The Millennials, or 18-to-30-year-olds, are taking up ever more important roles in the workplace — but for many businesses they remain a mystery.

Demonstrating just how important they are, last week business leaders filled London’s Royal Opera House for a conference on millennials co-hosted by the Financial Times and Spanish telecoms group Telefonica.

The British public is disenchanted with the banking system. Many have accused bankers of being overpaid, inefficient and under-regulated. They accuse banks of relying on government rescue.

But Dr Yossi Bachar, chairman of the Israel Discount Bank (IDB), the third-largest bank in Israel, says the grumbles echoing throughout the UK and Europe, are rarely heard in Israel.

Balancing a career with motherhood is tough. Some women say they manage the emotional guilt by separating their professional persona from their role as a mother. Others, namely the new breed of “Mumpreneurs”, have solved the dilemma by setting up businesses at home.

The recommendation by Lord Young, enterprise adviser to David Cameron, that government start-up loans should be made available to the over 30s, has been welcomed as a “lifeline” for entrepreneurs.

Peter Harris co-founded the luxury chocolatier in 2004 and has watched it grow from one store in Watford to 74 shops worldwide, a boutique hotel and a cocoa plantation in St Lucia — with a revenue of £63 million last year. Speaking at a Norwood dinner, he told guests:

1. Forget research

An Israeli company is battling terrorism with technology used by government agencies across the globe.

Cellebrite, founded in 1999, is headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel, and more than 50 per cent of the technology company’s $200 million average annual revenue stems from its forensics division — established in 2007.

Social media has transformed the advertising and marketing industries, according to Lilach Bullock, who was last month named among the Top 20 Women Social Media Power Influencers and the Top 50 Social Media Influencers 2013 by Forbes.

Banking is an aggressive, competitive and challenging industry dominated by men. Women — especially Orthodox women — are noticeably absent from top positions in the financial industry. But it is not the workplace environment that is holding them back, says leading financier Judy Heicklen.

Experts say the food industry has changed. Consumers are looking for practical products over pricey luxuries and stores will be replaced by online retail. But Asher Budwig, operations director of Lola’s, is bucking the trend with his cupcake business.

The UK investment industry is failing its clients, says Alan Miller, one of the world’s most respected fund managers.

Mr Miller, the founding shareholder of New Star Asset Management, believes there is a lack of transparency between fund managers and their clients.