Press Releases

Trust in Uncertain Times - the debate

(23 November 2011)

Members of staff from both Durham Business School and Durham University hosted and presented a debate titled 'Trust in Uncertain Times' in London earlier this month (November 2011).

The event, chaired by Dr David Ellis of FTI Consulting, took the form of a panel debate in front of an audience of University alumni and invited guests, bringing together two leading academics from Durham Business School and three experienced industry practitioners.

The panel considered two topics, first, how organisations plan for scenarios in times of uncertainty, when Bryan Morton discussed his experience gained within the pharmaceutical industry and latterly as Founder, President and CEO of EUSA Pharma. These were contrasted with George Wright's (Professor of Management at DBS) expertise, which has been gained through academic teaching, applied research and industry knowledge.

The second topic considered how trust can be built, destroyed and even re-built again within organisations. Richard Ellis, Group Director of CSR at Alliance Boots, shared a remarkable insight into his experiences of trust within organisations before Dr Graham Dietz, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at DBS, provided a fascinating, yet succinct, summary of his research in this area.

Peter Shaw, Partner at Praesta, enveloped the debate, speaking of his experiences of dealing with company executives in the context of dealing with trust and scenario planning within their organisations.

The event took place in the Grand Hall at One Moorgate Place, London and special acknowledgement should be made to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for their support.