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Author: Jericho Chambers

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Jericho is a boutique consultancy, specialising in trust, purpose and engagement. Our podcasts deal with complex public policy issues, both for clients and society and aim to break beyond conventional echo chambers to bring about meaningful change. Find out more: www.jerichochambers.com

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We recently interviewed Sir Geoff Mulgan, as part of our Jericho Conversations series.Geoff Mulgan is one of our smartest thinkers. He was Director of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit (and before that Director of the Performance and Innovation Unit); Director of Policy at 10 Downing Street under British Prime Minister Tony Blair; Co-founder and Director of the London-based think tank Demos (from 1993 to 1998); and Chief adviser to Gordon Brown MP in the early 1990s. Geoff is now a Professor of Collective Intelligence, Social Innovation and Public Policy at University College, London.When Science Meets Power is the timely title of Sir Geoff Mulgan’s new book, the themes of which were explored in this conversation. Jericho partner Matthew Gwyther spoke to Geoff about big tech and AI, the response to COVID and the future of the relationship between science and politics. 
In this conversations episode, Matthew Gwyther and Giles Gibbons discuss where sustainability is now, what non-financial audit is likely to mean for corporates in the next few years, what Giles thinks about the ever-increasing squadrons of ESG consultants selling their wares, why Good Business has remained relatively small and what Giles makes of the Bud Lite Trans blow up.I have known Giles for twenty years during which time I’ve watched corporate responsibility morph into corporate social responsibility and then sustainability and ESG with a bit of “purpose” shoe-horned in. Good Business has been running for almost three decades and Gibbons bears the scars of many campaigns - from the ill-fated but interesting Big Society project with David Cameron through all his interesting work in the food and hospitality industry and work with big corporates like GSK, Disney, Coca Cola and The Gates Foundation. Giles knows what he’s talking about which is why I must have interviewed him half a dozen times. He's normally my first port of call as a journalist writing about these issues. He gives great, authentic and uncompromising quotes which are always free of word salad flannel with a greenwash dressing.But he is still pushing and has recently written "We’ve gone from pushing water uphill to a time where social and environmental issues are an essential part of the mainstream business landscape".We’re now reaching a point where delivering the change becomes much harder. Businesses have taken the (relatively) easy steps. The actions they need to take next are harder. They require more substantive change and in some cases significant capital expenditure. At the same time, the buffer put in place by the relative success of their sustainability action so far is protecting the business from the kind of exposure and criticism that would galvanise decision-makers. So action is stalling. In our conversation about where sustainability is now, we discuss what non-financial audit is likely to mean for corporates in the next few years, what he thinks about the ever-increasing squadrons of ESG consultants selling their wares, why Good Business has remained relatively small and what he makes of the Bud Lite Trans blow up.
The latest podcast in the Ahead of the Curves series, supported by Stifel Europe, is on the subject of Experts and Expertise.Responding to an AI enthusiast who had Tweeted a picture of 'what the rest of the Mona Lisa looked like'  the picture above appeared as a response with the caption - "Ever wonder what Venus de Milo's Arms look like? With the power of AI our team has recreated it."AI promises many things, most of which involve taking over from experts, professionals, and even great sculptors. Is it getting too smart for its own good? And is our judgment - borne of years of sometimes bitter experience - going to see it heavily regulated?How can you tell when you’re dealing with a genuine expert? Real expertise must pass three tests. First, it must lead to performance that is consistently superior to that of the expert’s peers. Second, real expertise produces concrete results. Brain surgeons, for example, must be skilful with their scalpels but must also have successful outcomes with their patients. A chess player must be able to win matches in tournaments. Finally, true expertise can be replicated and measured in the lab. As the British scientist Lord Kelvin stated, “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.”We’ve interviewed three experts in their fields - three individuals at the top of their professional game. They are intentionally diverse: psychology, investment banking and paediatric surgery. If - for whatever reason - you venture into their fields - they come heartily recommend. (I must apologize that they are all men. It just worked out like that. And it won’t happen again)  What I’ve asked all three of them is first, what the nature of their expertise consists of, secondly how they acquired that superior competence and thirdly if they feel that the advent of Artificial Intelligence - Chat GPT and its spawn - will mean that their like becomes redundant in years to come. Will their like get chucked onto the scrap heap of history? Dr Tomas Chamorrow-Premuzic is a psychologist and professor of Business Psychology at Columbia University. His new book I Human is about AI and questions what makes us Homo sapiens unique. Gareth Hunt is an investment banker at Stifel and leads their Law Firms and Litigation Finance advisory team in Investment Banking. He’s especially interested in how artificial intelligence might erode the status and need for professionals including lawyers. Bruce Richard is a retired paediatric surgeon who specialised in the repair of cleft lip and palate in children. It took him a long while to become an expert in his field. He talks about robotics in surgery and the difficulties of passing on that expertise to coming generations of surgeons in training. We even get to discuss the medical ethics and in and outs of The Brazilian Butt Lift. 
Time stamps:Martin Wolf 1.35Nouriel Roubini 27.37Ben Page 51.10Eithne O' Leary 66.14The latest podcast in this series supported by Stifel is on the subject of the crisis of democratic capitalism. This is the title of the new book by The Financial Times’ lead economics commentator Martin Wolf. His book analyzes in great detail what he thinks has gone wrong with the system used by most of us in the free West. It’s a great read and he shows us how citizenship and a shared faith in the common good are not just romantic slogans but the only ideas that can sustain political and economic freedom. There’s plenty of Abraham Lincoln in there from “of the people, by the people, for the people” to his wonderful expression about using “the better angels of our nature.” These themes are also discussed with star economist, Nouriel Roubini aka Doctor Doom. His recently published book Megathreats - the ten trends that imperil our future and how to survive them isn’t a barrel of laughs and not for those of an anxious disposition. But he did come up with an extraordinary explanation for why China will own Siberia in years to come - Siberian women prefer Chinese guys because they’re not permanently drunk and have better financial prospects.To balance these commentators we have some real world wisdom from someone who has to run a European business in 2023. Eithne O'Leary, the President of Stifel, Europe is more optimistic that with some Abe Lincolnesque spirit our system can pull through before it tears itself apart. And old friend of Jericho, Ben Page, now the global CEO of Ipsos-Mori tells us what the world is thinking at ground level. 72% of his global survey group think their government will "let them down" in the future. (And that includes people polled within authoritarian regimes like China.) Almost 6 out of ten think yesterday was better than today.  Oh, dear. Oh, dear.
An Interview with Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, US Business Editor at the Financial TimesThis latest conversation is part of Jericho’s work to launch a new Business and Democracy Commission in 2023. We will ask difficult questions, break new ground, explore whether there is a new consensus and set out practical steps for a more effective corporate and business role in this fast-changing democratic and political context. Please do get in touch if you would like to find out more. Until 2018, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson was US news editor, directing all US coverage and helping steer the FT’s strategic evolution to a digital-first newsroom. In his reporting and commentary, Andrew has charted the emergence of a new corporate consensus around the role purpose-driven businesses should play in society, and the pushback from sceptics worried about corporate overreach, greenwashing and “woke capitalism”. His past roles over 24 years with the FT in New York and London include global media editor, deputy news editor and editor of its management features section.The business community can no longer avoid engaging with the thorny issue of democracy, both in terms of whether democracy functions in ways helpful to social and environmental developments and how businesses themselves should behave as democratic actors. The two are clearly linked. Matthew Gwyther asked Andrew about Business’ unique relationship to Democracy.
The British Government couldn’t have made its intent more clear – it’s grow or bust. But are the measures suggested to pep up the UK economy a fairy tale or genuinely sound ideas stymied by a coalition of antis?With the exception of Extinction Rebellion (and who has heard much about them recently), most of us approve of growth. Of our salaries, our businesses, our GDP – an increase in these is said to lead to growth of our collective happiness quotient.  The new government has put growth front and centre of its plans. The prime minister has said “The status quo is not an option. Only my growth plan will halt the UK’s managed decline.” She’s frustrated by an anti-growth coalition who have complacently accepted low levels of productivity, enterprise and the caging of the animal spirits of free market capitalism. So, groupthink, Treasury orthodoxy, abacus economics, and managerialism are OUT and a dash for growth is IN. But In the face of huge problems, war in Europe and a very unsteady global economy, is now the time to go radical in a dash for UK growth with large unfunded tax cuts at the centre of the strategy?Why are so many responding to government moves on tax reduction with a hesitant, “I’m not an economist but…”? If we are indeed, as the pamphlet “Britannia Unchained” – authors the UK PM and Chancellor – claimed a low productivity, unambitious country unable to compete with fleet-footed Asian economies what answers can a freed-up business provide? Does business in the UK want/ need wholesale removal of “red tape” regulation to free it to behave in different and more productive ways? Or should we be adopting an Industrial Strategy which would allow us to “Rebuild the economy from the bottom up and the middle out” to use the phrase preferred by the Biden administration in the US?   What about A New Green Deal in which the UK is in the vanguard? And, will removing caps on bankers’ bonuses make much difference?This podcast, the latest in the Ahead of the Curves series, contains responses to the growth measures from an Economist, a Banker, a Times Chief Leader Writer and a retired senior civil servant.The economist Vicky Pryce was previously, Director General for Economics at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (2002-2010) and Joint Head of the UK Government Economic Service. She’s also Greek and knows what economic hardship can ensure after poor government strategic decisions. Eithne O’Leary is a banker and President of Stifel Europe. She tells us why the markets were so spooked by the UK mini-budget, why stability is vital for investment in the UK and why many of her high-earning colleagues did not cheer the – now reversed – abolition of the 45% rate of income tax.Simon Nixon is a business columnist and chief leader writer at The Times in London. He’s a European expert having been chief European Commentator at The Wall St Journal Europe through the Brexit period. On Brexit and growth prospects he thinks two things: firstly that seeing how the UK has coped with the process has put off any other EU members heading for the exit any time soon AND that in the UK it has revealed underlying very serious structural and economic weaknesses in our national fabric. Martin Stanley is a now retired senior civil servant who worked in the DTI now BEIS, as chief executive of both the Competition Commission and the Better Regulation Executive. He’s now the successful author of How to be a better civil servant and Speaking Truth to Power. After a lifetime spent encouraging economic growth, he thinks we’re going through a bad patch and recalls the brilliance of none other than Norman Tebbitt when it came to listening carefully to expert advice and making decisive decisions. This
If you want to understand this incredible geopolitical moment then Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy, is your person. Steeped in the history of how global energy interests and finance policy have interacted to shape the 21st century – not least in Ukraine – Helen offers an unrivalled analysis of the times we live in.Helen has been at Cambridge since 1994. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She was a regular panellist on the influential Talking Politics podcast and is a columnist for the New Statesman.In her latest book Disorder, Helen explains why we in the West, live in the political times we do. Disorder has won praise from the likes of Diane Coyle and Adam Tooze who says “Defty weaving together the history of energy, economics, and politics, Disorder restores depth to contemporary history”.
As glaciers melt and dodgy peddlers of cryptocurrency go bust, we hear a lot about the “E” and “G” in ESG but rarely the “S” which is the essential jam in the sandwich. It’s the stranded middle child. Even classifying exactly what it means is complicated and open to widely differing interpretations. And even when benchmarks are created, how on earth do you measure it?This podcast is about what the “S” means for employees especially those who are at the bottom of the pecking order and are being heavily squeezed in the cost-of-living crisis. What is the relationship between business and its people within the supply chain – many of whom may be on the other side of the world? In an increasingly fractured society, business has a unique platform to make a difference and young talent are looking to work for organisations with integrity and purpose. Unjustifiably large pay gaps and fat-cattery may be coming back to bite hard.On the other side of the coin, while business may feel it wants to do the right thing and act in an enlightened modern 21st century way, but can that relationship become too close? Have things gone too far when an organisation offers to freeze its young employee’s eggs? Do people want this level of emotional intimacy with their employer or do they have every right to say, “This is totally none of your business Mr Boss Man?”The programme features interviews with three experts who have been thinking through these issues.Firstly, Baroness Wheatcroft, a journalist and life peeress who was former editor-in-chief at the Wall Street Journal in Europe. She now chairs the Oversight Committee of the Financial Times and the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions and sits on the boards of St James’s Place and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.Next, we have Penny De Valk, who has a long history of experience working in what HR people call the “people space”. She is now a digital nomad – with a large following for her executive coaching and mentoring practice which specialises in bringing women up the executive leadership ladder.And finally, Eithne O’Leary, President of Stifel Europe leads and is responsible for 400 people who work in the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain.
The first Jericho Conversation of 2022 took place on April 21st. We were joined by Bill Browder, New York Times Bestseller and the founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, which was the investment adviser to the largest foreign investment fund in Russia until 2005 when Bill was denied entry to the country and declared a “threat to national security” as a result of his battle against corporate corruption.In 2018 Bill joined us for an evening of conversation asking how scared should we be of Putin? The answer, now very apparent, is extremely! You can listen to that podcast here.Bill’s latest book ‘Freezing Order’ is a gripping thriller chronicling how he became Vladimir Putin’s number one enemy. We look forward to hearing his latest thoughts on the current situation in Ukraine, and how this might play out socially, politically and economically.
Post-Covid what does the future of healthcare look like?Nick Moore is the Managing Director, Biopharma, Healthcare, Stifel and has more than 20 years’ experience in the Healthcare industry. He trained originally as a medical doctor at Cambridge University and Harvard Medical School. In December 2013, Nicholas was named as one of the Top 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Investment Banking by Financial News, partly in recognition of the more than 20 equity capital markets transactions he completed in 2013 alone. Since mid-2013, Nicholas has focused on raising equity capital for European healthcare companies, especially those companies in the biopharma subsector targeting investment from U.S.-based healthcare specialist investors.In this wide-ranging podcast interview he talks about the effects of the covid pandemic, how you learn to back winners within healthcare, the profound changes coming down the line in the practice of medicine and the gulf between research and getting new treatments to the patient.
How do we ensure the nexus of technology, common sense and wellbeing to target today's challenges of an ageing population, chronic illness, mental health, loneliness and isolation? How do we spend health money better and more intelligently? When it comes to increasingly complex diagnostics what's the best way to the most positive outcomes? What about getting less ill in the first place? This podcast interviews five individuals. Interestingly, three of the five are qualified doctors all of whom chose to give up clinical practice The five are: Professor Karol Sikora, Chief Medical Officer at Rutherford Health and formerly an NHS and consultant;  Dr Ceri Morgan, head of late stage portfolio at Oxford Science Enterprises; Dr Nicholas Moore, Managing Director for Biopharma at Stifel; Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation and Tom Hockaday, one of the country's experts in university tech transfer.  Few require telling we are living in a strange and unsettling time. A time when health is at the forefront of all our minds. 
Samantha Mangwana practices employment law in Sydney, Australia. She qualified and practised in London where she developed a strong reputation conducting very high profile whistleblowing and discrimination against financial institutions, and less visibly, acting for partners in their disputes with global law firms. She knows what makes lawyers tick.
Anthony May was the founder of Hedley May, a high end corporate headhunter with a specialism in the legal profession. He founded Catalyst Lex in 2021 to advise major law firms on their most challenging and sensitive decisions and he advised law firms, Big Four accountancy firms, FTSE 100 corporates, financial institutions and Government entities on leadership projects since 1993.
Gareth Hunt leads the Law Firms and Litigation Finance advisory team in Investment Banking at Stifel in London and is one of the sharpest outside observers of the legal profession in the UK. He was one of the team that successfully raised DWF’s initial public offering, from which it raised £95m at a valuation of £366 million which made it the biggest UK law firm to list in the last decade.
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