EVENTS: TOP 500 BUSINESS BREAKFAST
102 INSIDER March 2020 http://www.insider.co.uk
is flexible, builds public trust and
values contribution over salary.”
Economist Jeremy Lawson,
head of the Aberdeen Standard
Investments Research Institute,
said it was important to set out
how challenging the future looked.
He said: “The environment in
which Scottish businesses are
operating in globally is challenging
and likely to remain so because
2020 is not likely to see much
improvement in that global growth
backdrop.”
Christine O’Neill, chair
of Brodies said of the future
relationship between the UK and
the EU and trade relationships
with other countries: “At this
stage, none of that is fixed... and
this is a moment of opportunity
for businesses to get involved
with the lobbying process and the
legislative process, both talking to
Scottish Government and to UK
Government about what you want
to see with future relationships
with the EU. ”
EY managing partner Ally
Scott said he believed digital
transformation would play a
central role in stimulating deals.
He said: “The pace of technology
change is faster than most
businesses can keep up with..
it also creates significant risk of
disruption in businesses that don’t
keep up. ■S
COTLAND has a golden
opportunity in 2020 to
be a globally competitive
country, according to
Scottish Enterprise chairman Lord
Robert Smith speaking at Insider’s
Top 500 Business Breakfast.
He said: “The eyes of the world
are on the UK and Scotland. We’ve
got a golden opportunity to really
stand out, to support more Scottish
business to export and to promote
Scotland overseas to attract
maximum investment, talent and
visitors.
“We’ve got the opportunity to
make 2020 the year when we really
shift the dial in making Scotland a
globally competitive country.
“But as global trade changes and
mobile international investment
gets tougher, Scotland will have to
move with the times, to adapt and
be agile if it is to sustain and grow a
healthy and fair economy.”
Many businesses, he told the
audience in Edinburgh, were
entering 2020 with mixed feelings
on how to maximise opportunities
and overcome challenges.
“Uncertainty is just part and
parcel of doing business and risk-
taking is an essential ingredient
in any successful business,” added
Lord Smith.
He said businesses should heed
of economic forecasts, “but should
we let them deter us from beingconfident in Scotland’s economic
ability and our global potential?
Absolutely not”.
But Tracy Black, CBI Scotland
director, warned that Scotland
must confront a potential shortfall
of hundreds of thousands of
workers as the population ages.
She said: “We’ll be campaigning
for an immigration system that
works not just for London or
the south-east but for the whole
of the UK and for all skill levels,
putting forward the evidence for
a system that supports Scotland’s
strong economy and above all that‘Eyes of the world are on us...
it’s our chance to stand out’
This is a moment of opportunity
for businesses to get involved with
the lobbying process and the
legislative process Christine O’Neill, Brodies
Above: L to R:
Lord Robert Smith,
Christine O’Neill,
Ken Symon, Tracy
Black, Jeremy
Lawson, host Rona
Dougall and Ally
Scott were all at
the event