"We believe in the magic of bringing the right cocktail of people together in focussed discussion and debate - with a dash of challenge, humility and humour - to unlock awareness, ideas, confidence, energy and clarity."
- Laura McCracken, Founder & CEO
insight • learning • debate • connection
The Board Alchemist
by Blackheath Advisors
Thought-leadership, events and convening platform — designed to stimulate debate, share insights and develop meaningful connections.
Hot Topic Dinner Debates
Invite-only dinners for Chairs, NEDs and CEOs. Curated speaker, facilitated debate, no slides.
Keynotes & After Dinner Speeches
Signature speech series "Crisis in the Boardroom" plus board-grade talks on macro trends and geopolitical risks.
Crisis Simulation Labs
Board-level crisis simulations and tabletop exercises to rehearse high-stakes decisions under pressure.
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Governance 101 Course
Cohort-based, practical Board Operating System course with templates, frameworks and live clinics.
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Digital ID
Cyber Security
Fruad
Platforms & Super-apps
Digital Transformation
I - Hot Topic Board Dinner Debates
Invite-only dinners for Chairs, Directors and CEOs on board-level topics, including mega-trends, geopolitics, economics, demographic trends and regulatory landscape.
Payment Severeignty
A curated series of high-stakes discussions for Chairs, NEDs and CEOs, combining peer-level learning with the rigor of formal debate on the most pressing issues facing contemporary boardrooms. Debate motions are intentionally provocative to stimulate thought and a spirited debate.
RULES:
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Our debates are grounded in the spirit of respect, openness, insight, courage, and passion.
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Debate summations for the Proposition & Opposition do not necessarily represent the views of the speakers.
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Must bring a sense of humour to the table!
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All debates are under Chatham House Rule.
1 - The Purpose of Boards
This House believes a board's primary duty is to its shareholders — not its stakeholders.
DATE: 30th June 2026
TIME: 18:30 - 22:00
LOCATION: The Wolseley, Mayfair
CHAIR: Laura McCracken & Simon Black
PROPOSITION: Sponsor designate
OPPOSITION: Sponsor designate
Motion: This House believes a board's primary duty is to its shareholders — not its stakeholders.
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Appetiser: Independence - Does the board truly have autonomy - or is independence an illusion?
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Main: The Triangle of Power - When the Shareholder, Chair, and CEO want different things, who wins? And who should win?
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Dessert: Board Purpose - What works best: US shareholder primacy vs European stakeholder model?
This House believes AI should have a formal vote in the boardroom by 2030.
2 - The Thinking Machine
DATE: 16 September 2026
TIME: 18:30 - 22:00
LOCATION: The Wolseley, Mayfair
CHAIR: Laura McCracken & Benoit Reillier
PROPOSITION: Sponsor designate
OPPOSITION: Sponsor designate
Motion: This House believes AI should have a formal vote in the boardroom by 2030.
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Appetiser: Decision Superiority - Human vs machine judgment
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Main: Governance & Accountability - Who is liable for AI-driven decisions?
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Dessert: Power Shift - Who controls the AI?
3 - The Special Relationship
DATE: 11th November 2026
This House believes the outcome of the US mid-term elections with be positive for the UK.
TIME: 18:30 - 22:00
LOCATION: The Wolseley, Mayfair
CHAIR: Laura McCracken & Rupert Jones
OPPOSITION: Sponsor designate
PROPOSITION: Sponsor designate
Motion: This House believes the outcome of the US mid-term elections with be positive for the UK.
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Appetiser: Economic Relationship - Will US trade policy after the mid-terms be a tailwind or a headwind for the UK economy?
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Main: Tech, Currency & Regulation - Does America's direction on Big Tech, AI and stable-coins strengthen or threaten the UK's position?
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Dessert: Defensive Alliance - Can the UK still rely on the "special relationship" to anchor its defence and security?
4 - The Invisible Battlefield
This House believes cybersecurity is now a board’s primary fiduciary duty.
DATE: 13 January 2027
TIME: 18:30 - 22:00
LOCATION: The Wolseley, Mayfair
PROPOSITION: Sponsor designate
CHAIR: Laura McCracken & Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer
OPPOSITION: Sponsor designate
Motion: This House believes cybersecurity is now a board’s primary fiduciary duty.
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Appetiser: The Reality - Do boards truly understand that a major cyber attack isn't a question of "if" — but "when"?
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Main: Investment & Trade-offs - How much growth should a board sacrifice for cyber resilience — and who decides "enough"?
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Dessert – Crisis Leadership - When the breach hits, does transparency or containment win — and who's really in charge?
5 - The End of Globalisation?
This House believes resilience will replace efficiency as the primary driver of corporate strategy.
DATE: 10th March 2027
TIME: 18:30 - 22:00
LOCATION: The Wolseley, Mayfair
CHAIR: Laura McCracken & David Birch
OPPOSITION: Sponsor designate
PROPOSITION: Sponsor designate
Motion: This House believes resilience will replace efficiency as the primary driver of corporate strategy.
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Appetiser: The Shift - Has the era of just-in-time efficiency been permanently broken by geopolitics and supply shocks?
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Main: Strategic Trade-offs - Can a board justify the cost of resilience to shareholders focused on quarterly returns?
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Dessert: Winners & Losers - In a fragmenting world, will national champions outcompete global ones?
6 - The New Power Map
This House believes national sovereignty will trump corporate globalisation.
DATE: 12th May 2027
TIME: 18:30 - 22:00
LOCATION: The Wolseley, Mayfair
CHAIR: Laura McCracken & Rupert Jones CBE
PROPOSITION: Sponsor designate
OPPOSITION: Sponsor designate
Motion: This House believes national sovereignty will trump corporate globalisation.
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Appetiser: The Rebalancing - Is economic nationalism reshaping the sectors that matter most — energy, payments, tech and defence?
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Main: Corporate Reality - Should political risk now sit alongside financial risk as a core board responsibility?
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Dessert: The Board's Role - In a world of competing power blocs, is neutrality even possible for a global business?
II - Keynotes & After Dinner Speeches
Board-grade talks that connect compelling stories, macro trends and future predictions to governance, leadership and strategic choices.
Speakers range from authors, academics, politicians, business leaders, military strategists and futurists. Our signature series is led by Blackheath's founder.
Laura McCracken
SIGNATURE SERIES: "CRISIS TO RESILIENCE IN THE BOARDROOM"
Keynotes, after-dinner talks, fireside chats, and roundtable discussions with hard-won insights drawing upon lived experience across multiple high-pressure crisis situations. Laura believes we learn as much - if not more - from crisis events than success stories. She engages her audience in tailored, interactive talks using storytelling techniques with candid insights and lessons learned.
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2008 Financial Crisis — defining leadership amid mergers, bailouts, and market shockwaves
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Amazon — driving culture change in the wake of the New York Times exposé
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Facebook — regaining trust following the Cambridge Analytica scandal
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Wirecard Scandal — unravelling Europe's largest corporate scandal and collapse
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GuavaPay Collapse — overseeing the rise and fall of a fintech amid tense regulator negotiations
More importantly, Laura leaves her audience with a blueprint for developing inner resilience and the courage to tackle the toughest challenges.
"Laura McCracken's keynote speech set the tone perfectly for our flagship industry event. She was entertaining and refreshingly candid with a hugely timely talk that clearly resonated with the audience."
— Director, fscom, 2026 UK Payments Regulatory Outlook
“Laura never fails to deliver — bringing sharp insights, humour, and real gravitas to every talk.”
— Natalia Ivanis, Chief Marketing Officer & Managing Partner, MPE
III - Crisis Simulations
Board-level crisis simulations, tabletop exercises and executive "war games" to rehearse high-stakes decisions under pressure.
Board-level crisis simulations designed to stress-test decision clarity, role clarity, shared operating rhythm, and rehearsed instincts under pressure. Each module is led by a senior practitioner with deep experience in crisis management and complex operational environments. Crisis simulation exercises are an illuminating way to uncover readiness gaps in an organisation. We recommend integrating into a Board Strategy Day.
MODULE 1
Cyber Crisis
"Ransomware at 03:17"
Operational outage escalating to customer harm, data exposure, extortion demands, and an unforgiving external narrative. Walk away with a crisis governance "battle rhythm" and incident decision tree.
MODULE 2
Regulatory Flashpoint
"The Call You Don't Want"
Sudden regulatory escalation: skilled person, business restrictions, governance concerns. Walk away with a regulatory response architecture and remediation sequencing plan.
MODULE 3
Operational Resilience
"Third Party Down, Payments Frozen"
Critical supplier failure, processing disruption, settlement delays, cascading customer impact. Walk away with validated resilience roles, service triage approach, and an uplift plan.