Geostrategy for Business Leaders: Navigating the Russia-Ukraine War in a Fragmented Global Economy

Hannes Meissner as Speaker at Workshop with Managers, Experts, and Researchers at University of Zurich

How can companies in Ukraine track geopolitical risks and navigate them? This question was explored in an invitation-only workshop, jointly organized by the European Business Association (EBA) and the University of Zurich. The event brought together business leaders operating in the region with experts and researchers working on the topic for an action-oriented workshop on how to navigate geopolitical risks related to the war in Ukraine. In their invitation to the workshop, the University of Zurich and EBA highlighted that the war in Ukraine has accelerated deglobalization and the move toward a multipolar economy beyond the old West-East divide. Companies operating in the region must stay highly aware of political developments. Markets are shaped by politics – through supply chain regulations, trade barriers, and conflicts. In his speech, Hannes Meissner introduced human intelligence (HUMINT) and open-source (OSINT) methods of how to investigate and analyse geopolitical risks. He furthermore addressed latest geopolitical risk management strategies, inter alia cuttinge-edge trade compliance approaches, scenario-analysis, and geopolitial risk impact assessment models. Concering Ukriane, he drew conclusion that companies need a realistic picture of chances and geopolitical risks that can be managed though. Although a peace-agreement is unlikely and state capture remains a major risk, the country offers promising opportunties for European enterprises.