Featured Content

January 20, 2023

Optimism Takes Center Stage at Davos

January 17, 2023

Why Financial Institutions Are Key to Achieving Net-Zero Goals

January 17, 2023

High Inflation Curbs Global Trade

BQ Prime

Southeast Asia’s Promising Future

In conversation with BQ Prime at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, BCG’s Neeraj Aggarwal describes how Southeast Asian nations have the opportunity to grow amongst global economies as the world shifts geopolitically. To do so, however, they must also grapple with fundamental issues like the ease of doing business and depth of talent. Overall, he says, trade flows, capital flows, and talent flows are all in Southeast Asia’s favor.

The Wall Street Journal

Amidst Recession Fears, CFOs Slow Capital Spending

Commenting in The Wall Street Journal, BCG’s Hardik Sheth describes the shift from post-pandemic increases in capital spending to a current slowdown as CFOs grapple with the uncertainty of inflation and high interest rates. Facing weaker customer demand and a potential recession, many companies are being careful with their capital expenditure (capex) investments and waiting until the second half of the year to be more certain of impending macroeconomic factors and risks, notes Sheth.

Business Day

Heat on Banks to Reimagine Customer Experience amid Digital Revolution

Writing for Business Day, BCG’s Tijsbert Creemers explains how retail banking in South Africa is becoming increasingly competitive as digital players disrupt traditional business models. Referencing a BCG study, he says that 80% of South Africans want to conduct their banking digitally. As a result, retail banks will need to rethink and modernize their approach and systems to meet customers’ evolving demands and expectations.

Gulf News

Energy Networks Can Do a Better Job at “Vegetation Management” – and by Cutting Down Fewer Trees

Writing in Gulf News, BCG’s Ferdinand Varga asserts that energy networks can optimize their vegetation management systems by leveraging advanced analytics and data to reduce costs and risks, and improve employee performance. Varga encourages energy networks to adopt a “bionic approach” that will help companies make more informed decisions with regulators, customers, and employees.

Fortune

How Female-Founded Businesses Can Overcome Shifting Investor Preferences

In Fortune, BCG’s Kedra Newsom Reeves explains how recessionary concerns are impacting investments in female-founded consumer goods companies. As venture capital investors turn towards tech and B2B startups, she says that female founders must develop business integration strategies and supplier diversity programs to aid their businesses. Hope is not lost, however, according to Newsom Reeves: “What gives female founders an upper hand is that they bring unique perspectives and lived experiences in serving historically underserved markets.”

Fortune

Why Great Managers Are the Best Answer to the Labor Shortage

Writing in Fortune, BCG’s Julia Dhar, Deborah Lovich, Nick South, and Sebastian Ullrich assert that the most effective strategy for companies seeking to retain key talent is to invest in making great managers. A BCG survey of nearly 5,000 “deskless workers” whose jobs require their physical presence found that workers who were dissatisfied with their managers were 50% more likely to feel burned out, three times more likely not to recommend their employer as a place to work, and twice as likely to leave their job within a year. Based on the survey results, the authors explain how companies can develop day-to-day managers who help attract and retain essential talent.

Fox Business

The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity in Climate Technology

BCG’s Global Chair, Rich Lesser, joins Fox Business to discuss investing in climate tech and building long-term energy security and resilience. Referencing a BCG study, he outlines six technologies that have the potential to play a major role in the energy transition and which alone represent a $9 trillion to $10 trillion domestic market opportunity over the next three decades. Lesser also shares his perspective on rising inflation and the potential recession, commenting, “For business leaders in this environment, even if you’re optimistic about the economy, the need to be resilient and agile as a company could not be higher right now.”

Live Mint

Sustainability Now Seen as a Value Driver for Private Equity

In Live Mint, BCG’s Benjamin Entraygues and Kanchan Samtani discuss private equity’s shift towards viewing climate and sustainability as value drivers rather than just compliance and reporting requirements. They explain that discussions between general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) around the energy transition and climate and sustainability, whether they’re about “grey-to-green” transitioning or sustainability as an advantage, have accelerated significantly over the past two to three years. Entraygues and Samtani assert that private capital has the potential to be “a powerhouse” in the transition to net zero and positively impact the climate.

Forbes

ChatGPT: Let the Generative AI Revolution Begin

In his first column for Forbes, Sylvain Duranton, global leader of BCG X, weighs the benefits and risks of generative AI, such as content generator sensation, ChatGPT, on businesses. While this emerging technology can optimize an organization’s processes, generative AI also raises some important ethical questions. Duranton asserts that generative AI will cause a profound disruption to industries and may ultimately aid in solving some of the most complex problems facing the world today.

Fortune

Why Finance Functions Need More Women Leaders

In Fortune, BCG’s Juliet Grabowski and Anna Oberauer assert that addressing gender inequality in the finance function is imperative not only to promote equity—but also to boost corporate growth, returns, and market valuations. According to a recent BCG analysis of the top 150 public and private companies in the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, only 13% have a woman chief financial officer. Based on BCG’s study, Grabowski and Oberauer outline how to advance more women into financial leadership roles in 2023.

The Economic Times

India Poised for Significant Growth

In an interview with The Economic Times, BCG’s CEO Christoph Schweizer explains why India’s economy seems to be bucking the global trend toward recession. He says that although India is very connected to the global economy, it has also become “an independent powerhouse” due to global economic shifts and strong local policy support. While the interconnectedness of the global economy means that no place in the world is immune to economic shocks and recessions, Schweizer outlines why India is well positioned for growth in the coming years.

Forbes

Building Retail Resilience in a Recession

Commenting in Forbes, BCG’s Tiffany Yeh outlines the keys to retail success in the face of economic headwinds and waning consumer sentiment. Based on BCG research from previous periods of financial decline, Yeh identifies a series of structural advantages that have historically contributed to retail resilience: leaning into the customer proposition, managing product costs, investing in company infrastructure, and leveraging top talent. With a recession looming, she urges retailers to be proactive: “By acting now, retailers will set themselves up for success not just next year, but for years to come.”

Fortune

Will the US and Europe Slide into Recession in 2023?

Writing in Fortune, BCG’s Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak and Paul Swartz discuss how companies can plan for 2023 amid rising global uncertainty. The authors explain that while economic outlooks have historically been used to guide company strategy heading into the new year, recent projections have been quickly dismantled by external shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. With the US and Europe each facing a slew of unique challenges, experts are struggling to predict exactly which risks will materialize in 2023. Carlsson-Szlezak and Swartz thus advise leaders to create nuanced plans that account for a range of potential shocks.

Yahoo! Finance Live

Companies Redefine Resilience Amid an Economic Downturn

In an interview for Yahoo! Finance Live, BCG’s Global Chair Rich Lesser explores the many ways that companies can bolster resilience ahead of a potential recession. Several companies, particularly those in the tech industry, have attempted to optimize costs through layoffs, but Lesser encourages leaders to weather the economic storm with more sustainable, lasting solutions. While resilience in past recessions was primarily associated with cost-cutting, he asserts that resilience in future recessions will also be about digitization, analytical capabilities, sustainability, and adaptability in the face of uncertainty.

The Times of India

Betting Big on Tech

In The Times of India, BCG’s Rajiv Gupta spotlights 12 burgeoning technologies that appear to be nearing inflection points where they could disrupt the market, based on recent analysis from BCG and NASSCOM. When today’s leading digital technologies were first taking off in the period between 2012 and 2016, Gupta says that India’s tech companies were caught behind the curve. Now, going into 2023, Indian firms have regained momentum and are eager to capitalize on the next big development. He thus encourages Indian companies to keep their finger on the pulse of the industry and implement new disruptive technologies as they emerge.

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