Business

Jaguar Land Rover’s battle to recover from a devastating cyberattack could see its factories idle until November, according to suppliers briefed on the situation, raising fears of lasting damage to Britain’s largest carmaker and its supply chain.

The Tata Motors-owned manufacturer has already endured two weeks of halted production since hackers targeted its systems on 1 September, forcing it to shut down global operations and send thousands of workers home. The company admitted last week that “some data” may have been accessed, and has referred the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office, fuelling concerns that customer details could be at risk.

Suppliers are now reported to have been warned that assembly lines may remain dark for another seven weeks. The Daily Telegraph cited one source who said November had been floated as a “guidance date which they think is sensible”, though stressed that even an earlier restart would take weeks before production returned to a normal run rate of around 1,000 vehicles a day.

Jaguar Land Rover denied issuing any official guidance to suppliers, insisting it was still working “around the clock” to restore its global IT systems in a “controlled and safe manner”.

The disruption has paralysed production at JLR’s Solihull and Halewood plants, its Wolverhampton engine facility and Castle Bromwich site. Thousands of staff remain on standby, with unions urging the government to consider a temporary furlough-style scheme to subsidise pay and protect livelihoods.

The longer the outage continues, the greater the strain on JLR’s fragile supply chain. Andy Palmer, former chief executive of Aston Martin, warned he “would not be at all surprised” if some suppliers face insolvency due to the sudden collapse in cashflow.

The crisis is the latest blow for the carmaker, which has faced headwinds from falling quarterly profits, shifting US tariffs and the challenge of financing its electric transition. Insiders say the immediate priority is restoring manufacturing capability without leaving systems vulnerable to further attack.

JLR has so far declined to clarify whether any customer data has been compromised. Initially it said there was “no evidence” of stolen information, but its subsequent disclosure to regulators suggests investigations are ongoing.

Even with systems back online, it may take weeks for production to stabilise, raising questions about whether the company can meet its output targets for the remainder of the year. For Britain’s wider automotive industry, the episode underscores both the risks of cyberattacks and the vulnerability of supply chains built on just-in-time production.

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Cyberattack threatens to keep Jaguar Land Rover factories idle until November

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has become only the fourth company in history to reach a $3 trillion market valuation, as investor enthusiasm over artificial intelligence and relief from a favourable US antitrust ruling drove shares to record highs.

Shares in the California-based group climbed more than 4 per cent on Monday, pushing its market cap to $3.04 trillion. The stock has risen 31 per cent so far this year, buoyed by strong earnings, rapid AI adoption, and a landmark legal reprieve earlier this month.

The milestone puts Alphabet in rare company alongside Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple. Nvidia crossed $4 trillion in July, becoming the world’s most valuable firm and providing a floor for equity markets following President Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs.

Alphabet’s latest rally followed a September ruling in Washington that eased fears of a forced break-up. A judge rejected US Department of Justice calls for Google to divest its Chrome browser and Android mobile operating system, after a 2023 decision found the company had created an illegal monopoly in search. Shares surged to record highs on the day, with President Trump personally congratulating Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai at a White House dinner: “Well you had a very good day yesterday. Google had a very good day yesterday.”

The company has not avoided regulatory scrutiny altogether. Earlier this month, EU regulators fined Google nearly €3 billion for abusing its dominance in advertising technology.

Even so, Alphabet has outperformed expectations throughout 2025. Second-quarter revenues reached $96 billion, including a 12 per cent rise in Google search services to $54.2 billion, while YouTube advertising sales also beat forecasts. Cloud revenues rose nearly a third to $13.6 billion, further cementing the group’s dominance across multiple digital markets.

AI remains at the heart of the company’s growth story. Pichai said in July that Google’s AI “overviews” software is now used by 1.5 billion people, while its multimodal AI assistant Gemini continues to expand. “We are leading at the frontier of AI and shipping at an incredible pace. AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum,” he told investors.

The stock’s rise came alongside a broader US market rally ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week, when a widely expected quarter-point rate cut is due to be confirmed.

Alphabet shares closed up 10.81 points, or 4.49 per cent, at $251.61 on Monday.

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Google parent Alphabet reaches $3 trillion valuation as AI and legal reprieve boost shares

Britain has dropped further down the world’s innovation league table, falling to sixth place in the latest global rankings published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo).

The UK was ranked fifth last year and fourth in 2024, with the latest slip raising fresh concerns about the country’s ability to remain competitive against fast-rising rivals.

The annual Global Innovation Index measures nearly 140 economies on 80 indicators, including research and development spending, venture capital activity, high-tech exports and intellectual property filings.

Switzerland once again claimed the top spot, followed by Sweden and the United States. South Korea rose sharply to fourth place, climbing from 11th in 2019, while China entered the global top ten for the first time.

Lord Vallance, the UK’s science minister, said he was “not happy with the direction of travel” but insisted the government had a plan to reverse the trend.

“We have clearly got the potential with the science base that we have got, the start-up base that we have got and the entrepreneurs we have got to be at the forefront,” he said. “Of course I don’t want us to be slipping down that ranking. I want us to go in the other direction and that is my big focus in this ministerial job.”

In Europe, Germany fell two places to 11th and France slipped to 13th, despite Paris stepping up efforts to attract UK tech firms post-Brexit.

The Wipo report also highlighted strong performances from emerging economies. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Brazil, Mauritius, Bahrain and Jordan have all been among the fastest climbers since 2020.

Global growth in research and development spending slowed to 2.9 per cent in 2024, down from 4.4 per cent the previous year and the lowest rate since 2010. Wipo expects it to weaken further this year to 2.3 per cent.

While companies in AI, software and pharmaceuticals raised investment, the slowdown was driven by cuts in automotive and consumer goods sectors.

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UK falls to sixth in global innovation rankings as rivals surge ahead

Nothing, the London-based consumer technology startup founded by Carl Pei, has secured $200 million in a Series C funding round at a $1.3 billion valuation, as it prepares to pivot from being the first new independent smartphone brand in over a decade towards building an AI-native platform.

The raise, led by Tiger Global with support from existing investors including GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, I2BF and Tapestry, alongside new strategic backers Qualcomm Ventures and Indian investor Nikhil Kamath, brings Nothing’s total funding to $63 million.

The company, which surpassed $1 billion in cumulative sales earlier this year, says the fresh capital will be used to accelerate its innovation roadmap, scale global distribution and bring its first AI-native devices to market in 2026.

Pei, (pictured) who co-founded smartphone disruptor OnePlus before launching Nothing in 2020, said the Series C round marks the start of “chapter two” for the company.

“For AI to reach its full potential, consumer hardware must reinvent itself alongside it,” he said. “We see a future where operating systems are hyper-personalised to each user, where interfaces adapt to our context, and where devices act as agents on our behalf. This is the opportunity Nothing is uniquely positioned to capture.”

The company has shipped millions of devices in just four years, including its Phone (2), Ear (stick) and Ear (2) products. It has built a global supply chain and design team capable of launching new hardware at speed and scale, with Pei arguing that its ability to own “the last mile of distribution” gives it an advantage over incumbent tech giants in building the next wave of AI-driven consumer devices.

Nothing says its vision is to create an operating system that learns deeply about its users and adapts to them individually. Unlike today’s one-size-fits-all systems, Pei describes a future where “a billion different operating systems will be rendered for a billion different people.”

While smartphones will remain central, the company sees AI extending across multiple form factors — from wearables and smartwatches to smart glasses, humanoid robots and eventually even electric vehicles.

In the near term, Pei predicts a new category of AI-native devices will emerge alongside smartphones. “Soon, we’ll all be carrying an additional device that will be just as important,” he said, suggesting that products capable of capturing richer user context will make AI assistants far more useful in daily life.

Nothing confirmed it will also launch a new Community round to give its 120,000-strong supporter base another opportunity to invest. Previous rounds were heavily oversubscribed, with retail investors buying into the company’s growth story alongside institutions.

The company’s Series C comes against a backdrop of mounting pressure on global consumer tech. Hardware margins have been squeezed by tariffs, inflation and a post-Covid spending slowdown, but investors are betting that AI integration can drive a new growth cycle.

Jose Gaytan de Ayala, who led the deal for Tiger Global, said: “Nothing is rewriting the rules of consumer electronics by embedding AI at the heart of hardware. With its unique design ethos, growing community and bold vision, the company is positioned to shape the next decade of consumer tech.”

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Nothing secures $200m Series C to build AI-native hardware platform

Google has unveiled plans to invest an additional £5 billion in the UK over the next two years, in a move it says will help expand the country’s artificial intelligence economy, create thousands of jobs and accelerate breakthroughs in science and technology.

The announcement coincides with the state visit of US President Donald Trump, during which major technology and energy deals are expected to dominate the agenda.

The investment will include significant spending on Google’s infrastructure, research and engineering teams, as well as support for Google DeepMind, its London-based AI arm. The company said the expansion would generate 8,250 “new AI-driven jobs” in Britain.

Ruth Porat, Google’s president and chief investment officer, confirmed the plans on Tuesday alongside Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the official opening of the company’s first UK datacentre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire.

“With today’s announcement, Google is deepening our roots in the UK and helping support Great Britain’s potential with AI to add £400 billion to the economy by 2030,” Porat said.

Reeves hailed the move as “a powerful vote of confidence in the UK economy and the strength of our partnership with the US”.

The expansion of datacentres has raised questions about pressure on the national grid, with the rapid growth of AI demanding vast amounts of computing power. Google said it would work with Shell to store and deploy clean energy, helping to run its UK operations on at or near 95% carbon-free power by 2026.

The new datacentre has been designed to minimise water consumption through advanced air-cooling systems, while surplus heat will be used to provide free energy to local homes, schools and businesses.

Demis Hassabis, co-founder and chief executive of Google DeepMind, said the announcement built on Britain’s longstanding role at the cutting edge of innovation. “The UK has a rich history of being at the forefront of technology — from Lovelace to Babbage to Turing — so it’s fitting that we’re continuing that legacy by investing in the next wave of innovation and scientific discovery in the UK,” he said.

The Hertfordshire opening comes as all of the major technology groups ramp up capital spending on datacentre infrastructure. Google’s capital expenditure rose to $52.5 billion last year, up from $32.3 billion in 2023. Microsoft’s jumped to $44.5 billion in 2024, from $28.1 billion the year before.

Leaders of other US technology firms, including Sam Altman of OpenAI and Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella, are expected in Britain this week to coincide with the presidential visit. Further announcements on digital infrastructure and energy projects are expected, as the UK seeks to close the gap between its strong scientific credentials and its relatively underpowered digital backbone.

On Monday, the UK government announced a raft of nuclear power initiatives with US partners, designed to help meet soaring demand for electricity as the country pushes forward with AI adoption and the transition to electric vehicles.

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Google pledges £5bn UK investment and opens Hertfordshire datacentre amid Trump visit

Elon Musk has bought $1 billion worth of Tesla shares in his first open-market purchase since 2020, underscoring his commitment to the carmaker as it prepares for a shareholder vote on a record-breaking compensation package.

Regulatory filings show Musk acquired 2.6 million shares through a revocable trust at prices ranging from $372 to $396, lifting his stake in Tesla above 13 per cent. The purchase sparked a rally of almost 10 per cent in early trading, before shares closed up 3.6 per cent at $410.26. Tesla stock has gained 18 per cent in the past five days and is nearing its all-time high of $480, reached at the end of last year.

The move comes as Tesla’s board has proposed a $1 trillion pay deal for Musk if he grows the company’s market capitalisation from about $1.3 trillion to $8.5 trillion by 2035. The package would give him 12 tranches of shares if Tesla hits “formidable” milestones, including producing 20 million vehicles, launching one million robo-taxis, delivering one million Optimus robots, and lifting adjusted earnings to $400 billion.

Musk’s share buy marks his first personal investment in Tesla stock since a modest $10 million purchase on Valentine’s Day in 2020. Since then, he has sold about $20 billion of shares, much of it to finance his controversial purchase of Twitter, now X, in 2022.

The new pay plan, which could lift his stake in Tesla to at least 25 per cent, is designed to sharpen his focus on the carmaker after political distractions and other ventures weighed on Tesla’s sales and reputation. First-quarter profits this year slumped by more than 70 per cent.

Musk has already agreed to scale back his political activities “in a timely manner” as part of the agreement. He previously advised the Trump administration on efficiency measures before a high-profile split last year.

Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chairwoman, defended the plan in a letter to investors: “If Elon achieves all the performance milestones, his leadership will propel Tesla to become the most valuable company in history.”

Musk, 54, remains bullish about Tesla’s future, particularly its work in AI, robotics and autonomous driving, although he has warned of “a few rough quarters” when US incentives for EV purchases expire later this month.

The billionaire’s personal wealth, estimated at $378 billion, is once again under scrutiny after Oracle founder Larry Ellison briefly overtook him as the world’s richest man this week.

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Elon Musk invests $1bn in Tesla stock as record $1tn pay deal looms

Nory, the AI-native restaurant management startup, has raised $37 million in Series B funding to accelerate the rollout of its platform, which helps hospitality businesses cut costs, streamline operations, and improve profitability.

The round, led by Swedish investor Kinnevik, brings Nory’s total funding to $63 million. Existing backers including Accel also participated, underscoring investor confidence in the company’s vision and growth trajectory.

The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for the UK’s hospitality sector, which is grappling with rising employment costs, inflation, and labour shortages. Official figures show pubs, bars, and restaurants are closing at a rate of two per day, with industry groups warning that April’s new employment taxes are piling yet more pressure on already strained margins.

Nory was founded by Conor Sheridan, a hospitality industry insider who saw the need for smarter, AI-driven tools tailored to restaurants’ unique operational challenges. Its system spans business intelligence, inventory, workforce management, payroll and finance, delivering an end-to-end back-office solution.

By automating time-consuming tasks like rota planning, procurement, and sales analysis, Nory says restaurants can save over 100 hours of admin per site per month, reduce operating costs by nearly 20%, and increase core net profits by as much as 50%.

The platform’s AI learns from historical operational and sales data to generate real-time insights and recommendations for staff, effectively acting as an AI assistant for frontline hospitality teams.

Sheridan said: “At a time when hospitality is under pressure, we are putting restaurants back in control of their profitability and their destiny. The future of hospitality isn’t robots or gimmicks. It’s AI that makes restaurants smarter, leaner, and more profitable, with automation that frees teams up to focus on what matters: great food and even greater customer experiences.”

Nory already counts major brands among its users, including Black Sheep Coffee, Jamie Oliver Group, and Dave’s Hot Chicken. The Series B investment will allow it to expand its footprint in the US, a key growth market, and hire world-class data scientists to refine its proprietary algorithms and deploy fully autonomous AI assistants.

Jose Gaytan de Ayala, who led the deal for Kinnevik, said Nory was “rewriting the hospitality playbook”.  “As the sector faces rising costs and complexity, Nory stands apart as the only AI-native platform purpose built to help restaurants meet and overcome these headwinds. We were impressed by the strong customer feedback, which highlighted the quality of Nory’s platform and the meaningful ROI it delivers for customers. With our support, Nory will go even deeper on AI and bring the next wave of innovation to restaurant owners in the UK and beyond.”

The funding underscores a growing appetite for AI solutions in hospitality, a sector worth billions to the UK economy but struggling to stay profitable amid higher costs and shifting consumer habits. With margins under strain and administrative burdens growing, Nory’s pitch of smarter automation plus higher profitability is resonating with both investors and operators.

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AI startup Nory raises $37m to help restaurants cut costs and boost profits

The United States and China have reached a breakthrough agreement on TikTok’s future, paving the way for the video-sharing app to transfer into US-controlled ownership after years of political wrangling.

US trade representative Jamieson Greer confirmed on Monday that negotiators had struck a framework deal with Beijing following high-level talks in Madrid. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the commercial terms had been finalised between “two private parties”, but declined to disclose details, adding only that the Chinese delegation had made “aggressive asks” during the negotiations.

China’s top trade envoy, Li Chenggang, later confirmed that consensus had been reached on the basic framework. While calling the talks “hard won”, he cautioned Washington against continuing what he described as the “suppression” of Chinese companies, warning that cooperation could not be one-sided.

The agreement marks a major turning point in a long-running dispute that has threatened to see TikTok banned outright in the US. The app’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, was ordered in 2024 to divest its US arm under legislation signed by then-president Joe Biden. His successor, Donald Trump, has repeatedly extended the deadline but kept up pressure on both sides to strike a deal.

The US has more than 135 million TikTok users, including the White House, which controversially launched its own account in August despite federal devices still being banned from using the app. The security concerns fuelling the row centre on fears that Chinese national security laws could compel ByteDance to hand over American user data or manipulate content. Former FBI director Christopher Wray has previously warned of the risk of mass surveillance or influence operations.

TikTok briefly went dark in January when the original ban deadline expired, with Apple and Google removing the app from their stores. Trump reversed the shutdown within hours of taking office, issuing an executive order to delay enforcement, before granting multiple further extensions.

The ownership saga stretches back to 2020 when Trump first ordered ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. Microsoft, Walmart and Oracle were among the US companies that explored deals, but no agreement was finalised. Oracle has remained TikTok’s US cloud provider since 2022.

Final details of the new deal are expected to be settled when Trump meets China’s president Xi Jinping on Friday. Trump hinted at progress during the talks, posting on Truth Social: “A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much want to save. They will be very happy!”

Greer confirmed the framework was now awaiting approval from both leaders, insisting there would be no further delays: “We’re not going to be in the business of having repetitive extensions. We have a deal.”

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US and China reach TikTok deal after years of security disputes

BGC Group has raised a record $14 million (£11.2m) during its annual BGC Charity Day, the highest total in the event’s 21-year history.

Since its inception in 2005, in memory of 658 BGC colleagues and 61 Eurobrokers employees who died in the 9/11 attacks, the event has generated more than $234 million globally.

Every year, 100% of revenues and broker commissions from a single day’s trading are donated directly to charity.

Star power boosts giving

This year’s London trading floor featured appearances from Ray Winstone, Hugh Grant, Lily James, Billie Piper, Sir Gareth Southgate, Tom Hardy, Davina McCall, Holly Willoughby, Amanda Holden, Michael McIntyre and HRH Princess Beatrice, all closing trades alongside brokers.

Sean Windeatt, Co-CEO and COO of BGC Group, said the atmosphere makes the event unique: “The energy on the trading floor is unlike anything else – it lifts the whole team, brings everyone together and creates a sense of purpose and pride that lasts long after the event.”

Supporting charities in the UK and beyond

More than 60 charities in the UK will benefit, including Help for Heroes, Choose Love, Space for Giants, Grief Encounter, HVH Arts, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, Haven House Children’s Hospice, Muscular Dystrophy, Laureus Sport for Good and The Pearl Fund, launched by England rugby star Maro Itoje.

Debbi Clark, CEO of HVH Arts, said BGC Charity Day has at times represented a third of the charity’s annual income: “That support enables us to deliver vital projects that give disadvantaged children access to the arts, mentoring and creative opportunities they would not otherwise have.”

For smaller charities, the impact is particularly critical. Andy Watts, Head of Partnerships at Grief Encounter, said: “As a smaller charity that relies entirely on voluntary donations, the funds raised will have a significant impact on our work supporting bereaved children, young people and their families.”

Global reach

The 2025 event took place across London, New York, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, São Paulo and Sydney, underlining its global reach.

At a time when new research from the Charities Aid Foundation shows that 75% of UK businesses gave no charitable support in 2024, BGC Charity Day remains a vital source of funding for charities under financial pressure.

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BGC Charity Day 2025 raises record $14m worldwide for good causes

Helena Morrissey is one of the City’s most recognisable figures. Appointed chief executive of Newton Investment Management at 35, she more than doubled assets under management over the following 15 years.

Now chair of Fidelis and of the Eton College endowment, the investor and campaigner joined Wilfred Frost on The Master Investor Podcast. In a conversation that ranged from gilt markets to free speech, she offered a brisk diagnosis of the UK’s competitiveness—and some clear advice for leaders and investors alike.

You made your name as a bond investor before stepping up to run Newton. What’s your snapshot of the G7 bond markets today? Are we flirting with a proper dislocation at the long end?

I worry about complacency. Fiscal room for manoeuvre is thin across the developed world, and the toolkit that helped during the financial crisis—large‑scale QE, in particular—can’t be mobilised in the same way again. Yields have risen sharply but mostly in an orderly fashion; we’ve not had many “cliff‑edge” moments outside Japan. That doesn’t mean we’re safe. If market participants decide they will only finance governments at much higher rates, the spiral can be vicious. We’re vulnerable to that kind of shift in sentiment.

You’ve long argued for central‑bank independence. Is it under threat?

Independence matters precisely because electoral cycles are short and the temptation for political expediency is constant. I was managing gilts in the run‑up to the 1997 election; the day Gordon Brown granted the Bank of England operational independence, the market staged one of its biggest rallies. That said, independence doesn’t mean operating in a vacuum. Treasury, central bank and broader government policy must work in concert—something that’s been lacking at times, notably in the United States.

You’ve spoken about a career‑defining trade in gilts before 1997. What did it teach you?

Contrarian discipline. I began buying long gilts when yields were above 8% because the market had already priced in the worst. For a while I was “wrong”—colleagues told me so daily—but I kept retesting the analysis. We held for years and took profits when yields dipped below 3%. The lesson was to keep your head when all around are losing theirs—apologies to Rudyard Kipling—and to seize those rare moments when the risk‑reward is truly asymmetric.

At 35 you were asked to run Newton, with five young children at home and no formal management training. How did you bridge from portfolio management to leadership?

Some skills translate: bringing people with you, creating space for challenge, focusing the team on the signal not the noise. But fund managers rarely receive any help with management. Firms often assume that if you can run money you can run people. That’s wrong. At Newton we learned to separate responsibilities—keeping investment authority with one person while giving people management to someone more suited to it. The result was better for clients and for culture.

You founded the 30% Club in 2010 to improve gender balance on boards. What problem were you trying to solve—and what did you learn?

After the financial crisis, it was obvious that groupthink was dangerous. Back then, fewer than one in ten UK board seats were held by women. The 30% target wasn’t arbitrary; it reflects “critical mass”—the point at which a minority voice stops feeling token and starts to influence outcomes. Progress since has come mainly through voluntary action, not quotas. But DEI efforts did go awry in some places. Jargon and finger‑pointing made initiatives feel exclusionary. The purpose, always, should be better decisions through cognitive diversity—and equal opportunity for talent.

Free speech is back on the boardroom agenda, often in fraught circumstances. How should leaders navigate it?

By modelling confident civility. You cannot build innovative organisations if people are afraid to ask awkward questions or express an unpopular view. We’ve allowed disagreement to become personalised. Leaders have to restate a simple compact: robust debate is welcome; ad hominem attacks are not. Inclusion should mean everyone with something to contribute has a voice, not that one group is swapped for another.

London’s standing as a financial centre is a perennial concern. Where are we now—and what would you do?

We’re living off stored energy. London still has superb people and a global outlook, but the risk‑reward for challenging the status quo has deteriorated. There’s too much process and too little permission to try, err and improve. Two priorities. In the short term, signal—through both tax and tone—that the UK wants growth‑creators to live and build here. The personal tax burden and everyday frictions push talent abroad. Longer term, make the regulators’ new competitiveness objective real. That doesn’t mean a return to “light touch” but does mean timely, predictable decisions and a culture that enables innovation rather than smothering it.

You were interviewed for the governorship of the Bank of England. Would you do it if asked?

It would be an honour in any era. My broader point, though, is about how we appoint leaders. When selection panels are drawn from the same small circle, you inevitably replicate the status quo. If you want different outcomes, widen the aperture—both in who you consider and how you weigh evidence of leadership.

Technology is powering markets again—and polarising them. Are we in bubble territory?

Some readings feel bubbly: big‑cap moves that imply perfect outcomes, minimal execution risk and no competition. I’m optimistic on innovation and on capitalism’s ability to allocate capital to great ideas. But nothing goes up in a straight line. Geopolitics is fraught; supply chains are being rewired; the cost of capital is no longer near zero. Investors should keep a weather eye on valuation and concentration risk.

You’ve been candid about the obstacles you faced early on—as a woman without City connections, returning from maternity leave, and as the only woman on a 16‑strong team. What changed?

Culture. We no longer think it’s acceptable to entertain clients in ways that exclude colleagues. We talk more openly about money, careers and choices. But progress isn’t guaranteed. We must keep re‑stating the commercial rationale for diversity and the human case for inclusion—and focus on what works inside teams, not on glossy pledges.

What’s your one piece of career advice?

“Leap before you look.” It runs counter to the usual counsel, but too many talented people—particularly women—research the decision to death and never take the chance. At 59 I meet far more peers who regret not trying than those who regret trying and failing. Calculated risk‑taking is part of any fulfilling career.

And for investors?

The Kipling rule: keep your head. Don’t panic into fear or soar into hubris. Build diversified, steady exposure—and then be ready to act decisively in the handful of moments that matter. Those trades don’t come often, but they define careers.

Finally, what do you want Britain’s business community to do differently this year?

Talk less about decline and more about delivery. Hire for potential. Reward intelligent risk. And rebuild the habit of disagreeing well. If we can do that—inside firms and in public life—we’ll make better decisions and grow faster. That, in the end, is the point.

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‘Leap before you look’: Baroness Morrissey on markets, leadership and free speech