WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.260 --> 00:00:09.330 Siemens, I understand, was one of the pioneers 2 00:00:09.330 --> 00:00:11.280 in establishing this function, Christian. 3 00:00:11.280 --> 00:00:13.560 Can you tell us maybe a bit more about the importance 4 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:15.660 of having this function within the company? 5 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:17.370 I mean, when we started the department, 6 00:00:17.370 --> 00:00:21.420 there were first discussions around mid 2019 7 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:23.730 and then later implementing the department in 2020 8 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:26.790 was a period that we thought that was really important 9 00:00:26.790 --> 00:00:28.500 to understand a little bit more holistically 10 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:29.610 what was happening in the world. 11 00:00:29.610 --> 00:00:33.810 So geopolitical trends, developments had an important 12 00:00:33.810 --> 00:00:37.320 impact in companies like ours, which is present 13 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:40.080 in over 190 countries. 14 00:00:40.080 --> 00:00:42.330 So this is really important on one angle about 15 00:00:42.330 --> 00:00:43.830 our presence and footprint globally, 16 00:00:43.830 --> 00:00:45.270 and the second is about the technology 17 00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:47.430 that we are engaging with. 18 00:00:47.430 --> 00:00:50.190 And since then, I think the pandemic accelerated 19 00:00:50.190 --> 00:00:53.340 a lot of challenges and of course to overcome 20 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:56.820 those challenges and also the recovery plans 21 00:00:56.820 --> 00:00:58.380 that took place afterwards. 22 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:00.420 But of course, we're entering a phase in which countries 23 00:01:00.420 --> 00:01:03.810 are more focused a lot on their domestic resilience, 24 00:01:03.810 --> 00:01:07.140 but also still in areas of cooperation 25 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:08.340 amongst on international release, 26 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:10.752 but a lot of intensification competition 27 00:01:10.752 --> 00:01:13.230 or strategic competition in many cases 28 00:01:13.230 --> 00:01:16.320 after recent developments and conflicts and war. 29 00:01:16.320 --> 00:01:18.330 So I think this is an important element for companies 30 00:01:18.330 --> 00:01:21.000 to understand the changes have the globalization, 31 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:24.900 the last 30 years reached a level, and now we're seeing 32 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:26.520 a lot of what we call "glocalization." 33 00:01:26.520 --> 00:01:30.780 So it's a mix of the global developments that we have 34 00:01:30.780 --> 00:01:33.000 in the past, but also with a stronger footprint 35 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:34.800 and local presence as well. 36 00:01:34.800 --> 00:01:37.710 And this is important because this creates 37 00:01:37.710 --> 00:01:40.590 also opportunities, not just about the risks. 38 00:01:40.590 --> 00:01:43.920 And companies can have a... By understanding 39 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:47.730 and translating this can really early anticipate 40 00:01:47.730 --> 00:01:51.660 the challenges that may come from different policies, 41 00:01:51.660 --> 00:01:53.250 but also opportunities. 42 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:54.750 If you can, tell us a little bit more about 43 00:01:54.750 --> 00:01:57.840 how do you actually structure this geopolitical radar 44 00:01:57.840 --> 00:01:58.890 within the company. 45 00:01:58.890 --> 00:02:01.320 I understand that you, of course, look at companies 46 00:02:01.320 --> 00:02:03.750 as governments, but you also look, for example, 47 00:02:03.750 --> 00:02:07.200 at international organizations and maybe others. 48 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:11.280 The department itself, we try to structure in a couple, 49 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:14.730 let's say, topics. One, it's of course, the geopolitical 50 00:02:14.730 --> 00:02:18.330 advisory really to understand from what are the trends, 51 00:02:18.330 --> 00:02:20.370 what are the domestic and foreign policy, 52 00:02:20.370 --> 00:02:23.940 how they interconnect on international politics. 53 00:02:23.940 --> 00:02:27.000 And this becomes more and more a special attention 54 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:30.330 on what is driving risks. Restrictions on one side, 55 00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:32.790 on the other side, opportunities, investments, 56 00:02:32.790 --> 00:02:35.160 and opportunities of trade. 57 00:02:35.160 --> 00:02:38.700 So this is on one angle. But a lot that we do is, 58 00:02:38.700 --> 00:02:41.370 OK, one thing is this analysis and advisory, 59 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:45.180 but we are also actively engaging externally. 60 00:02:45.180 --> 00:02:48.360 And we try to engage with different international 61 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:51.270 and multinational forums, connecting with international 62 00:02:51.270 --> 00:02:52.860 organizations such as United Nations, 63 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:54.780 such as the World Trade Organization, 64 00:02:54.780 --> 00:02:58.590 but also in activities with OECD 65 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:03.240 and of course ICC and many other organizations. 66 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:06.496 And I believe this is an important way in which you can also 67 00:03:06.496 --> 00:03:11.490 have a broader outreach and position our views 68 00:03:11.490 --> 00:03:15.270 and of course our positions towards specific topics 69 00:03:15.270 --> 00:03:17.940 representing the company's interests. 70 00:03:17.940 --> 00:03:21.570 There's a lot of internal work, but it's also a mix of, 71 00:03:21.570 --> 00:03:24.030 we're trying to balance the more and more external work 72 00:03:24.030 --> 00:03:26.580 and connecting with the right stakeholders 73 00:03:26.580 --> 00:03:31.233 to be able to drive, let's say, the function further.