Thinking

About the Event

A Changing World - Rethinking the Brand Agenda took place in London on 22 May 2008. Guests from the United Kingdom and abroad were informed, stimulated, and engaged in debate with a diverse mix of speakers from business, academia, and the brand world. The following speakers offered their perspectives on change and how it relates to business and brand issues today:

• Andrew Welch and Ian Wood, executive directors, Landor Associates, revealed fresh findings on responsibility from the Cooler, Landor's global-change and consumer-trends study.
• Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive, WPP Group, spoke about brands and the future.
• Professor N Venkat Venkatraman, Boston University School of Management, talked about the opportunities and challenges of winning in a network era.

If you would like to see our speakers' presentations, you can access the podcasts here. Or you can see a short summary video of highlights of the day to the right.

Thank you to all of our speakers and guests for making this event such a success.

Next: Podcasts

Fresh findings on responsibility

Andrew Welch, Executive Director

Andrew has spent over 10 years with Landor in the London, Paris and Madrid offices. His passion for a holistic approach to branding saw Andrew integrate his efforts with the Corporate Brands team which he now leads across EMEA. Read Andrew's complete biography.

Ian Wood, Executive Director

Ian's dual brain approach helps form a strong link between the rationality of strategy with the inspiration and needs of consumers. Read Ian's complete biography.

Brands and the future

Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive, WPP Group

Sir Martin Sorrell founded WPP in 1985 and has been chief executive throughout its history. During that period, WPP has grown rapidly to become one of the world's leading communications services groups. In his early career he worked with several high-profile entrepreneurs, including Mark McCormack and the Saatchi brothers. He is an Ambassador for British Business and received a knighthood in January 2000.

Winning in a network era

Venkat Venkatraman, Professor, Boston University

He was awarded the 2004 and 2006 IBM Faculty Fellowship for his work focusing on business challenges in the network era. His research and teaching lie at the interface between strategic management and information technology with a particular focus on how companies position themselves to win in a network era. He has been recently recognized by Thomson Financial/ISI as one of the most cited researchers in strategy and information technology.