It's a tumultuous time for the global economy. Business leaders around the world are working hard to navigate these rapid changes and anticipate what’s next.

In 2026, UQ marks 100 years of our Bachelor of Commerce – a degree that has evolved in step with the changing needs of the business world, responding to economic change, technological disruption and growing social and regulatory complexity.

To celebrate this milestone, we asked UQ Commerce alumni leaders to share the shifts and transformations they predict will impact the business world over the coming 10 years.

Steven Sorbello
Managing Partner, BDO Brisbane
Bachelor of Commerce (1995); Bachelor of Laws (2000)

Disruption will be constant. Trust and respect will be paramount.

The business environment will continue to evolve rapidly over the next 5–10 years, shaped by significant advances in AI and technology. Businesses will feel the pressure of new options being presented at a very fast pace. Technology will continue to transform the way organisations operate, compete and serve clients, creating real opportunities and significant challenges for many.

The opportunity and challenge for leaders will be to distil complex information and be dynamic, while remaining (and keeping their teams) level-headed and calm. More than ever, businesses will need to ensure that the right people are in the right seats to capitalise on their best talent. Leaders will need to make sure all the ‘dumb’ questions are being asked and people are working together to solve problems and navigate available options.

Against this backdrop, regulation will undoubtedly be slow to respond, which means that the playing field may not be level and new entrants may have an ‘unfair advantage’.

Businesses and their leaders must be deliberate in how they build and maintain respect and trust from their customers and clients. Trusted and respected relationships will be one of the key ‘moats’ providing protection from new competition and giving businesses time to adapt.

Disruption will remain a constant. Business leaders should remain curious, keep learning, and stay grounded.

Claire Blake
Chief Financial and Operating Officer, QIC
Bachelor of Commerce (1990)

Real-time decision-making will come with challenges (and opportunities) for leaders.

In terms of increased complexity and interconnectedness, the speed of technology and information today means that, unlike the early 1990s when I started my career, businesses now operate in real time. Information moves almost instantly and, as a result, decision‑making and strategy are less linear and far more multidimensional. This creates both leadership challenges and opportunities.

Technology is a significant opportunity in terms of efficiency and speed, but it also drives a relentless pace. There is an enormous amount of information at leaders’ fingertips, which can be valuable, but also overwhelming if it is not harnessed effectively. The differences between when I started my career and when my son began his career in finance in 2025 are striking. Computers were brand new in the early 1990s and work was largely paper‑based – my son’s role is entirely computer‑based, whereas I spent considerable time handwriting or typing on an old‑fashioned typewriter.

Fund flows were almost entirely cheque‑based, while today they are electronic, creating very different risk and security considerations. Culture and work‑life balance have also shifted significantly: while we often worked longer hours, there were no mobile phones or email, and ‘culture’ was not viewed as a strategic differentiator. Authority was more hierarchical and tenure‑based, whereas today it is more fluid and experience‑driven.

The pace of change is extraordinary, with technology, data and AI reshaping organisations. Yet fundamental change is not new – when I graduated, a lecturer described a ‘brand new tool’ that would revolutionise accounting: the spreadsheet. He was right.

Paul Kelly
Senior Sustainability Leader, HSBC
Bachelor of Business Management (2008); Bachelor of Commerce Honours (2009)

AI and the energy transition will transform our world – even more than you might think.

Socially-focused institutions funded by social impact capital will become significant providers of public services such as health care, aged care and social services in the coming decade. Driven by increasing demand for public services exceeding taxation, a dramatic growth of capital into social impact investments will support these institutions to bridge this gap and help grow the standard of living trajectory again.

Despite a dire outlook and a lost decade of productivity, the mass digitisation of everyday life enabled by AI and digital ecosystems will enable significant increases in output with fewer resources across the economy. This will range from more productive energy use through smart battery and renewable energy routing, to enhancing tracking and management of each stage of every supply chain, improving resource use and achieving greater output. The sustainability transition will aid this through improved health, reduced noise and air pollution, supporting the workforce to achieve more in fewer work days and improving overall quality of life.

A combination of advances in supersonic travel, digital passports, AI-enabled instantaneous language translation and international tech ecosystems will shrink barriers between countries and communities, with the next generation seeing themselves as citizens of the globe rather than a particular nation, leading to greater friendships between nations and a global economic system of enhanced trade and financial flows.

Jake Sullivan
Senior Manager of Performance Audit, Queensland Audit Office
Bachelor of Economics (2015); Bachelor of Commerce Honours (2017)

As rules and regulations are stretched, judgement and reasoning will come to the fore.

Over the next decade, businesses will need to become increasingly comfortable operating in environments characterised by regulatory uncertainty, particularly as frameworks that govern business practices evolve to keep pace with rapid economic and technological change. This is likely to require organisations to place greater emphasis on judgement and internal decision-making capability.

Governments and regulators are increasingly expressing regulation at a higher level of generality to provide flexibility in areas where technology is evolving quickly. This allows frameworks to remain adaptable but also places greater responsibility on organisations to interpret and apply them appropriately, often without clear or prescriptive guidance.

In the context of increased regulatory ambiguity, businesses will need to balance the benefits of adopting complex technologies with the need to preserve accountability in decision-making. As systems become more sophisticated, ensuring that decisions remain explainable, transparent and defensible will be critical, particularly in regulated environments and where outcomes materially affect customers, shareholders or the public.

These shifts are likely to change how many businesses approach compliance and risk management. Rather than simply following detailed rules, organisations will need to exercise judgement, understand intent and consider how their decisions align with broader expectations. For individuals, the ability to think clearly, structure problems and communicate reasoning effectively will become even more important.