Leadership in Flux: Contemporary Challenges
13 – 15 September 2019, Rhodes House, Oxford.
18 – 20 October 2019, Wilton Park, Sussex.
Aspen UK’s first two residential seminars, which encouraged participants to reflect on ‘Leadership in Flux’ have taken place to much acclaim. Organised in collaboration with the Aspen Institute in the US, they bought together two truly diverse groups, including senior individuals from politics, banking, journalism, academia and the creative worlds, to explore the geo-political and social forces at the root of global tensions today. Both seminars asked the participants to consider the leadership possibilities that these trends have invited and enabled.
The seminars were both moderated by Leigh Hafrey, Senior Lecturer in Behavioural and Policy Sciences at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Over three days of discussion and debate, participants weighed up our evolving desires, assessed what it takes to create a marketplace, debated whether there are historic constants in authority and autonomy, and ended by envisioning a shared, technologically enhanced future.
In both seminars attendees also enjoyed a range of cultural activities, including attending Evensong at Christchurch Cathedral in Oxford, and a wine-tasting by Nyetimber, one of England’s top sparkling wine brands.
‘Aspen provided a unique opportunity to consider one’s role in global and local ‘society’ at an individual and collective level, providing multiple lenses to better understand how different groups interact and can work to establish common ground. At a time where understanding the interests of a wide group of stakeholders is more important than ever, it was an exceptional opportunity to develop different perspectives on strategic thinking and leadership.’
James Emmett, CEO HSBC Europe & HSBC Bank Plc.
‘The careful curation of delegates and content, and the rigour with which Aspen and my fellow delegates approached the topics for discussion, left me inspired, challenged, and better informed. Connecting with peers from a variety of backgrounds in this unique setting lay the foundations of lasting, real and mutually supportive relationships across sectors.’
Syima Aslam, CEO and Artistic Director, Bradford Literature Festival