The Post-COVID City
The CEO of United Airlines, the President of Microsoft, the Governor of Tokyo, and other civic and industry leaders from around the world discuss the resilience of cities and how they may revive their social and economic vitality.
About This Event
The pandemic has altered one of the essential purposes of cities: as places of gathering, interaction, and exchange. As cities recover, how can they revive their social fabric, from community life to the office to arts and culture? What policies, strategies, and innovations can rebuild urban life on a more equitable and resilient footing?
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About the Speakers
Chicago Correspondent, Financial Times
Claire Bushey is the FT's Chicago correspondent. She reports on Boeing, Ford, General Motors, and all US airlines. She has covered the 737 Max crisis, the Miami condo collapse, the troubles of EV maker Nikola, and the trial of the police officer who murdered George Floyd. Before joining the FT, she wrote for Crain's Chicago Business.
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Partner, Futurecity
Sherry Dobbin, FRSA is partner at Futurecity, a London-based global placemaking agency and chair of Urban Art Forum, UK. She has worked across all art forms for thirty-five years, led cultural organizations, and curated for the public realm in four continents. Her work as founding director of Times Square Arts and Midnight Moment is chronicled in the new Routledge Placemaking Handbook.
US Business Editor, Financial Times
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson is the US business editor of the Financial Times, leading its coverage of US business in an age of populism, policy upheavals, and shifting expectations of corporate America. He manages a team of reporters while writing news, analysis, and commentary and helping develop new offerings for the FT’s core audience such as Moral Money, its awards-winning ESG newsletter.
Administrator, US Small Business Administration
Isabella Casillas Guzman is the 27th Administrator of the US Small Business Administration. She serves as the voice for America’s 30 million small businesses and innovative startups in President Biden’s Cabinet. Most recently, she served as director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate.
International President, Service Employees International Union
Mary Kay Henry is international president of the Service Employees International Union. In 2010, she became the first woman elected to lead the SEIU. Under her leadership, SEIU has won major victories to improve the jobs of healthcare, property services, and public sector workers across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Director, Women’s & Gender Studies, Mount Allison University
Leslie Kern is an associate professor of geography and environment and director of women’s and gender studies at Mount Allison University. She’s the author of Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World.
CEO, United Airlines
Scott Kirby is CEO of United Airlines. Previously, he served as the company’s president from 2016 to 2020 and played a pivotal role in enabling United’s cultural transformation and executing the company’s strategic growth plan. Kirby is an industry veteran with a three-decade-long career in significant leadership roles within the airline industry.
Governor, Tokyo
Yuriko Koike is the Governor of Tokyo. Re-elected for a second term in 2020, she’s Tokyo’s first female governor. Koike has previously served as a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and has held several cabinet positions, including Minister of the Environment and Minister of Defense.
Mayor, Chicago
Lori Lightfoot is the 56th Mayor of Chicago. She's the first Black woman to serve as Chicago's Mayor and has undertaken an ambitious agenda of expanding equity and inclusion across the city. Most recently, Mayor Lightfoot served as a senior equity partner at Mayer Brown, president of the Chicago Police Board, and chair of the Police Accountability Task Force.
Mayor of Paris' Special Envoy for Smart Cities
Professor Carlos Moreno is special envoy for smart cities for the Mayor of Paris and scientific director at the Paris IAE – Panthéon Sorbonne University. Renowned for his "Smart City" concept (2010), Moreno in 2016 pioneered the "15-Minute City," which has influenced urban transformations worldwide. In 2019, Moreno received the Foresight Medal from the French Academy of Architecture.
Deputy Mayor, Culture and the Creative Industries, London
Justine Simons, OBE is London’s deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries. She is also founder and chair of the World Cities Culture Forum, a major global initiative involving 30 cities worldwide. She was awarded an OBE in the 2015 Queen's New Year honors list for Services to Culture in London.
President, Microsoft
Brad Smith is Microsoft's president and chief legal officer. Smith plays a key role in representing the company externally and in leading the company's work on a number of critical issues including privacy, security, accessibility, environmental sustainability, and digital inclusion, among others.
US Managing Editor, Financial Times
Peter Spiegel is currently the US managing editor of the Financial Times. Prior to that, he worked at the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Lead Sponsors
Supporting Sponsors
Partners
CARI
Chicago Architecture Center
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Chicago Cultural Alliance
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
ChicagoNEXT
Chicago Sister Cities
CIDOB Barcelona Centre for International Affairs
City Tech
Civic Consulting Alliance
DePaul University
GFOA
Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
LSE Cities
Marmara Municipalities Union
Mayan Migration Council
Fundación Metrópoli
Metropolis
Metropolitan Planning Council
Mikva Challenge
New American Economy
Penn Institute for Urban Research
Perry World House
SPUR
Strong Cities
The University of Chicago
Welcoming America
World Business Chicago