26 November, 09:00 - 18:00
How do we future proof our organisations, our partnerships, and our societies in an era of constant change? As uncertainty grows – from shifting geopolitics and climate pressures to fragile supply chains and AI driven disruption – the need for calm, confident, and practical leadership has never been greater.
This year’s Outer Thinking focuses on what it really takes to build organisations that can adapt, absorb shocks, and still move forward. Grounded in Swedish leadership traditions of collaboration, trust, and long term thinking – and enriched by the UK’s diversity, pace, and pragmatism – we’ll explore how leaders can activate strategies that stand the test of time, not just the next quarter.
Join us for a day of energising ideas and meaningful connections with peers who are facing similar choices about the future. Be part of Outer Thinking – and help shape what future proof, human centred leadership looks like in practice.
About Outer Thinking
Outer Thinking is a full day summit dedicated to future focused leadership from a Swedish–British perspective. It brings together more than 200 business leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians, and academics from Sweden and the UK to look beyond business as usual and explore how we lead – together – through what’s coming next.
Early bird pricing now open. Register before 2 November to save 25% on your ticket. Limited availability - book now to secure your spot at the best rate.
Make it a two-days experience of insights and celebration
Joining us for the Annual Christmas Luncheon? Make it a two-day experience by starting with Outer Thinking – a day of strategic discussions and new connections before the celebrations begin. Tickets for the Annual Christmas Luncheon are sold separately.
Featured Speaker
Jonas Ahlström is Chief Operating Officer and Deputy President & CEO at SEB since 1 January 2025. He has been a member of the SEB Group Executive Committee since 2020.
Mr. Ahlström worked at Investor AB during 2001-2005 before joining SEB, starting in SEB’s CEO & Strategy office.
Jonas has worked across several business areas within SEB including Debt Capital Markets and Equity Research and has held various managerial positions such as Head of CEO & strategy Office, CFO for the Baltic division and Head of the Baltic division before being appointed Co-Head of Corporate & Investment Banking division in June 2021. In January 2023 Jonas took over as sole head of Corporate & Investment Banking.
Jonas holds an MSc. in Finance and Accounting from Stockholm School of Economics in 2001 and also a CEMS Master’s degree from SSE and Universität St. Gallen.
Featured Speaker
Tina Fordham is a Geostrategist, Author and Advisor to board and C-Suite executives on a mission to transform how senior leaders navigate the changing global environment.
Her signature theses on the Geopolitics Supercycle, PQ (Political Quotient) and Vox Populi Risk have entered the business lexicon, while the tools developed by Fordham Global Foresight have demonstrated how geopolitics can be integrated into business strategy.
Fordham was Wall Street’s original Chief Global Political Analyst, spending 17 years at Citigroup. She created Eurasia Group’s financial markets research business; was appointed to the United Nations’ first High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, and has served as a Senior Advisor to the U.K. Prime Minister and 2- and 3-star Generals.
Tina is a member of the International Advisory Boards of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, her alma mater, and Cambridge University's Centre for Geopolitics. She hosts “The Navigator”, produced in collaboration with the London Stock Exchange, and is a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg TV and Monocle Radio.
Her forthcoming book, Mad World: A Geostrategy Survival Guide for Leaders, will be published in September 2026 by Whitefox.
Featured Speaker
Carl-Johan Hagman is by training a maritime lawyer. After having served in the Swedish Navy as an anti-submarine warfare officer he has been the President & CEO of Wallenius Lines in Sweden, Eukor Car Carriers in Korea, Hoegh Autoliners in Norway and has headed up the shipping activities of the Stena AB group in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Since 2023 he is the President and CEO of NYK Group Europe, based in London. As of April 2026, he also serves as Managing Executive Officer of NYK Line and Europe Region Head of the NYK Group, with overall responsibility for the Group’s business and operations across Europe.
Mr. Hagman also serves as Vice Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and Chief Executive of Japan Shipowners’ Association (JSA), Europe Branch.
He has previously been the Korean honorary consul general in Gothenburg, Sweden and is the recipient of the Korea Medal for Industrial Merit. He is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Maritime Academy and the Royal Academy of War Sciences.
Featured Speaker
Will Poskett is an award-winning strategist, founder of Defiant, and writer of Behind the Brands, newsletter on how brands really grow and the cultural forces shaping them, drawing 50k monthly unique readers. He has over 20+ years experience advising some of the world's most recognised brands including Nike, Heineken, Amazon and Coca-Cola. In 2014 made history by winning the first-ever Grand Prix at the YouTube Effectiveness Awards.
Featured Speaker, Mistress of Ceremonies
Linda Nyberg is a Senior Corporate Affairs and Communications specialist with over 25 years of experience
working with strategic and tactical communication in global contexts, including national and international radio and broadcast, journalism and news and tv-show anchor and producer. Special interest in international Affairs, Public Affairs, Corporate Communications, Journalism, Moderating, Marketing/Branding and Social Media and Media Relations. Regarded as a trusted advisor among colleagues and clients. Linda is a political scientist with studies at Uppsala University, Sweden, Sorbonne, France and University of Alberta, Canada.
Moderator/Conferencier and consulting assignments for private and public sector including the academia like universities and innovation- and research centres. Assignments include besides moderating state-visits, ministerial and academic round-table discussions and conferences, major listed European companies and international organizations like UNHCR, Red Cross etc.
Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle St, London, United Kingdom, W1S 4BS
Bookings are non-refundable, but at the discretion of the organiser, you can change the name of the person attending. For this, please contact events@scc.org.uk.
Disclaimer: If you experience any issues when registering, please contact events@scc.org.uk and we will ensure you are registered quickly and smoothly. We are currently rolling out a new event system, so some features may look or behave slightly differently. Thank you for your patience while we complete this transition.
Highlights from Outer Thinking: Swedish-British Summit 2025
See highlights from our annual Flagship conference, offering thought-provoking and contemporary exploration of leadership, bringing together an inspiring assembly of 200+ business leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians, and academics from both Sweden and the UK.
Photo gallery
See photos from Outer Thinking 2025 here.
“I wanted to come back to Outer Thinking, because last year was a really great opportunity to talk about leadership and leadership styles. So I talked a lot about authenticity. And actually, I’ve really had a fantastic feedback on that. People say that they’ve been compromised by that in the past, and they’ve now really learnt to speak up. So I want to come back to evolve that really now and start to talk about how we move things forward even more.”
“I’m quite amazed with what we’ve already spoken about and the breadth of all the topics, and I really hope to bring new connections, and possibly even collaborations, when we leave here today.”
“I think that it’s been really enlightening to be able to listen from people from different industries, sharing their perspectives on how best to collaborate, and everything from fashion, academia and also environmental concerns. But when we overlay that with the uncertainty that we’re facing in the world today, I hope that this serves as a catalyst to allow us all to come together to deliver the purposes that we all really believe in.”
“I think we have addressed lots of very important issues, and some of them we might not have addressed enough before. So I would like to see many different partners and stakeholders collaborate and help navigating and mitigating the risks of global challenges and coming together to do so. That is my hope.”
“Outer Thinking to us really means that you think about things from different angles. And I think we, in our industry, are good at sometimes thinking outer angles, but I think many times we just follow the mainstream, and we need to challenge that and I think Outer Thinking for us really means coming with new, bright ideas from really nowhere, and from other industries to see what we can do better in our industry.”
