Please submit your questions for the Q&A session here: https://forms.gle/MEWYLizgMFUKDcuJ8

We are delighted to be hosting a special online event with Helen Dickinson OBE, the CEO of the British Retail Consortium. Helen is one of the most important figures in the British retail industry and is a former Partner & Head of Retail at KPMG. She has been attending and advising government briefings during Covid-19 pandemic and is one of the most prominent voices around several very topical issues including the future of the High Street. This is not just in light of the pandemic’s impact on retail but also around issues such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Brexit and business rates – the controversial property tax that has become the ire of retailers since revaluation at the start of the 2017/18 fiscal year. The BRC is responsible for liaising between British retail firms, the government, and the public, and its membership boasts all of the major retailers in the UK, amounting to 5,000 businesses delivering £180bn of retail sales per year and employing over one and a half million employees. As Chief Executive of the BRC, it is Helen’s primary duty to ensure that the retail industry thrives in Britain and she was awarded an OBE in the 2016 New Year’s Honours for her services to the retail industry.

Given the disruption caused by the pandemic and the accelerated rise of e-commerce and automation, the retail industry is set to undergo great change, with much uncertainty about what the future of the High Street might be. Brought to you by King’s Business Club, Oxford Guild, Cambridge Guild, LSESU BIG, Imperial Finance Society, Warwick Finance Societies and other leading university societies, this event is 100% FREE and open to all and supported by The Oxford Foundry.

Helen is also former Chair of Working Chance, Britain’s largest charity helping female offenders back to work. She has a huge wealth of experience as one of the retail industry’s foremost experts and this is a unique opportunity to learn more about what the retail sector’s future might hold in light of the huge challenges it is facing from the pandemic and the rise of e-commerce to Brexit and the Fourth Industrial Revolution with automation and AI threatening retail jobs. This will undoubtedly be one of the most topical and interesting events of term and will give you the chance to hear from and ask questions of such a fascinating guest.