Businesses must adapt to changing backdrop

Scottish business leaders must cope with any challenges that arise and cannot instead be “hiding under the duvet”, delegates at the Institute of Directors (IOD) Scotland Annual Conference at Gleneagles were told yesterday.

Speakers included Phillip Long, director of the V&A Museum Dundee and Ian Callum, director of design at Jaguar. David Watt, executive director of the IOD in Scotland, said: “If adapting to the changing environment is the very best we can do right now, then that is what we must do.

“Fast-paced developments in technology are a huge opportunity… if we can keep up with the speed of change, there is no reason to believe in anything other than a bright future for Scotland.”

A poll on behalf of The Scotsman of leaders at the event found that 74 per cent saw disruptive technology benefiting their business, while 51 per cent said a change in the higher personal tax bands in Scotland would hamper staffing.