A firm solution?

Speech by the Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Sharon White

Britain is facing a decisive decade of economic change as technological change combines with Covid, Brexit and the rapid transition towards a net zero economy. These challenges are set against a backdrop of rapid demographic shifts, and a legacy of low productivity and high inequality.

Business will find themselves at the heart of this seismic economic change, and could play a decisive role alongside Government and wider society in helping to navigate the country through this decisive decade.

Are British firms ready for the scale of change to come ? What role and responsibility does business have in solving the problems and seizing the opportunities change can bring? And what lessons can be drawn from a business that was built on a purpose of trying to make the world ‘a bit happier’?

As part of its ongoing Economy 2030 Inquiry with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a keynote lecture by the Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Sharon White on this topic. Sharon will be by joined by author and former Treasury Minister Jesse Norman MP, alongside Lord Willetts, to discuss the role of business in navigating Britain through the 2020s, before an interactive audience Q&A.

The event will be available to attend in person with refreshments available beforehand, and broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.