Key Takeaways

Key TakeAways From Techonomy Roundtable with Sir Martin Sorrell

Key TakeAways Techonomy Roundtable

Ad veteran Sir Martin Sorrell predicted a fourth quarter recovery, the re-election of Donald Trump and an acceleration of digital transformation during an online roundtable organized by New York-based events company Techonomy.

Guest speaker Sorrell, the founder of global ad agency WPP categorized the current pandemic as being worse than any of the recent downturns, including the bursting of the dotcom bubble, 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis. He said he was optimistic that the economy would bounce back by the end of the year but stressed that life will never be the same.

The shift from analog to digital in consumer consumption patterns is accelerating due to shelter in place rules and that acceleration is likely to continue after confinement has ended, he says. Having experienced work from home with all its challenges, he predicts that consumers will use tech more aggressively when they go back to the office.

The most significant change will be in the business sector, he says. Enterprise managers who were hesitant about fully embracing digital transformation will significantly accelerate their efforts. Sorrell, who currently heads up S4 Capital, a digital marketing venture, predicts a greater use of robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence.

He also predicts that China will continue to be a dominant global force and the clash between the U.S. and China will remain a key issue.

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About the author

Jennifer L. Schenker

Jennifer L. Schenker, an award-winning journalist, has been covering the global tech industry from Europe since 1985, working full-time, at various points in her career for the Wall Street Journal Europe, Time Magazine, International Herald Tribune, Red Herring and BusinessWeek. She is currently the editor-in-chief of The Innovator, an English-language global publication about the digital transformation of business. Jennifer was voted one of the 50 most inspiring women in technology in Europe in 2015 and 2016 and was named by Forbes Magazine in 2018 as one of the 30 women leaders disrupting tech in France. She has been a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneers judge for 20 years. She lives in Paris and has dual U.S. and French citizenship.