Knowns and Unknowns, Lights and Tunnels
Dear Members,
Donald Rumsfeld, former US Secretary of Defense, coined the famous “…known knowns; … known unknowns; … also unknown unknowns…”.
2020 has certainly given us all a fair share of “knowns and unknowns”: Covid-19 pandemic, US Presidential Election, Brexit outcome and – as the elephant in the room – Climate Change.
In the last couple of weeks, we have had a series of good news with potential Covid vaccines – all with over 90% success rates – and maybe the possibility to share Christmas en famille.
With the US Presidential Election, the outcome is nearly in sight, with the Electoral College vote in mid-December.
The dénouement of Brexit negotiations, oven-ready deal or not, is in sight at the end of the Chunnel.
That will leave us with “fewer” uncertainties: how to repay the huge debt following the pandemic, how to retool industry for a Green Recovery and tackle Climate Change.
XTEND which has been providing speakers twice a month, metronome-like, to address current issues since Lockdown 1.0 will follow up these challenges with new themes and speakers in 2021.
December is normally the month we meet up for Christmas drinks at one of the watering holes in The City. This year, we plan to organise an online version towards mid-month – details to follow shortly – and hope that as many of you as possible will be able to attend.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the weekend with plenty of team sports to watch – Autumn Nations Cup Rugby and Premier League football. No prizes for guessing which teams I watched and supported…
Stay safe.
Thomas
Thomas Saltiel
Chairman