This opening session sets the tone for the Forum by inviting delegates to engage deeply with our central theme: Trust, Resilience & Strategic Leadership in a Shifting World. The Chair will offer introductory remarks that frame the conversations ahead, highlighting how trust - across institutions, information systems, leadership, and societal relationships - has become one of the most critical and complex challenges of our time.

As we embark on today’s discussions, we encourage you to consider not only where trust is eroding, but also how you, as Chief Legal Officers, can help shape the response. How might you collectively rebuild credibility, reinforce ethical leadership, and reimagine the role of trust within your organisations and the broader environment in which you operate?

Most observers – at least in the West – agree that the twenty-first century has been particularly tumultuous. But while some explain the volatility of our times by reference to historical analogies, e.g. moments from the twentieth century such as the interwar years, others claim that we are in a moment of polycrisis for which there is no precedent. In this talk I split the difference: it is wrong to assume the 21st century will resemble the 20th, but there are other historical precedents we can use to better think about our current predicament.

Option One - Openness to Experience: Leadership Edge in an Uncertain World
In a world where certainty is obsolete, openness isn't soft — it's survival. This session reframes curiosity and adaptability as hard-edged competitive advantages. We'll explore how the best GCs use cognitive openness to see what others miss, emotional openness to read rooms and build trust at speed, and interpersonal openness to unlock innovation in the least likely places. It's about how being genuinely open — to being wrong, to being changed, to being surprised — becomes the thing that makes you impactful.
Moderator: Alex Lazarus, GLL Ambassador and Leadership, Team Coach and Business Psychologist at Lazarus and Maverick

Option Two: Leading Through Crisis - Protecting Trust When It’s Under Threat
This session explores how general counsel can lead effectively during crises, focusing on protecting and building trust when it’s at risk. Participants will examine strategies for maintaining credibility, communicating under uncertainty, and learning from recent corporate crises.

Option Three: Strategic Trust - Navigating Risk, Geopolitics, and Growth
This session explores how leaders can navigate complex risks and geopolitical uncertainty while fostering trust and a growth-oriented risk culture. Participants will examine strategies for maintaining credibility in high-stakes situations, harmonizing risk-taking with sustainable growth, and using horizon scanning to anticipate challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing global landscape.

This closing session is designed as a reflection piece, giving Members the opportunity to distil the key insights from the Forum and turn the learnings from the day’s keynotes into practical action. Under the theme Trust, Resilience & Strategic Leadership in a Shifting World, participants will consider how to apply the strategies, frameworks, and lessons shared throughout the Forum to their own organisations and leadership roles.