Global Reach: Recent Episodes
Té Revesz
We are all operating in a dynamic global marketplace, whether we reach across borders to find new customers and fresh ideas or face overseas competitors in our home market.Global Reach embraces the opportunities and challenges we encounter when operating in multiple countries and cultures. We talk with entrepreneurs and executives about their strategies for winning in fast changing world markets: cross-cultural communication, global branding, media and marketing, transportation and manufacturing, the future of finance, alternative investment strategies, innovation and IP protection.Global Reach interviews thought leaders about 21st century megatrends that impact international entities: trends like the business and politics of sustainability, the morphing nature of competitiveness, globalization, global companies vs national governments, worldview and growth prescriptions, emerging markets issues, and the corporate impact on society (governance, ethics and leadership).
“When donations are secret, a politician can quietly shake down a company. . . . Reliance on political spending lets companies engage in political shenanigans rather than sound competitive practice.“ So say my guests, Bruce Freed, president of the Center for Political Accountability and former White House advisor Charles Kolb. Joined by quality guru John R. West, Global Reach examines the intersection of corporate governance, the new culture of transparency in political spending & corporate performance. We’ll compare the US stance against foreign bribery (via the FCPA) vs dark money & the “legalized bribery” embodied in the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling and promoted by US Chamber of Commerce. Many of these dark money defenders are funding the REsegregation of American politics; how will this conflict with their stated support for diversity play out in the marketplace? What are the perils of outsourcing political spending? How could your global operations be affected?
In 1983, 2 women started a marketing communications firm with an idea they could do it better, a $30k loan & 2 military surplus desks. Today Bonnie Brescia & Joan Bachenheimer lead BBK Worldwide, a global, multi-million dollar corporation that is changing the face of patient recruitment for clinical R&D in the pharma & biopharma industries. An integrated marketing pioneer, Ms. Brescia has been cited as one the 100 most inspiring people in her industry. How did she & her partner create an enterprise reflecting their philosophies about how a business’s products, services & culture could benefit clients & consumers? How could they be successful entrepreneurs & “superb mothers”—and circumvent the old boys’ network? What was their strategy for taking BBK global? For choosing overseas partners? How does their employee philosophy spur BBK’s growth? How are they using technology to change the industry? What new challenges confront female business owners when they go global?
This week Bill Bierce, adviser to numerous global enterprises and entrepreneurs, reveals the secrets of global branding. President of the award winning business, start-ups and technology law firm Bierce & Kenerson PC, Bill talks about key challenges when developing and cultivating your global brand footprint. How do you create a brand management model that supports your business model? In a single entity? A new venture? A JV? A strategic alliance? What do you need to know to roll-up unrelated companies under a common brand, in multi-markets? Does the source of funds matter? How? What are funding sources for new brands? Protecting your brand in multiple jurisdictions: trademark vs copyright vs trade secrets? What does your TM NOT protect? What about costs? How do you extend a brand to new goods & services? How do you deal with inevitable conflicts of cohabitation? What unique challenges can you face with online branding? What do global privacy issues have to do with your global brand?
What does 2015 hold in store for us as investors and international businesses? Another year of volatility muting returns? Or the promise of a brighter future? Paul Christopher, the Chief International Strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors and Nate Suppaiah the founder of the Emerging Market Investors’ Association share forecasts for the year ahead. What’s the best approach to emerging market investments? Which regional and local markets will prove the brightest? Sub-Saharan Africa? LatAm? India, Frontier markets? Will Europe ever recover? What sectors? Will oil prices stay low? What’s the impact on economies? Global fracking? Canadian tar sands? Can solar, wind and geothermal etc. compete? Will international equities recover? What’s ahead for the Euro? The Yen? The Ruble? Are we seeing a decoupling of monetary policy and economic growth? What are the implications for investors? For those of us engaged in cross border business?
What is happening to the US and its image as a nation of laws? Unconstitutional surveillance. Restrictions on freedom. Torture. Intelligence directors lying to the US President & Congress. Militarization of domestic police, plus a spate of shootings of unarmed citizens. The outrage is building but “Where is the accountability?” asks Charles Kolb, thought leader, governance advocate & international business advisor. “What message is the US sending the world? How will it impact America's global companies? Kolb has served as Deputy Assistant to the President [George H.W. Bush] for Domestic Policy and head of the Committee for Economic Development & French-American Foundation-US. He asserts that while “we desperately need a world-class and effective intelligence capability. What we cannot tolerate is an intelligence apparatus [acting with] arrogance and disregard of the Constitution [or] unlawful behavior by government officials in the name of liberty and security.” Tune in!
“Disruptive innovation always comes from the bottom” says Capgemini financial services guru and growth strategist, Deborah Baxley. Today Africa is a hotbed of mobile financial services innovation. A perfect storm of converged mobile technology and financial services supplying the “bottom of the pyramid” is creating products that are simpler, cheaper and offer more value. Fact: 52% of the world’s mobile money services are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Once those innovations reach developed markets “they will sow the seeds of disruption to incumbents.” On the upside, these innovations in P2P lending, bill payment, credit/savings, bulk payments, micro-finance and insurance are also sowing seeds of opportunities for industries ranging from agriculture to consumer goods, from electronics to healthcare. How can your company reap these opportunities? Who will weather the perfect storm? What other markets will it reach? Achieving the Elusive 10X Factor in Payments Innovation? What’s coming next?
This week we are talking TEDx (Technology, Entertainment and Design). IT investor, entrepreneur (and TED mentor), Didier Chambaretaud & RV Conseil's Stéphane Rosenwald talk about how French and international businesses are tapping into the “vast potential” of the TED talks and events. What have been the challenges of getting French influentials to embrace TED? How are companies using TED as a management development tool? A training tool to ramp up their global communication skills? What core TED concepts are making profound changes to French business communication and to France's university education? How is TED impacting France’s rising generation of young professionals, artists, entrepreneurs, and scientists? How does France fit into the TED’s global mindset? How does France’s culture both integrate AND resist initiatives related the global economy and society? What is going on with the alternative network of TED heads?
Dr. Chad Weinstein, president of Ethical Leaders in Action (www.ethinact.com), looks at the connection between ethical leadership and successful companies. How do ethical leaders deliver value—sustainably and profitably for all of the company’s stakeholders? How do they maximize value for all of the company’s stakeholders? How do successful firms work across multiple cultures to create shared expectations and trust? How do they align social responsibility and commercial success? How do they monetize moral motivation? How can adopting an expansive view of social responsibility give you a competitive advantage in your customer and supply chain relationships. How can you transform a vision statement from a collection of expensive words into a strategic leadership tool? What are the five Virtues of Ethical Leadership? What is real cost of corporate bullying—and how do you quash it? How the single-minded pursuit shareholder value can actually put shareholder value in jeopardy?
Join me for an interview with Tim Wu, the father of Net Neutrality, author of “Master Switch” and democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York. It’s a wide open discussion on policy and politics impacting entrepreneurs, innovation and the fight for free and open networks and economies. Who does control the Internet? Could the Internet come to be ruled by one corporate leviathan in possession of “the master switch”? Is the borderless world an illusion? As the U.S. FCC ends its review, what is the fate of Net Neutrality? How should EU and U.S. governments shape competition and antitrust laws to nurture creative, innovation economies? Entrepreneurial economies? Is political corruption an innovation killer? What policies and regs help small businesses thrive? Should information be a public good? Can we have an open internet and “paid prioritization? What is the future of internet governance? How can you impact the formation of policies that impact your business?
What is the best way to convince clients and potential clients that your firm is really something special? My guest, Karen Schneider, Director of Global Product Marketing & Programs for Capgemini Financial Services, has the answer: Strategic Content Marketing. Find out what keeps your customers awake, then create content to fills the need. She’s transformed Capgemini’s intellectual capital into effective marketing campaigns that have resulted in millions of dollars in revenues. Drawing on intellectual capital generated by consultants in 30 countries, plus client input, Capgemini developed a rigorously efficient process to create a series of financial services “World Reports”. The “World Report” franchise serves as a brand differentiator with an industry renowned reputation & a vehicle to create dynamic customer experiences. But you don’t have to be an industry giant to use strategic content marketing to connect with customers. Firms of any size can do it and Karen will tell us how
With 7% pa GDP growth, a population of 174 mn with a rapidly expanding middle class and an improving regulatory infrastructure, Nigeria is earning a deserved place in international portfolios and offering new opportunities to foreign business. Guest host, Nate Suppaiah (Emerging Market Investors Association) interviews InVcap’s Managing Partner, Olutoyin Oyelade, on the investment and business environment of Africa’s largest economy. InVcap is an investment management firm providing accredited investors access to growth opportunities in West African economies; it also participates in development of businesses its supports. Olu talks about the changing perceptions of Nigeria. What’s the growth story? Where are the opportunities? Which sectors deserve the focus of international marketers & investor? Does perception match reality? How is the new middle class driving demand? What are the risk factors? Is there danger of a bubble? And critically: Can I get my money out?
In 1983, 2 women started a marketing communications firm with an idea they could do it better, a $30k loan & 2 military surplus desks. Today Bonnie Brescia & Joan Bachenheimer lead BBK Worldwide, a global, multi-million dollar corporation that is changing the face of patient recruitment for clinical R&D in the pharma & biopharma industries. An integrated marketing pioneer, Ms. Brescia has been cited as one the 100 most inspiring people in her industry. How did she & her partner create an enterprise reflecting their philosophies about how a business’s products, services & culture could benefit clients & consumers? How could they be successful entrepreneurs & “superb mothers”—and circumvent the old boys’ network? What was their strategy for taking BBK global? For choosing overseas partners? How does their employee philosophy spur BBK’s growth? How are they using technology to change the industry? What new challenges confront female business owners when they go global?
Problem: how to distribute agro-input subsidies to poor rural farmers in emerging markets, where mobile coverage is inconsistent & ≥60% of paper vouchers are lost due to fraud & waste. Why should you care? Because it means lost opportunities for agrobiz firms. Plus access to ag-inputs drives output & ultimately growth of rural incomes, which means billions in buying power for other G&S. Enter Consult Hyperion with its innovative, scalable TAP electronic voucher scheme that makes use of contactless cards supplied to farmers & NFC-enabled Nexus 7 tablets at strategic distribution points. Howard Hall, CHyp USA’s managing director shares how they worked with the Nigerian government to launch TAP. Result: 600,000 farmers enrolled in the pilot redeemed 90% of vouchers. He’ll share how TAP can be deployed in other countries & sectors (health, education, transportation), the opportunities this can open up for business & investors—and what’s on tap for TAP going forward; will we see TAP money?
What’s in store your business in Latin America next year? What do you need to know to pick LatAm’s winners? John Price, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence shares insights from his just-released forecast and trend analysis with guest host, Nate Suppaiah (Emerging Markets Investors Association). Will LatAm catch up with global GDP growth? Which markets should you bet on and why? What are the looming risks? Which sectors will thrive? Should you focus on B2B or B2C? On the verge of elections, Brazil’s presidential candidates differ dramatically on economic policy, foreign policy & governing credibility; how could the outcome impact your business? What factors are dampening consumer spending? Is Mexico ready to launch? Just how competitive is its manufacturing sector? How will the Casa Rosada’s miscalculated default impact Argentina’s business climate? How could LatAm benefit from Russia’s Ukraine adventure? Will Venezuela devalue? How will the US gas boom impact LatAm?
Doing business in emerging markets? This week guest host, Nate Suppaiah, founder of the Emerging Market Investors Association, takes an in-depth look at the link EM credit and EM risk with Wilbur Matthews, CEO of Vaquero Global Investment. Matthews, who’s been cited as one of the “Most Astute US-based Investor(s)” in Asian credit markets is known for structuring innovative, first-of-their kind financings while generating consistently strong returns with below market volatility. They look at the intrinsic differences between emerging and developed market credit. Looking as cases in Mexico, Greece, Argentina and Ukraine/USSR, they compare EM credit vs EM equity markets. Who should be trading in EM credit? How do different strategies stack up? How can investors trade using hard or local currencies? How can you use sovereign or corporate credit as an indicator for broader business risk?
In a world awash in conflict and crises how should international companies and investors manage the risk and find opportunities? Paul A Christopher, Chief International Strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors and Tim Brouwer, CEO of SVP Deutschland, leading market intelligence service, look at how the fallout from the major global flashpoints could impact business operations as well as portfolio and bricks and mortar investment: USSR-Ukraine conflict, ISIS/ISIL, Scotland’s 9/18 referendum, the Ebola outbreak, China’s military claims for the China sea. Which crises demand immediate attention? Which can impact global economic growth trends? Which need careful monitoring? How does the German perspective differ from the US POV? The German business POV from that of government and media? What’s ahead for the EU? The Euro? France? Turkey? Brazil? Have Central Bankers run out of options? Where are the good spots to invest or expand now? How do you measure risk and manage your “phasic instincts”?
Everywhere we look, says former White House advisor, Charles Kolb, the U.S. seems to be driven by short term thinking and short term decision making.
SHORT TERMISM has become the mindset of corporate America and a value embedded in American culture. Corporate decision making is driven by quarterly earnings performance, government by next election. Capital markets regarded by many as casinos rather than vehicles for long-term investment. Even education policy is driven by short term test results. The results? U.S. students lag their international peers, infrastructure crumbles, innovation declines, corporate governance becomes an oxymoron and long term shareholder value is actually destroyed. Can the U.S. turn it around? How? Meanwhile, how can international competitors use the U.S. fixation on short termism to their advantage when marketing in the U.S. and competing with U.S. companies abroad?
Just back from Dubai, Capgemini’s DEBBIE BAXLEY will talk about what goes into creating the world’s FIRST NATIONAL MOBILE WALLET. The emirate, in keeping with its Smart City vision, is offering an all-inclusive mobile wallet designed to serve all segments of its society, from Dubai’s own citizens to the expat community. designed to serve all segments of its society, from Dubai’s own citizens to the expat community. This unique wallet will also enable MICROPAYMENTS for millions of UNBANKED low wage migrant workers. Also unique: tourists attending Expo2020 will be able to download the wallet app at the airport. We’ll be joined by PREETI MEHTA, Director of Project Incubation (D2D Fund) and the $100K Financial Capability Development Competition to build mobile apps to help UN- and UNDERBANKED Americans have better access to products and services. Finalists will also have ACCESS TO START UP CASH. FinCapDev is building an ecosystem of developers, technologists, financial services firms, non-profits will work together to create products and tools for this $89 billion market. Can your firm play a role?
Why do you need to put as much emphasis on Reputational Due Diligence as on legal & financial DD? Reputation often generates more value for a company than do its physical assets—& takes years to create. When operating and investing in around the world, an unpleasant set of risks can rear their ugly heads: partnering with the wrong company, hiring the wrong reps or pairing up with the wrong investor. Consequences range from loss of goodwill to exposure to civil & criminal litigation to loss of your entire investment. How do you protect yourself? For over 15 years, David Robillard, President of MultiLatin Advisors & Background Screening (www.multilatin.com) has been advising global companies investing and operating in Latin America, Africa & Europe on reputational risk, crime & security. He’ll share his experience investigating partners & prospective hires, as well as mismanagement & financial impropriety. He’ll also talk about measures you can take to protect your company’s reputation.
Protecting your business from internal and external threats is an unfortunate necessity in today’s global economy. In addition to cyber criminals and disgruntled employees, international markets are plagued with disputed transparency, material misrepresentations and corruption. Due diligence has never been more challenging. So how can you get the actionable Intel you need? Well a touch of global clandestine experience couldn’t hurt. Former NCIS Special Agent Mark Johnson, CEO of Sovereign Intelligence LLC, shares how they combines cyber sleuthing with human Intel to protect companies’ assets, bottom lines and brand reputations. Joined by Middle East business expert, Charles Kestenbaum, SI’s Director of Global Intel, they’ll tell you how to mine the deep web. Why you should never underestimate the peer-to-peer world. What cyber tools are available to help shape your decision-making and protect your company? What defines cyber Intelligence in the era of big data and cloud computing?
Building a healthy culture is vital for an organization’s long-term success—even more so for multinationals. “Culture” says international business coach & consultant, Christophe Leroy, “sustains our companies’ brand identity and competitive differentiation in multiple markets. A healthy corporate culture can inspire greater commitment from the global workforce, integrate staff across borders & promote leadership growth.” But what do our mission, vision and values mean in a global context? How do we promote company values with cross-cultural appeal? How do we balance corporate culture with local culture, customs, & identity? How can we spot cultural differences that impact our business? What happens when there is a gap between our stated values & the real culture that prevails? Having worked with clients throughout the Americas on stakeholder engagement, leadership communications, cultural assessment & organizational change, Christophe has some super insightful answers to share.
Is now a good time to invest in India? “Yes!” say my guests, Gaurav Aggarwal, CFA & Piyush Sharma co-founders of Metis Capital Management, both the cyclical & structural factors are improving due to the political changes & economic climate. The government of Narendra Modi & his business-friendly Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to attract more foreign investment & boost business by lowering barriers & clarifying tax laws. But India is different from other emerging markets in terms of sector mix & pace of development; its structure & politics make it a most complex market. So what does it take to invest successfully in India or penetrate its $2 trillion domestic market? Metis runs 2 portfolios: India Undervalued & intriguingly India Underserved. Aggarwal & Sharma share their deep-dive forensic approach to finding small & mid-sized cap firms that helped them achieve an 84% return over the past 36 months. Their strategy can also help you ID the right sector & partner for your products.
Join me for an interview with Tim Wu, the father of Net Neutrality, author of “Master Switch” and democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York. It’s a wide open discussion on policy and politics impacting entrepreneurs, innovation and the fight for free and open networks and economies. Who does control the Internet? Could the Internet come to be ruled by one corporate leviathan in possession of “the master switch”? Is the borderless world an illusion? As the U.S. FCC ends its review, what is the fate of Net Neutrality? How should EU and U.S. governments shape competition and antitrust laws to nurture creative, innovation economies? Entrepreneurial economies? Is political corruption an innovation killer? What policies and regs help small businesses thrive? Should information be a public good? Can we have an open internet and “paid prioritization? What is the future of internet governance? How can you impact the formation of policies that impact your business?
“The concept of corruption is at the center of the most vital legal dispute” says Zephyr Teachout, author of “Corruption in America”. Why should business care? Because it’s “impacting the survival of US democracy [and] threatens to unravel what the framers of the US Constitution built.” The framers, corruption—situations where politicians & public institutions serve private interests at the public’s expense—as a danger to the new republic & created safeguards. Today’s Supreme Court narrowed the definition to 1 thing: explicit bribery. Thus its Citizens United decision gave corporations the right to spend limitless money to influence elections (in SCOTUS-speak, gain democratic responsiveness). With unlimited spending transforming US politics for the worse, warns Teachout,” the American experiment in self-government could collapse.” Are there remedies? Teachout, who is challenging Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, gives us practical, constitutionally sound ideas.
What makes nations “flourish”? Nobel Prize-winning economist Edmund Phelps pinpoints the modern values in the West that fueled widespread innovation by empowering millions of people to think of, develop, & market innumerable new products & processes. Such dynamic grassroots innovation in turn created not just material wealth, but meaningful work, self-expression, & personal growth for growing numbers of its citizens —i.e. “mass flourishing.” But now, Phelps argues in “Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation Created Jobs, Challenge, & Change,” the sources of that prosperity are in danger. Why? French-American Foundation’s Charles Kolb joins to ask Phelps why he believes the resurgence of “traditional” values on both the left & right has suffocated innovation in the U.S. & Europe, producing economic stagnation & declining real incomes. What do the Western nations need to do to regain momentum? What kinds of institutional changes are needed to restore them to states of high dynamism?
Why invest in emerging markets? That’s like asking ‘why rob banks?’ Because that’s where the money is-and the growth. EMs are tempting, dynamic targets for manufacturers, marketers, investors & investment professionals. They’re also highly-varied, complex, even chaotic markets. So how do you get the info you need to select the right markets, sectors or asset classes? Or identify the risks that can really hurt? Especially if you’re a small- or medium investor or company. Nate Suppaiah, mng editor of “Alternative Emerging Investor” magazine plans to put smaller players on an equal footing with the global actors. He’s just launched the Emerging Market Investor’s Association. The non-profit association is a central hub for networking, information exchange and education among international investors, local market players, and other stakeholders. Nate will talk about the EMIA, realities of emerging- & frontier market investing and give us a peek at the hottest topics of his next issue.
“We are at an inflection point in history,” says this week’s guest Joel Garreau. For the first time technology is not only aimed outward at modifying our environment, but at enhancing our bodies, minds, metabolisms, and progeny. A leading interpreter of social, geographic and psycho-demographic trends, Garreau has the rare ability to anticipate the future. The future he sees is a RADICAL EVOLUTION where the GRIN technologies—Genetics, Robotics, Information technology and Nanotechnology—are “following a curve of exponential change” that will change what it means to be human. When some humans are enhanced and others aren't, what happens to education? Labor? Sports? The social order? Your ability to compete? Your customers? Will we become immortal? Will the technology curve create heaven? Hell? Or will human instinct throw the curve a curve? Joel Garreau advises firms around the globe how to catch the future and make it happen. Tune it to find out what it all means to your Global Reach.
The next 10 years will see more disruption & innovation in the global financial services space than in past 100. So says my guest, Brett King, founder of the mobile-only Moven bank & host of Breaking Bank$. Digital & mobile adoption, internet & social media spur dramatic changes in customer behaviors & expectations that are shaking the industry. What are the new drivers of the banking experience? How are the rules of engagement changing? How are banks coping with the 4 phases of disruptive change? Drawn from his own experience, plus talks with change makers in the thick of the turmoil, Brett takes on the impact of digital banks & digital payments. The future of branch(less) banking, cards & cash. Reaching the overbanked, unbanked & de-banked. Are alternative revenue channels emerging? Are virtual currencies like BitCoin & BitMinutes seductive or sinister? What entailed in brand management for the crowdsourcing consumer? And how does all of this impact your cross border business?
Digital disruptors are converging on banks around the world: cloud computing, new market entrants and changing consumer behaviors are forcing banks worldwide to reinvent themselves. What do connected, impatient, empowered consumers want from their banks? Accenture’s Dave Helin talks about its just-released survey of 4,000 US and Canada retail banking customers and how cloud computing is changing the game. How is the cloud redefining relationships between consumers and their providers of banking products & services? Will consumers embrace branchless digital banks? Do personalized digital financial advice tools hold the key to Millennial wallets? What do consumers say would increase their loyalty? What unique business models are emerging from the smart banking revolution? How can banks enable a more competitive, customer-centric, & sustainable business model? Will emerging market banks lead innovation? Will they provide ATMs in the cloud? How can banks find silver linings in the cloud?
What do Merck, Intel, ConAgra & Key Bank have in common? They all face shortages of IT & computer scientists, thanks to a lack of trained women. So they’ve joined the National Center for Women and Information Technology (www.ncwit.org), the community change leaders working to increase number of women in technology. Today women today play a minor role in inventing the technology of tomorrow–the key to any nation’s or firm’s competitiveness. Former chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Honorable Paula Stern (http://sterngroup.biz/), and NCWIT Sr. Scientist Catherine Ashcraft describe its effective, evidence-based programs & tools and Aspirations in Computing initiative. Educational orgs use them to inspire & train female students. Companies, government& non-profits use them to recruit, retain & advance women—and in turn improve product design, patents & profits. NCWIT's best practices can be deployed anywhere in the world—incl. by your company. Find out how.
Business visionary Madan Birla shares strategies for “Unleashing Creativity and Innovation” to drive enterprise growth and career success (http://innovationculture.com/). Drawing on his 22 years at FedEx, 10 years consulting with leaders around the world, and lessons learned from nature, Birla tell us how we can tap into our natural creative potential. What communications skills will gain acceptance for our ideas. How we can turn those ideas into innovations that will help us and our companies out-think and out-perform our competition. How we can engage our teams in the process. How to overcome the most common roadblocks to innovation and minimize negative influences that obstruct creative energy flow. How to build an innovation and performance culture. How to thrive in complex environments, deliver solutions and act behalf of multiple stakeholders. How to become management’s go-to person for innovative business solutions. And last but not least, what 2 words “guarantee promotion.”
How corporations are governed has enormous impact on sustainability & profitability. So how do global firms assess risks & liabilities in a world of multiple, often contradictory, governance regimes? “What is legal in one country,” says, Stetson Law Professor & expert on corporate governance Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, “may be illegal, even criminal, in another.” Take political spending vs shareholders rights: A US CEO can give shareholder money to any politician s/he chooses,while a UK board is liable for unauthorized expenditure. How do you define business judgment? Bribery? Disclosure/Transparency? Pernicious” pay-to-play? Are there any int’l gatekeepers? Are foreign firms responsible for treatment of local workers? Where should labor sit: In the boardroom or across the negotiating table? How did the US 1st Amendment torpedo conflict minerals code. Will it sink GMO disclosure? How are Sarbanes-Oxley & Dodd-Frank impacting int’l firms? Will the EU’s new “right to be forgotten” spread?
Just back from Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand, Paul Christopher, Chief International Strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors, shares his observations and investment recommendations for ASEAN and the “down under” countries. First off it’s all about location. Paul zeroes in on the risks & opportunities for these small, but vibrant, economies living in the shadow of large neighbors: China, India and Japan. How could a Chinese slowdown, financial crisis or territorial aggression impact their performance? What are the strengths of the individual ASEAN states (Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, &the Philippines)? How long can their low-wage advantage last? Where are global capital inflows going? How much of a threat to their stability is growing income inequality in these countries? Plus, the US dollar is losing its luster and several countries are pressing for alternatives. Paul tells us whether there are any real risks to the U.S. dollar’s status as the premier world currency
Capital is fleeing Russia at a record rate—one byproduct of the ongoing Ukraine crisis and the sanctions imposed by the U.S., EU, Japan, Australia and Canada. Outflows were $50-70 billion in Q1 compared with $63 billion in all of 2013. And they are projected to hit $150-160 billion by year-end. The Ukraine effect on Russia’s finances and economy is clear: credit rating one notch above junk, devaluation and looming recession. What is not yet clear is where in the world all those billions are going and what assets those investors are likely to favor. Will we see a flight to quality? If so, what does quality mean in 2014? Nate Suppaiah, editor of Alternative Emerging Investor talks about what capital flight from Russia could affect local markets and asset classes such as gold, equities, real estate, and various funds. And what does it mean to local, regional, global economies? And how could capital flight plus expanding sanctions change the outlook for European economies?
Are feminine values the operating system of 21st century progress? Will they yield a competitive advantage? We live in a world that is increasingly social, interdependent & transparent—and increasingly mistrustful of large institutions. So what qualities will it take to be a successful leader or entrepreneur? John Gerzema co-author of The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future says that 64,000 respondents in a 13-country survey see them as feminine: selflessness, collaboration, candor, empathy, emotiveness. Traits associated with Athena, goddess of wisdom. How is an Athena business different in the way it interacts with customers and communities? Manages employees? Earns profits? What characterizes an Athena government? How does this impact the rising generation? How can Athena principles change the global growth paradigm? Help us win in the world marketplace? John shares examples from interviews with 150 leaders & innovators in 18 countries.
Last December, Mexico’s Congress passed a landmark energy reform that will end Pemex’s monopoly on national oil production. Is this new risk/revenue sharing model purely a national initiative or a hemispheric energy sector game-changer? With dual Mexican/Canadian citizenship, Eduardo Rodriguez, President of PrivateBanx Wealth Management shares unique insights on how the Pemex privatization could transform energy exploration & production in the Americas and beyond. Joined by Alternative Emerging Investor editor Nate Suppaiah, we look at potential impacts on unconventional resource plays (shale oil & gas), Canadian tar-sands, the XL pipeline. Will Canadian capital & tech team up with Mexican parts & labor to supply Canadian energy to the North American consumer? What are the potential knock-on effects on alternative energy? Are there opportunities for environment-protecting technologies? Where does the U.S. fit? Venezuela? Brazil? How can investors to jump on this historic opportunity?
Germany’s business leaders don’t quite see eye-to-eye with the Merkel government when it comes to Russia and the Ukraine. And since the NSA revelations, they’ve cast a jaundiced eye on the U.S. Then of course German companies have their own view on the drivers of growth, employment and innovation. Join Tim Brouwer, CEO and Co-owner of the consultancy SVP Deutschland as he explores how the business community’s distinctive worldview has led to booming exports and booming domestic demand-led growth. And could lead the U.S. and Germany (not to mention France) in very different directions. What does that mean for the rest of us?
Emerging markets? Frontier market? BRICS? MINT? MIST? CIVETS? PIIGS? As the players in the global marketplace continue to reinvent themselves and growth and innovation migrate to the economies of the East and South, how do we best allocate our resources? How do we identify the markets best match our objectives and capabilities? Help is here. The University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science has launched the Dynamic Market Index. The DMI helps identify the catalysts for change: conditions and institutions that help economic growth, wealth creation, innovation and socioeconomic development. The index measured the performance of 133 countries between 2006 and 2012. Joining Global Reach to discuss this is Dr. Lyal White Director for the Centre for Dynamic Markets at the Gordon Institute of Business Science who will tell us how we can use powerful new tool to help our own companies win in world markets.
Just back from Dubai, Capgemini’s DEBBIE BAXLEY will talk about what goes into creating the world’s FIRST NATIONAL MOBILE WALLET. The emirate, in keeping with its Smart City vision, is offering an all-inclusive mobile wallet designed to serve all segments of its society, from Dubai’s own citizens to the expat community. designed to serve all segments of its society, from Dubai’s own citizens to the expat community. This unique wallet will also enable MICROPAYMENTS for millions of UNBANKED low wage migrant workers. Also unique: tourists attending Expo2020 will be able to download the wallet app at the airport. We’ll be joined by PREETI MEHTA, Director of Project Incubation (D2D Fund) and the $100K Financial Capability Development Competition to build mobile apps to help UN- and UNDERBANKED Americans have better access to products and services. Finalists will also have ACCESS TO START UP CASH. FinCapDev is building an ecosystem of developers, technologists, financial services firms, non-profits will work together to create products and tools for this $89 billion market. Can your firm play a role?
In our hyper-competitive global marketplace, companies need to be lean, mean, and nimble competing machines. The focus everywhere is on flexibility, scalability and profitability. How do we decide what resources we need to have in-house full-time versus what we need access “on demand”? How do we find experts with the right skill-set and the right experience at the right time? On the flip-side, when our employer has changed direction, or we’ve hit a plateau, or we’re simply ready for new challenges, what are our best options? Jason Falchuk, Managing Partner of contingent resource provider of BioBridges LLC, reveals the most strategic ways companies can acquire on-demand expertise and how consultants can position themselves to provide it. In an era of “cataclysmic changes” in employment, hiring and careers, this is a show for project managers, executives charged with international expansion or bringing new products to market, human resource managers AND consultants.
It’s been 4 years since the Citizens United decision injected a tsunami of corporate cash into the US election process. The pending decision on McCutcheon vs FEC threatens to pour more dark money into the process. My guests, Barbara Lawton, CEO of Americans for Campaign Reform & Charlies Kolb, Pres. of the French-American Foundation (and former Bush 1 domestic policy advisor) look at how the money flood is damaging the US’ ability to govern itself, its economy, companies and investors. Is the US‘s future as a world leader and economic engine in jeopardy? Quite possibly. But, my guests agree, there is a solution. Fair Elections: combining small citizen donations with public funds can result in a more accountable and effective government. How does it work? Karen Scharff, Exec. Director of Citizen Action of NY talks about the NYC system and a most promising breakthrough on the State level. What are the chances that the Congress can pass Fair Elections? What other solutions are there?
How can your company establish a quality process that works across multiple countries and multiple cultures? How do you manage the tension between global standards and local needs? Kathy Bergeson, chief quality officer for AmAsia3 and judge in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program shares insights on how your company can create & implement a global quality process that is holistic, nimble AND sustainable. What makes the Baldrige framework so successful that for companies that internalize it? What about the Gandhi (India), EFQM (EU)& other national quality Awards? A member of the Conference Board Business Performance Excellence Council, Kathy will also discuss how to determine what to measure and how? The differences between ISO9000, LEAN, kaizen & Baldridge methodologies? Why is 6 Sigma good for manufacturers and bad for service companies? What’s the link between quality measures, process improvement and customer satisfaction? The link between QUALITY and PROFITABILITY?
What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? Why is easier for entrepreneurs to thrive in the U.S. than France? What about the UK? Richard Rabbito Managing Director of The Overseas Development and Finance Group (London-Paris-NYC) and Stéphane Rosenwald, CEO of RV Conseil (Paris-Tunis) lay out roadmaps to successful entrepreneurship on each side of the Atlantic. What sets entrepreneurs apart from the rest? Do the characteristics that make for successful entrepreneurs differ depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on? Is entrepreneurialism rooted in culture? What cultural myths support or suppress entrepreneurism? How can you use them? What role does government policy & practice play? How can you help your company become more entrepreneurial? How can you create a culture of entrepreneurialism? How can you work the university to startup pipeline? Do French entrepreneurs have to go abroad to succeed? Why is it more difficult to find money in Europe? And where can you find it?
Venezuela’s rising wave of anti-government protests & the bloody government response has drawn far less attention than the Ukraine. It shouldn’t. The crisis in South America’s large oil producer, says Victor Hugo Rodriguez, CEO of The LatAm Alternatives Group has the potential to impact the economies & stability of many LatAm countries. Venezuela is not only the region’s largest oil supplier; it is its biggest importer, adds Daniel Osorio, President of Andean Capital Management. Together my guests will explore how alternative outcomes could change the risk/reward equation for multinationals and for institutional & private investors. How will it affect access to LatAm growth opportunities? What countries will be hurt? Who will benefit? How will the conflict impact the burgeoning Trans Pacific Partnership (Colombia, Peru, Chile, Mexico)? Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay)? The Caribbean economies? Is there a China factor? How should investors & MNCs position themselves?
For 10 years, Chinese-led growth (low US interest rates) has been good for Latin America & other Emerging Markets. Now troubles in China and US “tapering” will now weigh upon the growth prospects of these regions, especially South America. John Price, Founder of Americas Market Intelligence sees eight drivers that will shape these markets and impact multinational performance in 2014. China could be heading for a debt crisis. If Beijing takes bold defense measures, what happens to its emerging market suppliers? With commodity boom-largess drying up, just how much social unrest will South America see & how damaging? Will Venezuela go the way of Ukraine? Why do Emerging Market central bankers & politicians dread that day US unemployment hits 6%? Can Mexican energy reforms help revive that country’s lackluster economy? Will LatAm’s new romance with free trade prove a tonic for competitiveness and investment? Will Colombia’s pending peace agreement with the FARC spark a new investment boom?
This week Bill Bierce, adviser to numerous global enterprises and entrepreneurs, reveals the secrets of global branding. President of the award winning business, start-ups and technology law firm Bierce & Kenerson PC, Bill talks about key challenges when developing and cultivating your global brand footprint. How do you create a brand management model that supports your business model? In a single entity? A new venture? A JV? A strategic alliance? What do you need to know to roll-up unrelated companies under a common brand, in multi-markets? Does the source of funds matter? How? What are funding sources for new brands? Protecting your brand in multiple jurisdictions: trademark vs copyright vs trade secrets? What does your TM NOT protect? What about costs? How do you extend a brand to new goods & services? How do you deal with inevitable conflicts of cohabitation? What unique challenges can you face with online branding? What do global privacy issues have to do with your global brand?
As our digital dependence grows so the criminal hacker gangs (and the NSA) want our data. The Target hack has brought home the scale of the problem. How can the payments industry deliver privacy to their customers and protect their own assets? Why do banks continue to issue “trivially-counterfeitable” magnetic stripe” cards? Is chip and PIN the answer, as in the rest of the world? What’s beyond chip and PIN? Should we worry about the march to mobile or be comforted by the additional security? David Birch, Global Ambassador for transaction specialists, Consult Hyperion, talks about practical solutions that exploit new technology for secure electronic payments and identity. This “uber-techy” guru will share opportunities for using mobile (or digital) identities, offering some thought-provoking examples: electronic voting, electronic healthcare and, of course, electronic payments for coffee! How will the new transaction technologies deliver both security AND privacy?
He’s been called “the unsung hero of Albany.” As part of our series on leadership & governance, New York State’s popular Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli talks about using the power of the state’s $173 bn pension fund to improve corporate transparency, accountability & community responsibility. The leverage he and fellow public pension fund fiduciaries exercise produces stronger long-term investment performance benefitting not only their fund participants, but individual shareholders as well. Should mutual fund managers follow suit? A leader of campaign finance reform and environmental impact accountability, Tom will also talk about the comptroller’s role in improving governance in New York and in consequence in the state’s business climate. And that’s not all. Liz Kennedy of Demos looks at what’s going on with the SEC and disclosure. She’ll also update us on moves in several states to “take back” the first amendment and end the sale free (political) speech goes to highest bidder.
It’s been 4 years since the Citizens United decision injected a tsunami of corporate cash into the US election process. The pending decision on McCutcheon vs FEC threatens to pour more dark money into the process. My guests, Barbara Lawton, CEO of Americans for Campaign Reform & Charlies Kolb, Pres. of the French-American Foundation (and former Bush 1 domestic policy advisor) look at how the money flood is damaging the US’ ability to govern itself, its economy, companies and investors. Is the US‘s future as a world leader and economic engine in jeopardy? Quite possibly. But, my guests agree, there is a solution. Fair Elections: combining small citizen donations with public funds can result in a more accountable and effective government. How does it work? Karen Scharff, Exec. Director of Citizen Action of NY talks about the NYC system and a most promising breakthrough on the State level. What are the chances that the Congress can pass Fair Elections? What other solutions are there?
What is the best way to convince clients and potential clients that your firm is really something special? My guest, Karen Schneider, Director of Global Product Marketing & Programs for Capgemini Financial Services, has the answer: Strategic Content Marketing. Find out what keeps your customers awake, then create content to fills the need. She’s transformed Capgemini’s intellectual capital into effective marketing campaigns that have resulted in millions of dollars in revenues. Drawing on intellectual capital generated by consultants in 30 countries, plus client input, Capgemini developed a rigorously efficient process to create a series of financial services “World Reports”. The “World Report” franchise serves as a brand differentiator with an industry renowned reputation & a vehicle to create dynamic customer experiences. But you don’t have to be an industry giant to use strategic content marketing to connect with customers. Firms of any size can do it and Karen will tell us how
With regional GDP growth at 5.5% and the world’s fastest-growing middle class, Africa has been receiving a lot of good press. Can the momentum continue? Or, asks Terence McNamee of South Africa’s Brenhurst Foundation, will 2014 see a “backlash to the Africa rising narrative”? China has played a big role in African growth story; which economies can handle a downturn in Chinese demand? Democracy has spread, but how many states have created a sense of nationhood? Problems are emerging in terms of state formation; are old fault lines reemerging? Is widespread youth unemployment a ticking time bomb? The attack on Kenya’s Westgate Mall, trouble in Mali, South Sudan etc. raise huge concerns for foreign business; what is the security prognosis? Important elections are ahead, how might results impact the business climate? How will South Africa fare in the post-Mandela era? Should we even be talking about “Africa”? How are countries trying to differentiate themselves in the world market?
IMAGINE: You are waiting for a large shipment of a thinning hair treatment from a lab in Italy. The product is widely accepted in the EU and has been imported for decades without incident. Suddenly, there's no sign of it. Then you learn that it's being held up by the FDA in Kentucky. Why Kentucky? Who knows? The shipment was en route to LA. A nightmare follows: demands for removal of package inserts; A sticker over the hardly contentious word treatment. It culminates with the entire order being shipped back to Italy. A unique situation? NO. You are a global personal care products company. You meet tough EU standards. You are successful in Asia and LatAm. But SURPRISE, when you try to sell in the U.S., you find often yourself faced with A SIMILAR NIGHTMARE. And that is NOT THE ONLY UNANTICIPATED BARRIER you encounter. WHAT DO YOU DO? My guest, Alan Klein, Chief Strategy Office of The Marketing Agency Worldwide www.themarketingagencyww.com-has some EYE-OPENING ANSWERS. Don’t miss them.
IMAGINE: You are waiting for a large shipment of a thinning hair treatment from a lab in Italy. The product is widely accepted in the EU and has been imported for decades without incident. Suddenly, there's no sign of it. Then you learn that it's being held up by the FDA in Kentucky. Why Kentucky? Who knows? The shipment was en route to LA. A nightmare follows: demands for removal of package inserts; A sticker over the hardly contentious word treatment. It culminates with the entire order being shipped back to Italy. A unique situation? NO. You are a global personal care products company. You meet tough EU standards. You are successful in Asia and LatAm. But SURPRISE, when you try to sell in the U.S., you find often yourself faced with A SIMILAR NIGHTMARE. And that is NOT THE ONLY UNANTICIPATED BARRIER you encounter. WHAT DO YOU DO? My guest, Alan Klein, Chief Strategy Office of The Marketing Agency Worldwide www.themarketingagencyww.com-has some EYE-OPENING ANSWERS. Don’t miss them.
Our 101st broadcast heralds the return of our very first guest, John Price, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence and he is predicting major changes ahead for Latin America. For the last decade the world has belong to resource-rich exporters of LatAm. As China’s infrastructure binge drove commodity prices skyward, Brazil, Chile, &Trinidad, etc. prospered and became meccas for investment. Meanwhile the resource-poor countries of Central America, the Caribbean, even Mexico lost out. Now China’s pivot to consumer goods, plus expanding energy & mineral supplies are causing prices to soften. Are we heading towards the bust side of the commodities cycle? Meanwhile what have the resource-poor states been doing to make their economies more attractive to foreign investors? What changes in North America will drive their economic growth & industries? What external forces will bring about an unexpected reversal of fortune for LatAm countries? And what will this mean for your business?
What does 2014 hold in store? For investors? For international business? For our 100th broadcast, Paul Christopher shares Wells Fargo Advisors’ outlook for the world’s economies and markets over the next 12 months and in the longer term. What does the WFA Investment Strategy Committee see ahead for equities, fixed income, commodities and currencies? What are their recommendations? Should investors stay the course? Retreat? Or rebalance. Which assets should you overweight? Even-weight? Underweight? How should we balance regional opportunities and risks?
§ Where are the investment opportunities?
¨ Is Europe back on track? Should we look at Germany? At Sweden? What about Poland?
¨ Is Turkey a good bet?
¨ Reforms undertaken in the largest emerging economies (notably India, China and Brazil) could trigger rising unemployment and bankruptcies.
§ How will their governments cope?
§ How should international investors prepare?
§ What will that do to your markets in those countries?
¨ What other emerging economies bear watching in the rest of Asia and LatAm? In Africa
§ Portfolio or commerce, what is the forecast for the world’s major currencies? Euro, yen, dollar or pound sterling?
§ What’s the commodities forecasts? Metals? Agriculture?
¨ Will gold and silver retain their luster
§ International equity markets are close to, or above, annual highs? Could investors run into near-term headwinds?
¨ Will the correlation among markets continue?
¨ Is it time to rebalance? How? Where?
§ What’s the take on sovereign debt?
§ Does four years of economic recovery in the U.S. signal time for a slowdown, or the early stage of a potentially long economic expansion?
¨ Households are still deleveraging, what does that portend?
¨ What is the jobs outlook?
¨ What key challenges will the U.S. economy and markets face over the 12 months?
¨ Should we expect a rougher ride?
¨ What about cyclical sectors?
§ Going into 2014, the single most important unanswered question facing bond investors is how the Fed will wean the economy of its bond purchasing stimulus. What does WFA expect?
We’ve been doing shows on globalization, governance, leadership, stakeholders, income inequalities, the future of capitalism and democracy—and the impact of all these factors on international business and markets. Well this show brings all these themes together. My guest, UK-based Roy Stephenson advises banking, payment cards, airlines and retail clients from around the world, on best practices in customer marketing, loyalty and relationship management. A 20+ year veteran of the industry, he works with consumer facing companies in dozens of countries, he can’t help note the parallel trends of increasing globalization and the stagnation (or decline) of incomes among 80-90% of the population of the mature economies. The public is increasingly (and potentially frighteningly) aware of this, but, with global companies, national governments and increasing wealth of the1% he says, politicians are powerless. And when they do act, they take actions that predictably lead to wrong outcomes. Symptomatic of the problem is the unremitting political pressure in multiple countries over Interchange: the fees charged by card issuers (banks) and paid by merchants (and ultimately consumers) that cover the cost of credit or debit card transactions. Why should your business care about interchange? “It’s hard to know how to judge the EU’s proposal to slash interchange. But here are a few adjectives to start with: naïve, wilfully ignorant, showboating. Trouble is, the EU isn’t alone.” Because these fees total tens of billions (dollars, euros etc.). Because banks, merchants and politicians around the world are fighting over them. Because US and Australian laws slashing interchange fees have already had many unintended consequence: mega-litigation, market distortion, wealth transfer, loyalty program damage, and pain for the intended beneficiaries: consumers. • Because now the EU is ramping up. Together with Sonny McKinney, another 20+ year industry veteran with a global perspective, Sonny McKinney of GlobalCollect we will look at Interchange reform in the context global trends, governance leadership and risk. How does globalization figure in? Do U.S., EU and Australian politicians and regulators have a hidden agenda? • Is someone blowing smoke?
If money makes the world go round, non-cash payments (cards, m-commerce, e-commerce, etc.) are the driving force of global commerce. So all of us (B2B orC2B) operating in world markets need to know the latest developments in the payment space. Deborah Baxley (Capgemini) and Teresa Connor (Royal Bank of Scotland) share insights from their “2013 World Payments Report.” Joined by NYPAY President, David True they’ll point out new regulatory and industry initiatives that have emerged across the world. How could their focus on increasing consumer convenience, improving payments security and transparency, strengthening fraud prevention, and stimulating innovation impact your business? How are pioneering B2B models andC2B models like mPOS and e-wallets, and the rise of non-bank players spurring the shift towards digital payments? What customer-centric innovations are emerging? What four ‘Innovation Value Hotspots’ offer opportunities to target future investments?
Strategy is stuck. For too long business has been obsessed with building sustainable competitive advantage. But in today’s turbulent environment, that competitive edge rarely endures. Rather than a single long-term strategy, we need to create a portfolio of multiple advantages that can be built (and abandoned) rapidly. These transient advantages call for a whole new playbook, says this week’s guest, Columbia Business School’s Rita Gunther McGrath, author of The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast As Your Business. We look at why we need strategies that focus less on specific industries & more on arenas (a customer segment+an offer+a delivery location). Why rather than on long-term strategy, we need to set broad strategic themes then let people experiment w/in them. What kind of decision metrics & organization structures support agility & entrepreneurship? How to build competitive barriers by providing customers with experiences & solutions.
It’s time for an in-depth look at the Frontier markets of Southeast Asia (FSA). “What,” you ask “is a frontier market?” They are economies that are smaller, less liquid and riskier than the more advanced emerging markets. “With that profile” you ask, “why bother?” “Because” says Alternative Emerging Investor’s Nate Suppaiah, “growth in Frontier Southeast Asia is outpacing most developed markets and many of the emerging markets.” FSA is home to 550 million people with a median age of 24.5, huge resource deposits and agricultural potential, and a GDP of over US$1.25 trillion. Frontier markets like Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka & Vietnam benefit from their strategic location between India and China. From governments that are implementing supportive economic, business, monetary and fiscal policies. So they are generating highly attractive investment opportunities. What are those opportunities? What are the perceived vs actual risks? What is the outlook for the future? Tune in and find out.
China’s Yellow River may be the world’s first major river to run out of water—thanks to competing demands of agriculture and coal production. German brewers invoke 1516 purity law to stop fracking. Renowned environmental consultant, Albert F. Appleton returns to Global Reach to look at food and agriculture versus fossil fuels in the global competition for the planet’s water resources—a competition that pits industry against industry and could significantly change conditions in your markets from China to Chile. He’ll talk about the why investments in sustainability (like sound water management) make better economic and business sense (for most industries) than frackenomics. The economic cost of carbon to countries and companies. The economic and hydrologic value of landscape. An energy source that’s a better “transition” fuel than fracked gas. A host of green investment opportunities. And green practices companies are already using that your firm can use grow its bottom line.
Like most other industries, the clinical trial industry has grown into a multi-country, multi-cultural arena, where all players are forced to adapt. What are the best practices for managing multi-national recruitment & communication campaigns? How can the industry hold the line on escalating R&D costs & decrease time-to-market? Why is innovation such a challenge for this industry? With all the tools available, why isn’t Big Data better? Matt Kibby, Principal for Innovation & Technology at BBK Worldwide will share insights that can benefit any international business. He’ll talk about tools that can help us create metrics driven strategies & make better international project management decisions. How to employ cultural adaptation when developing a global communications strategy. The difference between cultural adaptation & translation. Why Gizmo is better than Google for patients seeking disease information. How BBK manages a global think tank of independent best-in-class companies.
What better example of the arrogance of institutions the US government shutdown & the threat to force the US to default on its debt, thereby creating chaos in world financial markets? “The problem is that both parties have been bought by the Chamber of Commerce,” says Robert A. G. Monks, author of “Citizens DisUnited: Passive Investors, Drone CEOs & the Corporate Capture of the American Dream. “But the “kamikaze” Republicans are those they haven’t bought.” ”The real problem is that corporate contributions helped elect them in 2010,” counters Bruce Freed (Center for Political Accountability) ”now they're reaping the unintended consequences of money in politics.” “The minority actually wants the country to go over the cliff, says Charles Kolb (French-American Foundation). It's a calculated long-term strategy to create chaos, force interest rates up & shrink government.” What forces underlie the crisis? What can businesses, shareholders & alumni do to turn the tide? Tune in & find out.
“Corporate power has captured America. Their financial power now controls every stage of politics—executive, legislative & judicial. [And] CEOs have captured the power & riches of corporations.” No my guest isn’t the founder of Occupy Wall Street, Robert A. G. Monks is the founder of 4 businesses, a pioneering shareholder activist & author of “Citizens DisUnited: Passive Investors, Drone CEOs and the Corporate Capture of the American Dream. In his call-to-arms, Monks charges that democratic capitalism, the foundation of the US economic system, is a 1-way street serving CEOs with scant regard for the owners, workers or needs of society. Abetted by the activist Roberts Court, captive boards & regulators have made corporate governance a fiction & transformed the political landscape-bad for society & for business itself. With Charles Kolb (French-American-Foundation) & Bruce Freed (Center for Political Accountability), we'll see how shareholder engagement could change corporate America.
My guest this week asks a multi-billion dollar (or euro or yen) question: In the world of payments, is the balance of power shifting from banks to retailers? “Yes” says Matt Simester, head of Auriemma Consulting’s UK office, “we are seeing the rise of retailer power on a number of fronts.” Take interchange (the transaction fee paid by merchant to a bank): legislation in the US, EU and elsewhere has cut interchange rates (and bank income). Merchants were supposed to pass the savings on to consumers. But have they? Or rewards programs: many merchants are pushing their own loyalty programs over bank branded cards. And who has the greater ability to influence consumer behavior at point of sale (or point of click)? And who really commands consumer trust? And where is innovation coming from? Not the banks, it’s coming from PayPal, Square etc. “No banks have become successful retailers” says Matt, “but many retailers, have become successful providers of financial products. Why is that?”
Emerging markets agriculture & food industries are attracting increasing interest from investors, suppliers & marketers. This week’s guest, Nate Suppaiah, Managing Editor of Alternative Emerging Investor highlights the opportunities & challenges in Africa & LatAm as they move from commodity exporters to producers of packaged & process foods. What is the consumer growth story here? How does agribiz impact every economic stratum? Why is KFC hatching a chicken revolution? How is the growing number of fast food and supermarket chains spurring demand for quality produce? What is the Asia-Africa connection? How do you reach Africa and LatAm’s small farmers? What is the cassava opportunity How does it relate to the gluten free market? How are Colombia’s sustainability best coffee growing practices paying off? What markets are being opened by Africa’s new seed entrepreneurs and agro-dealers? How do you overcome LatAm’s particular challenges? What are the agribusiness adjacent opportunities (logistics, packaging, etc.)? Where is agribiz investment coming from and how do you access it?
Dr. Thomas D. Zweifel, author of “Culture Clash 2: Managing the Global High Performance Team,” returns continuing our exploration of the challenges involved in working across diverse cultures & value systems. He shares strategies & techniques forged in the fires clashing cultures that will help your company achieve its cross-border objectives. How to navigate through the shoals of cross-border/cross-cultural mergers, acquisitions and JVs. How to orchestrate global meetings & teleconferences that build alignment. And how to build multicultural teams and mobilize them for high performance. How to use his Global Leadership Pyramid(TM) tool to lead across cultures. Best (& worst) practices from global firms like GE, Daimler-Chrysler, Nestle, J&J & leaders like Jack Welch & Carlos Ghosn. Why most multinationals fail to harvest their most precious resources. How to turn your global savvy into strategic intelligence & innovation assets. This show is a must!
What is more challenging for a global executive than managing across cultures & value systems? The inability to see the world from a counterpart's POV & decode their mind-set has derailed many a cross-border venture. After 30 years and 100+ countries, Thomas Zweifel, international executive coach has been forged in the fire of clashing cultures. Having made just about every mistake in the book, he's developed fool-proof methods & practical techniques for managing successfully across borders. Author of the new book Culture Clash 2.0, he returns to Global Reach to talk about the do’s & taboos of global citizenship. How to decode a national or corporate culture. Use empathy as a strategic tool. Lead across cultures & become glocal. Parachute into any culture & get the job done while respecting local customs. Navigate cross-cultural(CC)M&A. Use CC strategy as an asset for innovation. Orchestrate global meetings that build strategic alignment. Go from multinational to metanational.
How do you become an effective & principled leader in the 21st century? Recently we looked at the disconnect between institutions and the people they are supposed to serve. From business to government self-serving leaders have lost their compass, giving us the 2008 financial meltdown, pay w/o performance, crumbling bridges, etc. Leadership is in crisis. How do we turn the tide? Renowned leadership guru & co-author of The Rabbi & the CEO, Thomas Zweifel draws innovative answers and powerful tools from a combination of the ancient traditions of Judaism & cutting-edge methodology based on 25 years of coaching leaders. How are the 10 Commandments relevant for 21stC leaders? How do we institutionalize integrity? And if it clashes with the bottom line? How do we go from lemons to lemonade in 3 steps? What is future-based investing? What is the “onion model” for decoding another culture? How does appreciation build power? What is the key to building champion teams?
“China is winning the global business game, charge Nick Pechet & Pete Read. The authors of the disturbing soon-to-be-published, China Rules, talk about the impact of China's global investment and its “shockingly rapid investment boom in overseas strategic assets, including energy, construction, utilities and finance.” They will detail how gullible Western executives and politicians in their “thirst for short-term political power and financial gain” transferred “untold potential wealth” to China through technology transfers and offshoring—and “let the dragon in.” Now hundreds of millions of citizens in Western nations will see changes to every aspect of their lives. Joining Global Reach host Té Revesz from their posts in China and Singapore, Pechet and Read will detail the crucial implications for Western companies and the mega-trends they must embrace to compete in the new game. China has changed the rules of global business; “China Rules” gives a new meaning to Made in China.
What is the reality of emerging market investment in 2013? Still filled with irresistible opportunity? Or beset by slowing growth, a maze of barriers & outsized political risk? Guest host Nate Suppaiah of Alternative Emerging Investor interviews one of the world's foremost experts, Co-Director of Cornell University's Emerging Markets Institute, Professor Andrew Karolyi. Has transparency in these markets improved? Is emerging market due diligence more accurate than a decade ago? Where are the best opportunities? Are the BRICS still relevant? MIST, IBSA, CAPPT, CIVETS, TIMPS: do any of the new acronyms serve as useful investment guides? How do Fed Chairman Bernanke's actions affect the emerging markets outlook? What is the benchmark for political risk? With all the political and social turmoil and painful growth picture in Europe, not to mention political gridlock in the U.S. how much worse are emerging markets? Have accessing emerging markets become easier?
We all yearn for a return of the 1990s when the US economy was the envy of the world: 20+ million new jobs, soaring investment & productivity, low inflation. How did the US do it? Tax cuts? Slashing government spending? Balancing the budget? “None of the above” says Dr. Paul A. London, Chief Economist of The Stern Group. That “glorious” prosperity resulted from decades of political struggles that brought real competition to key industries: transport, steel, retail, finance, telecom. This liberated “people’s vital energies,” allowed new entrants, stimulated innovation & forced prices down. While US pols & pundits give lip service to competition, they focus on taxes, interest rates & deficits. Wrong, says London, what is needed is to open more uncompetitive sectors—notably healthcare. Europe too could benefit from applying ”The Competition Solution.” Can it work in today’s business climate? What roles should government play? How do we factor in lessons of the global financial meltdown?
Question: How do you drive sustainable economic opportunity, market growth & social progress in developing countries? Answer: Empower women with programs by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Ralph Schonenbach, CEO, Trestle Group (Switzerland) & Dana Brice Smith, Mng Dir, Trestle Group Foundation, describe its innovative partnership with Swisscontact & Equity Bank to support Tanzanian women entrepreneurs. With human K provided by Credit Suisse, it offers knowledge transfer, capacity building/skills development & financial resources-notably Equity Bank’s Fanikisha financial product designed for the women's SME market. We'll look at how the partnership mentors high-potential women who now work with its customized mass business/entrepreneurship training for 250 start-up stage entrepreneurs. What’s in it for companies like yours? Find out why firms like Pepsico, IBM, UBS & Microsoft join Trestle to support women-led businesses in Bangladesh, Jordan, Turkey, India, Uganda, & South Africa.
Strategy is stuck. For too long business has been obsessed with building sustainable competitive advantage. But in today’s turbulent environment, that competitive edge rarely endures. Rather than a single long-term strategy, we need to create a portfolio of multiple advantages that can be built (and abandoned) rapidly. These transient advantages call for a whole new playbook, says this week’s guest, Columbia Business School’s Rita Gunther McGrath, author of The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast As Your Business. We look at why we need strategies that focus less on specific industries & more on arenas (a customer segment+an offer+a delivery location). Why rather than on long-term strategy, we need to set broad strategic themes then let people experiment w/in them. What kind of decision metrics & organization structures support agility & entrepreneurship? How to build competitive barriers by providing customers with experiences & solutions.
How do you become an effective & principled leader in the 21st century? Recently we looked at the disconnect between institutions and the people they are supposed to serve. From business to government self-serving leaders have lost their compass, giving us the 2008 financial meltdown, pay w/o performance, crumbling bridges, etc. Leadership is in crisis. How do we turn the tide? Renowned leadership guru & co-author of The Rabbi & the CEO, Thomas Zweifel draws innovative answers and powerful tools from a combination of the ancient traditions of Judaism & cutting-edge methodology based on 25 years of coaching leaders. How are the 10 Commandments relevant for 21stC leaders? How do we institutionalize integrity? And if it clashes with the bottom line? How do we go from lemons to lemonade in 3 steps? What is future-based investing? What is the “onion model” for decoding another culture? How does appreciation build power? What is the key to building champion teams?
This week, thought-leader Charles Kolb talks about the growing disconnect between our institutions & people they are supposed to serve. Kolb, President of the French-American Foundation-US, maintains that leaders too often seem to be running government, companies, schools, even churches, more for their own benefit then for that of their stakeholders, while ducking responsibility for failures of governance from fiduciary & fiscal integrity to safety, security, law making & literacy. When shareholders, customers, citizens, employees, or parents challenge institutions for not responding to their needs, they are met with arrogance: How dare you? So we are losing faith in institutions we used to take for granted. How do we turn the tide? How do we balance security with civil rights? Profits with performance? How do we control ownership of our information? Mend corporate governance? Tame money in politics? Join us for a provocative discussion on restoring accountability to our institutions.
In increasing numbers, Latin American and other emerging markets companies are seeking overseas investors. How can they command investor attention and trust in this increasingly competitive international environment? Investor Relations/Corporate Communications Professional, Peter Majeski joins Global Reach to talk about the essential elements in establishing an IR program that commands international credibility. What do investors expect no matter where they are based? What special challenges do LatAm and emerging market firms face? Family-owned firms? What are best practices for creating internal corporate governance & disclosure guidelines? Crisis communications? Investor presentations? What makes a company's IR program effective? How do you develop your corporate message and investment story? Why is it harder to tell that story in Chicago than in NYC or London? How do you train corporate execs to put their best foot forward?
The growth story in Africa is compelling for private equity investors, VCs and increasingly, cross-border businesses. The continent has some of the highest growth figures in the world: 7 countries in the top 10 for GDP growth last year. The IMF forecasts that Sub-Saharan Africa will grow 5.7% in 2013. The consumer story could not be more attractive; banking, finance, telecoms and tech are booming. Nate Suppaiah, editor of Emerging Alternative Investor returns to Global Reach. He’ll highlight the key countries and sweet spots for PE funds, investment banks, private investors and companies looking for emerging markets opportunities. Last week Charles Kolb said citizen involvement is the way to bring accountability back to our institutions. Now Citizen Action Dir. Karen Scharff talks about why she & 20 others were arrested for challenging the NY Senate to vote on the Fair Elections bill demanded by the state's biz leaders, governor, Assembly and 57-70% of the people.
This week, thought-leader Charles Kolb talks about the growing disconnect between our institutions & people they are supposed to serve. Kolb, President of the French-American Foundation-US, maintains that leaders too often seem to be running government, companies, schools, even churches, more for their own benefit then for that of their stakeholders, while ducking responsibility for failures of governance from fiduciary & fiscal integrity to safety, security, law making & literacy. When shareholders, customers, citizens, employees, or parents challenge institutions for not responding to their needs, they are met with arrogance: How dare you? So we are losing faith in institutions we used to take for granted. How do we turn the tide? How do we balance security with civil rights? Profits with performance? How do we control ownership of our information? Mend corporate governance? Tame money in politics? Join us for a provocative discussion on restoring accountability to our institutions.
Millennials, money & marketing; this week’s show has them all. It also has entrepreneur Lisa Halpern, CEO of Kiboo Life, a social banking & financial literacy start-up. Kiboo’s Know Your Money™ platform builds community around money management with original content, a financial analytics engine, plus social features and functionality that engage young people to save spend and give their money smarter. Lisa will share key insights drawn from 6 years of research, as well as highlights from her recent appearance at London’s “The Future of Finance conference. What is the relationship between Millennials/Gen Z and money? What drives their purchase decisions? How did the 2008 meltdown affect their financial behavior? How do they feel about borrowing & other financial products? What leads them to trust/distrust brands? Why do they prefer alternative financial products? What do banks and cards need to do to win them back? Will they continue to share their life-info on line?
Coal is less efficient and more polluting in terms of greenhouse gases and volatiles (toxic emissions) than oil or gas. But coal is cheap and abundant, so its use is increasing exponentially. Worse, countries like India and Indonesia are tapping lower quality coal that has an extra set of problems. Can a company with smart technology make the world’s most polluting, but abundant, fuel more earth friendly? How can it carve a solid niche in an industry littered with failed technologies and pilot plants that can’t be scaled? My guests, Robin Eves & Ignacio Ponce de Leon, respectively the CEO & COO of Clean Coal Technologies, talk about how their company’s Pristine™/Pristine-M™ technology can make coal more efficient, less polluting & more cost-effective. They reveal how CCT solved the scale-up problem. They will share their strategy for bringing CCT technology to Asian markets, the epicenter of coal expansion--and how they plan to protect that technology from reverse engineering.
Social infrastructure, well prepared human capital. Every business needs these resources to succeed in our competitive world marketplace. Take pre-K. Our February 21 made the business case for quality early childhood education investment: a better prepared workforce, more economic growth, lower crime. In the US the Obama administration has made it a priority, so have the 892 members of the business partnership, ReadyNation. But who funds the investment, especially in these days of tight public sector budgets? Well a new methodology is emerging. Venture capitalist Robert H. Dugger, ReadyNation’s cofounder returns demonstrate the economic power of Social Impact Financing (SIF) based on Pay-for-Success(PFS) principles. The combination of SIF and PFS enables coalitions of government, philanthropy and private investors to increase funding, improve outcomes, save money for governments and produce returns for investors not to mention a more competitive economy.
For decades China, South Korea and Taiwan have “sprinted towards globally competitive export sectors, but now” says this week’s guest, Paul Christopher, Wells Fargo Advisors Senior International Strategist, “a curve lies ahead” and it’s time to “shift gears and rebalance between exports and domestic industries.” Just returned from East Asia, Christopher will talk about the challenges each country faces as it strives to “reinvent its primary economic drivers.” How will this rebalancing change the picture for international investors, portfolio and direct? • Where are the new opportunities? • What are the rising risks? • What are the potential knock-on effects from East Asia’s gear shift on the Americas? On Europe? China needs to redirect its energies towards its internal market and move up the technology chain. What are the implications? Taiwan and South Korea feel left behind and (apart from LG and Samsung) are “desperate” for new, internationally competitive technologies. • Is there a role for international firms on the innovation and competitiveness front? • In South Korea, and to a lesser extent Taiwan, growth has been concentrated in conglomerates. Could joint ventures with small and medium-size enterprises be a winning strategy? Is there really a Chinese property bubble? What do international investors need to know about all those empty buildings? Should you be haunted by China’s “ghost banks”? What opportunities can you find in Taiwan’s new enterprise zones? • What on earth is South Korea’s “Ministry of Forward Thinking”? Taiwanese are split over whether China offers great opportunities they can exploit or poses greater risk that it swallow up Taiwan, commercially if not militarily. That uncertainty is the greatest threat to the island republic’s continued development. Will Taiwan be able to pull itself together and move ahead? Can those disputed, potentially resource-rich “rocks” in the South China raise risk throughout the region? • What about North Korea’s threats? Will Renminbi reforms and liberalization of money flows force China’s banking sector to become more competitive and open new opportunities for international banks?
Global Reach hosts the launch of IBSAWorld, a new index of investment and business opportunities in 3 pivotal emerging market economies: India-Brazil-South Africa. Why carve out IBSA? “Because” says Tosh Sheshabalaya, IBSAWorld founder, “investment opportunities within IBSA countries are far closer to each other, than they are to their BRICS partners, Russia and China. Hub economies in their regions, they have similar 'soft' infrastructure: role of government, stock market culture, lively financial media, disclosure regs, relative business transparency. We’re joined by Nate Suppaiah, editor of “Alternative Emerging Investor. He & Tosh will explore the synergies between IBSAWorld & AEI; opportunities each highlights for VCs, portfolio investors, fund managers & FDI. What companies make up the IBSAWorld Index? How are they performing? How are creative entrepreneurs rethinking or tropicalizing aging & orphan technologies to produce new value in IBSA and other emerging markets?
“China is winning the global business game, charge Nick Pechet & Pete Read. The authors of the disturbing soon-to-be-published, China Rules, talk about the impact of China's global investment and its “shockingly rapid investment boom in overseas strategic assets, including energy, construction, utilities and finance.” They will detail how gullible Western executives and politicians in their “thirst for short-term political power and financial gain” transferred “untold potential wealth” to China through technology transfers and offshoring—and “let the dragon in.” Now hundreds of millions of citizens in Western nations will see changes to every aspect of their lives. Joining Global Reach host Té Revesz from their posts in China and Singapore, Pechet and Read will detail the crucial implications for Western companies and the mega-trends they must embrace to compete in the new game. China has changed the rules of global business; “China Rules” gives a new meaning to Made in China.
“From debris of the world financial crisis, there has been a gradual but accelerating shift in the role and prominence of emerging markets (EMs) within the global investment universe,” so writes Nate Suppaiah, managing director of the Capricorn Research Group. He returns to Global Reach to talk about why his Alternative Latin Investor' is expanding its coverage to Africa and Asia. He previews the opportunities and challenges explored in the inaugural issue of Alternative Emerging Investor and share highlights from his provocative interview with EM fund pioneer Mark Mobius. Where are smart private equity investors putting their money? Country risk: how do you separate perception from reality? Which alternate asset classes are best suited to specific regions? Countries? What lessons have experienced EM investors learned the hard way? How can your profit them? In just one sector, in the hot real estate markets of Africa, LatAm and Asia, what are the FDI, fund and PE opportunities?
Humans, moment by moment, are either creating or consuming. When you create you come alive. The same holds true for companies, whether they’re involved in telecom, payments, pharma or consumer goods.” So says my guest, Taimor Zaiman, Chief Viral Officer of The Access Group and President of Canada's One Million Acts of Innovation. He’ll be joined by its chair, John King, rogue scholar & CEO of Cultural Architecture. With examples drawn from their network of innovators around the world, we’ll talk about what they are interested in. What they see as game changers? And what are they afraid of? What can one million acts of innovation produce? How are innovative 30-something bankers are revolutionizing Georgia’s economy? And social-media savvy students changing Canadian SMEs? How can the consume-versus-create paradigm impact your cross-border business and make it more alive? When it comes to innovation, why can all corporate actions be classified as “Duh” “Unhuh” or “WOW”?
“America is back in the trade game.” So says my guest, the Hon. Paula Stern, former chairwoman of the US International Trade Commission and head of The Stern Group. Now the Obama administration is launching 2 big trade initiatives. The “extraordinarily ambitious” Trans-Pacific Partnership and huge US-EU Free Trade Agreement will not just improve US competitiveness, they will boost its negotiating leverage with China. Dr. Stern advises companies, organization & governments on issues that affect their competitiveness in the global economy. Today she’ll advise the Global Reach audience on why—and how—these trade agreements will transform the international rules of the road for cross-border business, not only for US-based firms, but for companies from every corner of the globe. What are the concrete goals? What are the big, contentious issues? Why is getting rid of NTBs so important? How will these pacts alter global supply chain patterns? What will they mean for your company?
Corporate communications and social responsibility programs in China carry a unique set of challenges. My guest Darcie Goodwin spent years in China as Communications Manager for FedEx. Just back, she’ll talk about how to establish effective media relations, social media relations and CSR programs—and avoid potential pitfalls. How to handle reporter relationships and deal created quotes. Why a pro-active social media program is a must. How to use Weibo (China’s Twitter) to establish execs as thought leaders—and reach employees on the go. Why young Chinese prefer socially responsible companies and why CSR may be your best recruitment and retention tool. How to work with non-profits to enhance employee engagement. How eco-friendly initiatives can strengthen government relations and could lead to long-term savings BUT why companies that pursue them can get caught between government policies and practices at various levels—and an increasingly cynical public.
By 2030, nearly 2/3 of the world’s population will be city dwellers, the majority in emerging markets. Cities are the prime drivers of economic growth; we are seeing a tectonic shift in the world’s economic center, not to mention unprecedented growth of the middle class-the biggest economic transformation ever. By 2025 440 emerging markets cities will add $23 trillion to world GDP-47% to its growth. How will the urban megatrend change your business? That’s what Guillaume Corpart, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence, will talk about, with a special look at mega-cities and neighborhoods on the outskirts. What goods & services will the emerging middle class want? Women who will enter the paid workforce in growing numbers? By 2030 demand for food will grow 35%, water-40%, energy-50%. How will cities meet those needs? Who will generate the massive funding for infrastructure & buildings? When developing your-go-to market strategy will you need to get city-level intelligence?
On Global Reach this week, William B. Bierce, Managing Attorney of the award-winning business & technology law firm Bierce & Kenerson talks about how small and medium-size businesses can achieve healthy growth and go global. A specialist in helping innovative ventures achieve their business goals, Bill will talk about how to build a solid legal foundation while planning and executing for foreign markets. Based on real life examples, he’ll explore key drivers of sustainable enterprise value. How to create the right internal infrastructure. How to find high level, affordable, expertise. Creating a corporate culture that thinks global. Why concentrate on cash flow and traction, before making partners happy? Considerations when designing your supply chain. When globalization requires localization. How to wrest opportunities from technological disruption. How to protect the crown jewels—your IP & affordable alternatives to patents. Key tech tools. Finding cash without investors.
Post-secondary education in the US is facing a perfect storm: unsustainable costs, declining enrollment & graduation rates, shrinking government support, poor job prospects for heavily indebted graduates. Meanwhile, China, and other nations are investing in growing the numbers of their university graduates. Is the US model broken? Goucher College President, Sanford Ungar and Charles Kolb, president of the French-American Foundation take a hard look issues such as: is a degree worth the required investment? Has college become an unaffordable luxury? What does that mean for the country's future? Do other countries have better models? What's the role of universities in shaping human K for the 21st century? To prepare students for the job market? To inspire innovators? To equip citizens to actively engage in democracies? What role should business play? What are the best models to equip graduates to thrive and respond to the fast changing demands of our 21stC global environment?
Hackers linked to China’s military cyber-command have reportedly engaged in a massive theft of intellectual property from US companies, while probing for weaknesses in the country’s digital infrastructure. Is this stage 1 in the world's first cyber war? Or an unprecedented state-sanctioned trade war? Economist Alan Tonelson (US Business & Industrial Council) and cyber security expert Anup Ghosh (Invincea) talk about the potential impact of the big hack attack the strength & competitiveness US and Chinese economies and on national security and international power. How should the US respond? What are the dangers of escalation? US policy has been based on constructive integration, is it time for a rethink? Why are so many US MNCs blocking protective legislation? Who's behind the pro-China lobby? Should the US follows Lee Kwan Yew's dangerously shortsighted advice? How can the US protect its corporate and government networks? What can your company do today to protect itself?
Few things pose more risk to international businesses than the eruption of mass violence in one of our markets—violence that can spill beyond its borders. All countries possess innumerable fault lines: social, cultural, ideological & political; racial, ethnic, religious & linguistic; economic, regional & ecological. Why do some societies thrive in such diversity, while others result in catastrophic failure? This critical question was the subject of a deep-dive multi-country study led by South Africa’s Brenthurst Foundation, Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and Israel’s Dayan Center. This week, Terence McNamee co-author of “On the Fault Line” talks about “Managing Tensions and Divisions within Societies.” What factors are most predictive of pending violence? What is more important to managing fault lines, elections or institutions? What is the impact of globalization? Climate change? What role can external actors play? How can your business plan? Join us for this compelling show.
President Obama proposed making high-quality preschool available to every child in America.” Most OECD nations (+ China and Brazil) invest heavily in pre-K, but conservative pols term it a “nanny state” program. Conservative think-tanks & the WSJ mock findings of a 7:1 ROI. Are they right? Not according to many business leaders! Or to my guests: Charles Kolb (President, French-American Foundation)& Rob Dugger (Managing Partner, Hanover Investment Group). They discuss why major companies consider investment in young children a key strategy to build a productive workforce, support a strong national economy & keep a country competitive. How will human capital determine power in in the new global economy? Will failure undermine US security? US competitiveness? Why do French governments-conservative & socialist-invest in pre-K? How do you calculate the real ROI on pre-K. Can it create significant savings? What is the role for private investors? Public-private partnerships?
Directly and through their trade associations, companies poured over $3 billion into the 2012 elections. Are they suffering from buyers regret? Thought leaders Bruce Freed (Center for Political Accountability) and Charles Kolb (French-American Foundation) talk about how campaign spending is skewing the market, hurting the economy and damaging democracy—not to mention producing unintended consequences for donors. Three years after Citizens United, why do so many companies feel like victims of a political shakedown? How have their investments in pro-business candidates yielded outcomes that hurt their interests? Are some trade associations pushing policies that hurt their own members? What legal, business and reputational risks do corporate donors face? How are non-US firms affected? How should your company navigate the political spending landscape? What are the best practices for corporate governance? Political accountability? Shareholder rights? Or should companies just say 'no'!
Capital flows between the US, Canada and Latin America have reached a high point. The driver? Dynamic economic growth in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Colombia. As cross-border trading and investing gathers momentum, Victor Hugo Rodriguez, CEO of LatAm Alternatives returns to talk about the opportunities and the obstacles to investing, raising capital, and asset management. What’s driving the growth of cross-border market activity? How are regulatory moves in the US and Europe affecting capital flows? Why are money center banks scaling back? Are there opportunities for nimble investors and entrepreneurs? What are the key success factors? What do you need to know about LatAm hedge funds, private equity and infrastructure? Are there effective regional strategies? Where are the stars? How can a newcomer successfully navigate North-South fund flows? Why use south Florida as a gateway to this market of 23 countries and 600 million potential customers? And what’s ahead for Venezuela?
Intellectual property is the driver of 21st century’s global economy. And the incentive to develop new products and invest in the commercialization of inventions and creative works depends on protection of IP rights in multiple jurisdictions. But emerging technologies, new media, globalization and new distribution channels present a host of new challenges. My guest, Massimo Sterpi of Jacobacci & Assoc. deals with those challenges every day in national and international courts. Calling in from Rome he'll talk about 21st century protection trademarks, designs, copyright and patents-and of cultural or iconic brands. What are the special needs of small and medium size enterprises? What are the new boundaries of the notion of artwork? What issues are raised by raised by digital and internet-based art? What do you need to know about approaches of different regions or different legal systems such as the Anglo Saxon and Continental European approaches? What about IP in emerging markets?
Since 2003, Latin America has grown at an enviable pace, in large part due to historically high natural resource prices, including foodstuffs, precious metals, and energy. But commodity prices notoriously fall, often faster than they rise. So how sustainable are Latin America’s emerging market levels of growth? My guest is John Price, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence, a 20 year veteran of consulting in the region and co-editor of “Can Latin America Compete?”(2007). He’ll explore why LatAm has done so well and whether it can continue to grow at 4-5% p.a. Which countries are committed to improving their competitiveness? Which ones will struggle? Why have efforts to create “El Silicon Valleys” yielded such poor results? Why isn’t the region more innovative? If LatAm can’t compete in high tech, how and where can it move up the supply chain to higher value industries? And what are best practices for reaching the 200 million consumers in its emerging middle class?
With upcoming elections and forecasts of 0.8% growth, my guest, Tim Brouwer, CEO of SVP Deutschland talks about what’s ahead for Germany in 2013 and how will it affect international business? Is Chancellor Merkle a shoo-in? Any truth to opponents' accusation that she’s trying to “bribe” voters? Social Democrats & Greens want stricter banking regs and to separate investment from commercial banking? Do they have a chance? Does Germany really benefit from the Euro? Do the political gains of its massive financial support for the Eurozone outweigh the economic cost? Are Germans tired of supporting less prudent countries? Will German efforts to influence policies of EU institutions and governments move member states towards fuller integration or create resentments that will drive them apart. On her 5th visit to China, Merkle took a large contingent of CEOs. How will deepening ties between Germany and China change the global competitive picture? Where are the opportunities in Germany?
This week we're on a magical, multi-continent, mystery shopping tour. How do you find out what your customers in France or China or Brazil experience when they interact with your brand? Your competitors brands? What kind of support employees or vendors in 12 different countries need so they can support your products? My guest, Farzad Henareh of Corporate Research International helps some of the world’s largest consumer and BtoB companies get the answers. We’ll talk about what goes into creating a successful multi-country mystery shopping campaign. How do you create a program that is culturally specific yet produces coherent results? How do you train the auditors. As a client what do you need to know to get the best results from your mystery shopping investment? Are an Italian client’s expectations different from those of a Japanese client? How have mobile commerce & social media changed the game? How do you turn the data into quality improvements that yields loyal customers?
Mobile banking services are now table stakes in highly competitive and ever-changing payments space—and in the process reshaping the competitive space for every consumer facing business. This week, Paul Grill, Partner at First Annapolis Consulting and head of its Mobile & Alternative Payments practice, talks about how banks are leveraging mobile apps to compete with new entrants like Square. And how initiatives like mobile remote deposit capture and merchant discount offers over mobile devices changing customer expectations as they move from discovery to purchase. What does this mean for your business? Your customer loyalty programs? Rewards programs? What’s happening with co-brand, private label, and private financing? How do you integrate online, remote mobile and physical mobile? What about credential storage security? How should your company respond? What cutting edge developments can we expect for 2013, in North America? Globally? What does what does your business need to know?
What will spark the next phase of economic growth? As businesses seek an answer, some are betting on emerging economies. Others say entrepreneurs will be the drivers. Still others think women will be the dominant source of expansion. My guests agree - it's all three: the key to sustainable global economic expansion and social progress is empowering women entrepreneurs in emerging economies. But they co-founded organizations that use very different models to make that happen. By providing micro-loans, healthcare and training to poor women, Lynne Patterson’s Pro Mujer has helped launch over 200,000 small businesses in Latin America. Ralph Schonenbach’s Trestle Group Foundation supports qualified women entrepreneurs by partnering them with established business professionals who help them build the skills, strategies and networks they need to create opportunities and long-term success. Find out how these different routes to entrepreneurship can impact all of us in the global marketplace.
This week’s guest, HootSuite VP Brian Bailard tells us how to gain strategic and competitive advantages from social media. Working with host of mega-multinational clients, Brian has a global view on the state of the industry, cutting edge trends and where social media is going in 2013. Brian will share insights on best practices in managing social media on an enterprise basis. He’ll share examples of how HootSuite’s corporate clients manage social media across multiple national/cultural markets. And explain how we should think about the different social networks—Google, Pinterest, Mixi, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.—from a corporate engagement perspective. Brian will also share how in 4 years, Hootsuite went from a concept to a profitable global player. How it used freemium services to attract 5 million Hootsuite users from nearly every country, develop a presence on 24 social networks in 12 languages and sell premium services to global companies. This promises to be a fascinating show.
Governments and healthcare organizations worldwide are implementing smart health cards. Smart cards can improve the security & privacy of patient information, provide a secure carrier for portable medical records, access to emergency information, and enable compliance with government mandates. Smart health cards reduce healthcare fraud and significantly reduce costs. So why aren’t they used more widely in the US? And why isn’t anyone talking smart cards in the battle over Medicare’s future? My guest, Michael MagGrath, head of the Smart Card Alliance's Healthcare Council has testified about the benefits of smart cards before the US Dept. of Health & Human Services. He, and Alliance chairman, Randy Vanderhoof talk about pending legislation. How such a system might work in the US and the potential savings. What other countries are doing. Medical identity theft and other risks. International opportunities for tech providers, pharma & device firms, service providers, insurer—and employers.
And the fight goes on. Will battle over taxes, spending and the debt ceiling end up in a workable compromise or more of the same--gridlock? Will gridlock mean a leap off a cliff or a slide down a hill? Will it drive the US economy back into recession? The global economy? The equity markets? In the past, gridlock has been good for equities (if bad for the economy). But “not this time,” says my guest, Scott Wren, Senior Equity Strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors. “For the sake of future economic growth and the health and wellbeing of the next generation, Washington needs to break the impasse . . . and make some decisions.” But what components of workable compromise would set the US on a growth track? Should Washington go minimalist or go big? Will a hastily drawn “grand bargain” including the social insurance programs do more harm than good? What would stimulate productive investment in its economy? Going forward how should international companies and investors position themselves?
Last week we debated which policy approach will produce robust, sustainable economic growth in the US and Europe: austerity policy & trickle-down economics versus “bubble up” economics with broadly shared prosperity. This week former White House advisor Charles Kolb & Nate Loewentheil of Yale return to debate specific policy recommendations from the Lowentheil(Jacob) Hacker report “Prosperity Economics: Building an Economy for All” and from Kolb’s former organization, the Committee for Economic Development, the nonpartisan, business-led think tank. What policies will produce a healthy private sector ANDe good 21st century jobs? We'll talk sovereign debt, taxes, trade & manufacturing. Public vs private investment, infrastructure & immigration reform Energy vs Eco-services. Obama-care: kill it or expand it? Job security vs employer flexibility? Should the US enact a Tobin Tax? What do campaign finance & voting rights have to do with growth? In other words, it's going to be quite a show.
Few things pose more risk to international businesses than the eruption of mass violence in one of our markets—violence that can spill beyond its borders. All countries possess innumerable fault lines: social, cultural, ideological & political; racial, ethnic, religious & linguistic; economic, regional & ecological. Why do some societies thrive in such diversity, while others result in catastrophic failure? This critical question was the subject of a deep-dive multi-country study led by South Africa’s Brenthurst Foundation, Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and Israel’s Dayan Center. This week, Terence McNamee co-author of “On the Fault Line” talks about “Managing Tensions and Divisions within Societies.” What factors are most predictive of pending violence? What is more important to managing fault lines, elections or institutions? What is the impact of globalization? Climate change? What role can external actors play? How can your business plan? Join us for this compelling show.
What does Hugo Chavez‘s reelection mean for international firms? Is the pendulum swinging back to the leftist, anti-business policies of the past? We’ve seen the “Chavez effect” in Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia & Nicaragua. Will we see more left-leaning governments? Is the Chavez effect all bad for business? More Latin Americans moving from poverty to the middle class and enjoying more access to health care and education, opening new opportunities for international firms. “But,” says Victor Hugo Rodriguez, CEO of LatAm Alternatives, these governments have created a “time bomb of expectations. Their policies make it difficult for firms to operate and for their economies to compete. How will Chavez respond? How will LA's economic relationships change with the US? China? Europe? Africa? Over the next decade LA will go through a huge transition; a new generation of leaders will take power. Will governments be forced to the center or become more polarized. How should your business respond?
With a middle class estimated at over 300 million, everyone wants to export to China. But how do you crack this notoriously difficult market? Many companies have tried—and failed or at least run into huge and costly problems. Not necessary, says my guest, Casey Xiao-Morris, if companies take the steps to build a strong foundation before entry and avoid 6 common mistakes that can derail your plans. With 21 years of experience in connecting the Chinese and American markets, Casey understands how business works in China. “How you enter the market determines what kind of success you have,” says this China-born, US-educated expert. She will not only talk about how to tap product areas where foreign brands have an advantage—and it’s not just luxury goods. Why the children's market—and the grandparents' market—are hot. And why TV Home Shopping may be the best channel for a new company to establish a presence—if you can figure out which of China’s 70 networks to work with.
A sea change has taken place in international advertising and marketing. Long considered the ugly stepchild of digital marketing, affiliate marketing has become one of the leading drivers of brands’ online marketing success. The joy of affiliate marketing is that it’s results based, cost effective and infinitely expandable. Global branding expert, Alan Klein, joins us once again to talk about how to use the affiliate marketing channel to enter new overseas markets. How the affiliate marketing channel really works. How you can create a successful affiliate marketing program that will help globalize your brand and win new customers. What kind of investment you'll need to run the program. Why it works for large or small companies. How to optimize ROI without sacrificing brand affinity or customer value. How you can integrate affiliate marketing with social media—crowd sourcing, viral marketing, etc.
The world is awash in unsustainable levels of debt, says Charles Kolb, President of the French-American Foundation; and that debt is damaging the economies and stability of the US, Europe—and their enabler, China. All three need to seriously rethink their economic models and restructure tax and spending policies. With massive personal, mortgage and student debt, over-leveraged American consumers may no longer be able to drive that economy. The US needs to reconfigure a tax code which favors consumption over savings and productive investment. China needs to do the reverse; facing a series of internal riots, its model of citizen saving plus export-driven growth won’t be sustainable much longer. In France, with a huge debt:GDP ratio, alternately applying the accelerator and the brake isn’t working. If France wants to stay with the Euro, reduce unemployment and grow its economy, it needs to restructure its tax policies and labor rules. Tune in for Kolb's provocative policy prescriptions.
US manufacturing is all the rage. The Presidential candidates talk a good game, says my guest, Alan Tonelson of the US Business and Industry Council, but they're short on effective policy. The goal of a manufacturing revival is not only distant but receding, thanks to the Summers effect and faith in comparative advantage theory over geo-economic reality. For decades business and academic elites maintained a strong manufacturing sector was not need for a prosperous economy. The US was becoming a post-industrial economy driven by finance and InfoTech. Conventional wisdom—until December 2007, when the production-light economic US economy collapsed. Suddenly manufacturing is center stage. Prospects will remain bleak, he says, as long as so many new advocates, including President Obama and ex-Governor Romney keep shying away from the bold policy departures needed—especially in America’s international trade policies. Tune in to hear his controversial advice to both candidates.
How do you attract loyal customers in an era of unprecedented customer power? How do you cope with the ‘new normal’ of today’s marketplace, balancing customers concerns about personal privacy with their demand that all their unique needs be met? My guest Bryan Pearson, President of Canada's LoyaltyOne and author of “The Loyalty Leap: Turning Customer Information Into Customer Intimacy,” will share two decades of frontline experience to give marketers sound strategies for navigating the worlds of customer expectations, privacy and data integrity. An internationally recognized expert in the fields of enterprise loyalty and coalition marketing, Pearson will offer tangible lessons drawn from his work in Brazil, Canada, India and the US on how to successfully manage the greatest asset of any company in the digital age: its customer data in order to create emotionally loyal customers.
There is an urban energy revolution underway. Cities around the world are going green, adopting sustainable energy technologies, fuels, and practices, and opening a host of related business opportunities in the process. But working with cities requires special know how. My guest, Dr. Stephen Hammer of MIT, is an expert on urban energy planning, working with multiple layers of government, the economic, technical, and regulatory viability of different energy technologies in cities; the impacts of climate change on urban energy systems. He is also a much in-demand consultant for numerous governments, corporations, non-profits, and NGOs. He’ll talk about how cities in China are pursuing low carbon strategies; how wind energy is changing the Windy City; and changing the global business climate in the process. Dr. Hammer will also outline strategies companies can adopt for working successfully with decision-makers in levels of government, as well as opinion and community leaders.
The nature of transactions is changing at an amazing rate. New models are emerging (and converging) in the way banking, finance, retail, communications and transport interact with people and money. Mobile payments, smart cards, contactless cards and tickets, digital wallets, digital IDs—and digital pickpockets. Loyalty points as money. E-commerce, m-commerce—now f-commerce? And that’s today. What's next? Cloud-commerce? This week's guest is described as “one of the world’s leading experts on digital money,” an “uber-techie, and “a grade-A geek. He's Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion and you will find him grade-A interesting. Will merchant-bank cooperation change the card company model? Will social networks have their own systems? Will parallel currencies challenge the national kind? In our digital age, what will the relationships between people, money and identity? Can chips, biometrics and cryptography create Dr. Who-type psychic identities? Will we see the end of money as we know it?
Macro uncertainties dominate the Q4 global business and investment outlook. Will 2013 be better? This week’s guest Paul Christopher is the chief international strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors. He’ll share his forecasts for the world’s leading economies, currencies and commodities—and their potential impact. Europe’s policymakers have taken significant steps to bolster confidence, but its debt crisis is complex. Will the Euro survive? Will the region emerge from recession? China’s economy is stabilizing. Can we expect a return to historical growth rates or is inflation vigilance here to stay? Will China ease up on its quest for commodities? The U.S. recovery has been by political conflict, the looming fiscal cliff (sharp spending cuts plus a tax hike). Will 2013 see stronger growth? Recent events in Syria increase the questions about whether (and when) a new regional conflict. How should we factor all of these uncertainties into our business and investment planning for Q4 and 2013?
With Europe under a cloud, China's economy slowing and conflict in the Middle East, global investors are embracing the US real estate market. What do they know that the US investor doesn’t? How far has the market recovered since 2008? What’s the outlook for 2013? How do you find income-producing properties with attractive risk-adjusted returns? What are the hot sectors? Which metro areas offer the greatest value? Are there special caveats for foreign investors? How about political risk? How will the election outcomes impact the market? What if Congress sends the US over the “fiscal cliff”? What about the impact of potential interest rate changes? Should investors be concerned about fracking? My guest Austin Khan, Chief Investment Officer for Ethika Securities, works closely with Latin American investors and has completed over $2B in RE transactions. An expert in commercial real estate, he’ll tell us how to find off-the-radar opportunities, while minimizing risk.
Who trusts the banks these days? Consumers? Business customers? Merchants? Certainly not regulators or taxpayers. European banks? US banks? The problems keep piling up: money-laundering charges; manipulation of LIBOR and interchange rates; computer system cockups; market initiatives that disadvantage customers, not to mention selling customers investment products the banks actually bet against. Some customers are voting “no confidence” and coming up with new business models that cut out the banks. Then there’s a growing sense that something has to be done about too-big-to-fail. What can the banks do to shore up confidence? Well my guests have some ideas and they know what they're talking about. Roy Stephenson (UK) is consultant to numerous banks; he launched AmEx’s global commercial card business. Ron Mazursky (US) is Managing Director of Market Innovations Inc. and a veteran of Chase and MasterCard. Join these industry experts for a lively and valuable discussion.
Last week we debated which policy approach will produce robust, sustainable economic growth in the US and Europe: austerity policy & trickle-down economics versus “bubble up” economics with broadly shared prosperity. This week former White House advisor Charles Kolb & Nate Loewentheil of Yale return to debate specific policy recommendations from the Lowentheil/(Jacob) Hacker report “Prosperity Economics: Building an Economy for All” and from Kolb’s former organization, the Committee for Economic Development, the nonpartisan, business-led think tank. What policies will produce a healthy private sector ANDe good 21st century jobs? We'll talk sovereign debt, taxes, trade & manufacturing. Public vs private investment, infrastructure & immigration reform Energy vs Eco-services. Obama-care: kill it or expand it? Job security vs employer flexibility? Should the US enact a Tobin Tax? What do campaign finance & voting rights have to do with growth? In other words, it's going to be quite a show.
Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate highlights two antithetical approaches to growth: austerity economics vs shared prosperity. The same argument is raging between German Chancellor Merkel and French President Hollande. Proponents of “Austerity Economics” blame government spending & deficits. Just slash government programs & taxes on the wealthy, get government out of the way & give business free rein, then gains at the top will drive gains for all. Champions “Prosperity Economics” argue the only way achieve sustainable growth is to build an economy where benefits are widely shared, based on three pillars: 1. widespread opportunity, innovation & public/private investment; 2. security for workers, the environment & public finances; 3. democratic values, inclusivity & accountability. Tune in for a rousing debate between Charles Kolb, President of the French-American Foundation & Nate Loewentheil of Yale, co-author of “Prosperity Economics: Building an Economy for All.”
Is the 21st Century going to be an African Century? My guest this week thinks so. Dr. Greg Mills is the director of the Brenthurst Foundation (a South African based-think-tank), Strategy Adviser to the President of Rwanda (2008) and co-author of Africa’s Third Liberation: The New Search for Prosperity and Jobs. Africa is experiencing a surge in growth due in part to increased commodity prices fueled by Chinese demand, & also reflecting improved systems of governance, underpinned by the spread of democracy. At the invitation of African governments, the Foundation tackles not only the ‘what to do' questions, but the more difficult challenge of 'how to do it'. To ensure a new future with both jobs and development, Dr. Mills is urging African governments to develop a growth ideology;” drop their animus to business; and establish the infrastructure necessary for development, So tune in to find out is this the time for your business to get into one or more African markets?
Can we make US energy secure while protecting its natural resources, especially water? “Yes” says third generation Texas oilman, David Vletas, “It’s a matter of best practices, rigorous regulatory enforcement–and common sense leadership.” In this controversial show, my guest who is a geologist specializing in petroleum engineering and developmental well drilling for oil, will talk candidly about fracking, tar sands, the Keystone pipeline, advancements in drilling technology, T Boone Pickens, & alternative energy solutions. We'll discuss why water projects get short shrift, what a model regulatory regime looks like and why the US leadership deficit is more damaging than the budget deficit. In an unexpected twist, this petroleum industry insider will also lay out a roadmap to a less hydrocarbon dependent society. Please join us with your questions and comments.
The most pressing questions in the social media marketing industry are “How do I use it to meet concrete business objectives?” and “How do I measure ROI on my investment?” Well my guest this week, Maya Grinburg of Wildfire Interactive, will share best practices, strategies and examples on how to achieve a positive ROI on your SMM initiatives. She'll talk about the 3-phase model successful marketers use to win at SMM: 1) GROW—how to turn users into fans; 2) ENGAGE—how to get fans engaged with your brand; 3) MONETIZE—how to convert fans into customers and advocates. She'll tell us how to pick the right kind of campaign to achieve different goals like lead generation, scaling communities, or gaining earned media. What users expect and how to create offers of high value for them—and even higher value for your business. The best strategies for B-to-B versus B-to-C. How to engage followers in different parts of the world. And the core things you need to keep in mind—that most of us forget.
It’s an exciting time in the incentive travel industry. Companies that abandoned meetings, events and incentives (ME&I) in the economic meltdown have seen those savings outweighed by eroding customer, channel partner and employee engagement. Now they are coming back, but to a new paradigm. My guest, Jim Ruszala of Maritz Travel, is a recognized thought leader and innovator in incentives, loyalty and engagement. He’ll talk about the essentials of building a better ME&I strategy. Innovations in program design that can boost the returns – tangible and intangible – for your incentive investment. How to measure the performance of that investment. Why companies need to include both stakeholders and attendees (guests) when creating ME&I programs. How including families and adding corporate social responsibility elements can both be powerful motivators without busting the budget. How even small firms can use ME&I to grow. Guidelines for using social and mobile technologies as engagement tools.
On July 1, Mexican voters turned their backs on the pro-business, reformist, Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) and brought the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) back into power. During its 70-year rule the PRI had a reputation for corruption, cronyism and nationalistic/socialistic rhetoric that made Mexico a less than hospitable place for foreign firms. PRI obstruction blocked passage many vital reforms. So does the election of Mr. Enrique Pena Nieto signal a return of the dinosaurs? Or does the president-elect, as he claims, represent PRI's new generation with a commitment to continuing democracy, transparency & modernization? My guest, Guillaume Corpart, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence will talk about what the election results mean for the country’s economic growth & stability going forward. The chances that a PRI led government will enact energy, tax, political or labor reforms? Will the business climate deteriorate? Or is Mexico looking good?
“We are at an inflection point in history,” says this week’s guest Joel Garreau. For the first time technology is not only aimed outward at modifying our environment, but at enhancing our bodies, minds, metabolisms, and progeny. A leading interpreter of social, geographic and psycho-demographic trends, Garreau has the rare ability to anticipate the future. The future he sees is a RADICAL EVOLUTION where the GRIN technologies—Genetics, Robotics, Information technology and Nanotechnology—are “following a curve of exponential change” that will change what it means to be human. When some humans are enhanced and others aren't, what happens to education? Labor? Sports? The social order? Your ability to compete? Your customers? Will we become immortal? Will the technology curve create heaven? Hell? Or will human instinct throw the curve a curve? Joel Garreau advises firms around the globe how to catch the future and make it happen. Tune it to find out what it all means to your Global Reach.
As we go global, we encounter a world of differences when it comes to the environmental, health and safety aspects of business and financial transactions. My guest this week, Jon Schuyler Brooks has been named a super lawyer in environmental law and served twice as Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s International Environmental Law Committee. A partner of the renowned Philips Nizer law firm and co-chair of its environmental practice, he’ll highlight issues that can impact your cross-border business, be it an M&A or a property purchase. What are potential problems inherent in land use, hazardous and solid waste, resource conservation and recovery, product life cycles, transportation and energy? Why is the US leading the world on brownfield remediation & recovery? How can differences between US and EU regimes for clean rooms, chemicals (TSCA & REACH) and occupational health & safety impact even SMEs? How is Eastern Europe recovering from years of environmental degradation?
Why are renewable energy investments yielding profits in Latin America, while they sputter elsewhere? Is LA bypassing fossil fuels? My guest Nate Suppaiah editor of “Alternative Latin Investor” will highlight opportunities the fast growing bio- and wind energy industries hold for foreign firms from exporters to investors (FDI and portfolio). Next alluring prospects in other sectors: education services for the region’s vibrant middle class, mobile commerce/m-payments and the SWAG market (silver, wine, art and gold). We’ll look at why LA’s “hackathons” are great places to mine for technology and talent and examine the Asia-LA connection. But it’s not all smooth sailing. International firms doing business Latin America’s young democracies face complex political and security risks. In Argentina and Venezuela there's a wave neo-nationalization. Will other countries join in? Then forex controls are rearing their ugly heads—again. Join us for a provocative and potential profitable show.
So you’ve established strong brand equity and have a solid share of your home market; now it’s time to expand overseas. Whether you have a company seeking to enter the U.S., or an American firm eyeing Europe, Asia or Latin America, how do you introduce your brand into a new market and a new culture? My guest, Alan Klein, from the Marketing Agency Paris New York, will lay out a roadmap to creating a successful global brand expansion strategy. With examples drawn from work with 50+ clients in over 20 countries, we’ll talk about the essential elements of a successful plan—and the hurdles that could bar your way. How do you determine what brand attributes can be “exported” and which need to be adapted? Should you go it alone? What are common mistakes even experienced companies make? Is success in one country predictive? Why different doesn’t mean less sophisticated. What is the cost of arrogance? Can low cost pay-only-for-results advertising be a game changer?
Every aspiring entrepreneur dreams of attracting a venture capitalist or angel investor like this week’s guest, David Freschman, Managing Principal of Innovation Capital Advisors. David has guided 30+ portfolio firms to investment funding, financial stability, growth, and exit opportunities. An “old school VC with a new school edge,” he’ll share his unique perspective on what an early-stage investor looks for and why the most interesting entrepreneur is one who is “solving a problem that no one else can see.” He'll talk about the opportunities emerging from innovations in the payments industry and from the new technologies evolving around ecommerce. We'll look at the impact social media is having on early-stage companies — especially on how they interact with customers and vendors and how they reach out to drive their emerging businesses. And why, come September, you should think about attending David's exciting venture capital showcase, Early Stage East.
With a middle class estimated at over 300 million, everyone wants to export to China. But how do you crack this notoriously difficult market? Many companies have tried—and failed or at least run into huge and costly problems. Not necessary, says my guest, Casey Xiao-Morris, if companies take the steps to build a strong foundation before entry and avoid 6 common mistakes that can derail your plans. With 21 years of experience in connecting the Chinese and American markets, Casey understands how business works in China. “How you enter the market determines what kind of success you have,” says this China-born, US-educated expert. She will not only talk about how to tap product areas where foreign brands have an advantage—and it’s not just luxury goods. Why the children's market—and the grandparents' market—are hot. And why TV Home Shopping may be the best channel for a new company to establish a presence—if you can figure out which of China’s 70 networks to work with.
It’s no surprise that established global brands are vying for the attention (and disposable income) of the emerging market consumer. With their new rich and burgeoning middle classes (720 mn today/1.8 bn by 2030), these are the world’s hottest markets. But did you know that 21 of the world’s 100 top brands belong to emerging market companies (EMNCs)? Not only are EM brands entering the developed world’s consumer mainstream, but like the developed world firms before them, EMCs are adding to their brand portfolios. And they’re adding upmarket brands—enabling them to play both ends of the value chain. My guest, journalist and author Ian Williams, has reported from 50 countries on international business and branding. We'll talk about the ways global and EM marketers communicate with EM consumers. How social media is changing EM consumer expectations. Why it’s more crucial than even to support your brand. And how these new brand value chains are changing the world in which we all compete.
“The so called global water crisis is really a crisis of water management and water finance,” says this week’s guest, renowned international environmental expert, Albert F. (Al) Appleton. Having worked on water resource management and sustainable development on 6 continents, Al knows how groundwater is mismanaged worldwide. Water is underpriced in all uses—and therefore it’s often wasted. The tradeoffs of water use in agriculture and energy production (as in shale gas fracking) have not been subjected to rigorous cost benefit analyses. Water infrastructure is underfinanced, water management institutions are obsolete and much touted public-private partnerships have not provided a magic bullet. So what are the solutions? Tune in as Al explains the economic benefits of good water management. Why there is a crying need for private- and public-sector managers with entrepreneurial flair, and where investment steams can best be directed to find lost economic opportunities.
“We are at an inflection point in history,” says this week’s guest Joel Garreau. For the first time technology is not only aimed outward at modifying our environment, but at enhancing our bodies, minds, metabolisms, and progeny. A leading interpreter of social, geographic and psycho-demographic trends, Garreau has the rare ability to anticipate the future. The future he sees is a RADICAL EVOLUTION where the GRIN technologies—Genetics, Robotics, Information technology and Nanotechnology—are “following a curve of exponential change” that will change what it means to be human. When some humans are enhanced and others aren't, what happens to education? Labor? Sports? The social order? Your ability to compete? Your customers? Will we become immortal? Will the technology curve create heaven? Hell? Or will human instinct throw the curve a curve? Joel Garreau advises firms around the globe how to catch the future and make it happen. Tune it to find out what it all means to your Global Reach.
Energy versus Freshwater: it's a Catch 22 that will fundamentally change global business. The world economy requires increasing energy supplies; yet tapping them threatens freshwater resources that are dwindling faster than Nature can replenish them. The Keystone Pipeline exemplifies the conundrum. Will it increase US energy security or harm the Ogallala aquifer and the population and industries that depend on it? No matter what says my guest, resource expert Barry Wauldron, “we are going to witness a constricting supply of oil and gas resulting in higher prices, shortages and rationing. The industrial reorganization based on outsourcing will reverse itself as high energy prices erode the advantage of cheap foreign labor.” How do we maintain a decent quality of life? How can business thrive? “The only way is if we learn to conserve on a grand scale.” Just what is realistic in the realms of housing, transportation, food, business? Where do future opportunities lie? Tune in to find out.
This week is all about quality, customer focus, continuous improvement and leadership. When I first met my guest, John West, he was leading Federal Express’s quality improvement process, a program that help FedEx win a dominating share of its market–and the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Since then he has helped numerous businesses and government agencies on nearly every continent to assess organizational and customer needs, and to design, develop and implement improvement solutions. His clients from the Memphis School System, McDonalds and MashreqBank (UAE) to Tata Chemical (India), AB Electrolux (Italy) and Swissair have won excellence awards, customer loyalty and market share. John shares how your firm can become effectively and efficiently responsive to all customer exceptions. He shows how you can develop solutions to increase success in your home market and then build on them to extend your global reach.
Innovation is acknowledged as the key stimulus for competitive and economic advantage. So how do we unleash it within our organizations? From its 2010 start as a movement to inspire Canada’s innovation potential, today One Million Acts of Innovation connects 20,000 passionate technology, academic and business professionals from over 50 countries. Their aim is nothing less than to create sustainable economic strength and a brighter global economic future. My guest, Taimour Zaman, Chief Viral Office of the Access Group and OMAI co-founder shows how to create space for effective dialogues that allow companies to innovate the way they serve customers, compete more meaningfully on the global stage-and even to make a difference to the planet. He’ll be joined by Capgemini’s Deb Baxley showing how they used this process to bring payments professionals from 27 countries together via Cisco’s TelePresence to create real industry breakthroughs–and how you can do the same in your industry.
We are seeing a revolution in retail payments, but would you believe that the greatest innovations are coming out of Turkey, Kenya and South Korea? Explosions in social networking, mobility and video, the advent of the Internet and mobile native’s generation, and changes in regulation are all transforming how the payments industry and international business works. As this wave of change pits banks against retailers against mobile operators against card companies in a global battle for market share and profits, why are some countries founts of innovation, while others lag? My guest, Deborah Baxley, principal with Capgemini Financial Services has some answers that will surprise you. Recognized for her insights on the future of the industry, Deborah will talk about how payments are evolving in different markets – and why. How to create win-win-win payments models, and how you can have input into the way things turn out. Tune in for this show that affects the lifeblood of every business.
How do you attract loyal customers in an era of unprecedented customer power? How do you cope with the ‘new normal’ of today’s marketplace, balancing customers concerns about personal privacy with their demand that all their unique needs be met? My guest Bryan Pearson, President of Canada's LoyaltyOne and author of “The Loyalty Leap: Turning Customer Information Into Customer Intimacy,” will share two decades of frontline experience to give marketers sound strategies for navigating the worlds of customer expectations, privacy and data integrity. An internationally recognized expert in the fields of enterprise loyalty and coalition marketing, Pearson will offer tangible lessons drawn from his work in Brazil, Canada, India and the US on how to successfully manage the greatest asset of any company in the digital age: its customer data in order to create emotionally loyal customers.
In the quest to expand your global reach, few markets are more tantalizing, or more challenging, than China. But for many American and European companies, the competitive environment and culture differ from their home markets in such complex ways that they fail to realize their goals. My guest Marco Chan, founder of AmAsia3, is an expert on what it takes to expand into China. A Hong Kong native and veteran of multiple international assignments, he started up FedEx's operations in China and has helped other companies do the same. He'll talk about what works in China, and what doesn't work - and why. What it takes to build reliable supplier and vendor networks. How to motivate customers and meet their expectations. And most importantly, he’ll talk about how to develop a systematic, culturally aware approach to grow successfully in China.
Mobile commerce is redefining business opportunities and shaping consumer behavior around the world, nowhere more so than in emerging markets. In the established markets, mCommerce is challenging existing models and fueling a plethora of startups in a frantic scramble not to be left behind. In the developing world, the rapid spread of mobile communications is allowing markets to leap frog from paper to robust electronic commerce. Juniper Research estimates that the total value of mobile payments for digital and physical goods, money transfers and NFC (Near Field Communications) transactions will triple over the next four years, enabling new types of payment flows and blurring the lines between physical and online worlds. Join me and my guest, payments expert David True as we look at how payments are changing around the world, and how Commerce is reshaping industries, even entire economic ecosystems – and what that means to your Global Reach.
With its pro-business government, growing economy and a web of free trade agreements, since 2006 Mexico has been a mecca for foreign trade and investment. Under Felipe Calderón and his and his Partido Acción Nacional, Mexico has passed a series of economic and political reforms that have improved both its business climate and its international competitiveness. Come July 1, the country elects a new president and legislature, and my guest Guillaume Corpart, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence–Mexico says business needs to prepare for the possibility of short term disruptions and long term change. July could see a return of Partido Revolucionario Institucional rule. Traditionally less business-friendly, a PRI victory could be pivotal in determining the future of both political and economic reforms. Guillaume will tell us what a PRI victory could mean for business and the economy. And he'll look at business in the line of fire-security risks posed by Mexico's drug cartels.
What will spark the next phase of economic growth? As businesses seek an answer, some are betting on emerging economies. Others say entrepreneurs will be the drivers. Still others think women will be the dominant source of expansion. My guests agree - it's all three: the key to sustainable global economic expansion and social progress is empowering women entrepreneurs in emerging economies. But they co-founded organizations that use very different models to make that happen. By providing micro-loans, healthcare and training to poor women, Lynne Patterson’s Pro Mujer has helped launch over 200,000 small businesses in Latin America. Ralph Schonenbach’s Trestle Group Foundation supports qualified women entrepreneurs by partnering them with established business professionals who help them build the skills, strategies and networks they need to create opportunities and long-term success. Find out how these different routes to entrepreneurship can impact all of us in the global marketplace.
Privacy and information security issues affect businesses and individuals on a national and global basis. This week’s guest, Kirk Nahra of Wiley Rein, is helping shape the policy debate on numerous questions from cybersecurity involving global superpowers and security breaches affecting patients, consumers and employees, to the debate about what privacy rights individuals have against businesses and government. Kirk will highlight the key areas you need to watch this year: Will the U.S. Congress finally act on privacy or security? Will companies be subject to a flood of litigation on security or privacy breaches? Will the international environment change, and how? The trendsetting EU is set to pass a new, tougher law; will other countries to follow suit? Will companies be caught between conflicting EU and U.S. laws? [Hint: think Sarbanes Oxley? What's happening with health care, and why will HIPAA & HITECH affect everyone? What does this all mean for your global reach?
Has anything been more controversial or more consequential then the ongoing battle over US healthcare reform? My guest, Richard Kirsch, spent three years at the epicenter of the fight to pass the Affordable Care Act. He worked inside the Beltway, alongside and sometimes at odds with the Obama administration, and with activists across the US as head of Healthcare for America Now, a grassroots campaign of over 1,000 organizations in 46 states representing 30 million people. His new book, Fighting for Our Health: The Epic Battle to Make Health Care a Right in the United States, describes the tense relationship between progressives and the Administration, as the President and his team pushed for reform and made concessions to the healthcare industry, while trying to squelch any pressure from the left. This issue impacts every firm doing business in the US. Tune in to hear the inside story of what REALLY happened (and how) - and what it means for the future of US policy and politics.
Today we have a double bill: Global trade expert Peter Alois and host Té Revesz discuss how to create winning export strategies and how to start building an insider's network and insider’s knowledge in difficult markets. We zero in on Libya. Post-Kaddafi Libya can be a dangerous place, but opportunities abound way beyond its oil sector. Mapping an approach to Libya can serve as a template for succeeding in many challenging, but potentially rewarding, markets.
Next, a CEO perspective on campaign contributions. Our 1/29 show looked at the shareholder POV. Now Charles Kolb, President of the Committee for Economic Development tells us what his CEO members think. This nonpartisan organization of over 200 business and education leaders dedicated to economic and social policy research has come up with conclusions that will surprise many SuperPAC promoters and may surprise you as well. Be sure to tune in to find out about the very real disconnect between the C-suite and K-Street.
Across the globe, many technology projects never meet management’s expectations – an expensive disappointment. The question is why? According to my guest, executive coach Frank Faeth, while business, operations and technology staffs ostensibly speak the same language they frequently fail to understand. While a technology project might be a technical success, it could be a business failure unless all stakeholders define success in the same way and agree on how it is measured. Frank will talk about ways that all stakeholders – business, operations and technology – can learn to communicate with each other. How Business Executives can make their needs and expectations clear so projects deliver the benefits are looking for. How Technology Providers can anticipate business needs and meet those needs with robust solutions. And how Operations can make sure those solutions don’t disrupt everything else. Tune in for tips and techniques that will help you realize your technology ROI dreams.
The Supreme Court's Jan. 2010 Citizens United (CU) decision allowed unrestricted corporate contributions to political candidates; it fundamentally changed America's electoral process and tilted the playing field for any firm doing business in the US. What does CU mean for corporations? Their shareholders? Is political spending the best ROI or can it damage the brand and the bottom line? Can shareholder democracy protect your investment? What if a firm doesn't want to pay to play? This week's guests are changing the ground rules in post-CU America. Harvard Law Professor John Coates shows how political spending impacts shareholder wealth. Bruce Freed (the Center for Political Accountability) convinces firms to commit to transparency and accountability in political spending. Jeff Merritt shows how public pension fund trustees like the NYC Public Advocate are protecting all shareholders. Whether your firm makes campaign contributions or your competitor does, you need to tune in this week.
The payments industry is undergoing a sea change as smartcard technology and mobile payments transform the global marketplace. In 2012 millions of consumers worldwide will have access to smart cards, NFC-enabled smart phones and mobile wallets. EMV, the Europay/MasterCard/Visa global interoperability chip-card standard for payments is about to sweep the Americas. In Asia, Europe and the Americas, contactless smart cards for the mass transit are migrating beyond the metro. Meanwhile mobile operators are challenging banks issuers by offering their own loyalty cards, coupons, targeted deals. And then there's Apple – not to mention the Cloud. Randy Vanderhoof, Executive Director of the Smart Card Alliance will give us a preview of the organization's upcoming 2012 Payments Summit, tell us how to make sense of these converging trends, and discuss how they can affect your international business.
While Europe is expected to score zero growth in 2012, there are opportunities, especially in affluent Germany; you just have to know how to find them – and how to navigate the very different business cultures. European companies, especially German firms, can be hard to win. But once you’ve established a relationship, says my guest, Tim Brouwer, Managing Director of SVP Deutschland (a Global Reach research partner), they can be among your most faithful customers. The question is how do you create those relationships? Because so many German executives speak fluent English, many US firms underestimate the differences between the business cultures. Tim will show us how what works in the US can be a quick way to end relationships in Europe. He will talk about the perils of micro-management and how to avoid trapdoors in the niche markets that are the heart and soul of German companies. Then Tim will give us tips how to court European customers and win their business.
This week we go hands-on with marketing and market research. With my guest and GlobalReach research partner Geoff Minter, founder of Australia's Minter Group, we'll explore how cultural issues affect the success or failure of any international marketing initiative and how a well crafted market research program can help your company develop successful strategies to build business, identify opportunities, and add value to brands. Geoff, who won 4 national marketing awards for consumer goods strategies, will detail how General Foods won - and lost - a significant share of Australia's coffee market; how Shake-n-Bake could succeed in the US but crumble in the Europe; and why Tang's Australian launch was one of the product’s most successful and profitable worldwide. Then Geoff will tell us what's behind Australia's rapid growth and strong economy, and why this market can be way more important to your company than just “another Shrimp on the Barbie.
What will spark the next phase of economic growth? As businesses seek an answer, some are betting on emerging economies. Others say entrepreneurs will be the drivers. Still others think women will be the dominant source of expansion. My guests agree - it's all three: the key to sustainable global economic expansion and social progress is empowering women entrepreneurs in emerging economies. But they co-founded organizations that use very different models to make that happen. By providing micro-loans, healthcare and training to poor women, Lynne Patterson’s Pro Mujer has helped launch over 200,000 small businesses in Latin America. Ralph Schonenbach’s Trestle Group Foundation supports qualified women entrepreneurs by partnering them with established business professionals who help them build the skills, strategies and networks they need to create opportunities and long-term success. Find out how these different routes to entrepreneurship can impact all of us in the global marketplace.
This week we have a double bill:
John Hlinko, author of the forthcoming book “Share, Retweet, Repeat: Get Your message read and spread,” will talk about how you can hit the “viral trifecta:” 1-Crafting messages that are most spread-worthy; 2-Finding the people most likely to spread them; 3-Using the communications channels most likely to facilitate spreading.
Many of us overlook Central & Eastern Europe (CEE). We shouldn’t. With 400 million consumers and strong human capital, the 20 CEE countries enjoy competitive advantages over the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China). Next door to the EU, CEE countries have lower costs, are modernizing their infrastructure and are upgrading IP protection. Attractive, yes; simple, no. The CEE has many ethnicities, religions and languages. Bureaucratic red tape (and corruption) is legend. Stathis Karaplios, co-founder of the EMBS Group will help us navigate these challenging, but potentially lucrative markets.
Be sure not to miss this show.
This week we look at how China's industrial policies--in particular its support for state-owned industries and forced technology transfer from foreign investors--have impacted the U.S. economy, manufacturers and jobs. Guests include international trade lawyer and lobbyist Roger Schagrin of Schagrin Associates, Thomas M. Conway, International Vice President of the United Steelworkers, and Timothy Brightbill of Wiley Rein who represents the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing.
We will talk about:
-How China's subsidies to its manufacturers hurt not only core U.S. industries such as steel, but the industries that are expected to generate growth and jobs in the future, like green energy.
-Why for 20 years, the U.S. government has done so little to protect American industry-or even to pursue the remedies that are available under its treaties and domestic laws.
-And what Business and Labor can do to get to get the Congress and the Administration to take action.
UK-based payments and customer loyalty guru Roy Stephenson talks about how the payment card firms and banks across the globe are moving away from the lend-centric credit cards and chasing the 1% of big spenders who don't need to borrow. Surprise guest Ron Mazursky calls in to say the rich are one market, but card issuers and the merchants who rely on also them need to find ways to serve the unbanked and to invite us to the January meeting of NYPay to hear how-http://www.linkedin.com/groups/NYPAY-Payments-Group-Innovations-Trends-3178596?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr.
They debate whether the plastic card is doomed. Emerging markets are already going mobile. When will the US and Europe will follow?
We zero in on Roy's latest article Honey I shrank the bank. With banks shedding branches and businesses, how will this affect companies serving markets from Kenya to Kentucky. Then he share tips on winning customer loyalty.
Tune in to find out what all this means for YOUR international business.
Economic and political stability have come to Latin America, igniting a new wave of foreign investment.-and raising the competitive stakes. Healthy growth and a largely business-friendly environment make these markets highly attractive, especially in the face of stagnant US and European economies. What company wouldn't want to get into the game? But while the old risks—political turmoil, hyperinflation and devaluation—have faded, as the allure of Latin America grows, so do the competitive stakes. As our guest, John Price of Americas Market Intelligence says competition in Latin America does not always happen on a level playing field. Local firms have advantages that help them under-price or out-maneuver foreign competitors, even those with a long history of operating in the region. This show will introduce you to Global Reach; discuss the competitive risks facing business in emerging Latin American markets and offer suggestions to help your company compete.