Alumni Thought Leadership Event Series

The School of Business Alumni Thought Leadership Series is designed to strengthen our long-term engagement with our alumni community through intellectually engaging, professionally relevant, and globally accessible online events.

The series will consist of a series of online events focused on a contemporary business challenge or emerging issue of international relevance. 

Forthcoming sessions:

Too Much of a Good Thing? Entrepreneurial Intensity and the Risk of Resource Exhaustion
Thursday 8 October 2026, 13:00-14:00 (UK time)

This session presents some recent research insights from Professor Mat Hughes, Professor of Innovation, Executive Chair of the Growth Hub, and Dean of Research and Enterprise, which explores how continuous pursuit of growth and innovation through entrepreneurship inside organisations can unintentionally lead to resource exhaustion and declining performance. Drawing on his research on “entrepreneurial entropy,” this session introduces a powerful lens—borrowed from physics—to explain why firms that push too aggressively on entrepreneurial orientation (e.g., constant innovation, risk-taking, and proactiveness) may experience diminishing returns over time. Through real-world examples of fast-scaling firms and innovation-driven industries, we will examine how internal complexity, overstretched capabilities, and misaligned priorities can quietly erode value. The discussion will focus on practical strategies for leaders, including pacing innovation efforts, aligning resources with strategic priorities, and recognising early warning signs of organisational fatigue. Designed for professionals navigating volatile and competitive environments, this session offers fresh, accessible insights into sustaining performance without burning out the very systems that drive success.

 Making Difficult Decisions Together: Lessons from High-Stakes Healthcare
Thursday 5 November 2026, 13:00 - 14:00 (UK time)

This session presents some recent research insights from Dr Gemma Hughes, Associate Professor in Healthcare Management which explores the growing importance of shared decision-making in high-stakes professional environments. Drawing on an innovative programme of research into shared decision-making in major surgery and healthcare management, Gemma explores how professionals and the public make difficult decisions in situations characterised by uncertainty, risk and competing priorities. The research investigates what happens when traditional models of professional authority and expertise are replaced by to more collaborative forms of decision-making involving patients, families, professionals and wider institutional pressures. Through an empirical study of clinical consultations, the session examines how decisions are shaped not only by technical expertise, but also by communication, trust, organisational culture, perceptions of risk, and the wider systems and social context within which decisions take place. These research themes have broader relevance beyond healthcare settings for leaders and professionals across business, consulting, finance, technology and the public sector, particularly in an era where organisations face increasing demands for transparency, participation and stakeholder engagement. The session explores how cutting-edge research at ULSB is generating new insights into the relationship between expertise, authority and collaboration in contemporary organisations, while also highlighting the practical implications of this work for leadership, governance and organisational decision-making in complex and uncertain environments.

Available to book soon:

Data Spills and Market Failures: The Economics of Cybersecurity
Thursday 3 December 2026, 13:00 - 14:00 (UK time)

What's Really Holding Back the Energy Transition? Lessons from the Developing Economies
Thursday 7 January 2026, 13:00 - 14:00 (UK time)