm, well, you both members of the civil service, so that when it comes to political questions, that's gonna be slightly more touchy territory. You have a problem. Either. Our guests are going to continue. Actually, high commission insiders just continuing on what you were saying about the relationship between Bangladesh in the UK You were previously an ambassador high Commissioner to Thailand, and I believe you're quite successful and raising invest with typical investments and export figures. What's your plans for the relationship with the U. K in Bangladesh? You can already looking at UC Bangladesh has been termed by Mackenzie as is going to be the largest one of the largest sourcing destinations for the world. So you can continue to look for sourcing and manufacturing in Bangladesh. We are currently exporting the biggest part. 80 85% is readymade garments in the peril. But we want to do want to diversify. We want to export more pharmaceuticals to the UK. We want to export more involuntarily Jute and Abbas for Jude products of the UK, we believe there's a market for that currently has come from India, but also we also export a lot of road Roger to India. But we should be able to supplement that export. And you know, Michael's another. Uh um, let the product cycle antique. So these are the things that we're looking toward diversifying and we having a trade investment conference around October this year. I'm taking initiated do that. We're going to find new ways of expanding our bilateral trade. Also be encouraging the United Kingdom to export more to bung British exports. Every load balance of trade is in our favor, so investments, trade, investment and also, you know, I tease one sector that you cave not looking into Bangladesh, We're outsourcing. Major were major our source country for Nordic countries and Western European countries. And we're a shipbuilder. But we haven't built any ships for the UK. So these areas that we're going to expand our bilateral trade investment corporation in future, you were saying earlier. Yeah. I believe you share an electricity grid with India. These types of trust partnership large country and smaller country that share borders that crucial only, but that used to be a trust deficit in many countries. Listen to a commissioner, Ritchie. How much does that concern you these days when you hear so much of the kind of negative rhetoric politically speaking, particularly coming from the biggest Western place in the world like the United States trust deficit? I think it's something that people have toe focus on and work on on. That's, uh, I think that's something that's not limited to any one particular country on one particular region or one particular time. Trust has to be built over a period of time with the consistent, you know, a relationship consistent engagement inside that was talking about the trust that we enjoy in our relationship with Bangladesh, which is not a work that has bean achieved overnight. It work over several decades that the two countries have bean doing so in any relationship to build. The trust comes out of engagement and and a mutual desire to take the relationship forward. And I think having the mechanism that help you in achieving that is very useful. So being so, for instance, with UK we have multiple dialogue mechanisms and joint working groups, and in each sector of in the experts off the, you know, specific sector engaged with each other. It helps in building that relationship of trust on relationship that helps in taking, you know, not just that particular sector forward, but the overall relationship forward. So I think I would look at that, as you know, trust justice. It has to be something that has to be worked on to create a truck, you know, credit. I mention this because Bangladesh quite an interesting example of how some of your neighbors, for instance, like Bhutan and other countries that the landlocked that you share borders with you, you allow that we allow them to report it. I mean, I think in, particularly for Bangladesh, was a small country with a large population, extremely power hungry, space, hungry country and large population, and will continue to grow. We have ah, democracy. Dividend that will continue into 2040 population might double by them and for us it's extremely important to be connected to our neighborhood. Connectivity is a major foreign policy priority and she was mentioning about the power grid. I mean with India. We have about 50 levels of institutional corporation, the cousin's Home Minister's forum. We have border guard four on. We have this canonization for Why? Because you know we have road connectivity. Well connected. Vitti threw Bangladesh to the other side of India from Kolkata, toe Agartala and Tripura in in Assam and with Bhutan, Nepal, the landlocked countries. We allow our ports to be used by both Bhutan, Nepal, India. We're allowing India transiting transhipment, these extreme trust issues. So I think that you haven't have a win win relationship. You want to win well, collective prosperity. You have to stay connected connectivity, you know, and tourism, energy and pocket sharing. I think these are the forte of our relationship and our regional cooperation is there one question from the audience just before we wrap things up in the next minute and 1/2 way. We're talking about about about the issue of trust and some of the issues on the table particularly presumed that High Commissioner had had many conversations about the place of the injured people with yes, with the UK um, these people who may never end up returning to their homeland. What's the nature in you inviting exciting that. Why do you say that? That is some memories that they have at us to go back. That young one has to be accountable for taking care of the minorities and obviously, Bangladesh being a humanitarian country, we have faces some of the situation in our War of liberation. Of 1971 there were 10 million refugees that took shelter in India, and similarly, we opened our borders for the Rangers because they were being masked influx. In three months, we had 850,000 going coming into Bangladesh in the fear of persecution and life. But of course we're in a dialogue with Myanmar and speaking of trust, you know what with India, we have 50 different forms of engagement with Myanmar, we only have one. So I think the past five decades between B, we're trying our best to build this different straight up relationship with Myanmar and we are interacting in regional forum. I think we need to work in that area. More and more importantly, you know, going just have been persecuted. Women has been women have been raped. We have We're sheltering ray babies 60,000 of them And I think accountability international community and our bilateral engagement both extremely important. And we continually that we are optimistic that the dollar will lead us to some place. And Ryan just will be able to go back. He must go back. Time is up. But thank you very much for that Commissioner. High Commission Cider time is up. But just before we go, I want to just the really great dancing at where a ll mothers believe of sons with a high powered job. If they were watching you right now, just in a sentence or two each mission What would your message beat you? I think my sons and my husband both you know, I couldn't have been here without their support. It hasn't been easy it's actually a struggle. It is actually rather award. Every day is like a conflict zone. But you know, you have to win every war and yet we have to try. And with family, you actually eventually win every war. Nothing is not. Nothing goes to lock. Everything is a win win situation. So I love them. Hang them for the level support. I would also have to say the same. I don't think I could have done it without my husband and my two sons. In fact, every time I have a challenging moment, I find that just being with them, I don't always share my problems. I don't know that weakness, but I don't have to share because somehow you know, they can sense that I'm in need of comfort. So it's really without them. I don't think I could have done that. The sacrifices that have to be made by the by the family off working woman who is in a very high demanding job. I think those are never, never really, uh, accounted for. Nobody tanks, the family for what they have missed out, because the while I was working, my Children were missing out on their time with me, so I would just want to say thank you and how much I love. And I'd like to say thank you.

Nadia welcome. Thank you. She's wearing her crystals. Now, I would like to know first of all, this is a very basic question, and many of you probably know this. But What is the difference between a diamond and a crystal? Well they both are incredibly brilliant. But in terms of a chemical point of view, there is a difference in hardness. So crystal has the hardness from the scaleof 1 to 10, of 8. 3. And the diamond is a 10 So that chemical ingredient is certainly a difference, but the price point is tremendiously different. And you can be so much more creative with a crystal because the loss factor is less, ya know and that's who'll you. [ CROSSTALK ] The loss factor is less, what do you mean? Yes so you play around with the design. The design might not be good. Well at the end of the day it might be a handful of crystal. And you can not run that risk working with diamonds. So, So but crystals are manufactured and diamonds are found in the earth. Correct? Correct. So, that is another difference. Absolutely. And I have to say from my point of view when I first started in this in my career of working in the family business, which I never wanted to do initially I always had this confrontation about truly the diamond versus the Crystal. And the way I find myself really promoting Crystal is to try to explain to people how hard it is to make a Crystal. You know there are so many different chemicals that are involved in making a Crystal. They are melted They come out like honey from this big melting pot and they drip into molds. You have to let the the hot glass, so to speak, cool off. Then it has to be cut, then we have a very strict quality control. Not one crystal leaves the factory with a scratch on it or a bubble in it. So I grew up seeing this incredibly labor intensive process and I was always a little bit disappointed to see people dismiss the crystal compared to a diamond. So it was really the engineering and the technical element that I always had to go back to and embrace. Were you a girl who just wanted diamonds? No, I was a girl that wanted crystals. [ LAUGH ] [ LAUGH ] Okay, okay, okay. Now can you tell the difference between a diamond and a crystal? So I have to say I did study geology I can tell the difference the brilliance of the diamond is incredible. The reflective index is higher than that of crystal, but then again the thing about crystal you can use it on so many different surfaces again back to the creative element and. Often you don't see the crystal, you see the impact the crystal has. You see the hue. You see the refraction. You sense the energy on a gown or a jewelry piece. Right. So this is really where we have almost used crystal as fairy dust on the various different objects, whether it's jewelry, interior Lighting, decor and so on. I was just telling Nigel backstage. This friend of mine from the most powerful women community. Her husband built a house for her in Florida and he decorated the whole house and she went down and she saw it for the first time and he said. These curtains are Swarovski crystals. And then he told her the price and she's like, what? [ LAUGH ] But anyway, what is the most Sort of out there. application of Swarovski crystals. Back to say we've seen many fascinating applications and sometimes we cannot control how our customers use. The product, sometimes it's truly shocking and sometimes it's absolutely inspirational. I don't know if you that live here in London have seen the little Mercedes driving around, covered in Swarovski crystal. That's a customer of ours, that's nothing that we would have done. [ LAUGH ] But because sometimes I can slightly go off. It's really important for us to demonstrate really beautiful examples of how crystal can be used and hopefully, therefore inspire the industry of how to do that. So for example, we've worked with Academy for the last 12 years. To decorate the stage at the Oscars we recently had the honor to work with the architect Daniel Libeskind to create the star at Rockefeller Center which is always such a wonderful sensation at Christmas time in New York City. So, so this is fascinating and Naja just mentioned this to me backstage. This is a deal that you had the idea to do that, and just explain that, the Swarovski Crystal star for the first time last Christmas on the top of the Rockefeller Center tree. Explain how that came about. Well first of all our philosophy is always and actually our purpose is to spark Delights, we are truly there to enhance the world and really bring joy to people's lives. So Daniel Libeskind and I collaborated on a project where we created a chess set for him and each little- The architect Daniel Libeskind .>> Exactly. Yes. He created the Freedom Tower to replace the Twin Towers, but each chest that was one of his buildings. And I just thought this man is so kind. He's so wonderful and I am looking for a new architect to create the star of the Christmas tree. But I realized Daniel was Jewish and I asked him, would he be interested to do that? He's like, of course, and this star is about hope, it's about faith, and we concluded, nowadays, it is so much about hope and faith. It's not necessarily Necessarily about religion. Religion is being used too many times as an excuse. So we just felt this is a wonderful moment to really take an object and adorn the environment, and truly bring joy to people. And That's wonderful. Will you being that again this year with him? Absolutely. Yes, we will. What is the one Sort of dream you've had about using your crystals for some cultural or big event where you haven't been able to do it? My gosh, that's a really long list. [ LAUGH ] But I have to say we've been so lucky to really, I think because we've chosen the architects and the designers that we work with so carefully We, therefore, have been able to get into beautiful locations. So, for example, we- You can't name one that you are hoping for. Absolutely, let me [ LAUGH ] I don't know which one. But I just wanted to give an example of where we are now. We've created the first permanent contemporary installation in Versailles. And this is really because we worked with these young, French designers called the [ FOREIGN ] brothers, actually, because I wanted a permanent installation, and it was a big competition, the [ FOREIGN ] brothers won, and they really wanted to create a chandelier, and as an Austrian country, we're so honored to be chosen for this installation, and the French historic monument, versus other French crystal manufacturers. And it's a chandelier that basically lights up as it gets dark and it dims down as it gets light outside. And the modernity of that piece is such a beautiful juxtaposition to the very very Classical and traditional environment. So we're very proud about that. We also, with the same architects, created these fountains at [ UNKNOWN ] just a few months ago and it was absolutely extraordinary, because as you know, and we talked about it yesterday, the yellow vests were destroying so much in Paris Including the Svarovsky store, actually. But these fountains that are made of crystal are untouched, right here on the Champs- Elysees. So I can't help but think that the product truly, or the emotion that the designer invests in creating something, permeates out to the end consumer. And in that case, there's so much kindness and sincerity involved in the creations How many of you have seen the movie Rocketman? It only came out last week. Not many, it just opened. You still have time. I think a lot of us are dying to see it. But one million Swarovski crystals are, I haven't seen it yet so They adorned Elton like 1 million at one time? Yes. Hm. Is that true to life? Did he really wear Swarovski? Not at all. So, that was the time period when he actually, when sequins was very popular. Really cleanse. And this was actually really before we have reintroduce ourselves to the film industry to the fashion industry. But I have to say it was wonderful to work with Julian Day, the costume designer, and it was really the Dodgers outfit that Elton John wore which was fully covered in crystal. Wow. And, again, we see that over and over, we really started from the very beginning of the silver screen to adorn The actors and actresses, all the jewelry in Breakfast at Tiffany's, including Audrey Hepburn's tiara, that's all Swarovski crystal. [ LAUGH ] And you mentioned to me backstage who your first customer was. Yes, and that was Queen Victoria. And we are so Proud to see that peaceful cohabitation of diamonds and crystals. Well Queen Victoria is wearing her diamond jewelry. Her gowns are adorned with crystals and that was via the British quarterly worth who was based in Paris. And we're so excited to still today are able to dress her granddaughter. The queen, and I'm so honored to also mention that we've just received the royal warrant for the supply to her household of Swarovski Crystal. And we've worked with her dress designer Angela Kelly. On her costumes and again, you don't necessarily see the crystal. You sense it subconsciously, you sense that there is just this huge. So you mentioned that I was going to ask you and I'll ask you right now, choice Or destiny working for the family business you actually mentioned that you didn't really want to go into the family business so why are you here? [ LAUGHS ] .>> So basically I just, I grew up in this, in this, I grew up in the factory basically my father, my grandfather they were the engineers of course. Every weekend, we had to go look at all the machines. And I thought, God, can't we do something else? And it wasn't until eventually, you know, I studied Art History. My father kept on calling, asking me how my Engineering study was coming along. And I would. Blow into the phone saying that I can't hear you. Hello bad connection after art history class. In any case, I felt very strongly about finding my own passion and my own identity, and I definitely did not believe in nepotism and then eventually I found myself working at Google's in gallery and so the [ UNKNOWN ] in New York City And then eventually in the fashion industry working for European fashion brands, family businesses like the Missoni family, Trussardi, Valentino, and then I thought, well wait a minute actually, I also do have a family business that has its roots in fashion. It's based in Europe. And that was really my aha moment because at that time, Raska was really known for its crystal animals. And I was just remembering all these stories that my grandfather used to tell me about working with Coco Chanel and Christian Dior, and my question was will where all the designers where are they know what they are noticed I miss Ross is not working with the designers. So that was my Aha moment to come back to the business, copy what my grandfather did. And I was in search for my Christian Dior and that ended up being Alexander McQueen. So what year did you enter the business? So that was a 1995. And I instantly actually worked in Hong Kong for two years. And it was really great bird's eye point of view far, far away from headquarters. And I would run into these designers and then I would say to them, yeah, let me see. Let me send our sales people to show you the crystal Then I'd went on to the sales people on a way to the designer, wearing the grey suit, the little suitcase. They have done zero research about the designer and I thought, well, that's not gonna happen. So I thought, that's it. I have my idea, I'm going back In New York City I'm creating the show room and I developed this apothecary concept of the crystals really shorten the 350, 000 different variations of crystals. And I just thought, you know, just alone the psychology of being able to invite somebody to your space, and then pointing everything out, and then show them what has happened in the past in all these things like Dorothy's slippers. Covenants for [ UNKNOWN ] crystals, nobody knew it but everyone has seen it. You know, was this really a matter of getting back to our history and showing the current design community what has been done and what yet can be done in the future. So, connecting the brand to sort of the culture, the global culture and the sort of cultural Zeit Geist, and I know that so Nadja also Six years ago I set up a foundation which Swarovski never had. Set up a sustainability department which Swarovski never had, and you've made great strides in that area. Feel free to address that, but I do wanna open it up to you. Who has questions? Yes, right here. Hi, thank you very much. [ UNKNOWN ] professor of entrepreneurship at a technical university. So you mentioned wonderflu things in reconnecting the brand back With the designing and arts and architecture, etc ., community, I just wondered do you ever work back with technical universities, in terms of connecting the technology? Absolutely. Back to all of this. And if we can support you, I'm more than happy to [ INAUDIBLE ] Yes, I'd love to talk to you. And we do Absolutely we work with Cambridge University, M. I. T ., the [ UNKNOWN ] Hofer Institute. And that's actually important. And I have to say my great grandfather was such an inventor. Innovation was so important to us and we really believed that innovation will be what will take us into the future. So absolutely. Anyone else, to the point of innovation. So you're actually manufacturing diamonds now. That's right. Explain that. Okay, so the next innovation, the next disruptor to the industry is Lab grown diamonds and Swarovski has started to cut gemstones in the 60s and we cut them in the same or similar technology as we cut the crystal. We are master cutters. We did try to start cutting diamonds in the 60s and My father and grandfather received death threats so we stopped the diamonds. We continued with gemstones and, you know, yes as you mentioned I started the Sustainability Department and I thought- Let me just address this so, I mean you know, they are making diamonds And I like the diamonds come from the earth. And Nadia says no, these are real diamonds that we are making in a lab because they have all the Components- Exactly. The chemical components of diamonds. Their bio- identical, and they are incredibly sustainable, because they use very little energy to produce, and they certainly don't affect people or planet. And we just felt it is our answer to our sustainability initiative. Again, yes, we have been talking to diamond people and I can only say or that my answer to them was, you know, we are totally for everything that sparkles. And the minute you Are able to mine the Diamond sustainably we will be your customer. If Swarovski can have a positive impact by you using create a Diamond in order to make the miners more sustainable, that is a positive impact on the world, and I truly believe there are enough customers. I really believe in the Era of collaboration versus competition. But how is the diamond industry responding to this so far? They are very worried. They are very worried. I mean we see what DeVers have down. They're now starting their own created diamonds which is wonderful. Again they do amazing colored diamonds. So I've already Express my interest in color diamonds, [ LAUGH ] if they ever starts delivering to external people. I think at this point they just want to keep the color diamonds to themselves. But now the industry is reacting, the entire world is reacting, and again, it's the will of transparency. It I mean we have so many organizations you know from the U. N to GIA the Geological Institute. It is truly about better ways and the reason why we're not there yet is because companies did not want to invest the money or the time to come up with better ways of extracting materials from the earth. But it's totally doable. And what is the price point of these manufacturer diamonds versus real done Initially the lacquer and diamonds were 50 % less than the real diamonds but now that two beers is really creating such a huge supply The price will go down. But I find that's okay. So we've just launched a collection of creative diamonds designed by Penelope Cruz who has expressed that she would like to work with us because she shares our values of sustainability. Of course, we were so honored by her proposal. So she's created a collection of red carpet jewelry for herself We've worked with Stephen Webster, the British jewelry designer. And just now we launched a collection by Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia in Las Vegas last week at the jewelry fair. And Dimitri is a gratitumologist. He was head of jewelry in Celapese. So he really comes with a very strong fine jewelry background. And that's such an honor for us that he is embracing the created diamonds. So the point is a matter of the design and the storytelling. Kind of like Coco Chanel When she started to design she really mixed crystals and glass and diamonds. She wanted to keep people guessing what the ingredients are but the most important element was that it was beautiful design. And can you tell the difference between a natural diamond and a manufactured diamond So it's so hard because clearly the I mean the Man made diamonds do have flaws and inclusions, but it's mainly really the flawless ones that are being cut, so it's hard to tell. But in our case, anything that's above . 5 carats we laser engrave We make sure that our logos in there you know this is not about counterfeiting. This is really about showing a product that is sustainable. Well I certainly learned a lot Najar. And I think the group here are the most powerful women [ UNKNOWN ]. So thank you very much. We'd love to have you back. Don't let this be your last. Yeah, It's such an honor. Ok. Thank you. [ APPLAUSE ]

MPW London 2019: How the Swarovski Brand Stays Timeless in a Digital Age

The 125-year-old company is embracing its technological roots in a digital age.

Might 3 might have said also that Haleigh was prime minister of Denmark for four years before taking this job that is her great passion. Tell me what's top of mind for you right now. Well when we talk about Yemen I think it's one of the most forgotten crisis on this planet. But as we will also talk about it is perhaps the worst humanitarian disaster going on right now. And what we're seeing in Save the Children is that Yemen is perhaps the worst place to be a child right now on the whole globe. And many of you will not know that because it is not covered in the media. And what we are trying to do today with Lena's help is to try and shed a light on this because so you also have the power to start talking about this wherever you go. And on our stage as well, we have a very courageous filmmaker Cateega. We are going to give you a glimpse of her work, right now. Roll the camera. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Sanna is one of the oldest cities in the world. With 2, 500 years of history. Today it is devastated. My country Yemen has been under bombs for three years. Few images have reached you. Few journalists can venture there. I wanted to make a film to testify what the population is going through. And then I met Ahmed, his sister, and his nephew. From his window, Ahmed tries to shoot the planes down. [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] Since March 2015, for the children, the threats come from the sky. [ SOUND ] Since the coalition of nine Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, the rebel held areas of Yemen have been pounded non- stop, causing thousands of civilian deaths. [ SOUND ] [ FOREIGN ] [ SOUND ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ SOUND ] Since the beginning of the bombings, [ UNKNOWN ] has been obsessed with war. Let us study! And if not? [ SOUND ] Let us study. Mommy Ahmed's is bothering us [ FOREIGN ] He's obsessed with finding a weapon to fight with. He has become uptight and at the same time very sensitive. It's true we children have changed. My name is Rima and I'm 8. I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up. I'm Ahmed, I'm 11. My name's Youssef, I'm 9. Ahmed is my uncle and Rima is my aunt. I don; t like to play war. If I survive this war, I want to be a dentist. [ MUSIC ] Wow. [ APPLAUSE ] Kadisha is from Yemin and before she left to go to school in the United States, before she started a 20- year career Making films about the plight of women. She was married at age 11, married off as a bride, and divorced and had to kind of get out of that situation. Tell us really briefly about your life and how you were able to get back into Yemen To tell that particular story. Well, if I tell you my whole story, we'll take it the whole day but I just want to tell you I mean a lot of you heard the human. So I grow up in this country where the weight of tradition marginalizes human rights. Where the personal freedom of women doesn't exist although we're supposed to be born free. And unfortunately I grow up in a family where my father was mentally ill so I witnessed all the injustice and the violence against my own mother. Who was beaten everyday by my father and one day he slapped her tongue in front of me. It was a horrifying experience. So as a child I was traumatized by what was happening around me. But then when I started school. I was very happy. It was almost my refuge from all these violence and abuses at home and I knew at that time my life would change through education but unfortunately it did not. Took long time. When my family Decided to marry me off at the age of 11. I was devastated. And. I have an 11 year old daughter. I just, I was saying to you, I just can't imagine. Can't imagine. And you find yourself as a child fighting your own family who's supposed to protect you. And then fighting the whole society at that time. Just for your basic rights to education and to live my childhood which I never had. So on the worst thing that I was disowned by my family twice. Once when I wads five, my paternal family disowned me because they didn't want to pay Child custody. And then the 11 years old when I asked for divorce by my paternal. So I would not get into detail by the divorce but yeah, and it's a it's an incredible story and again, you were you were educated in the United States American University. And then you started making films about women like yourself. What? And then just to fast forward to this film, how did you get back into the country? Because you weren't exactly a favorite child there? [ LAUGH ] Well, it's true at the beginning of my life. I wasn't a bad example. But later on when they saw the result, I became the best example. Not only for my family but for other families who encourage their daughter to follow into my step. [ LAUGH ] So New and to get back into Yemen to do a story about the war. You were with a UN organization? That was the hardest part, because it took me two years to get into Yemen, because as you know, all the airports were bombed. And not only the airport schools every infrastructure. The roads everything and that there is also the imposed blockade on Yemen. A total blockade by air sea and land and Yemenists cannot get in or out so we have to take the permission from the Saudi authority in order to get into your own country. And that it took me two years after unsuccessful attempt, finally I was able to go with the humanitarian [ INAUDIBLE ] And I was able to go and make this film. And [ UNKNOWN ] tells us as CEO of Save the Children Tell us about your personal experience with Yemen, you've had some personal experience. Yeah, I've been there as well and I think it's amazing that you could know the country a little bit. It's amazing you could get in there and I'm sure there was also issues around your Own personal safety. So I just want to thank you for sharing your story. I think it's immensely important for all of us. And I was in Yemen, because Save the Children is very large, and we work in Yemen. We have been working in Yemen for years. And many of you might not know this But some part of Yemen is controlled by the government, which is like the Aden read region and then there's a sauna region which is controlled by the who sees and they've been fighting for for more than five years now Is this is the fifth yera Yes five years now. So we're in the fifth year of this completely man- made war. Yemen is a country that was never self- sufficient in terms of food. And now it's in a stage where they need to have everything from outside. And it's impossible to get into Yemen with things because there's a blockade. So this is a very hard war. It's being fought in a very hard way on both sides, both the who sees and the government which is supported by the the Saudi government and the United Arab Emirates. It's a stalemate situation right now, even though they happen Peace talks. The suffering comes from the fact that there is not possible to get in with supplies. Medicine, health services, food, Save the Children has been aught in a blockade for many, many months now, and we spend more time In checkpoints then we do actually getting access with things and that means all this means that the people who are suffering most are children. Children in Yemen are dying from hunger. A very low estimate says that at 100, 000 children has died from hunger. I sat with one of those children in my arms. She was eight months old, she had the weight of a new born. And if her mother had not found courage that day to come to the health clinic that Save the Children is running I'm not sure that that baby had survived the day or the week, and that is the situation. That is how children are dying of malnutrition and hunger. And what's interesting about the film too, there's the death, there's the kids being bombed, but there's also that emotional psychological- Yeah. Toll on these kids that wanted to be a dentist and a pediatrician and What do you see worldwide when children who grow up in that environment. It's so interesting with children and you would have seen that when you made the film as well. Because I mean I traveled in Yemen. I saw makeshift Camp, that was even a refugee camp. It was just like a piece of land where people have put their top holdings it wasn't even tents. And we were given vaccinations under a tree. I mean this is 2019 and these are children who gets vaccinations under a tree, not hygienic, not anything that it should, Basically, but at least we got to those children. But the other thing is then you meet sometimes we we have this chat trap child friendly space that we make in those kinda settings. And then you see the children and that's what you caught on camera as well. Where you see that there is still hope in the eyes of these children and you ask them what are you going to do like little girls, 11 years old. What are you going to do when you grow up. I always ask that question and they always say, I want to go to school, I don't want to marry. They say that quite freely to me perhaps because I'm a woman, I don't want to marry, I want to go to school. Even though whatever they've been through, there's still that glimmer of hope in their eyes as you've caught on camera as well. What did you find in the? What was the biggest revelation to you being with as children? And I you said you just. You found that boy with the rifle shooting at the jet fighter, which is quite a powerful image. And you knew that was a story, yeah. Exactly, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do when I went to Yemen. But I knew that I had to lift the veil of this world, because it's deliberately hidden. They don't want you to see the crime, and what's happening over there. So as I walking to my home, and I saw this kid [ UNKNOWN ] Strength issue down the [ UNKNOWN ], the bumbling, and I was traumatized. This boy is carrying a gun. I knocked the door and I want to talk to the mother, and I said how can you give your son a gun? She said don't worry, it's an old rifle. He thinks he's been traumatized since the war so other than he thinks he can shoot down The Palmer Police. He's trying to protect us, it's not that he has some violent impulse. Yes. In some ways it's a protective impulse, he's trying to protect this unity. Exaclty that's when I got the idea to do a throham and because we didn't have time I had to film with. With three cameras spontaneously and they were the real reporters of the film. They were the one they would go and ask questions. But what made that interesting like you said, there is glimmer of hope in these children. And they want to do something. And then this project gave them a great hope because they found themselves that they can exit. And they can do something, and they changed You see along the film, if an amateur was violent, he became totally different and he start crying and before there is no way that you can make him cry from meeting everybody and asking questions About the war, why this war is happening to them. It's just amazing. They made me laugh all the time and the same time I was crying. So that's the hope, still and these children and these youth, but this war had stop. Is there any questions about this hidden war in the audience? I wanted to get your perspective on why isn't this on the front page of newspapers? Why is it going on without world attention? Because no one cares about Yemen. And there is so much interest in this work. Pardon? There is so much interest, money in this work. Yeah, there's always an economy of war when a war has been going on for long enough, there's always an economy of way that people out there who are making money. It's the same in Syria, it's the same in Yemen, anywhere there's a war There's a big war economy that's thriving from the fact that it's there. Because there's a black market for food and tobacco and [ UNKNOWN ] and there's so many things that comes with a war where there's so much money. So there's always a strong interest to stop a war, but what the case in Yemen in my view is that no one cares really about Yemen. The Saudis don't care. The Iranians don't really care. Americans don't care. There are no big interest, and as long as that is the case, it is actually the plight or the responsibility for the rest of us To be there and talk for anyone to go in and stop this war. And for the international community to do that. You will have met the same. When I went there I met so many mothers, and children actually, who just said to me, you're here now, you're going in a few days. Go and tell people what's happening here and when you guys asked do I want to be here, yes of course because it's our obligation once we've been there on the ground in Yemen to tell you what's happening so everyone can know This can no longer go on. It's a man made war entirely. There's no reason for this war to happen. And we all have a responsibility just a tiny responsibility to try and speak up for those children The noise registers that what they said I was so surprised with their monies they still have so much of course they didn't have the hope and the airports or the leaders, but they have so much open the European People and also the American people. They said, well, the they have resistance. These people are attached to the human values and they are the one they're hoping that they would make pressure on their politicians. And a whole world make pressure on Saudi Arabia and their collisions stop this war. But this hope is still there and I hope they are right. How can people see your film? How can these people in this audience in your audience see this film. I can send a link to it if anybody is interesting but it's been showing out, hopefully And the French TV, German, Australian, Japanese, Chinese, it's all over. And I was happy that it's been seen. Since it's been shown on French TV, all the journalists start talking about the war. And some were able to go there, even though they have difficulty, it was not that easy. But at least they were harassing the politicians with their questions and also asking them to stop this war. And [ UNKNOWN ] final thoughts on the importance of storytelling and humanizing these situations in order to change policy and to get the attention of Political leaders which you were. [ LAUGH ] Yeah, I just think we have to put faces on the wall, the child that I said she had a mother just sat next to me. They love their children as much as we do. They have done nothing to deserve this, and the victims of war, or the hardest hit victims of war are the people who have nothing to do with it. Yemen is actually a lovely country, nice food, lovely, lovely people, and nice coastline. Her Majesty the Queen of this country went on her honeymoon, I think, to Yemen. Quite a few years back, it's a lovely country with an amazing culture, so obviously, it's where the three wise men did their shopping before they came to Jesus. [ LAUGH ] If you read your Bible. So it's a lovely country with a big story, so I just think we have to Recognize that this is a neighboring country of Europe, like Syria is. These are people that didn't. Some people were telling me out there, they also got a lot of jokes in German, they're saying before we didn't know who was Sunni and who was Shia. We didn't discuss it like this and now they've been put into these boxes. So actually very fun, cool people that want to engage with the rest of the world and we can do things. I also think we can't let ourselves be stopped by hopelessness. There's nothing to do Of course a man made war can be stopped by men and women. And we just have to do a little bit to talk about this to, and that's why your film I'm so in awe of what you've been doing. Your life story I think is amazing, that you get to tell this story. And we should all see your film. Thank you. And Hello. Thank you both for bringing this to light. [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

MPW London 2019: Exploring the Crisis of Children in the Middle East 

Exposing atrocities to change the lives of a generation with filmmaker Khadija Al-Salami and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save the Children International.

MPW London 2019: A Discussion About the Funding Environment for Innovators

Finance

From looking for the biggest returns, to looking for innovators with a sustainable vision, funding for entrepreneurs is changing in nature and so are the actors involved.

MPW London 2019: A Conversation About the Banking Industry's Digital Future

Leumi Group CEO Rakefet Russak-Aminoach and Barclays Private Bank of Overseas Services CEO Karen Frank discuss digital-only banking, personal data and more.

Well, thanks both of you for being here. So Karen is CEO of Barclays Private Bank and Overseas Service is and rock if it is president and CEO of Lumi Group, which is currently the largest bank. Just just recently got that title the largest bank in Israel. And right before we came on stage, Rocket said that she that Mimi is the oldest bank in Israel and then your CEO also of the quote unquote newest. So can you tell us Can you tell us what that means? So yes, Little me is the largest mechanism and also the oldest banking Israel. Actually, Lumi is almost 120 years old, much older than the state of Israel. Nomi was established actually with public here in London 1902 and next to me we have pepper Pepper is our mobile only bank for the millennials and it is the youngest maintain Israel. So we have the oldest and the youngest And you think for millennials Is that how you market it specifically? Because that's really a pretty specific demographic, right? So yes, we marked it for millennials, but actually it's only 2/3 off the customer war millennials and one thought unknown. And I always say that a moment I knew his gold was when my husband, who happens to be my biggest critic, uses Onley pepper in abundance all his other bank account. So I knew were there. And he has a millennial or oh e not. All right, great. Well, I wanted to start with, um I mean, Pepper is a good example of what we're talking about here with digital banking revolution. But, um, I wanted Thio throw some stacks out there. This is from an Accenture study that trust in financial service is firms is not 40%. That's actually highest across industries that famous the retail sector on, I would say, pretty impressive for a decade after the recession. 40%. Ah, utility companies just for comparison, 20% social media from 17%. So there's this. There's this and hearing from a level of trust in the industry which which I think is important to keep in mind. And then there's also some interesting statistics about the use of a bank branch fell from 52% to 32% of people that visited once a month. So two years ago and the percentage using a boat. A mobile banking app regularly is pretty flat at 34%. So we see a drop off in people going into physical brick and mortar bank and then not huge growth. This is for the UK, not huge growth in Mobile, and I think that that's just sort of interesting dynamic to keep in mind. Obviously it different market to market, but it kind of gets gets to the heart of the question of your Weighing. Customers need for convenience against the demand of them. Maybe so wanting that personal touch. And I'm just curious, sort of, how you think about that when you think about bringing technology into the bank in space, how you make sure you're not trading convenience for the person for the personal human touch. Karen, can you talk about? I look in it. It's a wonderful thing, and I have a feeling that we're going to share a lot of including being a very old bank work with around 3 to 28 years or something. But how you bring that legacy to to the New Age because it's not just for millennials. It's about changes in the way we do things exactly what you're pointing. Thio. So I so love stories of pepper because we're all having tea basically do that dynamic. How do you take something that is cold and heavy and established and do something that's nimble and quick and really has this way? Went from this process where we started with product centric. How do we digital, you know, digitized products to make it more convenient. And then we went to client service, and now we're talking about clients experience. It's not stopping with what, exactly the statistics that you're pointing, Thio say. Not just how do we make life more convenient, but with financial service isn't all kinds of things now weaving theirselves into fabric of what we d'oh imagine going to bed at night, going saying, Hey, Google or Hey, Alexa, pay Khalil school bill right? And having that just done it, it's just done having that woven in and the way that we're doing that is exactly I think a bit is described your having to manage that footprint across the new thing, um, and being very nimble and innovative and thinking more widely as well. It's holding the old stuff the old stuff has to pay for it for two reasons, really, in my mind and it is a legacy. One of it is, you know, there's a lot of regulation. It's hard to be nimble when you are. You have such a long history. I'm sure you have the same one, you know, at Barclays, because we've been around for so long. Andi spend billions on technology every year. I would love to spend. We will all look to spend those billions on innovation and new things. And how do we bring new experiences to clients? The reality is a large part of that has to be supporting old infrastructure, making sure that software and data keeping data for regulatory reasons and others that we had for 20 years, 30 years, making sure that that old software still work. So if we ever get called by a regulator, we can pull it back up, and that is a massive challenge. The other one is really important. It's really important for financial institutions, not just as we think about planes experience, but remembering our place in the ecosystem, our place in society. So we generally speaking when we think through branches and we have the same observations with you. Then the people who physically need a branch is decreasing, right. We're finding ways to bring that interaction of many people. Yet there are certain things that we watch out for. We have very close relationships with all of not just our regulators, local communities, local governments, et cetera. And that is, we want to be sure that there is a branch open for people in local communities. We want to make sure that there's an A t m available two people. And there was almost a bit of a game in the UK who could pull up first, not the last man standing. And I'm a bit proud of in terms of the institutional way that we've thought about it, to say, Look, we have to make sure that we do fulfill the entirety of the of the need both for clients who really, really think about being able to walk down the street and have their banking meat served as well as people like your husband, my husband, my biggest credit health. I'm not a millennial, but you know, I'm sure another exact people who jump online and say 15 minutes. I'm done. I had my credit card. It can use it anywhere, Any place, any account finished. And so you take in sort of a with pepper. Your goal was to disrupt from within. You. Can you just explain why you took that approach and what you did? How you got the culture of your institution to embrace that as well. Actually, the cultural was the main challenge. Yeah, and we do it. If you said way have journeys, one is to adapt gloomy incumbent on me to the new world like everybody does. And besides that, we decided to start from scratch with Pepper the way we did it. We actually built it as a startup incubator within Lumi. But it's a sort of People are much younger. They're separated in a different place. Mm. It was It was challenging to convince the people that we're not cutting the tree. We're sitting on rather reinforcing the tree. He took some time, but I think they don't know. And one of the things that is interesting that pepper, when you look at the breakdown off the customers of Pepper Loomis customers is only 32% of the customers and no means marketer and return 25%. What? What does it mean? That actually we are disrupting ourselves, But we are destructing the whole market, right? Right, So we're not just taking clients from you, me and the whole market. Just because I completely agree with your rock. If it absolutely the culture, it's literally the culture. That's the hardest to change. And for those of you who don't finance you think about some costs and you say, How do you leave that behind is an organization and say it's not about reusing and leveraging digitizing old product. It's literally about disruption. I feel is, though, that building that that cultural changes the hardest part. I think the second real challenge that we have, and it's wonderful that you've done it. We've have pockets, we build innovation and our biggest client leave him alone. They don't require them to use anything else, because in most circumstances the second big challenge we have is how do we think about people who don't feel that they need to build everything in health right When we send billions on technology, it's hard for us to convince the institution actually working in partnership, as we've seen recently with many financial institutions, whether it's Facebook or Apple or Google or uber or any of them. How do we work better in partnership using the ecosystem that's out there and get away from this idea that the end and with hundreds or thousands of software engineers has to be serviced in completely in health? And that's also a massive cultural shift change, particularly when it comes to things like, you know, security for our customers and making sure that that is the holy Grail of everything that we would we would put out or get gonna go take questions in just a bit. So start thinking. But rock, if I wanted to ask, um in terms of we always talk about disrupt our an incumbent vs, uh, legacy And is that right? I'm sorry and comment versus a disrupter. And is that right? I mean, I guess you got to that point of it sort of the line blurring or the part partnerships being established between those two groups is that I mean, is that the right way to think about it? I mean, should we actually actually won? People always mix the challenger banks with digital applications of the incumbent. Many times they asked me, Why did you need Pepper? You have gloomy dot com what we call umi digital, which is the great up, actually the best in Israel. So what do you need? Pepper? And there is a huge difference between the two because Lumi dot com is a digital skin over a non digital buddy. Because Lou Meet is almost as we said, 120 years old, and it has lots of I T systems, all convoluted together, and on top of it, we build a digital skin. Okay, so it's like more like window dressing than the real thing. Now, when we build pepper, pepper is the new bank from scratch, and it was built on a new I t. A new technological system. So everything is much more up to date and banking Israel time, which we don't have in regular banks, time to market for new products and connect to new fintech. He's very, very short, and it's much more personalized. When you talked about the branches and you said, Well, don't don't miss the match. We think that it's more personal life and the people in the branch because the the end of the day when people come to break the branches this don't remember each and every one of them. What you having this f which is very personalized. You have a basis. So it gives you the right hip and the right offer. It is very, very specific to you. She's very, very You just brought us such a wonderful point because you're right, Chloe, you bring up branches and we traditionally think about branches is being the thing that anchors us in the physical. The reality is it's almost the data that's worse, you know, literally decades upon decades of data. And it can towns itself in several of manifestations. One of it is, where's the data stored? All of the physical data that actually stored. I'm talking about the electronic use of that. And then all of the software that's built on top of that And then, you know, we talk a lot about golden source data. Exactly it. Time to market golden source data. How do I go among? I don't know, 15 2040 different systems buildup and actually figure out what data don't need from a client 100. I was gonna try t o tryto grab that data and then launched a new product. Okay, The very basic thing. How do we go to the web? Be nimble, be acid. Light is an institution. How do we do that? It is just such a mind bogglingly difficult thing. Both German expense from a golden day. How do we pull it all together on then when you just think about the again? I go back to always thinking about people, and this is a new age where people owned their own data. Okay, whether it's regulatory lee and mandated or whether it's people, people own their own data. You can't simply say we're going to create this golden source of data and move things because it's more convenient for us to bring you better service to go back through millions and millions of clients and say we would like to take these 16 manifestations of your data held across potentially hundreds of platforms and co located in a single weight in the cloud that we conserve you better. That is very fortunate to achieve. And so when we talk about branches, that's the tip of the iceberg and That's why I think you know your spot on if we want to be. And we see this, you know so much more. Barkley, find BMB barking mobile out of mobile app in the world. Also skin never for the exact same, probably with PSB to skin skin. And that's the difference. Is the whole thing with the body, right? Are there any questions from the audience early? I feel like we have one over there. Great. Can you just remember to introduce yourself? Hi 100 Wallace from DeLay. Piper, where we are trying to innovate and lawyers are not typically very good at that. Um you talk about and you've been talking about We heard yesterday talk about innovation and a I and how people think it's critical, but they're not actually moving and implementing. And it sounds like that's absolutely what you're doing. And I think one of the challenges we have is people assume that innovation means they're gonna lose their job. How do you bring if you're introducing new things all the time and you've got the legacy on the established personnel but not used to this sort of innovation? How do you bring them along with you. Is that a question of retraining? Is a question of selling the message to them. Or how do you bring those people along? That might be not used to that innovation that you're introducing all the time. Do you want to take that? Yeah. I could make it. I will just tell you that. Actually, Lou me, it's even. It's much harder because we have what we call a 10 year employment. It means that whenever we start Mm. People come at the age of 24. 26 we employ them. Kill the 67. So we need a look to do a lot. The deal with this and yes, everything. You said that the main thing is to try to to win their minds and hearts, that they will be convinced that you are taking the organization to the right place. And then they will go after you some time off them. They need to see the success. They will not come before, but many of them, if you convince them. If you talk about it. If you lecture which war because what we did get to the question about culture again. Do you have anything to add. Just look eighties and it is a conundrum. I mean, we love innovation. We love uses a I we looked launch new new products, and I think that's one of the things, particularly in the UK, are home market that we pride ourselves on what we're happy with. And again, we're changing the mindset about saying, How do we use ah wider ecosystem to help us deliver that more quickly? But it's often the best ideas that come from in health so well, we use automation. Somebody's implementing the automation, and if we can use the people were, you know, we can retrain and upscale people to handle both sides of that. It's something that we're always very cognizant of. Bond. We just We feel that we have a wonderful talent pool. Investment in our colleagues is huge for us, but it does mean that we all have to move along with the industry and moved to serve our clients better on every single day. And that will require some heavy lifting and some rethinking about our rural workforce and how we work with people. Wait, we're actually out of, but you can find maybe Karen and rock if it afterwards if you have any questions, but we unfortunately have to move on to our next panel. But thank you so much to both of you for being here. Really? Appreciate. Thank you. Here.

MPW London 2019: Africa's NextGen Changemakers

Tech

The Continent’s innovation revolution is creating uniquely African opportunities within its tech-savvy 52 countries and its increasingly global-minded consumers.

everybody Me. So just to give expand a little bit on the introduction. Viola Llewellyn is the co founder and president of Bamba Solutions, which is a fintech company serving the African continent. Um, and new news. Now I'm gonna do it right? Yes. Is head of Africa for Facebook little company you may have heard of. So I know that this session is called Africa's next Gen Change makers and we are talking about the African continent. But it's also important to know, I think, straight off the bat, that this is not a monolithic market. So quick question for you guys. How many languages are spoken in Africa? Throw out a number. Do you think it's in the tens? Raise your hand 102,000 around 2000. So let's talk about that and the opportunities and challenges that that present so well I want to start with you. Um, one of the things that you offer consumers the people that you serve and entrepreneurs is a chatbots service. How does that work? It works with great difficulty visible where a B to B solutions to fund smaller medium enterprises the short term capital for trade. We've particles consumer. No, no, that's okay. We're now a trade tech solution. When it comes to financial inclusion, no matter how sexy your technology is, if customers can't actually interact with it a bit of a waste time on. One of the things that we discovered was that the banking solutions and many other financial institutions are making assumptions about either last milers or individuals who may be functionally illiterate or informal but intelligent and the ease in which they can discuss business in a cogent fashion or a way that you would Hume an educated person would. But you start to talk to somebody in their own language, and you will get the detail that a lot of the data repositories just don't keep because they advertise frequently undercounted underestimated. So by creating a natural language chapel, you can't off somebody. Question. What is your current balance sheet? You are. How much did you sell last week and how much is left over using a I machine learning. You can start to put together the financial picture of a company in order to give them inclusion. To do that by just using a conversation versus something to complete or to go into a bank where they may be intimidated with filling out an application form finally gives the seats at the table that informal deserves. Is that what from from a Facebook perspective and a big company perspective, what have you found in, uh, the again the opportunities and the challenges of serving technology products to the market? I think that they're a couple of opportunities in the continent. We certainly located as, ah, wide opportunity regions. I think they're number of things first, to the to the stuff that you started with it so often that when we discuss Africa, we don't get the granularity off the diversity of the region. The region is quite diverse. It's a region that is to that 54 countries and those languages so way. Look at that, however, a technology company, our single biggest day to make sure that we continue to bring people in line. So that's where we start. Fundamentally, we still have a region that is under collected, so we make sure that we're bringing people lining. We're giving them affordable and good quality Internet so that they can have the kind of conversations that you're wanting them to have so at a base level that is a region that we deal. It was. But if you just take a step forward and you look at the region, this is gonna be one of the youngest regions in the world. And how are we dealing with that? And what? What does it mean for technology and bringing young people in line? That is something that is very exciting for us. This is gonna be one of the region's, which has perhaps we're going to have some of the highly intensified city. And we're looking at that. How do we make sure that these cities are not only then, but actually they have the technology to make them run? So we really, really excited about the prospect of the region and were cognisant off what we need to do today so that by 2025 the region had can live up to the potential that everybody talks about. And even though you mentioned, uh, communities that are not yet connected that are not yet online in Africa, those who are are very connected, and Facebook has 145 million users on the continent, and you in in Africa, you've got the highest percentage of access via mobile phones. It's at 97%. So it is the highest out of any other region. And it's interesting because now, with Facebook, you know, new pivot more to messaging payments. It seems like the Continent sort of already had the perfect marriage of maybe not perfect in perfect marriage of of telco and Fintech, which I'm sure you have a lot to say about as well. But can you explain? Sort of, you know, are there opportunities that are unique to Africa today? From Facebook's perspective, Because of that mobile penetration, the key thing is, yes, your point. There's 100 and 45 million people that come into our service is every month. Now that is a huge opportunity. What we see a space book is two things of financial service is, for example, there There's a group off industries that, for some reason or another, structurally, people are serving structural issues. So what she's solving for his issues off people that are unbanked in all of that, So their companies and amazing innovation in that area finish service has been one of them agreed have been also another area, very great area serving and almost fixed in some of the issues that we've heard before from this tractor point of view. And then, on the other hand, Africa just like any way in the world, This is not a continent that only looking for useful solutions. We're looking for solutions that are going to take a far. We've seen companies that are beginning to drive at this point in time. Adopting a I saw some of the issues that they have beginning to take V r. Beginning tucked up, though, So I think that when you look in Africa and the play, I always start with the diversity issue, the problems, the opportunities are equally diverse, exciting because we are really there with a I am really driving some interesting technology to some of the real issues in Africa. But on the other hand, there was a panel area on hooking up, up, make up some of the company's already using. They are for you to be able to try and lipstick and purchase. So e commerce is beginning to boom because of things like messaging platforms. Social Comment is one of the fastest growing comets that we've seen the region because people can actually could converse and transacted. Are you really are using untapped opportunities in fintech and other technologies that come to mind that are really, really workable on deductible to the market? Yes, and in a weird way, I mean, who could see the future? The things that I see coming online that are really solving problems outside of natural language chatbots are some of the things that will debunk most of the ideas that people have become super comfortable with. Especially, it comes to what we visualize a smaller medium enterprise to bay. It's not some little woman in a colorful outfit trying to dig a hole and feed her family on $2.50 a day. Thank you, Sally Struthers, which you've never done that it's more than that. We are company, for example, funds up for half a 1,000,000 for for a trade transaction. What we're seeing is more people getting comfortable with funding the missing middle with more than they ever had before. But in order to do that in a way that the threat of the digital divide does not put people into those that have digital access and those that can't afford it being able to create the algorithms that measure people both by by their ethnicity, by their culture and the places that they really come from, and understanding the African genome for success as it relates to How do we really behave when no one's actually really looking? We need to be able to open up. So facial recognition, intellectual property management on I. D. All of these things are actually an impertinent hat to financial institutions and to the world of fintech. We're really talking about the difference between those that will do well. And with companies like Facebook, they are becoming what we saw in the wild Wild West, whereby it wasn't the people that came to dig for gold. The people that kindly helped create the pick, axes and the shovels in order to create an ecosystem that worked for the long haul regardless off geopolitical, regardless of anything else, but creates that opportunity for men, women, Children, everybody the democracy of opportunity. That's what Fintech is doing. So again, access to capital measuring algorithm, secondary markets, housing, finance, education, secondary education, post professional education and AP eyes and connection to places that really just begin to see the tip of the iceberg and, you know, you bring up but several good points, but you mentioned facial recognition. Technology is a few other forms of tech, and obviously we have seen unequivocally that technology is a double edged sword used as a force for good, it can be used as a force for bad. I want to ask you from Facebook perspective. You know, we have this issue now across the country, not just in Africa, of course, misinformation, campaign hate speech on the platform. And we have seen how hard it is to police. And even when the right policies maybe are in place to enforce, right, how are you addressing it specifically in This has been a hot topic. There is, I think it's been a huge topic around the world in one that we take huge responsibility for, and we continue to work on it, and I don't think we'll ever get to a place where we say finally, we've sorted it out. But this is what we're doing in the region. We already have spectacles in the region. So around the globe, what we had set up is that whole system off fact checking and we don't do. We don't check the fact ourselves, but we'll go ahead and partner with various companies, and we've done that in the region, will set up in many of the countries where we believe that there's a huge numbers of people coming online. So we do that. So that's one area off the work that we do. The second area that we do actually have introduced content moderation in in the continent. So we have people in various languages. He spoke about 2000 languages. You don't have all languages represent, we don't know. But we have a lot of the languages that people use. Okay, spread almost in a geographic pattern is almost predictable. Basing on the origins off, whether you were a trader or a nomad, for example, feel I made in Poland really emulation rules that so we will continue to expand the languages that are available. But we feel result that is that really important, that the people sit in the region and they're able to do that and just generally across the world, our A eyes getting better and better at being able to detect that speech as it happens before you. And I even seed at some point you can up to 90 95% of the time. Detect that before anyone. If you post something, eh? I can detect it and folded victim Oh, completely holding back and send it to really humans to say I think this needs to be properly so this is a global phenomenon, and this is something that we take particularly hard, hopefully not reaching just to make sure that we are good. And we believe that we're a force for good, particularly in the region. I want to turn to you for questions in just a second here. Do you keep your questions in mind once but real quick A question prevail because this came up in another earlier session on transformative investing and you mentioned or somebody in the room mentioned the French Government fund for African startup. And that's not the only government fund. It's not beyond, you know, their private sector funds as well. Of course, focused on the confident, but you raise a really interesting point about it. Uh, it's not a net positive. Can you please explain your view and not necessarily in that positive. Before I say anything, please. French government impact of policy, not French humans, that I have a challenge with you. So just want to say this. I I have come to understand and feel very comfortable playing that very few African nations have survived contact with French colonialism, and the fallout from that is that the the economic engagement in the ability for these countries, Cameron or any other Francophone nature to take a strong sense of leadership and self agency is highly impaired. So we're moving into a new fourth industrial revolution right now, where, by the opportunity to become fully realized, fully globalized and to be included as a human being has never been better before, especially in the hands of women in leadership. However, the legacy off some of the policies that have been in place that govern the management of Treasury, where African bank can put their hard currency where the evaluation is constantly being pushed. The ability for many individuals to take natural resources and do transformation on the continent means that various industries don't get to grow. We have in Douala camera, for example, we are the gateway to the cement region, but we don't actually teach logistics. Instead, we have one individual that manages all the logistics for us, and we have other industries that should be skyrocketing right now. And the impetus for my comment was that there is an opportunity for Africans to use digital transformation and smart investment to become great contributors to the world, to not be in need off handouts, that there be collaboration and cooperation and that there are some of us who take this very personally as their their directors. It's our responsibility. How do we use technology to spread enough innovation, skill and bravery, chutzpah, so to speak, in order to save our continent so we can make a better contribution to the human race? We've got more of us than there are of you. My gang is huge way have amazing resources. And the best resource of all that I mentioned was the 1.1 current human beings with brains that desire to do something better with themselves. And that's whether that comment came from okay, I know we have questions I do when I get to them. Uh, we have Mike runners. Take a question over here and then we'll go to you. OK, shallow David for again. One of the constraint to Internet access in Africa is the limited digital infrastructure on the continent. Onda, we know that if there is sufficient, did you tell him investment you Dr e Commerce, like you said financial inclusion et cetera. Now it's good news that AWS have finally decided to invest at least starting from South Africa. And I believe Microsoft as well. Now the question is, are you collaborating with them that have, given the areas you work into, kind of encourage the spread off, you know, investments in cloud investments in data centers, because without that, everything else we're doing it is gonna four flat. Thank you. You could be very brief. In your answer. We might be able to take one more very quick question. I think you're absolutely right. This whole idea of connectivity is not something that one company can do. And we have seen the greatest amount of collaboration, particularly in this issue, off building infrastructure, to be able to developed the continent. So absolutely, we're going to see huge investments over the lot next couple of years, just around infrastructure with governments and also private companies and wear happy to play a role in that. Yes, I used them both. Yeah, one more very, very brief question. Think over here. There's my coming to you right over. Thank you. Im Lara, from Jordan. I work for a public service TV station. My questions for you know, regarding the changes that happened without the algorithms on Facebook, what would you say is most important, uh, metric a news organization should watch out for, in terms of meaningful engagement enjoyed and 70% of Jordanians of under the age of 30 and Facebook is the main platform to access information. So it's our responsibility to deliver fact based news. What should we as the admin watch out for in the in the metric? I think for us what is important, really to make sure that people get accurate news and we will continue to make sure that people get accurate news. So you have the ability to check the sources and make sure that whatever you're reading at this point in time is valid. And you know, the source is so that's one set off. Ah, things to watch out on one end and ultimately you want to make sure that people remain engaged. So we continue to work to people that actually put content on our platform and drive that constant and make sure that the content is good and sticky. You talk about young people, I can talk about some of the programs that we do, for example, in Nigeria working with content creators. This is something that we take personally responsible for to make sure that content creators are put to the rack contents from our platform. It's a game that will continue to expand. Unfortunately, sitting here today, I can't talk about Jordan by immediately very, very involved in the idea off the content that goes into our platform and also making sure that from the news point of view that that is accurate and that you can actually check it. Well, we do need to wrap up. And I'm sorry. No, we had more questions, but thank you so much new New and viola for joining us today.

Welcome. Jillian, of course, is the CEO of booking. com. And Kareen is the co founder of TomTom. So since we're talking about AI, I think as with all things AI, we have to start with some data. So I have some data here that I want to get to. But I want to ask actually the audience to answer These same questions. How many of you believe that AI will be a competitive advantage in the future? Show of hands. Pretty much the whole room. [ LAUGH ] I'm glad you're participating, yes. [ LAUGH ] And how many of you would say your companies are implementing AI? Okay. Pretty good share. So, there's a study by a Boston consulting group that asks these same questions and it found that 85 percent of firms agreed with the first question that AI is going to be a competitive advantage. Just 25 % of firms said that they are implementing it, and 5 % said they were doing so extensively. So I'm curious, we talk about ourselves being in the age of artificial intelligence, why aren't those ladder numbers higher? I mean, what's the hold- up when it comes to Taking what we think is gonna be such a great competitive advantage and actually putting it to work. Do you understand? Yes so if I look at Bukincom, Bukincom has been always already a very dated driven company. So the step for us many years ago To move in to machine learning was a very logical step. And then because also you have all this data sets ready to be use, right? In this [ UNKNOWN ] which is the first step that many companies need to in that text and investment, I think so We did that, and throughout the journey today, people touch machine learning everywhere from the search ads we have on Google to once people land on our products in booking. com towards which agents answers the phone call for certain customer to We translated 2. 2 billion words last year, which is all done by machine learning, for instance, so. And I think, yeah, it starts with the data itself, I always say. All right, so what's the hurdle to getting the data? Yeah well, I think you need to have it. It's all data driven, and not a lot of companies have got that amount of data. It depends on your business. If you look for us, the same thing, I mean for years we've had. You know, we're mapping the world. Every hour, so you got huge amount of data. The data needs to be labeled, and then you need to have a real purpose for it. Often in companies, you have someone who comes to the board of directors, and says well we need to do AI and it's. Not easy to understand what for and people would think AI's about have a chat button or it's AI that's not the case in Buso industries actually that censor everything we do. Right yeah so you're both implementing AI. You mentioned with customer service especially at booking and with automative driving and. Mapping. Yeah we've done it actually for about 15 years. Yeah. So just just to and for you as well. I think the all business are built on the analysis of that data. That's what makes us productive performance predictive and then predictive rooting for example. So do I. So you're a you're advanced now compared to these figures here you're in that latter category when you're really using AI extensively, I'm wondering. Even even though you're at that point, what is your top concern right now when you think about artificial intelligence, the future of it, what sort of keeps you up at night in terms of, you know, how you're implementing it and the future of Those projects. Yeah, for me, it sits in two areas. The first area is if you think about technology and how technology in the future will be the driver of social and economic change, and then if you look at diversity, then you already see the challenge and I think that's something that needs to improve Prove quite quickly because otherwise we get kind of biases in these algorithms and that is something would booking we picked up some time ago where we really started focusing on how we can make sure we bring women into technology for instance. But this is a focus that many companies need to have because otherwise we'll get to other types of challenges in the future. And then the other part. If you think about the travel journey that's quite complex. So. And probably one of the most complex things to do because a trip has so many elements and then. Technology has a huge opportunity to improve these type of experiences but it's also a very challenging one. So we need to take that step by step. Sure. Yeah I think bias is a big problem there and a lot of examples that you should go to only a. All the algorithms are programmed by white male, it's not a good idea and I think [ UNKNOWN ] and I are actually doing quite a lot to promote women in technology. And I think it's just technology in general, education and technology. I'm always a bit flabbergasted by the fact that government don't realize. The whole world is going digital everywhere. And the same time the education system is just not coping. And the fact that, in most countries you're not bringing tech education early on at school, I think that is what keeping me awake at night. I think in the future it's not gonna be between rich and poor. Pool, the divide would be between the digitally literate and the digitally illiterate, or the digitally enumerate. And I think that there's a tsunami about to happen. Everything we do, the way we shop, the way we date, not anymore, but young people in the audience, anyway. [ LAUGH ] And the way everything that we do the way we travel, the way we drive the way we consume news everything is driven by algorithms. And if we don't empower this generation to understand what it is that's behind the decision they're making then they won't be at the table they'd be on the menu, they'll be there with Simply be the victims of that, and I think that's a problem. Right, well, you've actually done something about it. Well, both of you have, [ CROSSTALK ], the education aspect that you mentioned. Can you talk about your [ UNKNOWN ] college? Yeah, I think both of us are I'm putting a lot of effort on our own time as well to encourage people to code. SO I opened a coding school so that not for profit but also very diverse where you don't need any qualification to go into so that's. I really believe that it's important to get that tech education as widespread as possible. All right get funded some scholarships for women? Yeah we do lots of initiatives. We do. We fund scholarships to make sure we get more women into stem subjects. We do to technology play maker wash to recognize women that have changed industries or companies and. And mainly focus on technology as well. So, we do mentorship programs in a lot of the big tech conferences, which there's a high need for. So we bring women and we mentor women that are there on these conferences, so there's lots of [ UNKNOWN ] that we are deploying. Do we have any audience questions? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Not yet. I wanted to I'm sorry, we have one right in the middle. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Can you introduce yourself? Thanks very much. Hello, Nina Dos Santos, Europe Editor at CNN. You talked about coding schools for younger people and the need for education around the world. To incorporate technology inside syllables. But what about technology in the older generation, and how AI can be used to help people at that end of the age spectrum. Thanks. Yea, I think it has to be everybody needs to think a little bit of the journey so it's primary education the school that has started is eighteen plus, and there is no age limit actually, so anybody can train When you have big workforces like us, Gillian's got a lot, many more people than I have. How many people do you have? We have 17 and a half thousand. Yeah, I've got only five. [ LAUGH ] But anyway, not five people, 5, 000. But The issue we both face is how do we train our workforce for the future as well. So it's a lot of the job that exists today won't exist in ten, 15 years time. So a lot of the thing that we're working on this is and we're in an extremely competitive environment driven by technology. So one of the core. Thing we do within the business is actually training, constantly training our workforce. You probably have similar. Yeah. It's across the spectrum. When we talked earlier, Grin, you said to me that tech is a bad news story right now. We see this, you talk about the automation of jobs, and the potential loss of jobs. Data privacy is obviously a big issue. We see pushback from employees against the use of artificial intelligence and things like weaponry and, we hold drones, that sort of thing. I'm wondering how you think that you can change that narrative what needs to happen to sort of changed the tone around tech and it kind of gets to the point about Reaching other populations that aren't always talked about in these conversations. You want to talk about tech for good. I'm a great believer. I've been in technology for 30 years. I'm a great believer in technology's actually solving huge amount of problems. And I think we need to look at technology in that concept and I think we need to change perception Explaining. Technology is gonna revolutionize health, for example, and travel and the way we drive and the way we-- It's gonna reduce death on the road as far as we are concerned and make the world cleaner, safer. So there is a lot of good side of technology as well. Yeah, and I think GDPR is actually, I think a good example of what Europe has brought in legislation. And I think even with GDPR companies still can can use a lot of data sets to improve their experiences. And I think coming together like you're dead is actually a very positive change. And it brings a lot more clarity to consumers what happens with their data. I think it's often the unknown which also drives that people have this fear. Yeah that's a really that's a really good point. The fear of the unknown. I think we have a question. Another question right in the middle. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Thank you. Alice Hawthorn, you've already alluded to gender bias being a problem in AI. What are the solutions? Because as you've explained, so many of these systems are driven on historic data. What sort of measures can be put in place to minimize The impact of gender bias in systems from historic data, and what needs to happen going forward to make sure that it is more diverse and inclusive, and more accurate. Yeah, so it's a few elements. So, if you think about the algorithms are basically as good as the data is, and then If you think about the algorithms today. They're written by people so it starts by bringing more diversity within technology in my opinion and then it starts with HR and then it starts with how can you make sure and that's even you can use AI within HR. So we already do it for instance when we put our job efforts to make sure there's no bias in that and you can use. Data even to make the stuff of improvement, but that's where it needs to start. And we realized that there's even not enough women out there and that's why we started to stimulate through sponsorship scholarships and these type of initiatives but they're still A load of work to do because today there's not enough women that are choosing even the subjects to study. Give a final thought. Yeah. And also same with So generally, especially in Europe, it's not the case in the us so much in Asia but especially in Europe and also in the stirrups a bit different that women don't embrace technology in terms of coding and Falco Dam, I spent a lot of time I want fifty percent of women I've got thirty percent. I'm not there yet but we've done a lot of work in the way the school is bright and lots of colors everything we advertise and the way we, we do lots of gross hacking we go. And of personas of women we and we talk at them in evening we invite only women with women speakers in cyber security. We make it look sexy and you know what happen? We get them. Yeah. [ LAUGH ] [ INAUDIBLE ] So well and it's really question perception. Because it it formed because you cannot impact and coding is about creativity. I was saying to Gedion, we have some young women who did, who just created from academy and join a coding school. So, it is very much in the mind. It's about solving problem by creativity. So we can all change perception. Great, well, we're going to have to leave it there. I think our even our next panel might talk about this but thank you so much grant and Gilliam for being with us. [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

MPW London 2019: A Discussion About Implementing A.I. in the Business World 

What it takes to deploy new-tech for a winning company—and a better world.

Thank you for doing this. I'm sorry you got the short straw and have to deal with the guy on the stage but Why do I get the guy? [ LAUGH ] [ LAUGH ] So you were in media. You were top executive at the Guardian. So you suffered problems that we suffer. You escaped You went to turn around EasyJet and now you've come back. Why are you coming back to media now? Well look firstly I didn't feel like it wasn't about escape, I mean i think Guardian Media Group had a great, we had a good strategy. And the strategy was to divest all our businesses which was highly profitable, Australia being one, Emap, Radio. We just divested all of those businesses to. We knew the Guardian was going to need a lot of money and the core purpose of the group, it's owned by trust was to keep the Guardian going in perpetuity and so actually that was strategy's worked, and the Guardian's now kinda at a break even though they lose money. They're allowed to lose that money because that's exactly what the fund was created for. So it was an escape I just felt that I'd been there 20 24 years in total. Because I went all the way through and then I ended up running the group I thought I would have you know if I didn't leave. Then I would never have left. And Easy Jet was a great opportunity. And it wasn't exactly as if I was escaping because you don't go to an airline for an easy life. Yeah. No, it, that was no simple turnaround Yeah it was really not a simple thing and then actually, I'd done nearly eight years at EasyJet, and I felt that the value I'd added I was never gonna be able to add again. I'd done a huge, Yeah. Amount with a great team. And so when I thought actually I was gonna probably do something completely different. Must ba a PLC CEO, because once you've done the PLC, it's very intense, it's something is of out of your control, economical look etcetera, etcetera that it pressurize and it's very quarterly driven. Yeah Yeah [ UNKNOWN ] Actually I had done that. But then I TV came along, it was just very interesting. I think media is really fascinating. Well, that's why I ask the question about coming back to it. Because you live through. What Facebook and Google were doing to the print media and now you're coming back into television right at the moment that Amazon Netflix a consolidated Disney are jumping into that space What makes you think that I TV which is healthy company in the UK context but pretty small compared to those guys yeah Can survive and thrive in the land of the Giants .>> So we're kind of very clear, I think their, their, their land is a very big land. It's a global land. And we are global in production, but not as a broadcaster. And so you know what our focuses is very much about strengthening the broadcaster. In your home markets and being the best you can possibly be at what you do for your viewers at home. On the production side, by production I mean we make lots and lots of programs. But we make them for anyone really. So Bodyguard is very famous, that was on the BBC, we sell to Netflix, we sell to Amazon, we sell all over the world, we send to sales lots to CBS. Doing I love Ireland and possibly I'm a celebrity all over the world. Either our formats either scripted I drama or unscripted are on everywhere. And that is a global scaled production business and that's good hedge for us. particularly when you are exposed to advertising volatility. I mean, everyone in this room will know that advertising is both cyclical and can be volatile. So, that's that. Then, our third big thing has been direct consumer which is where you're referring to the Netflix and Disney. Now, we've never done that before But my view has been very much strategically we have to get into that because we have a huge amount of content that is distinctive and we can commission originals because we know what we're doing in that space. But the key to that was collaboration. We can't do streaming in the UK without being partners with the BBC and vice versa. So we've. We've teamed up with the BBC. It will be called Brit box it will launch in the second half of this year and it is into. It is also about being distinctive because we are not ever going to be Netflix. We don't want to be Netflix. I mean actually Netflix is does a certain thing extremely well. We will very, we will be complimentary tonight. I can tell from the way you're making this case that you've had to argue vehemently for your for your strategy. Interestingly not really. So our shareholders have really got it Really. There isn't one shareholder. They may say actually ironically they may say you're spending enough. Some will say, Can you really win? They'll still ask the right questions about this. What at the end of the day .>> End of the day, they kind of look at you and they go, you've got so much content, archive content, recent content, that actually not to take advantage of something really critical that has changed in the media landscape, which is that Consumers are now willing to pay. When I was at The Guardian, consumers were not willing to pay. They would not pay for content. Well let's talk about that for a second because Fortune's going through the same transition that you're talking about. I I suspect 10 years ago, it these revenue was pretty much all advertised hundred percent, which is which is kind of where we were now while the revenue and you're talking about a transition which 10 years from now will mean How much of your revenue is directed? I wish I could answer that because then I think I would really really have the entire media industry cracked, if I could tell you that. Yes. But I think what I'm sure of is that there will still be. Advertising and linear I think there will still be advertising full stop cuz a lot of people will see the trade off between watching advertising and getting free content. There will always be a free to air equivalent, I think linear will be. Will remain a medium that advertisers will want to be on because it will be the only way you can get mass simultaneous reach at quality and scale and brand safe. So I think there is still a market for that. Yeah, But it will obviously be Less. Worse than half? I don't know but I think it will be less than today because a lot of it will have transitioned to online, so our investment strategies so far has been to really, really invest in what we call ITV hub which is our online offering where you get everything on all of our channels on hub, and an addition to that, When I joined ITV, 18 months ago, we did not have one data scientist. 18 months later we have an entire department which has data scientists, analysts, people that can really interpret data and make the user experience better and personalize and recommend. Now we're on a journey there As they say and we are having to catch up cause no- one in the past thought about doing that and yet we can't compete if we don't do that and that's relevant for advertising Yeah In terms of what we get on video on demand on VOD. It's also really relevant i think when you're all gonna be i hope Birdbox subscribers. [ LAUGH ] Right away. You will have a user experience that is just like Netflix and that's what we've gotta give you, we've gotta give you some Start where, if you're a great fan of drama, we say here are all the other dramas you can watch. If you really love comedy, here's the other comedy we've got. It is very different though- and we talk about this and think about this a lot at Fortune- it is very different to move from a world Where you're trying to create nice environments for advertisers to live in, to one where you're really courting the customer, you have to make sure you give them something they are willing to pay for, and really it's a different mindset. It's I think and you are right, to call it a transition. It's a transition and transformation and some of that is about skills and capabilities. A lot of it is about making sure you get the right skills and capabilities to do both and they're not the same people. And the other thing is a big cultural shift and that is harder. So you can bring people in who have capabilities to do the work. But actually I believe what you have to do is make sure everybody in the company understands the shift you're trying to make and tilts towards it. And it is a different tilt. Yeah. Everything in a broadcaster is tilted to Those big audiences and the big advertising money. So, I think you you shift from tilting to it to optimizing what you do in broadcast, because it's still hugely, Valuable business but you have to tilt towards doing things differently, you have to be a digital company in every way. That means ways of working, it means the way you look at space, it means the way you work. It's quite a bit thing You will have to compete against Amazon and Netflix. You have- But we compete with them for time, right? We're not head to head with Amazon and Netflix. Because it's not like being in broadcast. You're not looking at a share of broadcasting. You don't think there might be a limit to how many subscription service those people would pay for? Yes, I think there will be but I think we have not reach saturation point on that and that's what all the research says. The research says it all comes down to value. People want what they really want and they're willing to pay for it. And they will watch it in their own time because with a streaming service it's not really time critical so they kinda go I can watch it whenever I want. I can watch it when I'm commuting, I can watch it late at night, I can watch it at two in the morning. They're watching off schedule. At the same time I think it's important for me to stress that the broadcast business. 75 % of people are still watching that live. Now if I'd asked you that question, if I [ UNKNOWN ] that question they kind of go 50 %. 40 %. It's 75 %. What are they of people watching live. What are they watching? They watch sport live, obviously. Sports. [ CROSS_TALK ] It's important, I think, again a decent amount of sport because That's a live audience. They watch entertainment live. So especially if it's stripped entertainment so if violence is on and it's on for eight weeks, they will watch it every night. And then the catch up is actually quite small on that because once you missed it, you can't you you will come in, but it'll be a much smaller audience. The thing that is watched a lot on catch up We'll be dramas because you can just stack them up and watch them more and more. Binge watching [ CROSSTALK ] .>> Kind of binge watch or just watch it in your own way. But if it's entertainment and it's on kind of weekly, you kind of watch it weekly. So that drives that still drives [ UNKNOWN ]. You probably, my guess is you don't have time and lives .>> And news of course is news. Thank you for mentioning. Yeah a very big [ UNKNOWN ] and it's so important to us. That I'd kind of take it for granted that people now I mean ITV news is incredibly important. We're a public service broadcast. So you think that will help keep broadcasting alive for a long time? I think it does keep live audiences with you for a long time. You can't do that in pay in the same way. My guess is with the job you have right now you don't have a lot of free time to do this. But if you were going to binge watch. A television show, what would it be? Funny you should say that. You know, I haven't watched any of Victoria, which is an ITV show. I haven't watched any of Downtown Abbey. My goodness. [ GASP ] I know. My secret is out. You need to take a sabbatical. I will literally And I don't get to. So there are shows that I would watch right from the very beginning. So I didn't watch Victoria this year because I haven't watched any of it. So I'll go back to the start and watch all of it. So there's loads of stuff. There's so much stuff. You just miss that's on broadcast. Yeah, I'm still trying to catch up with Game of Thrones. Well. [ LAUGH ] Look, thank you. ->> It wasn't that good apparantly, although I'm a fan. Yeah, it didn't get as glowing reviews. At the end. I thought, yeah. At the end. And right at the end. But we don't have to go there. No don't. [ CROSSTALK ] Fascinating conversation, although brief Thank you for being with us today. Great pleasure. [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

MPW London 2019: A Conversation with ITV CEO Carolyn McCall

Carolyn McCall talks with Fortune CEO Alan Murray about ushering ITV into the streaming game.

Again, we have two of our amazing list women with us on stage this afternoon. Alex, of course, is the CEO of Procter & Gamble Beauty, goods that pretty much everyone else in this room, and half the population of this planet, use and cannot live without. Ash is the transformational specialist who has changed the business brought it back to life. Melanie has been breaking corporate barriers in Germany a really tough place for women in the roles that you have been in. And she handles our CFO a business at the core of Germany's export driven economy. At Deutsche Post DHL so she gets. Her creams and lotions to pretty much all of us and our shops. Right. So we heard from way and an about their view on the drum beats of trade wars. You both have been pretty much on the record looking at your businesses one which is a consumer goods business relatively protected from concerns and worries. Where do you come down on the way the world is viewing uncertainty and even you know at the European central bank sending out warnings about all of these. Tariff and trade war battles having an impact on the real economy. Who wants to go first? Let's start with you Alex. Okay, fine. So I think, as you mentioned, I think we are in the business of daily use products that play a major role in people's lives. And we compete in categories where performance drives regards product purchase. I think ultimately what's important is keeping the consumer at the center of all of that so, so yes, there's lots of warnings and our consumers hear them and and we hear them But ultimately what I have found, and what we have found, in the categories in which we compete they are all growing kind of low to mid single digits in all the major regions of the world, including Europe. So I think ultimately We are focused on delighting that consumer, and we know that that can continue the markets in which we compete being healthy. So the wallets are still open? They are, now we compete in categories that people tend to need to use. Daily use categories, shampoos, and conditioners, and soaps, and lotions, as you said, so I think ultimately, they aren't really discretionary categories. At the same time, know there's always the potential that people will trade down and put less cash out of their wallet in times of economic uncertainty. And that's where keeping the consumer at the center and making sure we're providing products that delight him and her. At current and even higher prices can allow our markets to be healthy. And that's our ultimate goal, is to keep our markets healthy. Ellen? Yes, so we are the postal office for Germany but we are also the largest logistics company in the world. So we work in 220. countries and territories and logistics companies are seen as bellwethers for what is happening in the global economy, and of course tariff conflicts and so on to have an impact. [ INAUDIBLE ] On us but when you look at the numbers we see for us as a company in the first quarter we saw continued growth. It was not on the same level that we had in 2018 and 2017 but so for example when you look at our global cross- border express shipments we saw a shipment growth of 5 % in the first quarter of 2019. So there is growth. It is at a reduced level, but growth continues. And what we also try to do is look at it in a more systematic way across a logistics industry. We publish a global trade barometer every quarter. And when you look at what we saw for the first quarter, end of March, the numbers had come down compared to December By four points but we were still above 50 so there was still also from this big data sample clear evidence for continued growth. It's a bit of a question that i've always had when you look at the Germany economy. And you being at the heart of it There are concerns about the dependence on exports. When you look at the German economy with the number of, I think the number you gave me was one in every 400 Germans works for you? Does that worry you that they're talking about consumer demand in Germany just not being strong enough to sustain A trade war if it happens. Obviously the German economy is export dependant but what we have now seen also over the last quarter is actually there has also been some solid internal demand and this is quite clearly in our numbers. So I suppose to operate from our legacy we have a share 45 % on the German market. And when we look at the parcel growth, we saw, and that's kind of domestic parcel growth, we saw a 7. 7 % volume growth in the first quarter. So there is also continued internal demand. Obviously, there is a lot of fear and a lot of concern. And you can also see that in the political debates And that is maybe one of the most concerning things for me. At the moment, there is a tendency over the last years, that people don't look so much at the facts, but more at sentiments. And I think fear is a bad advisor. We talked about that in the free discussion, that we all have a scientific background. So I think one other really important thing is Yes, they are concerning science, but there's also a lot of evidence that the economy continues to do surprisingly well despite all the talks about trade wars and so on. All right, let's get some questions from the room. You've had a chance to have to appetizer whet your appetite a little bit on a bit of the main course. Do we have questions? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Not yet so here's what I'm going to say, there's one if you can get someone with a mic. Perfect, thank you. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Yes hi [ UNKNOWN ] Rosen my question is for Alexandra what do you think is underpinning [ UNKNOWN ] I think the structural growth in the beauty cosmetics segment that we are seeing and what are the kind of key drivers that you see? I think human emotion [ LAUGH ] is the biggest driver- Is my mic on? Mm- hm. >>of the beauty categories. I mean I think ultimately, and I'm sure people have heard of the lipstick index. I mean, even when the economy gets starts to struggle. Lipstick does fine, because ultimately, the products that we sell are largely accessible in the industry, I mean. Of course, you can choose to buy something for $ 100, or something for $ 5 in the US, or euros, or pounds, or whatever currency you'd like to speak in. But ultimately, it is such a core part Of who a woman is how she presents herself to the world. That I think ultimately the beauty industry always has that expansive growth potential even in times and sometimes especially in times of Of challenge. So I think at the end, that's the core of it. I would say also though that there is with the rise of influencers and social media and the accessibility of brands and branding That has kind of grown the industry, in terms of people wanting to try more and more things. And they may have one face cream in their cabinet, but then they see an influencer who they really trust and follow And they recommend something else and so they'll try something else and so I think ultimately we're just seeing more and more expansion of the market behind expansion of the number of products in any given category in a woman's repertoire. Is there one product that you think of Melanie that would start raising along Bell for you? That the real economy is starting to look shaky. Is there one segment, one industry in all your logistics business that would be part of your index? There's not the one single sign, and I think there's also, for us, one of the comforting dimensions. Being active in 220 countries and territories There's always something going wrong, right? Like you always have a conflict. You always have some strange tariff behaviors, you have a currency devaluing. So I think it's not the one indicator, of course, we also look at what is happening from China to the US. I think for me, one of the real challenges now particularly with regard to the last four weeks is Tariffs are the one thing. I think now using more and more regulatory tools to ultimately play tariff politics, or trade politics, is making things increasingly complex. I mean just looking at the list of regulations you have to comply with if you want to transport stuff from one country to the other, to certain companies It is really getting complex. And I think that, of course, for us also, one of our key competencies, to have our customers being able to find their way through this jungle. But I think this increasing amount of regulation is just making trading increasingly complex, and that is, for me, a big concern. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] There we go. Got a question from the room. [ UNKNOWN ] My question is for Melanie. As you described yourself at the bell weather if you will, how do you relate to companies like Amazon, who are moving From book selling to selling everything, to now going into the logistics business. In other words, where is your real competition coming from? That is a very good questions which I also tend to get quite frequently from our shareholders. So Amazon is a very important customer of ours and we have worked with them successfully for a long time. They are an important customer and we are an important supplier for them. But, of course, where it makes sense for them, they also start doing their own logistics activities. When you look at what happened in Germany It has been at a significantly lower pace than what we saw in the US and also in the UK, but of course, it's everybody's right to start doing their own logistics activities. I think for us, the most important differentiator is, going back a little bit to what you said, Be extremely customer focused. I think as long as we give the best service including all the technology features that makes an incentive to move away from us slower. So, I think for us, the best way forward is to focus on our product offering and on delighting our customers. What are the innovations both of your companies are doing when it comes to technology to ensure that the real economy keeps ticking along? So, in our skincare business, one of the biggest challenges in skincare is women don't know which products they ought to use to deal with the skin concerns they have or the areas of opportunity they have. We launched a tool called Olay Skin Advisor, a couple years ago now, to really help women find those right products for them. And it is a combination of IP on photographic technology that compares skin to a data base. And artificial intelligence and machine learning that makes it smarter with every woman that has used it. So now, 5 million women around the world have used it and it recommends a lineup of products that it will tell you your skin's age versus your chronological age and then the products you can use to. To help improve your skin where you care the most. These are the kind of things that are allowing us to help women find their navigate their way through a confusing category using their smartphones and it's increasing basket size and regimen usage and it's growing the category in our brand because of that so It's a great I think way to help have technology intersect with the consumer products market. Technology plays a big role already at [ FOREIGN ] Yes, so I think there are many examples from supply chain resilience based on big data to drones. I think for me one of the most Relevant and interesting trends is sustainability in the supply chain. I mean obviously as a logistics company we have a very sizable CO2 footprint and we recognize that more than 10 years ago so in 2008 we put out our first goals to increase our carbon efficiency. We have now given ourselves as first as a six company the goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. And we have an interim goal by 2025. I mean just looking at the European elections here from a week ago, that is obviously a big topic also for the younger population and we want to find a way to make our Carbon footprints are greener over time. One very concrete example is, we were the first logistics company to start with electric delivery vehicles. As we couldn't buy them from the traditional automotive manufacturers, we started manufacturing our own electric delivery vehicles. We now have 9000 electric delivery vehicles all out in the streets in Germany and this spreading them across Europe now and that makes it the largest Electric delivery fee to in the world and of course when you think about diesel van and or the my pollution problems I think that's a clear trend. They are from a financial perspective. I'm the CFO after all, I think that this is also going to be financially relevant for any logistics company. So I think we're doing the right stuff, which is also important for our younger colleagues. But I think it's also an economical imperative for logistics company. So this is core to your what if scenario where if. Say the ECB or anyone else's warnings come true, these are the technologies and the innovations that will keep you ticking along, right? I think if you add value, if you add value to people's lives, then it makes you relevant and you can weather those things. Right. Yep. Question at the back, please. Is it on? Yes, good. [ INAUDIBLE ] It's a question for Alexandria which actually I had earlier, but follows perfectly from what you just said. And it's not about the real economy, it's really about the future of society. I'm talking a bit to let you start thinking about it. [ LAUGH ] It's about note packaging. Cause I can imagine it's a huge dilemma and that you've been thinking about it for a long time. All these things that are sold to help make us beautiful or whatever it might be come normally and terribly biodegradable packaging and 20 years ago nobody cared 10 years ago not many people cared but today everybody cares. And you spoke about innovation, I'm really interested if you could just share a little bit about how you are thinking and doing research on changing the way you package the billions of things that you produce, because we'd all be really interested in it. Terrific. So, I do think there is There is the societal need. There's the there's the earth need, I think Procter and Gamble in general, we we view ourselves as a force for growth and a force for good. And we view innovation as the intersection of these things. So one of the innovations that we've recently we highlighted at the Consumer Electronics Show As well as in several of our analyst calls, is a fantastic innovation that we're building off of our paper making business that ultimately is a their single use no water. Cleaning products whether they're for your home or for yourself and you add the water and you use them. And so when you combine the challenges of shipping and logistics big plastic packages full of water. We are looking to really, of course, we're looking to also improve the footprint of our existing products and the existing packaging. Looking at biodegradability, and all those things. But really, really, we think the breakthroughs will come with some of the innovations that we're working on, that would eliminate water in products entirely, and eliminate the need for bottles, then, to hold the products. So these are the type of things we are doing to be both a force for growth in the world, but also a force for good in the world. You want to take that since we're at the which boasts we are looking at the sustainability angle I mean how is it going to be different from the massive amounts of packaging that usually come in. Yeah I mean if you have been working with our customers of for example and you can most area I'm particularly the start of some don't have some logistics competence themselves. To make sure that intense of packaging in terms of volume metric features they really get the optimal jaw but of course V. are transporting stuff and that is why all focuses particularly on making sure that we get to the most you too efficient way of transporting goods around the world. I'm gonna do a rapid fire because we're almost out of time. If you had to name three bright spots in the global IQ of, you know, the global environment. Three countries that you really are excited about and three that you're worried about when it comes to the economy, which one would they be? We know we talk about the US and China a lot. But give me some idea what you're thinking of Alex .>> Well its hard not to say the US and China they are both huge markets and there are so much upward mobility still happening in China, I mean I think there is just tremendous growth in China. But a lot of the Southeast Asia countries also are very interesting. Indonesia is a great space for growth and then India as well, in terms of growth factors that I'm really looking at. Current countries I'm worried about, I mean I think the countries with aging populations are concerning for a long term business. Whether it be Japan or some of the European countries. Or, frankly, the US to. So I think that there's, that's the way I think about it, consumer based. Yeah, it's funny I would have said Southeast Asia first I was just in Vietnam and the amount of economic potential and growth and dynamic you see there is just overwhelming. And I'm going to India next, because I think that is also I mean it has been talked about for a long, long time. But we are seeing real progress there, so I think those countries are clearly growth potentials going forward. I think generally in terms of countries I'm concerned about or trends I'm concerned about is when we look at the last four decades Global trade has increased wealth for mankind in an unparalleled way. And yes, we all know that there are injustices and not everybody has benefited in the same way. When you look at all the data, global trade has really increased Standard of living across the planet in the developed countries and in the developing countries has reduced child mortality and so on. There's not a single country which has been successful by going that isolation, isolation route. So I'm deeply concerned about the isolationist trends and countries thinking that by decoupling themselves from the rest of the world They have found a way for bright future because that is not the case. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

MPW London 2019: Will the Real Economy Please Stand Up?

What is the global consumer’s wallet saying about the state of the world today?

So, we have two of the very top global experts, global economic experts also two women from the fortunate most powerful women. lyst. Thank you both for being here. We're going to start As we like to do sort of like the big get to know you. We like to get to know our panelists as well as talk about issues. So Wei, I'm gonna start with you. So Wei Sun Christianson is CEO for Morgan Stanley in China and co- CEO of Asia Pacific. And fascinating career because she's tracked the entry of China. She grew up in Beijing. Went to school at am hearse the first Mainland China woman to graduate from Amherst. But her career is tracked the entry of the of China into the global economy. And you actually helped with the regulatory structure for Chinese companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange early on. So You know a lot about china but she also has kind of a fashion bug and she ended up joining the board of Estee Lauder. Lynn, is Lynn still here? Patty and I happen to be with John Mack the former CEO of Morgan Stanley a week ago and he was raving about you. He had to break a rule of Morgan Stanley to even let you sit on the board because of all the conflicts of interest and investment bank but how has that experience been? Well, it is great. And first of all, I have to, also thank Leanne, and because she was one of the very strong voice With be as louder board and the recommending me and also pushing Lennar louder to really make a plea to [ UNKNOWN ] Stanley, I'm very grateful for the firm to give me the opportunity as Laura is such an amazing company. I've learned so much and especially at the time that one we're building business and the governance Standards and where I come from is very different, so to have the first hand experience, the sitting on the board and to learn about the best industry practice from this fantastic company is a great plus, it's a lots of fun, you know Yeah, yeah Talking about make up and all the [ UNKNOWN ] Yeah [ LAUGH ] You know. Fantastic. And you're a graduate of Shettfield University. You are executive vice chair of Mastercard, but n fact you're kind of an engineer by background. You studied math. Was it physics too? Math, chemisty. Math. Well, masters Physics and chemistry before university a few months at university. And what I love about Anne's background she was the first woman ever worked to work in the UK on an offshore oil rig. Tell us how that went. Well I mean it was great fun. I loved working outdoors and. And when I actually told the head of insurance engineering, I've love to do this job. He said, you do know that you have to pass your option safety certificate. Which involves putting out kerosene fires, escaping under war ship grounding helicopters. Rain drops like dropping. Yeah, dropping into sea Said yeah but that's just the fun [ LAUGH ] So I love the life And you almost your uniform or the uniform the underwater thing didn't .>> I had a mom's small Rubber suit, survival suit. And when they threw me in the North Sea and all, it was April, it was freezing, I nearly got exposia because all the water just rushed into the suit through the face area, which just was too big for a woman. So they had to make me a new suit, specially for me. I love that. Which has subsequently left on a train to Charing Cross, and then had to go lost property and say I've left my rubber suit on the train. [ LAUGH ] And the guy from lost [ INAUDIBLE ] said uh- huh. [ LAUGH ] [ LAUGH ] Okay, to more serious stuff, let's go to the global economy way. The Economist had a big spread this week or last week on the jobs boom in the world. For all of our concerns about volatility and uncertainty in the markets, unemployment is at record lows in industrialized countries, the UK, the US, Japan And employment record high and US is moving into a one of it's longest period of expansion. But there is still that volatility trade and we're not allowed to use the word war, trade tension between the US and China what's going on. Well, when we talk about global economy, I think it's really important to look at the US because it does provide some directions. And in us, I think the core fundamentals are quite strong, as you said. That 3. 6 % of unemployment rate is very impressive, but most importantly, there's is coupled with the rises In wages, so that is a very nice combination. And in addition, the consumer sentiment and spending has also rebounded and there's a very muted inflation and we don't anticipate That the Fed will raise interest rates before you earned. So those are the good news but there is a still a downside risk as [ CROSSTALK ] And the trade, talk about how you see that playing out this trade war tension between the US and China. Well the trade tension as you pointed out is not a war is a tension that we've made that distinction are quite important distinction very closely because if they're war or trade war will be all in much worse big trouble than now because China and the United States was the second and largest economy in combination represents 40 % of the global economy which is a size of a eight year trading. So US is a 21 trading and China is 30 and the distant three Japan is a five trading. But, so, these are the facts that we have to face. These two countries represents the largest global economic growth and also they dominate economic trades. So, when these two countries in Sort of a, you know kind of a battle and they have tension and the escalation of the tension and the re- escalation of the tension that happened recently is not good for us, is not good for the world, we will be all actually feeling the pain, because these two countries actually have depended on each other. More than you know. China's surplus in goods, US surplus in service, and they rely on the consumers of their respective countries to really absorb that supply. And also With that case of globalization, the industrial supply chains have changed. So in fact, when we talk about goods made in China, it's a very different concept now than before. 2017, China export, total number Is $ 506 billion to the United States, out of which 60 %, six zero represents [ UNKNOWN ] Made by multinational companies operating in China, either wholly owned entities or joint ventures. So this is really not products made by the Chinese companies being heard and create This trade war is really a global situation that we have to really deal with. And certainly, I think this is the time that we need a reset about the relationship between the two countries. Because China 20 years ago was the economy of 1. 1 trillion only and it's really hard to say china had much impact outside his country but now as a second largest economy so what china is really thinking is how to engage with the rest of the world and the data Has evolved as well. So therefore there's a trade war. It is not about how to trade and on what terms are we having the trade it is about a negotiation on the new terms of arrangement. Between the two countries. So this negotiation process could be seen as a process of two largest economies of the world and they're trying to really reach a kind of agreeable terms of engagement and try to coexist with each other. That's what this is about. And what's upper most on your mind when we were talking about the rise of nationalism globally. Is that what worries you the most? Well it's very interesting to hear always comments because you know ultimately we are trying to serve the consumers around the world. And what I see As I travel around the world these people are becoming more similar but governments are becoming more polarized due to nationalism. And we got something like 2. 5 billion in consumer products out there in the market. And so we're looking at the whole Global trade and supply chain space. And saying, how can we assure that everybody gets what they need around the world with these big global supplies chains? And so [ UNKNOWN ] when a big technology company, so we're working with the technological language of saying. Let's work, we're working with Microsoft, and we've built a global directory that has 220 million companies loaded on there, from big huge companies to small Companies, and remember that women are running many of the SMEs around the world. And through these kind of global directories, we can allow them to trade. But obviously, it's very important that we ensure that the agreements that [ UNKNOWN ] is talking about actually reach between the governments. In her case, she was talking about the US and China. But we know sitting here in Britain that because of Brexit we may be in a situation that we're negotiating our own trade agreements outside the EU, if that happens. And so this really is a global issue and it's in all our interests to solve it. And it's gonna be a fantastic US UK trade agreement. I heard out of the White House just love. Okay, so. AI is something that's on everybody's mind, it's going to shift and is shifting the global economy, and you're part of the AI council here in London. You've made an interesting comment where you say it can't be the Internet of everything if it's not the Internet of everyone. Tell us about that and how that connects to your concerns about AI. Yes, I mean obviously we've been looking at things like financial inclusion and the World Bank stats on that are good. More people are included in the financial system of the last few years, an extra half a billion. MasterCard itself have actually committed to delivering half a billion people into the system be between 2015 and 2020 and We are already at about 400 millions, so we are well on track. But you know you can't be included into the financial system unless you have got some means to connect. And today for example, there 600 million people with mobile phones that don't have bank accounts. So obviously you got build mobile products [ UNKNOWN ] mobile phones But then if you think about it, how do you reach people in remote areas of Africa or in India or in different places around the world. And how do you get them included when you're busy rolling out 5G across the world and everyone is going to be connected up? This is an issue that a lot of thought and attention is being put into. And I think That what has to drive that is innovation, and it's a two way street in that lack of inclusion also makes you come up with more innovative things, and probably at the heart of all of this is an identity 1. 5 million people on the planet today don't have any type of identity, digital or physical. So if you were born, woman born in Africa, you don't have a passport, you don't have a driver's license. You don't have a bank account. You don't have a birth certificate. So the thing is how do we create digital identities of the future that work for everyone. And speaking of divides where you had concerns about A. I. creating more of a divide. Yes, if there is such a divide, I think this is between developing countries and the developed countries. Because as we know that AI is extremely effective in helping, driving productivity, In the developing countries and that is obviously a huge challenge, is about economical growth and growth driver and the increase in productivity. And that is very effective. However, in developing countries Then it's a very different story. So where people actually are more focused playing catchup on the best industry practice and the The groves of where I come from, from Asia for instance, a lot of the countries is, actually larger groves and coming from the structural changes and the reforms and policy supports coming from this country and so therefore AI will. As it's being developed in the developing country more quickly will create you know the gap, and increase, you know, enlarge the gap and polarize to a certain extent, the differences between developing and the developed countries even more. We have time for one question. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Anybody? Yes, stand up and tell us who you are. Keep the answer. Hi, Sigrid Johansson, working for the Dutch government in Washington. Thank you very much for sharing your views. One of the most dark scenarios as an outcome of this trade war could be to Internets. Two separate internets. A Chinese one and an American one which will also lead to separate markets. What can be the role of Europe in this cuz we're caught right in the middle? I think when you talk about two internets actually Very interesting because I do have a scenario of a [ UNKNOWN ] in China that I want to share with you. But before I go there, so I think that actually Europe and the UK can play a very critical role. I think as a China and the US are very much caught up in this Very intense, ego Asian and there was so much escalation sometimes attention building up. I think we need more rational voice and we need a different perspective or look at globalization will look at the impact of technology and the look at this whole Issue about what people are afraid of and that I think large for truth is to be told. I think this whole negotiation reflect one point that of course both governments know what they're doing, but at the same time I think the. There is a misunderstanding for instance, in China to internet means there was a consumer internet there was a technology internet or industrial internet, the industrial internet China is actually like in way way behind the United States. They IT service spending over China is only 18 % of that. Of enterprises in the United States. But yet, because of all this fear that created about China become a technological giant that displace United States, actually I think is unfounded if you look at that data. But of course, the consumer Internet is different story because you have 800 million Consumers, 98 % of that is using smartphone. Different from US, 75 % is using smartphone. The rest is using PC. So that means the Chinese consumers that have easy access And also, you know, in China now you have the super apps, which you don't have elsewhere. Yeah. The super apps actually means that you really have access to all different kind of services by entering into one service. So there are things that China is doing is scary. Growing really fast, but there are also things that the Chinese is trying to play catch up. To catch up on. Yeah, that reality needs to be told. So question for both of you. Are you gonna be at the reception and dinner? [ LAUGH ]. Unfortunately I'm not. Okay, well Way is. This is just an appetizer for the discussions of the global economy, so I'm sorry we have to end it here. I hope you will seek out these wonderful women and Talk more about it. Thankyou both. Thankyou. [ APPLAUSE ]

MPW London 2019: Top Finance Leaders Discuss Global Growth, Risk and Innovation

With Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chairman of Mastercard, and Wei Sun Christianson or Morgan Stanley. 

There's a reason we pick precedent to come as our first guests cuz we knew we would not be late. She has to get to the state dinner cuz she has to manage the security of a President, a Queen the entire families of both. So we are gonna be on time Cressida. Thank you. Luckily we've done the makeup sir. There you go right. She just has to. She just literally has to head over. So here's my question for you since the makeup is done, and what is that state banquet gonna look like tonight because I think a lot of people are wondering, How fun is that party gonna be? [ LAUGH ] Well, I don't know exactly. All I know is it will be Glittering. It will be on a large scale. It will be very exciting. The people at Buckingham Palace have the amazing ability to be both obviously very formal in some ways and very informal and make the humblest and the person who may think that the most important person in the room. Feel really, really special and welcome. So I'm sure it will be great fun. It'll be fascinating to hear the speeches, cuz I'm sure that we will get some really interesting insights into the tone of both. But it'll be a great night and. I'm the commissioner of Metropolitan Police. We adore protecting visiting heads of state whoever they may be. It's extraordinary to have a state visit and then want one on this sort of scale. We've done that before, we'll do them in the future, but it's a great time for London. How different is it going to be, because I know you and the mayor had to take a lot of heat in the last, if you were here during the extinction rebellion. protest. There was a lot of heat that you had to take. How much preparation is different this time around for a state visit? I know you do so many of these. You've done a lot with U. S. administrations before and how easy is it gonna be for all of us to travel tomorrow back to here? [ LAUGH ] So when we take our role really seriously on the one hand to keep safe the visiting head of state and their entourage and everybody connected with it and of course our own role family and on the other hand in Liberal community like ours, to ensure that if people wish to protest lawfully, they can do so without crime and do so socially. So, we do those both things, and it's just not about this two days, The heads of state are meeting up the heads of state down in Portsmouth and again, my protection of this will be with them. We always put an enormous amount of preparation into every visiting head of state visit. And we work really closely with our counterparts, in this case, from the United States. We have a really long established relationship with them, as you say, and we will be pretty firm if protesters are intending to try to protest in a way, which is unlawful and very, very firm if anybody wants to do anything which might in any way in danger, the security of the business, obviously. So we've done a lot of preparation. I'm very confident I've got great people. I'm sure it'll go well. Well I know I wanna come to all of you for questions in just a minute because I love getting you involved in these conversations right off the top of the bat. But to set the record straight, there's a lot of talk about how many officers are going to be out there protecting the president at the time of Brexit uncertainty, budget cuts, blah, blah, blah, How many offices, what's the budget looking like, can you set the record straight from what we're hearing. So I am not gonna give any details cuz we don't, we tend to add it all of our [ UNKNOWN ] to it but all I can say if she's read things like 10000 offices, that's completely wrong. [ UNKNOWN ] Miles above what we will be having. And actually this particular visit, in terms of the number of protests and the complexity of the protests, at least as they have been made known to us, is very much less than last year's. So I think the stretch on us and we work really closely with other police forces on UK policing. Is this year, less than last time, the president of the United States visited us. Well here's where the conversation gets interesting. I know we introduced Cressida as the first female Met Commissioner, lots and lots of other firsts that you keep getting labeled with. And I remember reading somewhere that people call you the first female Met Commissioner or the first openly gay Commissioner. Is probably the most boring thing about you. What is the most interesting? [ LAUGH ] Goodness [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I think is anything very interesting about me. I love my job. I started work on patrol, not many, you know hundreds of meters away from here as a beat constable and that's what we do and at heart I'm a beat Conservancy. I'm now leading an organization of 40, 000 people with lots lots of national and indeed some international responsibilities but at heart I'm a police officer and I've had a wonderful time doing it. Well, let's get some questions if you have any cuz we have so many questions about security, national security, terrorism, knife crime, we have our mic handlers right there. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Hi. Alan Murray. Sorry to take the first question. I'm demographically unqualified for this. [ LAUGH ] But I'm curious because in the United States, there's gonna be a lot of talk about technology in the next couple of days in the United States. We've had these voices pick up San Francisco first saying the facial recognition should not Be used in law enforcement in the city, I'm curious what your view on that is? Yeah so I think that's fascinating and important. I mean London is for those who've been here relatively and frequently, it's a very safe city we need to keep it a safe city into the future. And London's wealth I guess depends to a large extent on being a place that you know not least foreign investors want to come and be And put their money and and live. And we, as we go forward in my view need to make the best use of modern technologies, but obviously in a way which is acceptable to the public because we have to balance individual people's Security within the individual people of communities failing about their privacy. And in the death rates that is quite a complicated conversation but it needs to be had. [ LAUGH ] And I actually believe that live facial recognition technology properly overseen, properly thought about, properly [ UNKNOWN ] is something that our public would probably expect us to be doing. You're sitting in a city that probably has a greater density of CCTV, much loved by the public than almost any city in the world. And used by the police to protect people as it's happening all over London at the moment and also to do investigations if a crime does occur. And live facial recognition I think could be very useful. What's a debate we're not having? So in so many ways, the bad guys are adopting the newest technologies very fast. Hostile states of course adopting new technologies very fast. And in law enforcement in this country some adoption of new technologies and of course we're talking to for example our colleagues in New York and other American cities a lot about technologist but what there isn't enough of his public discourse about what is acceptable and what isn't some what people would want because It needs to be a political decision informed by what the public want, not a decision made by what you might call a secure [ UNKNOWN ] I've got an interesting safety. Of course as assistant I've got an interesting liberty and privacy as well, absolutely. But the balance needs to be talked about and there needs to be leadership around these issues I'm trying to Gear people up a bit in this country but I think we need to talk about it and not unfortunately in the very binary way that it is often talked about. Cuz this is nuanced and difficult. Does that worry you? That there are comparisons to a nanny state, a police state when we start talking about technology and the use of facial recognition and people throw up other countries as examples? Where's the wrong word? I think it's important that we have always you know, in a in a in a place like this, you know the back of our minds a proper fear of what might be described a police state. You know nobody in this city wants to live or work or visit a place in which You know data is used to control the citizen any more than we want to. You know your visiting or living in a city right now that still has a primarily unarmed police service that prides itself on policing by consent and upholding people's human rights. So we in all their forms. So we absolutely don't want to sort of. Go by mistake or without thinking about it, down a road which actually intrudes n a way that seems like people are being watched in a way they don't want to be watched. Or controlled in a way that's inappropriate. In the The norm or ethically. Finding that [ UNKNOWN ] is quite hard in one word. I'm sure some of you wrestling within the way, because people have different with the disruption of new technologies. People have quite different views about leprosy, and who are to be able to intrude in what way. That's quite hard getting the consensus. But I think, to cut to your question again sir. If a terrorist is walking down the street out here, most of the public in London would have thought that probably we were always using technology that ought to be able to get that person stopped. And if that included life facial recognition, they probably think for the most serious crimes it ought to be being used. We're miles from that, by the way. But unfortunately, when you watch the Bourne Supremacy or Bourne or any of those things, it's full of it. And we can't just put our heads in the sand we are risk on one hand being really, really, really left behind, or on the other hand, intruding in a way that subsequently It results in a great public enquiry and loss of competence in their police service which is the most fundamental thing in this country. People need to trust their police and believe they are people of integrity. And you being working on that to quite an extent when it comes to recruitent and all of these other issues, the question here is night crime comes up if you live in London, protest, domestic terrorism. You talked about foreign influence to cyber crime, organized crime. When we head in to Brexit you've also been pretty vocal about how we may be on the back foot so when you combine technology Brexit potential down the road. How do you see the next couple of months and your leadership, playing out, when you look at how you have to tackle all of the issues that you're facing as a [ INAUDIBLE ] commissioner Couple of months. Well, we're hoping. [ LAUGH ] She gives me a couple of months, that's good. I'm hoping to carry on for a few more years, but not. No, a couple of months until Brexit or until we decide what we're doing with it. I see, so specifically about that. Well, we are the metropolitan police, we have Scotland Yard, we're a well brand. We're proud of what we do and we're very well known on the streets of London and We need to maintain a sense amongst our citizens and our visitors, that this is a place where people know what they're doing, they're getting on the job that present, they're out there, they're supporting and protecting people, and preventing crime and they kinda investigating on what we can't. And. Actually, the B work doesn't affect that very much at all. That's just what we need to be doing. We are working really closely with the government. We're working really closely with other colleagues in European states similar roles to mine to make sure that whatever the framework after we can make the most of it. But absolutely, it is the case that if we were to come out without any sort of deal Then there ill be an awful lot of work to do to be able to replicate these current systems that we have access to. For example, automatically or the European arrest warrant which is very powerful. Replacing that for example by traditionally slower, more expensive, more difficult. We would have a steep mountain to climb. But I don't want people to think that in saying that I am saying you know its a very gloomy picture although you know London is usually at risk if its simply that there have to be alot more investment and we have to work really hard too. Lets get another question from the room. Can we get a mike handler. Any perfect, thank you. Thank you. I'm living in Johannesburg and I work across Africa, where policing is quite intellectual. Could you introduce yourself .>> Sorry, Sheila day before I work with Standard Bank and I work across sub Saharan Africa, not even in Johannesburg. And policing is quite immature. Often there is excessive use of force. Now, throughout your career you must have seen the Metropolitan police mature. Do you have any advice or any lessons learned in terms of Reforming the police and building capacity. Thank you. I've seen it change hugely here in 36 years as you say. I don't know how much the parallels although, but I would say It's very, important that as far as possible you recruit and develop good people. Good people of good values, who are broadly, if possible, incorruptible, and you can protect them from corruption. Secondly, it's incredibly important that the outside world looks in and comes in to policing as much as possible. So we are highly accountable. We're highly transparent and We have people looking out our work, our tactics, our strategies, our policies, our practice all day long and reflecting back to us. But also talking to the public about whether that's good or bad or indifferent. We've increased that transparency by the, I haven't got one on but all my front liner officers have. Body worn cameras. And have had for about three years which they love to use because it they say it protects them from complaints. It gives them good evidence. So increasing accountability, increasing good governance and increasing in my view, transparency raises standards. It's tough, but it's very important. And increasing diversity is just fundamental. Being a police service that people will have trust in a police service that's going to be effective in the modern world must be very, very diverse in all its forms in my view, which is why we've been going on and on about 100 years of women and we're already probably have more women and more rights, more roles and more levels than any other police service. I think But we want many more but it's not just that sought of diversity of cause because you know, here you are in the most diverse city on the planet and we have to have the confidence of the public in all of our, most of us communities that are, people have to feel this their place not an invading force, this is their place that they can trust and they are well with not a constant work in progress. Got a little bit of work on the way actually. [ LAUGH ] Well, we have a little work to do here as well. [ LAUGH ] Thank you very much to all of our guests here. Thank you. Goodbye. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you, it was a pleasure. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

MPW London 2019: A Conversation with Cressida Dick

Cressida Dick, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, talks with Fortune's Maithreyi Seetharaman about advances in security technology, and how London police prepared for President Trump's visit.

MPW London 2019

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Věra Jourová, the European Commission's Commissioner for Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality, talks with Fortune's Maithreyi Seetharaman about Brexit, big tech, and how she has "dreamt about having a nickname from President Trump."

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