The Australian Financial Review is pleased to announce globalisation expert Jim O'Neill as the headline international speaker at our second annual Business Summit in partnership with BHP Billiton.

In 2001, as leading Western economies were reeling from the Wall Street "techwreck", the then head of Goldman Sachs' global economic research identified the rise of big emerging market economies as the new driver of globalisation.

Mr O'Neill called them the BRIC economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – and predicted that they would account for much bigger shares of the global economy over the following decade.

That forecast proved correct, leading among other things to Australia's China-fuelled resources boom.

But this massive shift in the global economy also has generated a political backlash, including the election of US President Donald Trump who promises to "protect" American manufacturing workers from foreign competition.

Now, Australia is confronted with the growing risk of economic and even military conflict between China and the US.

As with the Financial Review's inaugural Business Summit last year, the 2017 Risk Takers, Growth Makers and Wealth Creators' Summit will bring together leading business, finance and political figures to reframe Australia's economic growth debate.

Again, this year's Summit will showcase how Australian companies are responding to the key forces reshaping the business landscape, such as the next phase of China's growth and deepening digital disruption.

This year's Summit also will focus on how business should respond to the populist political backlash revealed in the 2016 phenomena of the UK's Brexit vote, the Turnbull government's near election defeat and Mr Trump's stunning election victory.

Mr O'Neill has witnessed some of this at first hand, too, after being appointed as commercial secretary to the UK Treasury in 2015 by then prime minister David Cameron. He resigned from Theresa May's ministry in September last year.

Top speakers include:

Anthony Pratt – Global Chairman Visy Industries

Andrew Mackenzie – CEO BHP Billiton

Alan Joyce – CEO Qantas

Grant King – President Business Council of Australia

Alison Watkins – Group MD Coca-Cola Amatil

Catherine Tanna – CEO Energy Australia

Maureen Dougherty – President Boeing Australia

Josh Frydenberg – Minister for the Environment and Energy

Nick Xenophon – Senator for South Australia

Jim O'Neill – Headline international speaker

The Australian Financial Review Business Summit, presented by BHP Billiton | 8-9 March 2017, Sydney.

You can buy your tickets here.