BCG in the News

Forbes

The CEO Agenda for 2024

In Forbes, BCG’s Paul Goydan explains why executives around the world are cautiously optimistic about their ability to weather macroeconomic shifts in 2024. BCG research reports that 63% of C-suite executives believe that their companies are prepared to face global shocks. This year, business leaders are prioritizing cost management initiatives in their manufacturing and supply chains. Goydan says today’s CEOs are better prepared for disruption because they expect it and trust that they can adjust to it.

Fortune

Workplace Disability Inclusion Must Extend to Everyone

In Fortune, BCG’s Hillary Wool explains that providing employee-centric programs, mentorships, and accommodations improves the workplace for those with disabilities. BCG research finds that 27% of white men and 33% of white women with disabilities in the US report experiencing discrimination and harassment at work, compared to 41% of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) men and 39% of BIPOC women with disabilities. “Business leaders cannot afford to be losing out on the diversity of talent that’s going to be needed to drive towards the future [and] towards the ambitious visions that leaders have,” Wool says.

Forbes

Hybrid Work Can’t Stop Mentorship. Here’s Why

In her column for Forbes, BCG’s Deborah Lovich gives advice on how to form meaningful mentorships in a hybrid work environment. Lovich emphasizes that hybrid is not synonymous with fully remote, and that it is more than possible to build strong mentor-mentee relationships even if in-person interaction is infrequent. “The bonds you create through multi-channel touch points will likely last a lifetime—regardless of where your career paths take you,” Lovich asserts.

CNBC Africa

Green Mining Opportunities for African Countries

On CNBC Africa, BCG’s Rudi van Blerk speaks about the rise of foreign investment in Africa’s green mining opportunities. Blerk explains that utilizing clean energy to explore the minerals Africa has to offer is critical to future partnerships. “Buyers of minerals are demanding that cleaner energy is being used to produce these minerals,” Blerk says. He hopes that what were previously vague discussions between key stakeholders will become concrete partnerships and projects coming out of the Africa Mining Indaba conference held earlier this month in South Africa.

Fortune

How Your Company Could Be Tomorrow’s Surprise GenAI Leader

In Fortune, François Candelon, Philip Evans, Leonid Zhukov, and David Zuluaga Martínez write that the B2B GenAI industry will move towards smaller and more cost-efficient models with specific business purposes rather than large generalist models. BCG research reports that 85% of business leaders plan to increase spending on AI and GenAI in 2024, but cost of use may delay widespread adoption. High-performing specialist models can offer better data in their specific domain at lower costs. “These smaller models can, collectively, decouple performance from the cost of inference, unleashing GenAI adoption at scale,” the authors write.

Financial Times

High Construction Costs Take a Toll on the UK

In the Financial Times, BCG’s Raoul Ruparel explains why the UK faces higher infrastructure construction costs than its European peers. Research from BCG’s Centre for Growth finds that UK projects, including even basic flat road construction, are significantly more expensive than in France, Germany, and Spain. Ruparel identifies decades of under-investment and increasing demand for larger and more complex infrastructure projects as drivers behind high costs. “The focus needs to be on how we can improve right across every stage of delivery of large infrastructure projects. Pushing more money into the pipeline alone won’t address much of the root causes,” Ruparel says.

Financial Times

Luxury Brands Expand to New Cities

In the Financial Times, BCG’s Sarah Willersdorf explains why luxury brands are expanding into so-called second- and third-tier cities. While some attribute this trend to pandemic-induced spending shifts, she asserts that it was well under way prior to 2020—especially in India and China. Due to the rising affluence of certain cities in those markets, as well as social media’s influence, luxury brands have found homes in new spending hubs. These cities “have played a crucial role in driving the luxury market’s growth, contributing significantly to the sales volume of luxury brands,” notes Willersdorff.

The Wall Street Journal

Sustainability Was Top of Mind at Davos

In The Wall Street Journal, BCG’s Global Chair Rich Lesser explains why climate conversations during the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos focused on how to be a catalyst for systemic change. Lesser encourages executives to make decarbonization easier for customers, collaborate across industries to advance key technologies, and work productively with governments to be a bold yet pragmatic partner.

Fortune

Rapid—Yet Responsible—Deployment of Generative AI

In Fortune, BCG’s Vladimir Lukić explains that companies want to invest in AI but are unsure of where to begin and how to do so responsibly. A BCG report found that 90% of CEOs are either waiting for GenAI to move beyond the hype currently surrounding it, or are experimenting with it in small ways. Lukić highlights why CEOs need to establish a GenAI game plan now: “The gap in efficiencies and customer experiences that early adopters will create will be significant and hard to overcome or to catch up with.”

CNBC-TV18

Reasons for Optimism in 2024

On CNBC-TV18, BCG’s Neeraj Aggarwal shares that geopolitics was a big topic of conversation at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. Aggarwal believes that the recasting of geopolitical relationships will allow certain countries to grow stronger and seize new opportunities. He adds that while the global growth rate is forecast to be just 3%, many emerging markets like India expect rates closer to 7%. “I feel the world is carrying more momentum into 2024 than I felt they were carrying into 2023,” Aggarwal says.

CNBC

Upskilling Talent Is Necessary to Scale Generative AI

On CNBC, BCG’s CEO Christoph Schweizer explains that many CEOs attending this year’s annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, are focused on the future of AI. A new BCG survey of more than 1,400 C-suite executives found that 54% expect AI and generative AI (GenAI) to deliver cost savings in 2024, yet 66% of leaders are dissatisfied with their progress. “This is not primarily a tech question; it’s really a people question,” Schweizer asserts. “If you get your workforce to embrace the technology and work hand-in-hand with it, I think you’re on a path to great return on investment.”

Reuters

A New Year’s Resolution for Banks

Reuters highlights a BCG study that explains how banks can unlock at least $7 trillion in value over the next five years. While the study notes that banks are unlikely to return to the profitability levels that existed prior to the global financial crisis, they can roughly double their current valuations by pursuing growth and improving their price-to-book ratios. This can be achieved by embracing radical change rather than incremental improvements.