We are in the midst of two concurrent and unprecedented business events. The current economic cycle is the longest in U.S. history, at over ten years, and we are enjoying the longest bull market in history that has seen the S&P 500 rise from 676 in March of 2009 to…
The fall of Bolivia’s Evo Morales has strongly homegrown causes but shares common threads with recent upheaval in the region. Overlapping issues behind protests include inequality, lack of political renewal, and unmet expectations. The role of the military fits traditional patterns but it is too early to say what its…
On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to issue proposed rules governing the submission and resubmission of shareholder proposals for inclusion in company proxy statements and establishing new regulations for proxy advisory firms. The proposed rules include a wish list of changes long…
The 21st century will be dominated by four major trends (and myriad sub and derivative trends) that corporate decision-makers and investors will have to successfully navigate in order to thrive and perhaps survive. The rise of China and the nature of its relations with the United States; climate change; the…
A few months, ago a middle-aged voter in rural Wales told me why he had voted to leave the European Union in the referendum in 2016. “I found out,” he said solemnly, “that they were going to abolish the Queen.” While there were many misconceptions on both sides of the…
Teneo’s Kevin Kajiwara sits down with Teneo Senior Advisor and current Chairman and CEO of VEON, Ursula Burns and Teneo Senior Advisor and current Chairman of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Pat Russo, to discuss life in the C-Suite, diversity, and the changing role of boards within a company. Kevin Kajiwara (KK): The…
Stepping outside of Teneo headquarters in Midtown, Manhattan, we are presented with constant reminders of the very real security risk around us. Police and fire sirens scream by regularly, while helicopters pepper the skyline during rush hour or major city-wide events. NYPD officers in fatigues armed with machine guns patrol…
For nearly five decades, CEOs viewed their primary responsibility as delivering shareholder returns, and subsequently acted in service of that goal. That has changed. Over the past several years, societal expectations of corporations have evolved significantly, and with it, the role of the CEO. Historically, returns to shareholders and corporate…
A company’s “ESG performance” as an investment factor in stock and fixed income selection has been evolving rapidly over the last five years. Considering a company’s ESG performance is now mainstream for European funds and catching on rapidly in the U.S. and elsewhere, companies that do not proactively address this…
The purpose of corporations, the structure of their boards and the nature of their directors are no longer just abstractions. Now, corporations must seek to diversify the homogenous nature of directors, including their historically similar backgrounds, education and networks. Also, to be sought are broader board actions that go beyond…
The traditional media of newspapers, magazines and broadcast stations is being transformed by new channels of communication and new forms of reporting, driven by technologies that are now taking us far beyond the transformations of the internet era. In short, the media is being democratized and, as a result, CEOs…
Despite the popular notion that the outlook for trade negotiations between the United States and China is gloomy, there may be room for cautious optimism that a positive outcome benefitting multinational companies can ultimately be achieved. Companies and executives evaluating their business strategies in China should focus on staying the…
The rise of China is upsetting the longstanding geopolitical equilibrium in East Asia. The U.S. has dominated the region militarily since World War II, while U.S. economic and diplomatic clout has allowed it to exert regional influence with carrots as well as sticks. Today, the U.S.’ position in Asia faces…
Operating under Western economic sanctions for over five years, Russia finds itself in a unique position heading into 2020. Through a combination of careful fiscal management and coordinated energy policies, Russia has leveraged its status as one of the world’s leading oil and gas producers to achieve a number of…