On the eve of the inaugural Global Leadership Forum Summit, which takes place next week in Geneva on 27-28 April, we spoke with FIDIC CEO Nelson Ogunshakin about the event and what it hopes to achieve.
What is the Global Leadership Forum and what are you trying to achieve with the summit?
Back in September 2021, FIDIC announced the formation of the Global Leadership Forum (GLF) with the aim of discussing the key issues and challenges facing society and the wider infrastructure sector and, crucially, mapping out strategies and approaches to successfully address those challenges. This first ever exclusive summit for 50 of the world’s most senior leaders in the infrastructure sector will bring together members of the GLF and help to facilitate the creation of deep relationships among peers in the industry to enable greater collaboration to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the global infrastructure sector.
How was FIDIC able to attract industry big-hitters to take part in the forum and summit?
It’s partly because FIDIC is an influential organisation that represents more than 1.4 million engineers and 40,000 firms in more than 100 countries. With its global reach, FIDIC is the ideal vehicle to facilitate collective action to advance the industry and deal with the pressing issues facing our planet. I am delighted that FIDIC has been able to attract such a range of high-profile and influential international industry and business leaders to be part of the GLF and I believe it is a reflection of the growing interest in FIDIC’s advocacy that we have been able to attract high-calibre global leaders to take part.
What kind of issues are being discussed at the summit?
The summit will provide a specific opportunity for global leaders to debate and define the actions needed to enable climate action and the achievement of net zero. They will also benefit from unique access to the latest research into the state of the global infrastructure market and attendees will also be able to shape and contribute to a major piece of work to define what the future global infrastructure market will look like.
What are your aspirations for the summit and the GLF itself?
We want this summit to become a go-to event for anyone looking to connect with the most influential leaders in the infrastructure industry. It’s an ambitious aim but we need to be bold to address the key challenges we face as businesses and as an industry. The summit will be discussing a diverse range of topics relevant to the infrastructure industry, including sustainability, innovation and of course leadership. But it’s not just discussions. We will also be developing and working out solutions to these challenges and offering a roadmap for the industry to implement real change.
Why should industry leaders get involved with this initiative?
First of all, it’s the premier gathering of influential infrastructure industry leaders. There is simply nothing else like it for the engineering, construction and infrastructure sector. It is a place where global leaders can hear from world-renowned experts and pioneers in the infrastructure industry who will provide valuable insights and share their experiences in a non-competitive environment. This is the industry coming together to work on solutions to challenges in a true spirit of collaboration and partnership where global leaders can meet and connect with like-minded individuals from across the international infrastructure industry to expand their professional networks.
What do you expect to come out of this first GLF summit?
I truly believe that we have the potential to shape the future of our industry. The GLF summit provides a platform for attendees to do just that by enabling attendees to share their ideas and insights, providing a meaningful platform to come to decisions to address some of the big issues we face. Through encouraging deep collaboration, the fostering of relationships and open discussion, what I expect to emerge is a shared better understanding and agreement on how we address those key issues and challenges. The aim is to bring global leaders together for the good of the sector, the industry and indeed society.
The summit takes place from 27-28 April in Geneva. What would you say to those not yet signed up who want to get involved?
My advice to leaders not yet involved is to get in touch and join us but be prepared for some real work if you do. The Global Leadership Forum is a great opportunity for leaders to network and gain access to exclusive industry research – and because that research is led and undertaken by members, there is a collective and individual responsibility play your part fully as we work together to tackle major challenges. So, my message would be get in touch with our team to find out more and get involved.
