Susan Gilchrist is Chair, Global Clients at Brunswick Group, and was formerly Group Chief Executive of Brunswick Group (2012-2018). She counsels clients across the globe on major crises, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate reputation. Susan has also held the roles of US Managing Partner and Senior Partner in the UK.

Prior to joining Brunswick, Susan was a journalist on The Times business section and worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company. In January 2016, she was made Chair of Southbank Centre, the UK's largest arts centre, and previously sat on the Board of Trustees of The Old Vic Theatre.

Today, leaders face more, and more diverse, challenges than their counterparts even 5 years ago. From cyber security, inequality and climate change – what are the issues that most concern leaders today? In responding to these new, more complex and more globalised issues the role of the leader has also changed. Both in terms of what leaders do on a day to day basis; but also the capabilities required of leaders to enable them to navigate such challenges. In this session, Susan Gilchrist will examine these phenomena. Looking at the recent evolution of leadership from pre-Brexit to post-Trump and post-COVID-19, Susan Gilchrist will discuss the types of challenges that leaders face and examine the skills and behaviours of those leaders who do it well; and cite case studies of outstanding leaders and leadership.