The Next Five

It’s 2026. You’re the CEO of a global bank or the Head of Surgery at a major hospital. An AI system looks at a complex set of volatile market data, or a patient’s decade-long medical history, and gives you a directive. It doesn’t just give you a percentage of probability. It tells you exactly what to do. But here is the catch: If that decision fails, "the machine told me so" won’t hold up in court, in the boardroom, or at a patient’s bedside. For a few years now, we’ve played a game of ‘black box’ roulette, using AI that predicts the future based on the past. But in a world of sudden market shifts and unprecedented global change, the past is no longer a reliable map. We are entering the era of Automated Reasoning. This is the shift from AI that guesses to AI that proves. It’s a market for explainable systems that is set to hit nearly ten billion dollars this year, doubling by 2032. Because today, leaders don’t just need an answer; they need the logic behind it. They need a ‘glass box’ they can trust. Scott Wiltamuth, Director of Software Development for Agentic AI and Automated Reasoning at AWS, alongside Mary Martin, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG and Varun Chitkara, Senior Vice President of Global Product & Technology at ADP join host Tom Parker. Sources: FT ResourcesThis content is paid for by AWS and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. The views and claims expressed are those of the guests alone and have not been independently verified by The Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the UN’s Secretary-General António Guterres said in July this year, “Now, we are on the cusp of a new era. Fossil fuels are running out of road. The sun is rising on a clean energy age.” Renewables and nuclear did reach an historic 40% share of global electricity generation in 2024, with renewables alone supplying roughly 32% of global power for the first time. But the length of this road and the speed we are travelling down it, will determine the success of the world’s energy transition. In this episode we explore where we are in the energy transition, the challenges, technologies and the policies. Joining Tom as guests are Elisabeth Cremona, Senior Energy Analyst for Europe at Ember, Massimo Battaini, CEO of Prysmian and María Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business Coalition.Sources: FT ResourcesThis content is paid for by Prysmian and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. The views and claims expressed are those of the guests alone and have not been independently verified by The Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Late-stage financing plays a critical role in the growth trajectory of technology scale-ups, particularly as they transition from early innovation phases to market dominance and potential exits via IPOs or acquisitions. Larger capital injections can be found from multiple avenues; VCs, private equity, corporate investors, family offices, sovereign wealth funds and growth-focused hedge funds. While the volume of capital to European growth stage companies since 2015 has tripled, there is still a funding gap and bottlenecks in Europe compared to the US.In this episode three experts discuss Europe's growth stage tech landscape, the funding available, challenges ahead and what is needed to build more billion dollar companies in Europe. They are Luca Ferrari, Co-Founder & CEO of Bending Spoons, Hilary Gosher, Managing Director at Insight Partners and Tommaso Fassati, Head of Wealth Management Italy at BNP Paribas.Sources: FT Resources, Atomico, Roland Berger, Anthropic, European Commission, Semiconductor Industry Association, Korn FerryThis content is paid for by BNP Paribas and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. The views and claims expressed are those of the guests alone and have not been independently verified by The Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the start of 2025 there was optimism that the global M&A market would strengthen with the expectation that inflation and interest rates would fall and a more favourable regulatory environment would exist. Yet it was a slow start amid uncertainty. The unpredictability of US trade policy under the Trump administration saw the global Economic Policy Uncertainty Index rise to a 30 year record high in early 2025, decreasing the appetite for deals. But M&A still remains a critical part of a companies growth strategy. So where will the M&A market be at the end of this year and over the next five years? And how can business leaders manage a successful M&A in today's climate and tomorrow's world? Here to discuss this further are Brian Salsberg, Snr Managing Director & Global Head of M&A at FTI Consulting and Massimo Battaini, CEO of Prysmian.Sources: FT Resources, Morrison Foerster, St.Louis Fed, McKinsey, World Uncertainty Index, JP MorganThis content is paid for by Prysmian and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. The views and claims expressed are those of the guests alone and have not been independently verified by The Financial Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Modern finance leaders have had to navigate turbulent waters over the last five to 10 years, buffeted by waves of geopolitical and macro market forces, rising economic nationalism, trade protectionism and environmental instability. Add that to the unprecedented pace of technological change, shifting consumer behaviours and a reimagined workforce. Here to give us insight on how CFOs are dealing with today's tough climate while preparing for the future is Kwee Juan Han, Group Executive and Group Head of Institutional Banking at DBS, Marie Myers, CFO at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Andre Khor, Group CFO & Deputy CEO at Aster, part of the Chandra Asri Group.Sources: FT Resources, Deloitte, Forbes, ProtivitiThis content is paid for by DBS and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The term polycrisis has been gaining traction in recent times as the world faces one disaster after another that are all interlinked. The far-reaching implications of a world at risk means boardrooms must remain agile to navigate their businesses past the rocks and into calmer seas. In a break away from our normal format, we've created our own boardroom. Sat around our virtual table today are three experts ready to discuss what risks are out there, how boards are dealing with them and what the boardroom dynamic needs to be to navigate a fast evolving and uncertain future. They are Sean McGovern, UK & Lloyd’s CEO at AXA XL, Pam Joshi, Global Head of Insurance and Risk Management at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Sarah Isted, UK Risk Leader at PwC UK.Sources: FT Resources, IRM, GARP, ICAEWThis content is paid for by AXA XL and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Biotechnology is the use of biology in the production of new products, services, and organisms with the aim of improving human health and society. In 2024, the global biotech market was worth $1.68 trillion. By application, the health segment was responsible for just over half of that figure. Not surprising when you think that healthcare focused biotech companies are battling to solve some of our biggest health concerns; turning an ageing society into a longevity society by supporting longer and healthier lives. In this episode of The Next Five, Paul Little, CEO of Vesper Bio discusses frontotemporal dementia and the impact of it on human health and society, the biotech solutions being sort to combat the disease as well as what he describes as a Malthusian crisis around biotech funding. Dr Ann Beliën, Founder and CEO of Rejuvenate Biomed addresses the problems of Sarcopenia as well as the biotech solutions for it and how Biotech companies use creative ways to secure funding. Gianmario Verona, President of Human Technopole, highlights the importance of industry collaboration and how innovation centres can help propel the biotech sector forward. Sources: FT Resources, WHO, JP Morgan, Alzheimersresearchuk, IQVIA This content is paid for by Yes Milano and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s competitive global landscape the responsibilities of CFOs are diversifying more than ever. The fast paced digital revolution, geopolitical uncertainty, economic volatility and the environmental impact of climate change means the modern CFO must adapt to future proof the financial health of their organisations. The need to remain agile and requires fleet of foot finance leaders. In the modern world, technology is helping CFOs to gain visibility over their business functions and react to an ever evolving global landscape. In this Episode of The Next Five, Anna Manz, CFO of Nestlé explains the need to keep pace with consumer change, how technology can help with forecasting, but that a team's ability to adpat to change is vital. Chris Thorn, UK CFO at Suez discusses the unique pressures and opportunities of private and public partnerships, how to react and work with regulation and legislation changes and the role tech also plays for CFOs. Salvatore Lombardo, CPTO at Coupa explains how technologies such as AI can be a welcome tool in the CFOs arsenal, if used correctly. Sources: FT resources, PWC.This content is paid for by Coupa and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a world of tremendous uncertainty where businesses are increasingly challenged to adapt to a rapidly evolving risk landscape. Economic instability, rising geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, cyber threats and the energy transition, are just some of the concerns for boards and businesses globally. Companies need to prepare for risk and maintain resilience. In this episode of The Next Five, Vince Tizzio, President and CEO of AXIS highlights the important role that the insurance industry plays in managing risk, and the need for specialisation and collaboration within industries. John Doyle, CEO of Marsh McLennan, discusses the increasing climate related risk landscape and how technology is being used to help map global risk, as well as the risk reward balance of technologies such as AI. Mark Erickson, Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group at BlackRock offers insight into Blackrock's recent report on the insurance industry's views on climate and AI risk and opportunity. Sources: FT Resources, WEF, Mckinsey, EIOPA, KPMG, Swiss ReThis content is paid for by AXIS and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The premium alcohol industry is about more than just indulgence. It’s a category that is garnering greater attention from consumers, investors and collectors. Increased disposable incomes, celebrity culture and social media has created new avenues for brand recognition and sales. Partnerships with other luxury brands also bring cross pollination appeal and is an area top spirit brands are looking to take more advantage of. Investing in premium alcohol is also an area of growth. Brand, age and rarity set the standard for big prices. The whisky category has seen records consistently broken in the last few years as wealthy individuals battle for the best bottles. In November 2023, a single bottle of The Macallan 1926 Valerio Adami, one of only 40 bottles originally released, sold for a new record price of £2.18 million at Sotheby's in London.But there are some headwinds in both the primary and secondary markets that brands and consumers need to weather.In this episode of The Next Five we speak with Duncan McFadzean, Managing Director at Noble & Co, who discusses the growth and challenges of the primary market and how brands can buck the economic downturn. Jaume Ferras, Creative Director at The Macallan, shows how luxury brands are working together to increase share of pocket. Jonny Fowle, Global Head of Whisky at Sotheby’s, conveys the highs and lows of investing in the secondary market and calls for the joys of consumption as well as investing in fine bottles. Sources: FT Resources, Forbes, Matter of Form, Mordor Intelligence, Whisky Advocate, Spirit FilledThis content is paid for by advertisers and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times’ Commercial Department Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Prevention is better than cure” is a fundamental principle of modern healthcare. In this episode of the Next Five, in paid partnership with GSK, we look at health care prevention in ageing societies, with a particular focus on vaccine uptake. Ever since 1796, when Dr. Edward Jenner inoculated an 8-year-old boy against smallpox with a vaccine containing the milder strain cowpox, vaccination has become a part of the preventative medicine armoury. Vaccines have lowered the impact of many diseases, and benefits go beyond the health of the individual by reducing the cost and burden placed on healthcare systems and society. The COVID-19 pandemic placed a fresh spotlight on vaccines, highlighting the need but also, in some instances, the ambivalence towards them. By 2030, the number of people aged 60 and over will have increased by more than a third to 1.4 billion people. Even with the lessons learnt from the pandemic, low adult immunisation uptake remains a global problem that needs urgent solutions.In this episode I speak with Kate Hashey, Director of Communications and Government Affairs at GSK, who leads their adult immunisation work and discusses the role vaccinations play in the healthy ageing of our societies and how we must bolster action in the future to embed adult immunisation as the standard of care . Murray Aitken, Executive Director of the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, highlights hyperlocal data showing trends in adult immunisation globally. David Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer at the International Longevity Centre in the UK, offers insight into how we can live longer, healthier lives and where the UK sits compared to other countries on preventative healthcare spending and solutions.Sources: FT Resources, European Commission, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, British Medical Association, OECD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.This content is produced in partnership with the Financial Times’ Commercial Department Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cybersecurity has never been more important; Everything is now connected to a network, and rapid technological advancements are being met with new and novel cyber threats, however cutting-edge advancements in AI within cybersecurity are rising to meet them, empowering individuals, businesses, and governments to build a safer, more secure online future. In this podcast, we examine the importance of collaboration between public and private players to safeguard society, critical infrastructure and valuable assets against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.In the fourth episode of this five-part miniseries, we look at AI's role within cybersecurity. By making cybersecurity accessible to more people, can AI increase the protections for European organisations and businesses of all sizes or will the ability to process large amounts of data enable attacks on businesses?In this episode we speak with Philippe Humeau, CEO of CrowdSec, a French threat intelligence company that offers participative behavioural protection from malicious IP addresses. Isabel Praça, Professor at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto and AI Expert at European Union Agency for Cybersecurity. Vicente Diaz, Author of VirusTotal’s research on AI-driven threat mitigation and detection and security engineer at Google.Our sources: IBM, Cobalt, Digital Skills Job Europe, Morgan StanleyThis content is paid for by Google and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are in the sixth mass extinction phase and it’s primarily driven by human activity. Globally, 1.2 million species are at risk of extinction and around 70% of the planet's ice-free land has already been altered, primarily for agricultural use. In the second episode of this five-part miniseries, we look at AI's role in sustainability and how it can help us better understand the natural world.In Europe, unsustainable farming and forestry, urban sprawl and pollution are predominantly to blame for a drastic decline in biodiversity. This latest era of extinction in the natural world also comes at a time when we are making giant leaps in an artificial realm and while AI is no silver bullet it could help us better understand how to sustainably reinvent our agriculture, farming and food systems. Protecting species is also of the utmost importance. Insects, for example, are an important piece in the biodiversity puzzle and are under threat. But AI can help us understand our insect friends and the environment they serve. In this episode we speak with Faustine Bas-Defossez, Director for Nature, Health and Environment at the European Environmental Bureau, which is the largest federation of environmental NGOs in Europe, where she discusses how AI can help understand the problems that exist within the agricultural industry and the importance of transforming our food systems to a more sustainable, circular model. Katharina Schmidt, CEO of APIC.AI, an AI startup from Germany that monitors bee populations, tells us how AI models are helping to analyse individual bee behaviours in a hive of 50,000, and what this tells us about the health of our environment. Adam Elman, Head of Sustainability, EMEA, at Google further extols the value that AI can bring to mapping key environmental change and the value of data sharing on a global scale.                           Our Sources for the show: FT Resources, WWF, LSE, European Parliament, Royal Society, United Nations.This content is paid for by Google and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times' Commercial Department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.