SESSION 6 | Business and Innovation for the Post-COVID Era

This session will explore business concerns in the Post-COVID Era. Speakers will thus discuss best practices and innovation strategies that businesses across sectors should implement to tackle the impact of the pandemic.
This session will be composed of three conversations:

CONVERSATION 1 | Fostering innovation through public-private partnership and data collaboration
16:00 – 18:00 CET

Innovation will be discussed through the lens of public-private partnerships and data collaboration in the Post-COVID Era.

Speakers:

Carl Manlan, COO, Ecobank Foundation

Erik Wetter, Assistant Professor, Stockholm School of Economics; Chairman, Flowminder

Jessica Espey, Senior Advisor, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Matthew Harrington, Global President and Chief Operating Officer, Edelman

Samuel Scarpino, Assistant Professor, Northeastern University

Scott David, Executive Director of the Information Risk Research Initiative (IRRI), University of Washington (Seattle) – Applied Physics Laboratory

Stefaan Verhulst, Co-Founder and Chief of Research and Development, Governance Laboratory, New York University

CONVERSATION 2 | The innovation potential of the Energy sector
16:00 – 18:00 CET

In this conversation close attention will be devoted to the Energy sector and its potential for innovation.

Speakers:

Afnan Hannan, Co-Founder and CEO, Okra Solar

Anes Jusic, Senior Banker, European Bank for Reconstruction & Development

Douglas J. Arent, Deputy Associate Lab Director, Scientific Computing and Energy Analysis, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Elvira López Prados, Head of CEO Office – Energy, ACCIONA

Robert R. Denda, Head of Network Technology and Innovation, Enel

William Brent, Chief Campaign Officer, Power for All

Xiangkun Elvis Cao, PhD Candidate, Cornell University

CONVERSATION 3 | Adapting to post-pandemic consumption patterns
16:00 – 18:00 CET

This conversation will focus on how businesses can best adapt to the shifting needs and behaviours that characterise post-pandemic consumption patterns.

Speakers:

Jamie Murray Wells, Industry Head, Retail, Google UK

Leon Pieters, Global Consumer Industry Leader, Deloitte

Maria Ferreira Sequeda, Senior Economist,I NG

Michaela Pagel, Roderick H. Cushman Associate Professor of Business, Columbia Business School