Summer Reads

It’s that time of year again and we hope, like us, you will be taking a break. We asked our advisors, renowned experts and digital leaders to share their book recommendations for summer. We hope whatever your summer plans, you take a break, and enjoy some time with family and friends, with a good book to hand.

Tony Blair

Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of the Institute for Global Change and former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is reading ‘Thank You for Being Late‘, by Tom Freidman.

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Sherry Coutu

Sherry Coutu, Executive Chair of the Board, Founders4Schools and Non-Executive Director, London Stock Exchange, suggests ‘Atlas Shrugged‘, by Ayn Rand.

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Paul Van Zyl

Paul Van Zyl, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at The Conduit, recommends ‘Anatomy of a Miracle‘, by Patti Waldmeir

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Matt Hancock

Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is reading ‘Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success‘, by Matthew Syed.

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Liam Maxwell

National Technology Adviser for HM Government, Liam Maxwell’s choice for summer reading is ‘Content Design‘, by Sarah Richards

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Emily Ackroyd and Hazel Hobbs

Emily Ackroyd and Hazel Hobbs, Joint Directors of Strategy & Engagement at the Government Digital Service and Members of the Digital Leaders Advisory Board, recommend ‘Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World‘, by Jennifer Palmieri.

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Emily and Hazel also recommended:

The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts
Daniel Susskind and Richard Susskind

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
Simon Sinek

The Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results
Stephen Bungay


Rachel Neaman

Rachel Neaman, Digital Leaders Advisory Board Member, chose ‘Digital Dominance: The Power of Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple’, edited by Martin Moore and Damian Tambini

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Rachel also recommended:

Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life
Adam Greenfield


Emma McGuigan

Emma McGuigan, Group Technology Officer for Accenture Digital, chose ‘Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI’, by Paul R. Daugherty and H. James (Jim) Wilson.

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Jacqueline de Rojas

Chair of Digital Leaders, Jacqueline de Rojas’ choice for summer reading is ‘Signals: How Everyday Signs Can Help Us Navigate the World’s Turbulent Economy‘, by Pippa Malmgrem

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Jacqueline also recommended:

Happiness for Humans
P. Z. Reizin

Why Mummy Swears
Gill Sims

(Pre-order) The Leadership Lab: Understanding Leadership in the 21st Century
Chris Lewis & Dr Pippa Malmgren

Number One Chinese Restaurant
Lillian Li


Chris Yiu

Chris Yiu, Senior Policy Fellow at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, is recommending ‘Hedge: A Greater Safety Net for the Entrepreneurial Age‘, by Nicolas Colin.

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Chris also recommended:

Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society
Eric Glen Weyl and Eric Posner

The People Vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It
Yascha Mounk