The New Geography of Innovation with Mehran Gul

About this episode

Mehran Gul discusses the dynamics of global innovation ecosystems and the competition between the US and China in technology.

In The New Geography of Innovation: The Global Contest for Breakthrough Technologies , Mehran Gul examines how innovation works in different countries around the globe—diving deep into the ecosystems that produce great technology companies. Gul is a writer and leading technology thinker, having served as the Lead for the Digital Transformation of Industries at the World Economic Forum. His book, which was nominated as a Financial Times best business book of 2025, he discusses why the United States remains at the world’s technological frontier, with only China being a true challenger. In his conversation with Nikolaus Lang, Global Leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, he talks about how innovation ecosystems are converging, the role of statecraft in fostering innovation ecosystems, and the main forces that will shift the global innovation landscape in the coming decade. Key topics discussed: 01:22 | Attributes of successful innovation ecosystems 06:57 | US vs. China talent pool 10:26 | What China gets right about innovation 13:20 | Why Europe lags behind on innovation 18:54 | The role of intentional statecraft in fostering innovation 23:31 | The convergence of innovation…

People in this episode

Host: Nikolaus Lang

Guest: Mehran Gul

Topics covered

• innovation
• technology
• global competition
• ecosystems
• statecraft

Keywords

• innovation ecosystems
• US vs. China
• European innovation
• statecraft
• global innovation landscape

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The New Geography of Innovation

Books & works: The New Geography of Innovation, The New Geography of Innovation: The Global Contest for Breakthrough Technologies

Places: the United States, China, US, Europe

More episodes of Thinkers & Ideas

• AI Needs You with Verity Harding · June 9, 2026 · 38 min
• Incorruptible with Eric Ries · May 26, 2026 · 36 min
• Inside the Box with David Epstein · May 13, 2026 · 30 min
• Genius at Scale with Linda A. Hill · April 28, 2026 · 35 min
• Design Love In, with Marcus Buckingham · April 14, 2026 · 36 min
• BHI Presents: Winning the Rest of the 20s · March 31, 2026 · 27 min