Susannah Streeter

Keynote Speaker

Susannah Streeter's Biography

Susannah Streeter is a global financial commentator and former BBC business anchor who is sought after as a thought leader on trends affecting the world economy.

 She provides award-winning analysis to the world’s media as part of her role as Head of Money and Markets for the UK’s largest retail investment platform, Hargreaves Lansdown.

As a bilingual BBC anchor, with a career spanning two decades in broadcasting, she presented flagship global business shows on TV and radio, and now speaks and chairs debates at major conferences around the world, focusing on macro-economics, energy, sustainability, defence and artificial intelligence.

She frequently interviews prime ministers, CEOs, central bankers and military leaders at high-level events which have included The World Green Economy Summit in Dubai, Arctic Frontiers in Tromso, the Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference in London, the Global Fund Conference in Lyon, the Our Ocean summit in Oslo, the Sustainable Finance Forum in Abu Dhabi and the EU Nuclear Forum in Prague.

She also speaks on resilience, team building and leadership in a fractured world, drawing on her experience as an RAF Reserve officer. As a Squadron Leader she led the force’s mobile news team for almost a decade on exercises and operations around the world.

Susannah is in demand as a guest commentator on crypto currencies and the challenges digital coins and tokens pose to the financial system.  She also covers seismic changes affecting the retail landscape in the wake of the pandemic, digital shopping trends and sustainability targets.

Susannah is also a popular podcaster. She hosts the HL Switch Your Money On investment podcast, presents the Tech Directions podcast with Microsoft and EY, anchored the How to Grow a CMO series, co-hosted the BackSpace and Beyond tech podcast, featured on BBC Radio 2, and was a presenter for the World Business Report podcast on the BBC World Service.

KEYNOTE TOPICS IN DETAIL

 TAKING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

‘’Following 18 months of shocks, from the invasion of Ukraine to commodity price spirals, bond market mayhem and a banking crisis, investors are set to remain highly sensitive to further upheaval particularly given that a third of the world is forecast to enter recession this year.  Inflation is showing signs of easing and consumers are proving more resilient that expected but investors are much more highly attuned to the potential for threats to escalate. ‘’

Susannah Streeter constantly takes a temperature check on the world economy in her role as head of money and markets for Hargreaves Lansdown, also drawing on her many years of experience as a global business anchor for the BBC. She explains the task ahead for central bank officials, still trying to rein in inflation:

“Policymakers are valiantly trying their hand at being master chefs by trying to stop inflation burning spending power whilst avoiding the economies sinking like undercooked souffles. The recipes are showing some signs of working with price spirals finally edging down from painful peaks and there are hopes recessions will be shallower.

US stocks have re-entered bull market territory thanks to the extraordinary enthusiasm for tech giants with footholds in the AI revolution, but while the FTSE 100 breached a record high earlier this year, its retreated as clouds gather over the global economy and UK companies still weighed down by the repercussions of Brexit.

RESILIENCE: HOW TO FIND RESILIENCE TO DEAL WITH A GEO-POLITICALLY FRACTURED WORLD

‘’We are facing an increasingly fractured economic and political world, so finding new forums of communication and collaboration to find our way through the fog of war and corporate dislocation and are increasingly vital.’’

Susannah has a unique view of the power of communication and how it can help change the world for the better. This spans from her early days in uniform as the founding member of the Royal Air Force combat camera team when she used the power of film to enact change, to her senior anchor position for the BBC, up until now as a sought-after analyst and chair of politically sensitive global debates. She talks about how to build resilience, how to prepare for future shocks and how navigate fractured debates by bringing polarized views together.

‘’True inclusivity involves bringing all views together, often no matter wide the gulf appears to be. We need to learn from ignored groups as well as ostracized but powerful individuals, and rather than shutting down unwelcome voices, and create new cross feed lines of dialogue alongside traditional institutions.’’

CRYPTO CURRENCIES: WHY THE COLLISION OF CRYPTO AND CELEBRITY WORLDS COULD HOLD BACK FIN TECH

‘Social media and the crypto world have collided with Kim Kardashian’s single post about a token considered to be the biggest financial promotion in history.’

As head of money and markets Susannah has witnessed the FOMO effect wave which gathered speed since the pandemic, and has swept vulnerable consumers up in a frenzy of speculation.

The boom of high-risk investing has caused huge nervousness among regulators, with the Financial Conduct Authority increasingly concerned. Now, with the cost-of-living squeeze intensifying, Susannah argues the focus should instead be on ensuring consumers have a resilient pile of savings and lower risk investments to fall back on. While the charge of new younger customers into the stock markets is a welcome trend, there is woeful knowledge about the financial dangers of investing in high-risk products, which include investment-based crowdfunding. It’s clear that education needs to be sharpened up pretty pronto. But there are also risks of going in too hard on the regulatory front.

FEMALE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT

‘’Money is the soundtrack to our lives. From squeezing a fistful of sweaty pennies as we navigated pick and mix treats, to the pounds earned during a Saturday job, to your first paycheck and last pension contribution. Given that it’s an ever-present force pulsing through every part of our interaction with the world – you’d think that by now we’d have got the hang of it.  Instead, money is a worry. It can keep us up at night. It can extinguish our hopes. It can lead to depression. Women effectively work for free for nearly two months of the year compared to the average man. Women are also losing out when it comes to investments, as they are far less likely to invest, which puts them at a financial disadvantage in the long term. Men have billions more in stocks and shares ISAs, investment accounts and pensions. But it doesn’t have to be this way.’’

Susannah, as head of money and markets for Hargreaves Lansdown, an ambassador for the campaign Financially Fearless and a campaigner for equal pay at the BBC, unlocks the mysteries of the financial system. She helps build the knowledge manual to help women negotiate getting a better deal at home, work and in the world of investments.

SUSTAINABILITY : MONEY SPINNING YARN – THE SECOND-HAND RETAIL REVOLUTION.

‘’I’ve always been a fan of thrift stores and charity shops, a hobby born of a childhood spent delving deep in jumble sales. Finally, even big brands are seeing value in ‘vintage’, but it’s been a long time coming. Instead of put downs for hand-me-down outfits, the celebrity world has now leapt onto the bandwagon. Zara, Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and even the king of fast fashion - Primark - offering pre-loved initiatives, the recycled fashion glitter ball is really starting to spin.  The collision of looming environmental catastrophe and a cost-of-living crisis that is already upon us makes repurposed clothing a no-brainer. High street fashion brands, already disrupted to the brink of extinction, have no option but to jump on board.”

With debt levels soaring and financial resilience faltering, Susannah argues it’s time to relearn the value of thrift and says that retailers risk getting left behind if they don’t join the ever-increasing circular economy.

‘Let’s not let the trend stop with fashion, as it could help us turn the tide on the disastrous wave of plastic waste washing up on shores. Just as scratched, ‘mid-century’ furniture is now whipped out of the skip quicker than you can say Parker Knoll - we need to start attaching value to the plastic toys of previous decades that still clutter up lofts up and down the country.”

 TESTIMONIALS

 “Susannah was an excellent keynote speaker at DTX Europe where she hosted several

keynote panels and fireside chats spanning an array of topics and formats. I was impressed by her breadth of knowledge as well as her professionalism and adaptability which meant she was able to to ask the right questions and facilitate a dynamic and engaging discussions on stage.”

Dominie Roberts - Clarion Events

“Susannah did a superb job of driving the discussions forward creating an energetic yet unhurried atmosphere and bringing out the relevant viewpoints from each person. Her style is effective, warm and engaging and at the same time unobtrusive. She showed an excellent grasp of the wide-ranging content of the conference and also absorbed new information in an impressive manner.

We have had only positive feedback on Susannah’s performance from the participants at the  conference, who point out her enthusiasm, energy and humour, as well as her professionalism.”

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Our Ocean Conference

“Susannah, you played an important role in the success of the Conference, thanks to your professionalism in presenting and facilitating high-level discussions on a variety of global health themes. Thank you for helping us make this conference an historical success for global health.”

Peter Sands - Executive Director of the Global Fund

“We really enjoyed working with Susannah. She was incredibly helpful through all the process and her presence on our stage for our event with BMW was just wonderful!”

Melanie Stetter - Zibert and Friends Consulting

“What we particularly valued about Susannah as a host for our conference was her ability to read accurately a room full of people and their collective engagement. She was able to think on her feet and while still understanding the overall aims of the agenda and the planning that had gone into it, was able to extract for the audience the most value from each of the sessions and speakers we had lined up. This takes a high level of skill, confidence and competence, thank you Susannah!”

Andrew Armes

UK Head of Talent Acquisition, Roche

“Susannah was professional and knowledgeable. She filled the brief perfectly and engaged with the audience at just the right level.”

Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership

“We got wonderful feedback from our audience on your well led, well prepared and well timed on stage performance.”

Christine Korme - Director Communication - Norwegian Shipowners Association