What a difference indeed. Ironic perhaps, considering the current state of affairs, to be dwelling on days when weeks and months have melded into one extreme measure of time that we will probably come to know as ‘the great lockdown of 2020’.  Perhaps if we could pull ourselves outside of time to peek into other eras and landscapes we might witness nuclear arms races, global conflicts, political and social upheaval and all manner of poverty, purges and plagues and surmise that we don’t have it all that bad. In fact, rather the opposite. If the history of great crises’ has shown us anything it’s that progress can emerge from the ashes of crisis.There are several companies and individuals we can point to who were able to identify opportunity during times of crisis and subsequently navigate their way to success. General Electric, Disney, IBM, Microsoft and more recently disruptors like Uber and AirBNB were all born from the proverbial ashes of discomforting times. This is clearly a challenging time for us all and I am sure that all of us know of colleagues, friends and family members who have been impacted by COVID-19. The pandemic, the various global lockdowns and the aftermath are sure to have knock-on effects; many of which are yet to be realised.  It is the responsibility of those who have been fortunate enough to emerge (relatively) unscathed by the situation to build a better world and to kickstart the global economic recovery by being innovative and prioritising sustainable growth to heal the wounds that COVID-19 has exposed.  This is why ‘Emerge Stronger’ is the cornerstone of our commitment to making the post-COVID landscape better for ourselves and our clients.  It is why the first article in this edition of M magazine deals with how companies can emerge stronger from the crisis and develop tangible strategies and battleplans to thrive in the complex dynamic that COVID has brought us.  It is why the entire issue is dedicated to the future. Not only for how AI and advanced data analytics can build a dynamic future for financial services but how the intersection of AI, technology and people will influence us all. This has certainly been the toughest recent past in living memory in our business and our personal lives. Our aim at Mudano, as part of the wider Accenture family, is to ensure that we use the tools at our disposal to create a bold vision of the future and deliver something better, for us all, underpinned by AI.  Enjoy the issue.  Ed