From Crisis to Control
How do you balance ambition with control in crisis situations?
Private Discussion
19th November, 16:00 – 19:30 pm GMT
Control Room A, Battersea Power Station
Calm is contagious. Breathe. Then act."
In the business world, crises can emerge unexpectedly. Boards are setting ambitious targets, demanding innovation, growth, and profitability, often on a shoestring budget. Executives are under immense pressure to deliver results while avoiding costly mishaps.
The relentless pursuit of these targets can lead to risky decisions. Business leaders find themselves forced to navigate the unknown, respond to rapidly changing circumstances and maintain control, without all the information. Much like the high-stakes rescue mission of cave rescue diver John Volanthen, the fine line between crisis and control can lie in a single mission.
So, what strategies can you learn from John Volanthen’s approach to crisis management that will enhance your ability to maintain control and deliver operational efficiency?
Register
thought leader
John Volanthen - Cave Diver and Heroic Rescuer
John Volanthen is a world-record-holding British cave diver with over two decades of experience in cave exploration and rescue. Starting at 14, he's led numerous expeditions, most notably the 2018 Tham Luang Thailand cave rescue, where he and located and rescued 12 boys and their coach. This heroic mission was chronicled in The Rescue, Thirteen Lives, and Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives. Volanthen also set world records in cave diving, including a 10-kilometer penetration in Spain's Pozo Azul. He is a George Medal recipient and a sought-after speaker on high-pressure decision-making.
panellists
Hannah Dauncey - EMEA Sales Director at Verizon Business
Hannah leads a team of 30 professionals that help the largest US headquartered customers for the Verizon Business Group achieve their business objectives throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa. Hannah brings a global perspective to business conversations having worked in Dublin, Amsterdam, Boston, and Toyko. Since joining Verizon in February 2007, Hannah regularly mentor both internal and external mentees and is proud to have been a finalist twice in the Women in Sales Awards: once in the Sales Director category in 2019 and once in the Mentor category in 2022.
Ganesh Bukka - VP & Global Head of Industry 4.0 Hitachi Digital Services
Ganesh Bukka serves as VP & Global Head of Industry 4.0, where he leads practice growth, commercial strategy, and serves as an IT/OT advisor to executive teams. He had a long career at Wipro since 2005, leading Industry 4.0 and IoT businesses across diverse industries. He specialises in operational transformation, digital transformation, and smart manufacturing, with experience in global supply chains, M&A, and private equity. Before Wipro, he held R&D leadership roles at GE-Satyam and Ashok Leyland.
Sarah Crawley - Co-Founder of SymTerra
Sarah, a former Senior Construction Manager at Mace, has over 10 years' experience in healthcare capital builds. Recognised for technical excellence by Construction News in 2023, she was also named one of London’s top 10 women innovators by the Mayor of London’s Tech Invest. In 2024, she signed Google’s first global construction tech partnership. As Co-Founder of SymTerra, a communication platform used on £10bn of projects, she has earned backing from major VCs and recognition from Bloomberg as a top UK startup.
verizon expert
Colin Wilson- Chief Technology Officer at Verizon Business
Colin works with Verizon’s EMEA enterprise customers to enhance CX and reduce costs, helping them compete with digital-native rivals. He develops digital journeys that enable transformation through agile, digital-first strategies. For the past three years, Colin has focused on Verizon’s Digital Enablement Platform, a suite of APIs supporting customers in adopting Network as a Service and ‘Infrastructure as Code.’ This allows for faster transformations and improved customer retention. With nearly 30 years of experience, Colin is skilled in leveraging technology to drive business innovation and growth.
when & where
19th November: 16:00 – 19:30 pm GMT
Control Room A, Battersea Power Station, Directors Entrance, Turbine, Circus Rd W, London SW11 8AL
what's the experience?
An unforgettable journey into the heart of London’s industrial heritage at the iconic Control Room A, Battersea Power Station. Marvel at the stunning Art Deco architecture, where history meets design in a space that once powered a city.
Experience the grandeur of the original control room, meticulously preserved to transport you back to the 1930s. Explore the semi-circular control desk surrounded by vintage dials and gauges, all beneath a breathtaking glass roof that bathes the room in natural light.
All of our roundtables are focused, collaborative and informative. Thanks to a chaired and moderated discussion you will: gain insights and ideas from thought leaders in different industries, benchmark your own plans within a collaborative and confidential environment and network with an exclusive group of senior executives in similar size organisations to you.
agenda
16:00 – 16:20 pm
Arrival, Networking & Refreshments
16:20 – 16:30 pm
Welcome & Intros
16:30 – 17:20 pm
Keynote & Q&A from John Volanthen (refreshment break included)
17:20 – 17:45 pm
Operational Efficiency Discussion
17:45 – 18:05 pm
Colin Wilson DEP Presentation
18:05 – 19:30 pm
Explore Partner Stands & Canapés
partners
Guests will be able to enjoy demos from the below:
Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks believes that connectivity is not the same as experiencing a great connection. Juniper’s AI-Native Networking Platform is built from the ground up to leverage AI to deliver exceptional, highly secure and sustainable user experiences from the edge to the data center and cloud.
Learn more about the Verizon and Juniper Networks Partnership here.
Hitachi Digital Services
Hitachi Digital Services is an edge-to-core digital consultancy and technology services provider helping organizations realize the full potential of AI-driven digital transformation. Through a technology-unified operating model for cloud, data, and IoT, Hitachi Digital Services’ end-to-end value creation for clients is established through innovation in digital engineering, implementation services, products, and solutions. Built on Hitachi Group’s more than 110 years of innovation across industries, Hitachi Digital Services helps to improve people’s lives today and build a sustainable world tomorrow.
SymTerra
Construction output in the UK is more than £116 billion per annum and contributes 7% of GDP (ONS, 2021) but remains the least productive industry in the UK economy. By 2030, Gartner predicts 80% of project management tasks will be AI-driven, yet the construction industry lacks the high-quality datasets and LLMs necessary to harness AI’s productivity-boosting potential.
SymTerra was established in 2021 to resolve this and is now used on £10bn worth of projects across the UK & Europe. SymTerra has been backed by some of the largest global Venture Capitalists and in October 2023 was recognised as one of Bloomberg’s top 25 UK startups, underscoring our impact on the industry to date.
Partner
Pathfinder, a community of business leaders, is supported by our club partner Verizon. The aim: to learn from one another by enabling cross-industry conversations, to discuss what might be around the corner and how we must adapt. With the event series running for 3 years, members are encouraged to look beyond the horizon towards radical solutions that make a sustainable difference. Through collaboration and peer insights our community support each other on the journey of personal growth and leadership.
Our Sustainability Pledge
We’re committed to supporting our society and environment. When you attend a Pathfinder event, we pledge to offset your travel or energy usage by planting a tree via One Tree Planted. Once mature, the average tree has a net absorption of 30 kg of CO2 per year, which equates to 227 miles of travel by car or 96 hours of office usage. You can see the maths and learn more here:
Footage will be captured during the session. By registering for this event, you acknowledge and consent to the capturing of footage during the event.