GRI President and CEO Sonia Baxendale kicked off the summit by welcoming participants and thanking those who made the event possible: The GRI team, GRI members including our board of directors, and our summit sponsors.  

Sonia referenced the classic Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.” She noted that although the novel is set during the French Revolution, it reflects the complexity of the present day. Despite the challenges of global conflicts, democracy in crisis, and rapid technological changes, Sonia pointed to several reasons for hope, including advancements in global literacy, a youth-led climate movement, and promising treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease.      

Given the rapid pace of change, Sonia stressed the importance of resilience, and particularly of resilient leadership, which she said is essential to leading us through uncertain times. To that end she noted GRI’s leadership role in the industry, and drew attention to two GRI initiatives in particular (The Hinton Lecture Series on AI and the riskLIT program) that are helping to build a more resilient industry during these transformative times.