Roundtable with Kalada Bruce-Jaja, Director, Industrial Strategy, DBT
Join this event to discuss progress against the government's Industrial Strategy, share insights on delivery challenges, and explore how implementation can be strengthened over the next phase of the programme.
One year on from the launch of the Industrial Strategy, government, industry and delivery partners have been translating long-term ambitions into action. This session is an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved, where challenges remain and how delivery can be accelerated to maximise economic growth, investment and opportunity across the UK. This roundtable will bring together leaders from across the priority sectors to provide practical insights on the next phase of delivery.
Discussion points
- Beyond those targeted in the Industrial Strategy, what challenges to economic growth remain in your sector? How can industry and government go further to address these?
- What are the major barriers to investment within your sector? Have these changed since publication of the IS?
- What more can the Industrial Strategy do to boost city regions and clusters of the IS-8 across the UK? How should national government work with Mayors, Devolved Governments and local leaders to make this happen?
Kalada Bruce-Jaja became Director for Industrial Strategy in November 2025. He leads the unit in DBT charged with driving implementation of the Government’s Industrial Strategy. He has worked in central Government for 15 years, spending most of that time working to support economic growth and enable British businesses to trade. Most recently, he was Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. His roles prior to that were in trade policy, including early work with industry on ‘carbon leakage’ and developing Government’s strategy to remove £20 billion worth of non-tariff trade barriers facing UK exporters. Earlier in his career, Kalada worked to deepen the UK’s economic and political ties with Latin America and the Caribbean in HM Diplomatic Service, including as Deputy Consul General in Rio de Janeiro.
Please note attendee numbers at roundtables are strictly limited to ensure everyone is able to contribute to the conversation. Invitees are carefully selected in line with WIG's charitable purpose, to bring a range of views and perspectives. If you or a colleague would like to be considered for future roundtables in this series, then please feel free to email us at [email protected].
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Event places are non-transferable, but colleagues are welcome to email us at [email protected].