Deloitte Future Talk podcast series

The year 2020 will be marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected all companies and industries. The impact of the crisis show that transformation has become the new norm today more than ever before. Companies must remain constantly alert, resilient and competitive.

In this episode, with Professor Tomi Laamanen, we discuss what transformation really means, why long-term strategic thinking is linked to successful transformation, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way we think about transformation.

Tomi Laamanen is chairman of the Department of Strategic Management at the University of St. Gallen. With his many years of experience in research and practice, he is an expert in the field of transformation and has published the Transformation Champions Study together with Deloitte.

Our special guest is Mr Van Rompuy, Former President of the European Council. Mr Van Rompuy has had an impressive career in national and European politics, serving as both President of the European Council and Prime Minister of Belgium before taking up his current position as President of the European Policy Centre. He was active in politics at a young age, acting as National Vice President of his party's youth council, before going on to hold various posts within the party and in the Belgian Parliament. At the time of his first appointment as President of the European Council in 2009, he was Prime Minister of Belgium, and was the first full-time President to take office when the Lisbon Treaty came into force. In 2015, King Philippe II of Belgium anointed him Earl.

In this episode of Future Talk, Mr Van Rompuy talks about his love of poetry, explains how he became prime minister and how he was prepared to play the role of President of the European Council. He analyses the various crises that Europe has undergone over the past decade, explains his thoughts on the Europe of tomorrow and what reforms are needed today. He argues why he is optimistic about Brexit negotiations and explains the similarities between the EU and Switzerland.