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15 Jul 2024
The Racing Foundation is pleased to announce that Bob Langert, the former Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability at McDonald’s, TedTalk speaker and author, will deliver the keynote address and host a discussion-based workshop at the 2024 Racing Foundation Conference.
The event, which takes place on Wednesday, October 2 at Ascot Racecourse, serves to prompt collaboration and build understanding around racing’s social licence challenge and bring delegates from across the horseracing industry together for a day of learning, collaboration and inspiration.
The question being posed at this year’s conference is: how can horseracing navigate social licence amidst changing societal expectations?
No stranger to the challenges of social licence, Langert was tasked with addressing the issues that had taken McDonald’s from being recognised as the beloved ‘Golden Arches’ to a symbol of many societal problems, after the brand found itself embroiled in a series of contentious issues in the areas of animal welfare and environmental sustainability, often clashing with powerful NGOs such as Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
He transformed the social licence efforts of McDonald’s from defensive manoeuvres to proactive problem-solving in collaboration with unexpected partners.
As the horseracing industry grapples with its own social licence challenges, Langert’s keynote talk will offer valuable insights on the potential for transformative change through committed leadership and strategic partnerships.
Joining Langert on the agenda is Jockey Club Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nevin Truesdale.
Ahead of the 2024 running of the Randox Grand National, the Jockey Club announced substantial updates to the historic race, including reducing the maximum number of runners and moving the first fence 60 yards closer to the start to slow the early stages of the race.
The changes, which were seen as an influential example of protecting the sport’s social licence by some stakeholders, were met with mixed reaction by others.
In his keynote talk, Truesdale will outline the factors contributing to the decision, its implementation, managing stakeholder buy-in, and how he foresees the rule changes contributing to the Grand National’s licence to operate long-term.
Keynote speakers Roly Owers, World Horse Welfare CEO, Michael Bishop, Riding for the Disabled Association CEO and Dom Matcham, Founder and Managing Director of INVADES, will explore research and data on public perceptions of horse sports, consider the horse in the context of social relevance, and explore how social licence plays in to attracting the next generation of racegoers respectively.
As well as the discussion-based workshop led by Langert, the conference will include a youth panel which will discuss social licence from a Generation Z perspective and a panel featuring the senior leaders responsible for the sport’s key decisions, who will respond to the topics of the day and answer audience questions.
Early-bird conference tickets are now available for £75 which includes breakfast, lunch and refreshments.
The Racing Foundation is committed to ensure that cost is not a barrier for attendance and as such, discounted and complimentary tickets are available for under-25s and charities. Please visit our ticketing page for more details.
All those working in or on the periphery of the horseracing industry, including those with aspirations of working in racing in the future, are welcome to attend the conference which is cited as an ideal opportunity to network with other delegates from the racing community.
The full agenda and a link to purchase tickets, can be found at https://www.racingfoundation.co.uk/conference/
