Nicola Sturgeon

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will speak at the Conference’s Friday afternoon session, exploring the themes of leadership, governance and collaboration for innovation.

Founder of Africa-based Rise Up Movement Vanessa Nakate will take to the stage for a spotlight interview during the conference’s ‘accelerating to net zero’ session. As one of BBC’s 100 Women of the Year and 100 most influential young Africans, she will share the lessons that leaders can learn from youth activists, including the importance of diversity and inclusion, and speak about her role as a UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Scottish technology ecosystem transformation lead Mark Logan will join the panel session with previously announced Dr Rachel Sibande. Along with other panel members, they will discuss how we move from “talking the talk” to “walking the walk” when considering collaborative action for change.

Mark Logan

The IoD will also welcome the 2050 Climate Group, which works to empower Scotland’s young leaders to spearhead action on tackling our climate crisis, to the Conference. Throughout the event they will offer reflections on what has been shared, and will close the conference, setting out the next steps that they believe must be taken by businesses and leaders to tackle the climate emergency.

The online conference, which is an evolution of IoD Scotland’s annual event, will take place over two days, and will bring together business leaders from across the UK and beyond. It will stimulate debate and discussion on the conference theme: Connecting the World: tackling global challenges together and will be a timely precursor ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow just a few weeks later.

Jonathan Geldart, director-general of the IoD, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to secure such a stellar line-up for our global conference. It demonstrates how timely and important the issues of climate change and the path to net zero are. It is incumbent on us all to look at how we reduce our carbon footprint, and this conference will provide valuable insight, practical solutions and meaningful discussions ahead of November’s COP26 summit in Glasgow.”

Vanessa Nakate

Aidan O’Carroll, chair of IoD Scotland, added: “Welcoming the First Minister, Vanessa Nakate and Mark Logan to our already impressive line-up of speakers will make this conference a key event in the pre-COP26 calendar.

“Decisions on how a country takes radical action to tackle climate change will affect current and future generations, and hearing from the First Minister will provide a unique perspective on the leadership needed to make those changes. Vanessa Nakate challenges leaders across the world to act with more urgency and there is no doubt young people will be the conscience of the COP, so what lessons can leaders take from them? Mark Logan is an expert on Scotland’s digital ecosystem, and his insight will address the challenges and opportunities that digital can provide in our journey to net zero.

“The path to net zero and beyond is being built, and we all have a part to play in accelerating it. Our global conference will allow delegates to hear from leading speakers, debate key topics and receive actionable insights for meeting our collective climate crisis goals. It’s not one to be missed.”

The Institute of Directors Global Conference will be live-streamed on 2 and 3 September 2021.