THE TRI-LIVERY DIGITAL MEDIA GROUP FROM THE COMPANIES OF STATIONERS, MARKETORS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGISTS PRESENTED IS THE PURSUIT OF PRODUCTIVITY GOOD FOR SOCIETY?

The debate was chaired by Maxine Ricketts (pictured bottom middle). Maxine is Ex-Chairman of AI4C the AI/ML learning exchange created by the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists to help charities using or embarking on AI. Maxine has spent a few decades specifying, building, buying and selling IT, in the public and private sectors, but the purpose and outcome have always been the most important aspects irrespective of the technology being employed. More recently Maxine has been coaching individuals and companies keen to maximise their performance or develop their potential. Maxine is a WCIT Liveryman and Charity Trustee.

Joining Maxine on the panel are:

Angela Cardani-Liggett (pictured top left). Angela has recently been appointed  Chief People Officer (CPO/CHRO) for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, having previously been CHRO for Sycurio and Gravity Media. Angela’s passion is people and world class innovative HR. She is an experienced global HR leader with strong commercial acumen who has built and led global HR teams and HR Strategy. She prides herself on outstanding stakeholder management coupled with collaborative skills that have achieved outstanding results. She has a passion for inclusion, innovation and driving employee engagement. She has a keen interest in networking forums and Learning & Development.

Nick Hedderman (pictured top right). Nick is the COO of the Modern Work business for Microsoft UK, covering a broad range of end-user technologies such as M365, Windows, Surface, Teams and more to help improve workplace collaboration and productivity. One of the newest and most exciting products is Copilot for M365, your AI assistant at work, which Nick and his team are currently leading on here in the UK.

Will Hutton (pictured bottom left). Will Hutton is a political economist, author and journalist.  As of 2022, he writes a regular column for The Observer,  co-chairs the Purposeful Company, and is the president of the Academy of Social Sciences. As one of the leading economics commentators in the country, Will is regularly called on to advise senior political and business figures and comment in the national and international media.

He began his career in the City before moving to the BBC where he became Economics Editor of Newsnight, then went to be Economics Editor of the Guardian. He spent four years as Editor-in-Chief of The Observer and was Chief Executive of The Work Foundation from 2000 to 2008. Will has chaired two government Commissions – one on Public Sector Pay for the Coalition government in 2011 and one on the Creative Industries for the Labour government in 2007. He has chaired/directed and/or founded four think tanks – the Employment Policy Institute, the Work Foundation, the Big Innovation Centre and the Purposeful Company.  His many best selling books include 'The State We’re In' (1995), and most recently  'This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain' (April 2024).

Tony Wilson (pictured bottom right). Tony has worked in employment policy and research for the last twenty years, in a range of roles spanning central government and independent institutes.  As Institute Director at IES, Tony leads a team of fifty people delivering research, analysis and consultancy support on employment, skills, education and HR.  He has particular expertise in labour market policy and analysis;  the design, delivery and evaluation of employment and skills programmes and supporting organisations to understand and apply evidence of ‘what works’ in employment policy and service delivery.

Prior to joining IES in October 2018, Tony was Director of Research and Development at the Learning and Work Institute, and before that a Director at the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion.  Between 2001 and 2011 he worked on employment, skills and welfare in the Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus and HM Treasury. While in government this included leading on the design and implementation of a number of employment programmes during the financial crisis including the Future Jobs Fund; supporting David Freud on his independent review of 'welfare to work' in 2007, and latterly working as Head of employment policy at HM Treasury in the early years of the Coalition government where he advised Treasury Ministers on the labour market and public policy.