SiP Speaker Diaries

Leadership under pressure

Time to round off a busy week. Our final event is with the Artemis team in London, where we were joined by guest speaker Tim Bradshaw. A former British army intelligence officer, Tim’s focus was on understanding people, building trust and gathering intelligence amidst complex and uncertain environments. Tim shared his insights into resilience, leadership under pressure, peak performance, decision-making despite ambiguity, and why it’s key to understand people rather than rely on process.

Celebrating ten years in the Netherlands

In 2026, Capital Group will celebrate ten years in the Netherlands. Today’s symposium, with the overarching theme of Forces of Change, shared unique insights into the long-term trends which will transform our lives and investments over the next decade. We delved into crucial topics such as the future of asset management, macroeconomics, human longevity and the age of AI. The keynote address was given by Professor Sarah Harper, renowned Oxford academic and bestselling author, who discussed the real-world impact of demographic change.

Aberdeen Gather 2026

We’re delighted to once again be working alongside the Aberdeen team for their annual Global Investment Forum. After rave reviews from his keynote speech at the 2025 event, Rory Stewart was also back as the external guest speaker. The former MP, podcast host and bestselling author shared his thoughts on how the world has changed in the last year, and what we can expect as we look ahead.

Asia and Emerging Markets Forum

Today marked the start of a very busy month for SiP. Kicking off all the events was the Federated Hermes Asia and Emerging Markets Forum, where we were joined by external guest speaker, Mark Williams. The Chief Asia Economist at Capital Economics, Mark’s opening keynote was entitled, The Great Rewiring: How Iran, AI and Geopolitics are Reshaping the Emerging World.

High-Performing Teams

Today, Ben Lyttleton joined us at the Professional Adviser Management Retreat South at Wotton House. During his session, Ben explored the key ingredients behind high-performing teams, discussing talent identification and management, team dynamics, and the importance of organisational culture. Drawing on leadership lessons from elite sport and business, he shared insights into how strong leadership and culture can help organisations build and sustain successful teams.

Professional Pensions Live

Today at the Professional Pensions Live conference, we were joined by Sir Richard Shirreff, former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He discussed shifting global power dynamics amid rising geopolitical instability, including the impact of great-power rivalry and fragile alliances on international security. He also highlighted key geopolitical risks shaping long-term decisions, drawing on lessons from defence and frontline leadership. Sir Richard emphasised why geopolitics is now essential for businesses and investors, and what today’s environment may mean for the future global order.

READY, SET, GO

Closing the conference today we were joined by legendary F1 racing driver, Damon Hill. Damon enthralled our guests with anecdotes from his fast-paced career, and shared tips from the track when it comes to mindset, peak performance, and adapting to change.

ON THE SOFA

Delegates at the annual BNY Investments UK Conference were treated to something extra special over lunch today. General Sir Patrick Sanders, formerly Chief of the General Staff, shared his insights into the current geopolitical volatility. In discussion with Sky’s Wilfred Frost, the pair covered compound threats, UK preparedness in the wake of Iran, the reliability of the US, the changing nature of warfare, and the ability of NATO to respond to these threats.

Investment Week Investment Summit

Today we were at Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa for the Investment Week Investment Summit, where we welcomed Dr Paul Redmond for an insightful session on the future of work and career resilience. Paul explored what it takes to remain relevant and indispensable in an evolving workplace, sharing practical strategies for adapting and thriving in an AI-driven world. He also discussed how professionals can build long-term career resilience through leadership, adaptability, and continuous reinvention.

In Discussion: Geopolitics

The final session has just begun, wrapping up proceedings at the 2026 RBC Brewin Dolphin Europe Investment Training Conference. On stage we have Mark Williams, Chief Asia Economist at Capital Economics, and Sir John Sawers, former Chief of MI6. Within a distinguished career spanning nearly 40 years, Sir John also served as the UK’s ambassador to the United Nations, political director of the Foreign Office, special representative in Iraq, ambassador to Cairo and foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair. Today he will share with us his insights into geopolitical volatility, global security, and navigating turbulent times.

Humans, Tools and Creativity

We’re delighted to once again be back onsite with the RBC Brewin Dolphin team for their bi-annual Europe Investment Training Conference. This year’s after-dinner speaker was Adam Rutherford, geneticist, broadcaster and bestselling author. A self-described AI realist, Dr Rutherford provided a long-term view of AI, offering some context on how across history, humans have utilised new tools and technologies to become more efficient and creative.

Fixed Income Unwrapped

Today we were back with Capital Group at their Fixed Income Unwrapped conference. Lord Kim Darroch, Britain’s former ambassador to the US and an SiP favourite, joined the final session of the day. The fireside chat was both discursive and erudite, covering the collapse of the international rules-based order and Britain’s place within this new framework, European security, the ongoing impact of Brexit, and geo-economic shocks in a fragmenting world.

here is a snapshot of some recent client events, featuring a range of speakers sourced by SiP.