Bunkers, data and all the big stuff

“WE EVEN hold these meetings in a windowless room – makes it feel more like a wartime bunker.”

I think this particular regional head of government relations was joking about the meeting space for her company’s risk committee, but after a 2022 of actual conflict in central Europe having real implications for corporate strategy, and much (off the mark) talk of possible clashes in the Taiwan Strait blowing up regional supply chains, it’s unsurprising that some executives in their darker moments feel like they are on a war footing. After all, they can no longer just fret about a possible truck driver strike in Bangkok or an off-piste regulator in Jakarta; boards, CEOs, risk committees, strategy teams all now must take in the “big stuff”.

You know what that is: the global economic slowdown that’s going to define our 2023; the US-China decoupling that will motor on for years to come; the inevitable North Korean nuclear test just when you’ve got over your Taiwan Strait angst; and yes, sadly, fighting in central Europe that has yet to reach its high-water mark.