The buzz: “I saw a bank that said '24 Hour Banking,' but I don’t have that much time” (Steven Wright). The mega trend of Future Finance is seeing new players inside and outside the traditional financial services industry offering innovative digital services and opening new markets to legacy banks and insurers, and non-banks and non-insurers. The writing is on the wall for traditional providers to adapt business models to the digital economy and embrace new technologies to meet customer expectations. The experts speak. Mike Basque, Atom Digital Network: “Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass” (Japanese proverb). Jerry Silva, IDC Financial Insights: “Do not try and bend the spoon, that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth...there is no spoon. Then you'll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself” (The Matrix). Olaf Schoenfelder, SAP: “Don't dream your life, live your dreams” (Miasha). Join us for Mega Trend: Future Finance.

The buzz: “…to be successful a city has to be open to continuous development, free to evolve and grow with the demands of new times” (P.D. Smith). The world population could reach 9.8 billion by 2050, with nearly 70 percent living in urban areas. Urban infrastructures and public services are already struggling to keep pace. But cities have unlimited potential as dynamic networks that become thriving economic and cultural hubs. Can data and IoT competitively attract businesses and services to build cities where people love to live, work and play? The experts speak. Matt Broffman, City of Orlando, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” (Walt Disney). Mike Eberhardt, SAP Hybris: “Have I gone mad?” “I’m afraid so, you’re entirely Bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret …All the best people are!” (Lewis Carroll). Simone Maienfisch, SAP: “Never give in, never, never, never…” (Winston Churchill). Join us for Mega Trend: Future Cities: Where Will YOU Live, Work and Play?

The buzz: “Brands are all about trust. Trust is earned in drops but lost in buckets!” (Kevin Plank). About 64% of consumers and companies worldwide buy or boycott a brand – food, components, spare parts, raw materials, chemicals, software, data – solely based on its position and practices on a social or environmental issue that matters to them. Reality check: in a global economy with complex supply networks, the challenge of gaining and maintaining trust grow with the distance between producer and consumer. Can new technologies help create trusted products, leading to higher revenues and customer satisfaction and loyalty? The experts speak. Tony Costa, Bumble Bee Foods: “If you can dream it, you can do it” (Walt Disney). Jeff Howell, SAP: “Chance favors the prepared mind“ (Louis Pasteur). Tom Kohnen, SAP: “Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that [bleep] reflection” (Lady Gaga). Join us for Mega Trends: Trusted Products.

The buzz: “I saw a bank that said '24 Hour Banking,' but I don’t have that much time” (Steven Wright). The mega trend of Future Finance is seeing new players inside and outside the traditional financial services industry offering innovative digital services and opening new markets to legacy banks and insurers, and non-banks and non-insurers. The writing is on the wall for traditional providers to adapt business models to the digital economy and embrace new technologies to meet customer expectations. The experts speak. Mike Basque, Atom Digital Network: “Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass” (Japanese proverb). Jerry Silva, IDC Financial Insights: “Do not try and bend the spoon, that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth...there is no spoon. Then you'll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself” (The Matrix). Olaf Schoenfelder, SAP: “Don't dream your life, live your dreams” (Miasha). Join us for Mega Trend: Future Finance.

The buzz: “We are like tenant farmers, chopping down the fence around our house for fuel, when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy—sun, wind, and tide … I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy…I wish I had more years left!” (Edison). Energy keeps the world in motion. The way we generate energy is also in motion: renewable energy – solar and wind – have undergone a tremendous change from a niche technology to widespread adoption. Consumers can now collect energy on their roofs, store it in batteries, use it to power their homes and their electric vehicles. The experts speak. Jean-François Segalotto, IDC Energy Insights: Change is the only constant” (Heraclitus). Jassi Arora, Duke Energy: “Be the change you wish to see in the world” (Gandhi). Miguel Gaspar SIlva, SAP: “Intelligence is the ability to learn from experience, anticipate problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations” (David G. Myers). Join us for Mega Trend: Sustainable Energy.”

The buzz: “…to be successful a city has to be open to continuous development, free to evolve and grow with the demands of new times” (P.D. Smith). The world population could reach 9.8 billion by 2050, with nearly 70 percent living in urban areas. Urban infrastructures and public services are already struggling to keep pace. But cities have unlimited potential as dynamic networks that become thriving economic and cultural hubs. Can data and IoT competitively attract businesses and services to build cities where people love to live, work and play? The experts speak. Matt Broffman, City of Orlando, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” (Walt Disney). Mike Eberhardt, SAP Hybris: “Have I gone mad?” “I’m afraid so, you’re entirely Bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret …All the best people are!” (Lewis Carroll). Simone Maienfisch, SAP: “Never give in, never, never, never…” (Winston Churchill). Join us for Mega Trend: Future Cities: Where Will YOU Live, Work and Play?

The buzz: “Brands are all about trust. Trust is earned in drops but lost in buckets!” (Kevin Plank). About 64% of consumers and companies worldwide buy or boycott a brand – food, components, spare parts, raw materials, chemicals, software, data – solely based on its position and practices on a social or environmental issue that matters to them. Reality check: in a global economy with complex supply networks, the challenge of gaining and maintaining trust grow with the distance between producer and consumer. Can new technologies help create trusted products, leading to higher revenues and customer satisfaction and loyalty? The experts speak. Tony Costa, Bumble Bee Foods: “If you can dream it, you can do it” (Walt Disney). Jeff Howell, SAP: “Chance favors the prepared mind“ (Louis Pasteur). Tom Kohnen, SAP: “Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that [bleep] reflection” (Lady Gaga). Join us for Mega Trends: Trusted Products.

The buzz: “There can be no doubt that the transportation sector is the most critical sector of our economy” (Robert Brady). Today’s Mega Trend: The future of mobility. How are the individual aspects of mobility – Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric (“CASE”) – really faring? What is the impact on the economy and society? Will cities and regions will soon benefit? It’s time for a reality check to separate the hype from the business and social opportunities across the global economy. The experts speak. Tom Kohnen, SAP: “Yes but it‘s called the future, so get used to it!“ (Q to James Bond, “Die Another Day”). Holger Wittwer, SAP: “Brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. They let us prove how badly we want things” (Randy Pausch). Max Claps, SAP: “Public transportation takes you from a place you don’t know how to get to, to a place where you don’t want to get to” (Anonymous). Join us for Mega Trend: Mobility and Transportation Hype vs Opportunity.

The buzz: Like all major transitions in human history, the shift from a linear to a circular economy will be a tumultuous one. It will feature pioneers and naysayers, victories and setbacks” (Frans Van Houten). Welcome to our series that dives into the world’s most pressing issues and their growth opportunities. Because our planet’s resources are finite, we must conserve it for future generations while purposefully providing for today’s growing population. How? Move from a linear to a circular economy. But this change requires fresh ideas and re-thinking value chains and product lifecycles. The experts speak. Kate Brandt, Google: “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” (John Muir). Erin Simon, World Wildlife Fund: “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water” (Rabindranath Tagore). Jim Sullivan, SAP: “My neighbor has a circular driveway…he can’t get out” (Stephen Wright). Join us for Mega Trend Making the Rounds: The Circular Economy.

The buzz: Like all major transitions in human history, the shift from a linear to a circular economy will be a tumultuous one. It will feature pioneers and naysayers, victories and setbacks” (Frans Van Houten). Welcome to our series that dives into the world’s most pressing issues and their growth opportunities. Because our planet’s resources are finite, we must conserve it for future generations while purposefully providing for today’s growing population. How? Move from a linear to a circular economy. But this change requires fresh ideas and re-thinking value chains and product lifecycles. The experts speak. Kate Brandt, Google: “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” (John Muir). Erin Simon, World Wildlife Fund: “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water” (Rabindranath Tagore). Jim Sullivan, SAP: “My neighbor has a circular driveway…he can’t get out” (Stephen Wright). Join us for Mega Trend Making the Rounds: The Circular Economy.

The buzz: Trends, like horses, are easier to ride in the direction they are going” (John Naisbitt). Welcome to our new series that dives into the world’s most pressing issues–and growth opportunities they offer for society and business. The top 2019 global economy challenges, aka mega trends, include integrated mobility, rebuilding trust between leaders and constituents, the quest for lifelong health, urgent demands of urbanization and future cities, and the road to a circular economy. What does this mean to you? The experts speak. Ann Rosenberg, SAP: “Science fiction isn’t useful because it’s predictive. It’s useful because it reframes our perspective on the world” (Eliot Peper). Eric Kavanagh, DM Radio: “Act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will as universal law” (I. Kant). Svend Wittern, SAP: “The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being” (Dalai Lama XIV). Join us for Mega Trends Shaping the Global Economy in 2019.