AIB Manchester Research and Policy Day

AIB Manchester 2026 Research and Policy Day  

Co-organized by the Academy of International Business, University of Leeds, and WU Competence Center STaR.  

We were honored to co-chair one of six expert panels at the Research and Policy Day of the 2026 Academy of International Business Conference in Manchester (June 30). 

The panel brought together experts from the private sector, policy, and academia to address unresolved questions about the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and international business scholarship in shaping a forward-looking and sustainability-focused migration policy. 

International businesses emerged as central actors in these dynamics throughout the discussion. Panelists highlighted how MNEs not only generate labor demand and invest across borders, but are also increasingly responding to demographic change, climate risks, and geopolitical fragmentation by hiring migrant workforces for both high-skilled and lower-skilled job positions. 

There was broad agreement among speakers that if migration policies are to be both economically effective and socially sustainable, they require much stronger dialogue between policymakers, researchers, and the private sector. The key challenge is not simply to manage migration, but to better align human mobility with sustainable development priorities. 

Panelists 

• Rachel Cowburn-Walden, Strategic Business and Human Rights Consultant, former Global Head of Human Rights at Unilever

• Jason Gagnon, Senior Policy Advisor and former Head of the Migration and Skills Unit, OECD 

• Raj Mann, Global Advisory Director, Fragomen 

Co-chairs 

• Aida Hajro, University of Leeds 

• Milda Žilinskaitė, Vienna University of Economics and Business, STaR 

News Photo © Thomas Demol

For more event photos, see the STaR Photo Archive.