On June 13th-14th, Łódź hosted the 8th ABSL Conference - the most prestigious business service sector event in the CEE region.

The Conference gathered nearly 1.100 participants from all over the world - and we would like to express our thanks to all the guests who have joined us at the 8th edition of our flagship event in Łódź for those amazing three days.

This year's special guest was the Right Honourable David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-2016) - one of the key influential people of today’s politics and economy. During a moderated Q&A session with Henry Foy, Mr. Cameron answered crucial questions regarding the future of Europe, focusing primarily on relations between Poland and the UK concerning business and possible resource relocation. This panel was pivotal to the Conference: The Old World Disrupted idea.

Our expert speakers this year focused on the problem of constant change its effect on business, markets, talent, and leadership. Constant shifts in the balance of politics and economy translate directly into our ways of conducting business. We are also influenced by emerging trends, such as robotics, automation of processes, and the intelligent world.

Our key themes were the battle of Humans vs. Robots and Future Technology. Experts such as Aleksandra Przegalińska (MIT) and Joseph Reger (Fujitsu) explained the key notions of today’s industrial revolution. They assured the audience that we should not be afraid of robots but assimilate with them. Despite them overtaking basic tasks, this movement will leave us with free resources to perform more complex tasks that a machine will be unable to do. Meanwhile, software development could move to become blue-collar work soon as our needs for developers grow with time.

Aside from the future of markets and ongoing robotic transformations, we also focused on the Future Leaders. Our speakers - among them Zain Wadee (Randstad Sourceright) and Robert Baker (Mercer) discussed the changes that need to happen as the next generation - Millennials - become the most prominent group on the labor market, as well as how inclusion shapes and empowers both the companies and the employees.

Check their presentations below to find out what they think of these challenges!