It addressed the billed question periodically, but it also digressed into consideration of leadership, the changing nature of corporate governance and innovative solutions for financing enterprise in a changing economic landscape.
But the day-long series of presentations and cross-examinations by Institute of Directors director general Miles Templeman and JIBS director Stephen Platt was no less interesting for all that.
If anything, the mixed agenda made sure that the day unfolded in ways that were both fascinating and entertaining. This had much to do with the outstanding quality of the speakers.
To say that General Sir Mike Jackson, who spoke with great authority on the subject of leadership in perilous times, has a commanding presence is a major understatement. Fluent, incisive and, on the strength of his booming voice alone, utterly compelling, the General – a former Chief of the General Staff as well as commander in the field – can be described as the main attraction.
That said, international tax lawyer Richard Hay, a Canadian based in London who knows Jersey well, was a model of clarity and also addressed the main question in a way which offered hope for the Island’s future, coupled with realism about the challenges it undoubtedly faces.
Will Carnegie, meanwhile, the Jerseyman who led a crew sailing around the world in the BT Global Challenge, gave an intriguing account not only of severe conditions on the high seas, but also of the way in which the race was used as a social science experiment.
Nicole Svatek, an expert on the human factors that lead to air accidents, was also a star performer, making it clear that if bankers were able to learn as quickly from experience as the aviation industry, the financial world would be a far safer place.
Durrell’s chief executive, Paul Masterson, held delegates’ attention perfectly as he entertainingly highlighted lessons from the natural world that Jersey might like to heed, and Waterfront Enterprise Board chief executive Stephen Izatt ably lifted the lid on the course that the development of Esplanade Quarter is likely to follow.
Online ‘Dragon’ Julie Meyer and corporate governance specialist Richard Smeardon each delivered dense – but by no means in a bad sense – presentations focusing on, respectively, funding enterprise in a world increasingly dominated by new technology and the ‘rising bar’ of financial regulation.
