World politics
fromFast Company
12 hours agoWe've entered a new era of risk for the modern CEO
Most CEOs are unprepared for crises like Taiwan Strait tensions due to a narrow focus on geoeconomic risks.
"This is a system shock," says Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group. "You have a material energy supply disruption and a structural shift toward fragmentation."
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The January 3rd Operation Absolute Resolve ousted Venezuelan Dictator Nicholas Maduro, marking a significant shift in US policy towards countering adversarial influence in the western hemisphere.
Global-E posted $220.8 million in revenue, up 25.5% year-over-year, with gross margins at 45.1%. The company generated $13.2 million in net income, but profit margin remained razor-thin at 0.83%. Operating margin reached 7.7%, showing the business model works operationally, but capital efficiency remains a problem. Return on equity sits at just 0.81%, meaning the company barely generates returns on deployed capital. That's the core issue Wall Street keeps circling back to.
Multinational firms are under rising pressure-from investors, regulators, and employees-to demonstrate positive societal impact in the places where they do business. With ESG-focused institutional investments projected to reach nearly $34 trillion this year and roughly 90% of large U.S. companies now disclosing ESG reports, these pressures are now a central part of corporate strategy.
Across history, the relocation of capital cities has often been associated with moments of political rupture, regime change, or symbolic nation-building. From Brasília to Islamabad, new capitals were frequently conceived as instruments of centralized power, territorial control, or ideological projection. In recent decades, however, a different set of drivers has begun to shape these decisions. Rather than security or representation alone, contemporary capital relocations are increasingly tied to structural pressures such as demographic concentration, infrastructural saturation, environmental risk, and long-term resource management.
Companies enter new markets with momentum. Press coverage looks promising. Campaigns launch on schedule. Local teams are hired. Early dashboards suggest traction. Then progress slows. Customer interest plateaus. Partnerships take longer than expected. Internally, the conversation almost always turns to execution. Messaging must not be clear enough. The market probably needs more education. What I have learned is that this conclusion is usually wrong. What looks like market resistance is more often a signal that the brand is communicating from the wrong position.
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