Board Agenda: The Macro Memo

In this special edition of The Macro Memo, we examine the seismic shifts in global trade policy following dramatic US tariff announcements. With duties briefly imposed on over 90 countries—before being swiftly revised to a flat 10% and a steep 145% on China—boards and executive teams now face extraordinary volatility in trade conditions and economic indicators. Host Gavin Hinks is joined by economist George Lagarias and business strategist Mark Kennedy to dissect what this all means for busin...

The EU faces little choice but to act on recommendations from a high level report that it needs to invest €750m to €800m a year to head off economic “decline” in the trading bloc, according to a leading economist. George Lagarias, the chief economist at professional services firm Forvis Mazars, says there will be difficulties negotiating the investment funds as a “common” pot of borrowing, particularly against claims that it could threaten the national sovereignty of EU member states. But, L...

This episode of the Macro Memo podcast explores the impact of elections on business and economics, focusing on the European elections, the French election, and the upcoming UK general election. Business leaders expect a “volatile” time as they manage the fall out from high inflation during a time of political uncertainty as elections play out in the UK, the US and in Europe. The warning came from Mark Kennedy, a partner at Forvis Mazars, on Board Agenda’s Macro Memo podcast. He w...

The global economic landscape appears to be going through a form of fragmentation. There are growing tensions between the US and China over “dumping” of industrial products; the German economy is in “troubled waters”; France has revised down its growth; and the UK has sunk into recession (though could emerge quickly). Yet the largest developing world economies continue to do grow at a clip. What’s driving the differential performance? And how should business respond? These are among the big q...

COP 28 is underway in Dubai but what responsibility do business leaders have for beating climate change? How will trade benefit from from US and European efforts to improve relations with China? And can companies in the EU, and elsewhere, expect an interest rate cut for Christmas? Mark Kennedy, partner and member of Mazar’s group executive board, alongside George Lagarias, Mazars’ chief economist, offer their thoughts on global trends to Board Agenda’s Gavin Hinks in this edition of Ma...

What’s next for boards in the UK pharma and life sciences industry? Navigating the challenges of innovation, productivity and ESG in a post Covid world. The life science industry is in a dynamic phase of transformation which has been rapidly accelerated by the pandemic, with more workforce agility, shortening development and review times, increased speed to market, and greater efficiencies. In response to the pandemic, life sciences companies mobilized impressively to meet the needs of...

Consumer retail firms are witnessing upheaval. Aside from uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the retail sector is confronted with the climate change agenda, supply chain realignment, cybercrime and data security. It is a dynamic and fast-moving set of issues which could spell the end of the road for some retailers if not managed correctly. Some have already had to close their doors. To explore these issues, Board Agenda has convened a panel of experts for a round table discussion abo...

As UK government proposals increase responsibilities for directors, our latest podcast discusses the impact on the oversight of risk management by the board, and specifically on the issue of internal controls and the payment of dividends. Experts from Mazars the global auditing and accountancy firm, explain the implications of the reforms in discussion with Gavin Hinks, the editor of Board Agenda. The proposals come as part of a host of measures set out in a government wh...

In this podcast episode of Board Agenda we focus on the issue of ethics in the workplace and discuss the findings of a new global survey which finds that pressure on employees to compromise standards has increased significantly during the pandemic, in the US and in 10 other countries around the world, including the UK. The research is from the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, and we discuss the findings with chief executive Patricia Harned. Many firms have been vocal abou...

The world faces a global shortage of technology skills, according to experts, and in our latest interview Deanna Mulligan, former chief executive of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, reveals how the crisis might be addressed. Mulligan speaks about her new book, Hire Purpose: How Smart Companies Can Close the Skills Gap, which spells out how a corporate purpose focused on lifelong learning in the workplace can address the shortage. She says we have learned much from the pandemi...

Dame Alison Carnwath discusses the role of the non-executive director, future fit boards & the skillsets now needed by board members to meet the demands of a rapidly transforming business environment. Dame Alison is presently an independent director for Zurich Insurance Group AG, BASF AG and PACCAR, and a Non-executive Director of BP. She is also a Senior Advisor to Evercore Partners, and Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board at Livingbridge. Between 2008 and 2018 she w...

In this episode of Board Agenda, we interview John Allan, the Chairman of Tesco & one of the UK’s foremost corporate leaders to gain his insights about the role of non-executive directors, their responsibilities and priorities at time when their role on the board has arguably never been more critical, during a period of great uncertainty for business community & the economy of the UK. We discuss the key issues that boards should focus on in the current business environment, th...