Peter Drucker always emphasized the importance of management as a role in society - not only for business but for all purpose-driven institutions and organizations such as non-profit, education, health, public services, and civil society. What roles and responsibilities will managers have in the future, and how should they participate in shaping the next society?


Executives and managers, academics, thought leaders, experts, and bestselling authors will provide the stimulus for the discussion. A special focus will be given to the young generation - approximately fifteen percent of the conference attendees will be invited based on an essay contest for young people - the global Peter Drucker Challenge.


The current crisis is accentuating and accelerating the transformation of our societies and economies. The 2010 Forum will deal with the new challenges seen from the vantage point of management and will address key questions such as

• What will the next society be like? What does this mean for management? How can the latent productive and creative energies of people in organizations be unleashed? Will Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and new media finally fulfill their promise to enable and empower management and workers?
• What can we learn from the emerging economies? How can deep transformation and change in our society be managed without creating widespread disruption? Can our societies become more nimble and adaptive?

Given the daunting challenges ahead, do we need to reinvent the practice of management in business and non-business organizations and institutions? Or do we only have to apply the basic management principles defined by Peter Drucker and others? Is the current corporate model adequate for the 21st century? What are the alternatives?


The dialogue will be led by speakers from business, academia, and the non-profit and public sectors. It will be practice focused, leveraging insights from research and thought leadership. The line up of speakers includes Matthias Horx, Lynda Gratton, Julian Birkinshaw, Adrian Wooldridge, Peter Lorange, and Andrew Keen.