What comes next when the present is unprecedented? This year has brought an unimaginable amount of change in a short amount of time. Consumer habits changed overnight, long-term technological trends accelerated in mere weeks, and the home became the workplace.
Even bigger societal change is afoot, with a sharp focus on racial equality in the workplace and the public square. How do leaders adapt to this new normal? This moment calls for a commitment to corporate citizenship, a consumer-centric approach, and deeply considered communication strategies. At next week’s Signal 2020, leaders from from across industries and geographies will share their insights on these topics and more, as we all prepare to step forward into an uncertain future. Here’s a guide to what to expect:
Being a good corporate citizen means doing more, not just saying more. Singer and actress Queen Latifah will bring her perspective from Queen Collective, a joint project with P&G and Tribeca Films focused on creating more gender and racial diversity in the film industry. Youth activist Clover Hogan will bring a next-generation view on climate change, and BlackRock CMO Frank Cooper will join P&G CEO David Taylor to discuss how corporations can step up to the climate challenge.
Social platforms have played a big role in the way society connects and understands itself. Today they find themselves in the cross-hairs of politicians, brands and consumers, all of whom are demanding the social platforms actively address brand safety, hate, and misinformation. Four leaders from this sector will talk about these issues: Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter and Square; Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap; Emmett Shear, founder and CEO of Twitch; and Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube.
Leveraging media to maintain a strong brand connection with customers will be central to successfully navigating these times. Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal will address these strategies, and we’ll get the lay of the land from noted analyst Rich Greenfield of LightShed Partners.
Predicting the future is predictably difficult in these times, but futurist and Salesforce’s senior vice president of strategic planning Peter Schwartz will lay out strategies that help leaders do just that. And AI analyst and exponential technology expert Azeem Azhar will deliver insights on the impact of the most important technologies shaping that future.
The conference will open with a conversation with the director Ron Howard on the role that storytelling plays in shaping our world. Additional speakers include Ohio governor Mike DeWine and Amy Chang, EVP at Cisco (and P&G board member). The event will conclude with Jack Dorsey of Twitter.
This year also marks the first Asia Edition of Signal, with a special block of programming specially designed (and timed!) for our Asian partners and teams. Speakers include Watsons China CEO Kulvinder Biring, Kazumasa Kawabata from DNP, Zhang Yiming, founder and CEO of ByteDance and others.
While Signal 2020: Stepping Forward is a virtual event this year, this new challenge also brings opportunity. More than 4,000 of you have already registered, and we expect a “full house” for more than eight hours of extraordinary presentations, interviews, and dialogue. Learn more and reserve your spot here.
