The MERIT Regional Summit in Manchester will gather HR professionals and C-level executives, as well as representatives of Europe’s highest-ranked business schools.
Experts, including Jeremie Brecheisen, will deliver talks on current trends and new research 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, each participant in an unconference session will have the opportunity to join a roundtable discussion – or start one of their own. Topics will include empowering employees and applying startup 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 create a learning culture and increase agility in their organisations.

The Summit will kick off with an opening keynote by Jeremie Brecheisen, Senior Managing Consultant at Gallup. Jeremie will 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 an increase in agility. The talk will allow participants to make sure that their company has an agility strategy that is backed by scientific findings.

The topic of emotions at work will be further developed by Ginette Oliver of Rising Vibe in her closing keynote. Ginette will explain why mental wellbeing is necessary for creating a culture of intrapreneurship. She will provide a blueprint for recognising, acknowledging, and transforming feelings in any situation.

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; Agnieszka Kral, Talent and Learning Global HR at ING; and Alan Whiteside, Head of Global 3PM Academy at Syngenta.

Michael, of PMI, will share the successes and challenges of his company during its 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 means that its people at all levels need to learn under strict time constraints. Michael is responsible for sourcing educational programmes that will enable this change. 

While Michael’s talk focuses on finding the education vendors best suited to a given company, Alan, of Syngenta, and Agnieszka, of ING, will describe in detail the process of designing and implementing in-house training programmes.

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

A moderated debate on the question "Are Intrapreneurs Born or Made?" will feature 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. 

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, an unconference session 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. 

The MERIT Regional Summit in Manchester on 13 November gathers some of the top practitioners in the field of intrapreneurship.