Bonuses have been inflated by a poaching war as firms that have survived in good shape, such as Barclays, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, snaffle top talent. Typically, they are hiring rainmakers on one-year guaranteed deals, with the highest earners in line for between $1 million or $2 million, regardless of whether they generate any business.

This is a far cry from the boom years when the same people could expect to earn five times that but the packages will still be seen as excessive when banks are under pressure to scrap large bonuses. It's no different from Premiership football where those who score goals command the most. Those in the "Ronaldo" category, making recent moves include Basil Geoghegan, who left Goldman for Deutsche Bank, Jonathan Grundy, who joined Credit Suisse from Merrill Lynch, and Jim Renwick, whom Barclays Capital poached from UBS.

Not to be caught out, victims of these poaching raids are responding by handing out retention bonuses - one or two-year deals to hold onto staff. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is understood to have paid its corporate broking teams bonuses to stay, while UBS, Europe's biggest casualty of the credit crunch, is said to have also paid up to stop rivals nabbing its best people.

The idea that bonuses could disappear, as the authorities wish, is seen as a joke in the City. Regulators insist that pay reform is on the way, and last week the Financial Services Authority's three-month consultation over its pay recommendations closed. However, whatever the FSA says, the premium on star names will remain. In an industry reliant upon contacts and relationships, they are the banks' lifeblood. The banks will always find a way to attract and reward them. Bonuses have not only not been away, they are not going anywhere.

Jean-François Rischard, a former vice president of the World Bank and the best-selling author of High Noon, told the audience that the world needs a "new generation of students" who are more creative and collaborative in their approach to tackling global problems such as the warming of the planet, poverty, financial instability, water shortages, and biodiversity breakdowns.

The speech was heavy on the global big picture, with charts, diagrams, and lists on a large screen on the stage, but there were not a lot of specifics about how education, and more specifically, educational technology would help solve those problems.

But near the end of the presentation, Rischard called on those in the audience and educators worldwide to engage in the kinds of changes that would help tackle the world's most pressing issues. "We need a new generation with far more knowledge, much better skills, and a different mindset," he said. "This has to come from heads of states, this has to come from you, educators."

He argued that if schools took the approach of creating a more multidisciplinary and multicultural curriculum centered on solving the biggest global problems, the result would be better schools producing more creative, analytical, and collaborative students who would grow up to be far more effective than the present generation of adults in addressing the fast-changing and increasingly complex issues of today and tomorrow.

But, he said, "institutions of education tend to be much more change resistant when they should be the opposite." That comment drew loud applause.

Opening Keynote—Jean-François Rischard
Global Problem-Solving and the Critical Role of Educators and Technology for Education

Sunday, June 27, 5:45–7 pm, Wells Fargo Theatre (simulcast throughout CCC)

We in big pharma should never take for granted our right to exist; our business model is not written into any country’s constitution. So we should be turning up to work every day with the mindset that we are earning the right to exist. We are earning it by meeting the expectations of society. When you start to think like this, you see the world differently.

Andrew Witty - CEO, GlaxoSmithKline

80+ minutes long presentation, with audio

Designers have traditionally focused on enhancing the look and functionality of products.  Recently, they have begun using design tools to tackle more complex problems, such as finding ways to provide low-cost healthcare throughout the world.  Businesses were first to embrace this new approach—called design thinking—now nonprofits are beginning to adopt it too.

Some standouts for me from the conference [Agriculture 2.0] (in order of appearance not importance!)

Tod Murphy from Vermont’s Farmer’s Diner. He talked about working with farmers and creating a business that was successful and practical. Love that his diner serves the farmers he buys products from.

Carol Kramer LeBlanc, from US Department of Agriculture where she serves as the director of Sustainable Development. Her talk was interesting because she outlined all the new programs available to farmers. Cannot wait to see the impact of these new programs in our rural communities!

Diana Endicott from Good Natured Farms a cooperative of 18 family farms in Kansas and Missouri. Very inspiring woman and organization. Great model for farmers getting together to save rural communities.

Craig Wichner who founded Vital Farmland, LP which invests in farmland and turns it into organic/sustainable farms. Would love to talk to him about all the farmland we have in upstate New York!

Pam Marrone, from Marrone Biopesticides an organic pesticide alternative manufacturer. Very impressed with her presentation, frankly a lot of the talk went over my head but from what I gathered she is a one-woman scientific powerhouse that has been creating patented biopesticides. Seems like there is a lot of exciting stuff that is and will be coming out of her company. Very cool.

Melina Shannon-DiPietro from Yale Sustainable Food Projects who spoke about the energy and commitment of today’s college student. Very inspiring and true, young people want to change the world with their minds and bodies. Cannot wait to see the energy these young people bring to farming and food in America!

Entrepreneurs, farmers, scientists, academics, government officials, heads of investment funds focused on alternative agriculture - a ‘who’s who’ of the rapidly growing sustainable agriculture industry – met in New York for this all-day event. 

Agriculture 2.0^TM is the starting point for the next stage of growth in sustainable agriculture – bringing together top-tier capital sources, business leaders and innovators. 

It's the first time I hear about Agriculture 2.0 !
2.0 is an amazing trend ! I am currently attending the Paris 2.0 conference here in Paris !

What about World 2.0 ?!

The new currencies reflect a changing landscape for scarcity, what any currency is based on.

In a time where information is abundant, there needs to be a new definition of what's becoming scarce: attention, trust, reputation.

The centralized currency was developed by monarchs in the 12th and 13th century to prevent peer-to-peer transactions.

The real dividend, he says, is diversity: In an era of industrial agriculture, where millions of acres are planted with the same variety of corn and millions of pigs are bred to be genetically similar, small local farms are the ultimate hedge fund. They preserve heirloom seeds and quirky breeds; strengthen the soil with organic nutrients; create local markets that connect producer directly to consumer.