Member-only

Happiness is a Serious Business: A Virtual Leadership Exchange

Name: Happiness is a Serious Business: A Virtual Leadership Exchange
Start: 2026-01-13T17:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-01-13T18:15:00+01:00
Location: Virtual

A Blend Virtual Experience with Nic Marks

Virtual

January 13, 2026

5:00 pm - 6:15 pm

About this event

As leaders enter 2026, the pace of change shows no signs of slowing. Shifting priorities, rising expectations, and growing complexity mean it’s no longer enough to focus only on what’s happening within your own function. Future Focus 2026 is a member-led virtual Leadership Exchange designed to bring Blend executives together for an open, cross-functional conversation about what’s emerging, what’s accelerating, and what’s keeping leaders up at night as the new year begins.

Anchored in trust and peer insight, this highly interactive session creates space to broaden perspectives, surface early signals, and build a sharper understanding of the themes shaping boardroom conversations across industries.

Our speakers

Nic Marks

Author, Statistician & Founder of Friday Pulse

Nic Marks is a pioneering figure in the field of workplace wellbeing, often described as “The Statistician with a Soul” for his unique combination of analytical insight and human understanding. Originally trained as a mathematician and statistician, Nic has spent the past 25 years at the forefront of measuring what matters—people’s experience of life and work.

After graduating from Cambridge, he studied operational research and organisational change, while also training as a therapist—an unusual mix that has come to define his work. Nic founded the Centre for Wellbeing at the New Economics Foundation (NEF), where he and his team developed influential frameworks such as the Happy Planet Index and the Five Ways to Wellbeing. His TED talk on happiness has been viewed millions of times, and he was the author of one of the first TEDbooks, A Happiness Manifesto.

In 2012, Nic founded Friday Pulse, a London-based tech company helping organisations measure and improve team happiness through a science-led weekly pulse. His clients include large corporates, public sector organisations and fast-growth scale-ups—teams of every shape and size.

Nic’s work sits at the intersection of statistics, psychology and systems thinking. He brings evidence, empathy and optimism to his mission: to make happiness at work something we take seriously. His forthcoming book, Happiness is a Serious Business, explores why happy teams perform better—and how leaders can build the conditions for people and organisations to thrive. He’s an engaging public speaker, whether at boardroom briefings, international summits or music festivals.

Nic lives near Stonehenge in Wiltshire with his wife. He’s happiest when walking the ancient chalk paths of southern England, listening to music, or enjoying time with his family as well as occasionally getting immersed in datasets.

Key themes & discussion topics

Why happiness is a measurable driver of performance, not a vague cultural aspiration

The science behind thriving teams and sustained productivity

How wellbeing data can inform better leadership decisions

Reframing wellbeing as a core business metric rather than an HR initiative

Event agenda

Welcome & framing

5:00 – 5:10 PM GMT

Virtual Leadership Exchange

5:10 – 6:05 PM GMT

Wrap-up & key takeaways

6:05 – 6:15 PM GMT

Why should you attend?

You’ll gain a data-backed perspective on why happiness directly impacts results and resilience

This session offers clear, evidence-led insight into building teams that thrive under pressure

You’ll hear from a global authority who blends rigorous research with practical leadership application

The conversation provides tools and thinking that can be applied immediately – without slowing momentum

Event Organizer

Eliza Gleave

eliza@joinblend.com

Venue

Virtual

N/A

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