The Annual Conference is IBDE’s flagship event, providing senior leaders from business, government, and the diplomatic community with an excellent opportunity to explore the drivers of economic growth, resilience, and long-term prosperity, alongside high-quality networking in an environment designed to encourage collaboration and commercial partnerships through public-private cooperation.
The Conference will focus on boosting economic growth by examining the key issues shaping international trade, supply chains and investment flows, artificial intelligence and data, manufacturing, technology and innovation, geopolitics and energy security, and their implications for business strategy, policy delivery and economic diplomacy.
Date: Monday, 23 March 2026
Venue: DLA Piper, 160 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HT
Agenda
13:00 – Networking Lunch – Open to all Conference attendees
14:00 – Opening Plenary Session
- Rudi Guraziu, Chief Executive, IBDE
- Sir John Manzoni, Chairman, IBDE Leadership Council - Chair of Diageo and SSE plc
- Andrew Griffiths MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
14:30 – Plenary Panel on Growth and Investment
15:15 – Plenary Panel on Global Trade Outlook
16:00 – Keynote speech by Sir Chris Bryant MP, Minister of State for Trade, Department for Business and Trade
16:20 – Networking
The full Conference agenda - including speakers - is available here.
Audience
The Conference is a high-level thought leadership event bringing together:
- Senior business representatives, including Chairs, Vice Chairs, CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, Senior and Managing Partners, Directors-General, General Counsels, Group Directors, Executive Directors, Managing Directors and Chief Economists
- Senior government officials, including Senior Civil Servants
- Senior members of the diplomatic community, including Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Ministers and Minister Counsellors.
The Conference is kindly supported by the City of London Corporation, DLA Piper, BIP Group and Diageo.