Take on Tomorrow

Supply chains are the lifelines of our global economy—quietly connecting and supporting numerous facets of business operations and everyday lives. In Take On Tomorrow’s final Series 2 episode, hosts Lizzie and Ayesha delve into the seismic shifts rattling these critical networks with Darcy MacClaren, Chief Revenue Officer for SAP Digital Supply Chain, and David Wijeratne, a partner with PwC Singapore in the International Growth Practice. Together, they reveal how geopolitical, environmental, and technological forces are creating an urgent imperative for business leaders to “de-risk” and strengthen their supply chains—while also spotlighting the opportunities that exist for those who adeptly navigate this new terrain.

We live in a world of greatly increased mobility—of information, of goods and services, and of the world’s 8 billion people. We move for all sorts of reasons, and that movement can create challenges—but also opportunities. In fact, could a world on the move provide solutions to some of the challenges we face?

This week, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Ayesha Hazarika talk to Parag Khanna, author of Move, a book that examines current trends shaping migration and its historical precedents, and predicts an increasingly mobile future. Dion Shango, PwC’s territory senior partner for Africa Central and Southern Africa, discusses how those trends are playing out now—and what business should do to adjust and prepare.

New technology, from alternative energy sources to digitization to artificial intelligence, is changing how we live, how we work, and how our businesses function. But what happens when those advances move so fast that we can’t keep up? And, if businesses and governments don’t understand the technologies, what happens to society? We talk with Azeem Azhar, entrepreneur, author, and founder of the future-focused podcast and newsletter Exponential View, about this “exponential age”—and the gaps it has created.

These fast-moving technologies can also create opportunities for business. So, what do CEOs need to understand to be able to harness them? How do businesses use AI and other technologies responsibly, and what’s at risk if they don’t adapt to the pace of change? Annie Veillet, national data and advanced analytics lead partner with PwC Canada, weighs in on the risks and the upsides for business.

If you want less of something, tax it more. That’s what many governments have been trying to do with carbon. But carbon pricing is controversial and difficult to implement technically. So, given the urgency to reduce the use of fossil fuels, reduce emissions and reach more aggressive climate goals, should businesses prepare for an expansion in carbon taxation? Should it be a priority for people who care about climate change?

Hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Ayesha Hazarika talk with Danae Kyriakopoulou—from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment—about the role this kind of tool can play in the race to net zero, and with Ian Milborrow, a sustainability and climate-change partner with PwC UK, about what business needs to know.

Can you make green by going green? Could incentives be reimagined to align the power of the profit motive with the interests of the planet? Several green initiatives involving trillions of dollars in assets are already reconfiguring capital markets. But can this approach work?

Ayesha and Lizzie are joined by Alison Rose, the CEO of NatWest Group, and Andrew McDowell, a Strategy& partner with PwC Luxembourg, and former vice president of the European Investment Bank. We’ll learn why one of the biggest banks in the UK is prioritizing the fight against climate change, what it means in concrete terms, and what financial institutions around the world can learn from the decision.