At the MERIT Regional Summit in Manchester, experts including Jeremie Brecheisen will deliver talks on current trends and recent findings in agility and innovation, while L&D leaders will share case studies on how they overcame learning challenges.

These talks by experts will run in parallel with interactive, hands-on experiences. Guillermo Cisneros, professor at the Department of Strategy and General Management at ESADE Business School, will lead a masterclass on intrapreneurship. Additionally, in an unconference session, each participant will have the opportunity to join a round-table discussion – or start one of their own. Topics will include empowering employees, building a support network, and applying start-up methods in a corporate setting.

The keynotes, case studies, and interactive formats will give participants both the in-depth knowledge and the skills necessary to transform their organisations and increase agility.

As Lisa Danels of Human Edge explained in a recent MERIT webinar, agility is crucial for every company today: a rigid, hierarchal structure heightens the risk of being surpassed by rising competitors. The MERIT Regional Summit is designed to help you and your organisation be more agile and prepared to thrive in times of change.

Keynote speeches: intrapreneurship, data, and mental health

The Summit will kick off with an opening keynote by Jeremie Brecheisen, Senior Managing Consultant at Gallup. Jeremie will offer what Gallup does best: clear, actionable data.

Jeremie’s expertise is in using behavioural economics to drive culture change and increase employee engagement by establishing an emotional connection to a company’s purpose and brand.

In his keynote speech, Jeremie will zoom out to the bigger picture and share the most up-to-date data on the state of agility in Europe and worldwide. He will also define the intrapreneurial behaviours that yield a measurable increase in agility. The talk will allow you to make sure that your company has an agility strategy that is backed by scientific findings.

As Jeremie will show, emotions are essential to a culture of agility. This point will be further developed by Ginette Oliver of Rising Vibe in her closing keynote on emotions at work. Ginette will explain why mental wellbeing is necessary for creating a culture of intrapreneurship. She will give a blueprint for recognising, acknowledging, and transforming feelings in any situation.

Case studies: intrapreneurship at PMI, HP, and Syngenta

Case studies will be presented by Addie van Rooij, Vice President for People Operations at Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Michael Gower, who leads Learning and Talent Development at Philip Morris International; and Alan Whiteside, Head of Global 3PM Academy at Syngenta.

Michael of PMI will share the successes and challenges of his company during their profound, ongoing transformation. Originally a brand-focused cigarette company, PMI has taken a decision to shift to smoke-free products that respond to customers’ preferences.

PMI’s new mission and top-to-bottom restructuring mean that its people at all levels need to learn, and fast. Michael is responsible for sourcing educational programmes that will enable this change. His case study will offer actionable insights into building a culture of learning at any scale.

While Michael’s study focuses on finding the education vendors best suited to your company, Alan of Syngenta will describe in detail the process of designing and implementing an in-house training programme.

Addie of HPE will argue that a culture of learning means that the HR department itself has to expand its capabilities. HR professionals need to not only encourage intrapreneurship but also acquire new skills themselves, so they can discover and recruit creative thinkers and implement company processes that turn ideas into impact.

Interactive formats: putting intrapreneurship to work

Does intrapreneurship start from the top down, or from the bottom up? Does it depend on recruiting people with certain capabilities, or on an L&D strategy that empowers individuals and teams to learn and grow?

This complex issue will be tackled in a moderated debate on the question “Are Intrapreneurs Born or Made?” featuring Alex Kotsos of the TV animation studio Brown Bag Films; Paul Coyle, founder and director of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network; and Aernout Van Heusden, director of the Academy for Corporate Entrepreneurship. Their conversation will serve as a real-time update on experts’ differing opinions in a fast-evolving field. Conference participants will have the opportunity to engage in the debate.

To show how this “nature or nurture” problem plays out in practice, Professor Guillermo Cisneros of ESADE Business School will teach a masterclass on navigating the relationship between leaders and intrapreneurs. This hands-on session is based on Cisneros’ own experience as chief learning officer for two global corporations, Santander Group and FIAT Group (now FCA).

Finally, we will start to put intrapreneurship to work right there at the Summit. In an unconference session, we will test out a bottom-up approach to generating new ideas. Attendees can join any discussion session, or launch one of their own, and exchange directly with colleagues on issues relevant to them. This is both a networking opportunity and a path to crowd-sourced solutions.

One powerful principle behind intrapreneurship is collaboration: finding new ways forward can only happen with mutual support and constructive feedback.

Join us in Manchester on 13 November to start putting intrapreneurship into practice with the best in the field. A small number of complimentary passes for C-level decision-makers are still available.