Culture

 

British Queen celebrates

 

For the first time, London will host a major international business summit next year. The Concordia Europe Summit is set to take place in the capital in late spring 2025, bringing together

hundreds of global, regional, and national policymakers to highlight investment and partnership opportunities across London.

The announcement was made at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan in attendance. The Concordia Summit fosters collaboration between public and private sector leaders to create market-driven solutions. This year's theme, Navigating a New Era, addresses key issues such as the transformative role of AI, international business trends, geopolitics, migration, healthcare, and education. Notable speakers at this year's event include Barbara Humpton, CEO of Siemens Corporation, and Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. Past speakers have included President Joe Biden, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, and LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky.

Mayor Khan's attendance at the summit is part of his four-day visit to the U.S., where he is promoting London as a prime destination for business investment and growth. He emphasized the capital's emerging status as a hub for tech innovation, particularly in AI, fintech, and life sciences.

During his trip, the Mayor met with business leaders from Accordion, a global advisory and tech platform for private equity, which has announced plans to open a London office. He also met with CliftonLarsenAllen (CLA), the eighth-largest accounting firm in the U.S., which has acquired London-based AI platform Engine and will launch their international brand, CLA Global, from London to oversee operations outside of North America.

In further positive news for the capital, adtech company Constant Contact will open an office in Marylebone in October 2024, and compliance and audit platform Thoropass from New York City is also establishing a presence in London. This follows Salesforce’s June announcement of a $4 billion investment into the UK, including a new office in Southwark.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am delighted that the 2025 Concordia Europe Summit will be held in London – it really is a perfect match. London is a city teeming with innovations and ideas, and the Concordia summit provides the best forum for them to be shared.

“I look forward to working with the team to make it the best Summit it can be – as we continue to build a fairer and better London for everyone.”

Today’s announcement was made by Concordia Co-founder & Chairman of the Board Nicholas Logothetis.

Matthew Swift, Co-founder, President & CEO, Concordia, said: "Our Europe Initiative is a powerful element of our programming and convening, representative of a significant portion of our global membership community. I could not imagine a better city than London to bring together leaders from across sectors and geographies to address critical issues through our Concilium format. I am grateful for the collaboration and trust placed upon us by the Mayor of London on this exciting development for our 2025 agenda."

Mayor Khan is in New York during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly to encourage U.S. businesses to expand into London and to promote the capital as a top destination for tourists. He is also using the visit to advocate for global action on climate change. Photo by U.S. Embassy London, Wikimedia commons.