Even if the spread of Swine Flu Virus is as well contained as Sars was in 2003, it is clear that huge potential exists for business disruption around the world. Sars only infected 8600 people of which 862 died, but wiped billions of dollars from stock markets in South East Asia and caused major challenges for international travel, as well as social chaos in places like Hong Kong where people feared for weeks to gather in public places.  This mutant version of Swine Flu has jumped from pigs to humans, combining it seems elements of bird flu, swine flu, and human flu.  People who have had human flu in the past are unlikely to be protected, nor those recently vaccinated against human flu.

Dr Patrick Dixon, Chairman of Global Change Ltd  said: "We are in a race against time to prevent a global pandemic.  We must also remember that even if the spread of Swine Flu Virus is as well contained as Sars was in 2003, there could still be huge business disruption around the world.  Sars only infected 8600 people in 2003 of which 862 died, but wiped billions of dollars from stock markets in South East Asia and caused major challenges for international travel, as well as social chaos in places like Hong Kong where people feared for weeks to gather in public places. Sars only infected 8,600 before being contained, but this Swine Flu Virus has probably already infected well over 1,600."

Patrick Dixon ranked one of world's 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 2005) Great events change people: 4,500 event organisers(MPI. Keynote conference speaker (MPI).Future corporate events: motivational leadership programmes, executive education, team development, seminars, workshops, groups, forums, think tanks, team building exercises and client events. Effective management depends on great communication of leadership vision, mission and strategy. Conference organisation and event planning. Great leadership speeches, motivational tools for team leadership, and how to communicate with large audiences. Change management, business transformation and vision building. Video by keynote conference speaker and Futurist Patrick Dixon. How to motivate business leaders for high performance, profitability and shareholder value. Industry trends for successful events in banking, insurance, retail, manufacturing, services, marketing, aviation, travel, transport, tourism, government and non profit organisations, energy, food and drink, IT and communications and other sectors. Secrets of successful corporate events, and how to give a great, inspiring, uplifting, encouraging, powerful CEO keynote speech. Effective programme development and manager training. Work-life balance and workplace motivation, leadership styles. Why staging, lighting, theatre and performance really matter in successful corporate events. Videoconferencing, virtual teams, virtual working and virtual organisations why most people do not like videoconferencing and how to make video interviews or presentations work in conference programmes. How to create and deliver great lectures using powerpoint and other technology. Innovation and creativity in conference planning or business school programmes. Impact of global warming, climate change and energy prices on demand for corporate events, corporate travel and event location. Secrets of great event production, staging and use of multimedia.