The panel discussion on ‘The Great Rewiring: How AI, Geopolitics and Demographic Shifts Are Redrawing the Map of Global Business‘ was moderated by columnist and author Pranjal Sharma.
Globalisation is not over, but the “logic” of globalisation has changed, said IMD president David Bach, emphasising that the choices around which countries invest in now directly overlap with the technology bets and the energy strategy.
“The choices companies make have to be extremely intentional,” said Manny Maceda, chair, Bain & Co. Geopolitics is a “big’ part of the equation for companies for all kinds of strategies, he said.
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“We have to be a lot sharper about geography, politics, technology, regulation, energy, culture, talent than before. Not to whine about it, it’s a harder job than it used to be,” he added.
Bach said for much of the post-Cold War era, globalisation was about efficiency and scale, sourcing more cheaply and adding scale to distribution. Today, it is much more about security and reliability.”And this is happening amid an enormous technological revolution, which I believe we are only at the beginning of, and a once-in-a-century energy transition that is impacting India, China and the whole world as we move towards electrification,” he added.
While geopolitical uncertainties and active conflicts have a considerable bearing on global businesses, and especially sectors like hospitality, a “foundational shift” in the way people invest on travel and experiences post the pandemic has helped companies in the sector tide over challenges, said Anthony Capuano, president and CEO, Marriott International. “Pre-pandemic you saw the youngest consumers already prioritizing travel and experiences over consumption of hard goods,” he said.
“Post pandemic when you look at the credit card data, the pandemic acted as an accelerator to that trend and it spread across every demographic and it’s that prioritization of investments in travel and experiences that’s really driving the sort of performance even in the face of very obvious headwinds,” he said.
The business leaders referred to India as a “tremendous” opportunity and the “next big growth” engine amid geopolitical uncertainties.
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India has all that’s needed to become a major global technology and innovation hub, said General Atomics Global Corporation CEO Vivek Lall.
“All the building blocks: the talent, the ability to go from science to engineering to economics, and increasingly sophisticated ecosystems are present here. You can see this in the number of global delivery centres and R&D centres that have been established here,” said Lall. “Beyond manufacturing, the next step, at least in aerospace and defence, is going to be co-development, R&D and innovation. If you look at the global map, we don’t see another country that has all the ingredients that India has to elevate not only the ambitions of Indian companies but also global technology ecosystems.”
Maceda said India is the place to be for anyone who wants to participate and is looking for growth, while Bach said when it comes to AI, India needs to determine where it wants to play in the emerging AI stack: from energy and semiconductors to infrastructure, foundation models and applications.
India will quickly become Marriott’s third-largest market, and the demographic advantages that India offers are “compelling,” said Capuano.
“The pipeline will double our size in no time. By the end of next year, we expect to be in 100 cities across India. India will therefore be a big part of our future,” he added.
Leaders stressed the importance of talent and human judgement despite all the progress made in AI.
“I think we are still in the infancy of what AI can do. AI by itself will not do much unless human judgment remains in the loop. That combination of AI and human judgment will ultimately drive autonomy,” said Maceda.
Lall said there is tremendous interest in critical and emerging technologies, and the future is certainly being shaped by technological revolutions across almost every sector.
“However, what is most important is talent and the ability to attract and retain it,” he said. “Today’s teams are increasingly multigenerational. It is almost an inverted pyramid, where organisations are working for the younger generation and ensuring that their aspirations and needs are addressed.”