The Future of Business

Whether it's dealing with regional economic disparities, global geopolitical upheaval, climate change, or the impact of new technologies such as AI, we are living in pivotal times.

Business schools will play a key role in helping to confront these huge questions, and our forthcoming Festival of Business, which we trail in this issue, will be encouraging attendees to precisely explore the role that businesses can play in helping society find viable and sustainable solutions to these grand challenges.

One of our speakers at the Festival is Will Periam, Vice-President for Finance and Transformation at Ford Europe. The automotive sector is going through huge change at the moment, and writing in this issue he talks about how the industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation and how Ford is responding to the challenge.

Regional inequalities

Elsewhere we carry an interview with one of Britain’s most respected business figures, Sir Terry Leahy, who has so generously funded a new Sir Terry Leahy Chair in Urban and Regional Economics here at AMBS which is being taken up by Professor Philip McCann.

As Sir Terry says, the UK has some of the largest regional productivity inequalities of any developed country in the world, and tackling these disparities is key to unlocking the country's growth potential.

However, doing so requires extensive research into the key drivers of these inequalities and what can be done to solve them. Both academia and business have a key role to play in working with policymakers to find and implement the solutions required.

Whether it’s dealing with regional economic disparities, global geopolitical upheaval, climate change, or the impact of new technologies such as AI, we are living in pivotal times.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Yet again the theme of AI runs throughout this issue. We report on how the Faculty of Humanities at The University of Manchester has been awarded £2.73 million to enhance its research and teaching capabilities over the next five years in the areas of AI, trust and society.

AMBS has also helped secure a major grant from Innovate UK to create and embed an AI-augmented digital twin at Dover Harbour which will provide a dynamic year-round simulation of the complex tidal flows across the harbour.

Professor Michelle Carter also offers a thought-provoking commentary on whether we are doing enough to ensure AI impacts our lives in truly beneficial ways, and talks about the widening chasm between the pace of technological change and our capacity as humans to adapt.

Events

Finally, we have hosted a series of really successful events in the first half of the year. To name just a couple, the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research welcomed almost 500 delegates from 33 countries to the prestigious Geography of Innovation conference, while Tom Beahon, co-founder of Manchester sportswear manufacturer Castore, gave us a fascinating Vital Topics lecture recounting his business journey so far.