WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.125 --> 00:00:04.254 Tawfik, with rising trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty at the moment, 2 00:00:04.254 --> 00:00:06.506 what is top of mind for business leaders? 3 00:00:06.506 --> 00:00:07.674 You speak to them all the time. 4 00:00:07.716 --> 00:00:08.633 What are they telling you? 5 00:00:09.426 --> 00:00:12.679 Look, over the last few months, I've been to about a dozen countries and 6 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:14.389 I think these themes are pretty common. 7 00:00:14.389 --> 00:00:17.559 I mean, so much of what we have taken for either 8 00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:21.896 granted or constant in the global economic order has been 9 00:00:21.896 --> 00:00:26.109 challenged one way or another in the last 100 days. 10 00:00:26.276 --> 00:00:28.528 So, yeah, there are a lot of uncertainties, 11 00:00:28.528 --> 00:00:32.365 uncertainties on the macroeconomic regime, what's going to happen to rates, 12 00:00:32.365 --> 00:00:36.494 what's going to happen to the US dollar, uncertainties on supply chains. 13 00:00:36.745 --> 00:00:39.748 And where do I put my manufacturing facilities? 14 00:00:39.748 --> 00:00:43.126 Where do I make sure that my supply chain is secure? 15 00:00:43.835 --> 00:00:47.547 How can I ensure that I limit my exposure to 16 00:00:47.547 --> 00:00:50.842 tariffs? And uncertainties more broadly about the 17 00:00:50.842 --> 00:00:54.804 ability to look at your future and project into the future? 18 00:00:54.804 --> 00:00:57.265 I mean, companies do make investments well into 19 00:00:57.265 --> 00:00:57.849 the future. 20 00:00:57.849 --> 00:01:01.811 We have clients who have capex plans for the next five, sometimes ten years. 21 00:01:02.187 --> 00:01:05.440 And I think there's a little bit of a "deer in the headlight" moment right now 22 00:01:05.440 --> 00:01:08.651 where everybody's a bit frozen trying to decipher a little bit more what the, 23 00:01:08.651 --> 00:01:10.737 the next moves are going to be, so they, 24 00:01:10.737 --> 00:01:12.363 can go back to planning the future. 25 00:01:12.572 --> 00:01:17.494 Well, how do you keep your eye, I suppose, on those long-term goals, 26 00:01:17.494 --> 00:01:20.497 but still manage to react pretty urgently? 27 00:01:20.497 --> 00:01:23.082 I mean, there might be a, must be a temptation to sort of almost 28 00:01:23.082 --> 00:01:25.752 sit on your hands and just wait for some of the big stuff to pass. 29 00:01:25.752 --> 00:01:26.544 You're absolutely right. 30 00:01:26.544 --> 00:01:28.004 I think some companies are doing just that. 31 00:01:28.004 --> 00:01:29.839 But I, I do not think that's the winning 32 00:01:29.839 --> 00:01:30.256 strategy. 33 00:01:31.257 --> 00:01:35.094 I do have a lot of empathy for most executives around the world right now 34 00:01:35.094 --> 00:01:39.224 because I think it's a difficult moment, but it's also a moment that calls for 35 00:01:39.224 --> 00:01:42.685 action and calls for some convictions, scenario-based convictions. 36 00:01:42.685 --> 00:01:45.521 If, if you want to de-risk it to some degree. 37 00:01:45.521 --> 00:01:48.358 You know, there's many ways that dislocations 38 00:01:48.358 --> 00:01:51.194 create opportunity for our clients. 39 00:01:51.194 --> 00:01:54.280 And I think it's a moment for courageous and brave action. 40 00:01:54.530 --> 00:01:58.076 Not all of it will turn out to be right, but the cost of inaction is probably a 41 00:01:58.076 --> 00:01:58.576 lot higher. 42 00:01:58.826 --> 00:02:03.623 So what is the winning strategy, as you said, to be resilient, 43 00:02:03.623 --> 00:02:07.877 to be competitive, to take advantage of opportunities, 44 00:02:07.877 --> 00:02:12.674 all of these things in such an uncertain volatile environment? 45 00:02:12.882 --> 00:02:16.094 But just remember, you have, as I said, three levels of uncertainty. 46 00:02:16.094 --> 00:02:19.013 One is around technology and that has nothing to do with tariffs, 47 00:02:19.013 --> 00:02:21.683 even though there is an element that, that links into that. 48 00:02:21.683 --> 00:02:24.102 The second one is around tariffs and, and what, 49 00:02:24.102 --> 00:02:26.854 shape global commerce and trade is going to take. 50 00:02:27.146 --> 00:02:30.942 And the third one is more financial in nature and it has to do with the cost of 51 00:02:30.942 --> 00:02:32.485 money and money flows. 52 00:02:32.485 --> 00:02:36.281 And so these three uncertainties happening at the same time is what makes 53 00:02:36.281 --> 00:02:38.199 it incredibly complex. On tariffs, 54 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:40.076 I mean, our clients are looking at their 55 00:02:40.076 --> 00:02:43.705 footprints and they're making decisions on reducing their exposure to country X 56 00:02:43.705 --> 00:02:44.288 or country Y. 57 00:02:45.164 --> 00:02:50.628 They're trying to find new suppliers that might be more secure in a way. 58 00:02:50.878 --> 00:02:54.424 They're thinking about what their customer base is going to look like three 59 00:02:54.424 --> 00:02:57.176 or five years out, when the tariffs have fully taken place. 60 00:02:57.427 --> 00:03:00.638 And a lot of that is scenario based. On the macroeconomic, 61 00:03:00.638 --> 00:03:02.098 there's not much you can do. 62 00:03:02.181 --> 00:03:05.184 The reality is that these are decisions that, you know, 63 00:03:05.184 --> 00:03:08.479 typically are outside of the hands of a CEO. 64 00:03:08.771 --> 00:03:10.732 And then finally, on technology, there's a lot you can do. 65 00:03:11.566 --> 00:03:14.027 There is obviously always a bit of hype 66 00:03:14.027 --> 00:03:18.114 in the early stages of a technology cycle, But I do think we have gotten to a level 67 00:03:18.114 --> 00:03:22.118 of maturity in AI right now, where it's a lot more about value delivery and profit 68 00:03:22.118 --> 00:03:24.120 impact than it is about hype and promise. 69 00:03:24.620 --> 00:03:25.830 Tawfik, pleasure as always. 70 00:03:25.830 --> 00:03:26.539 Thank you so much. 71 00:03:26.581 --> 00:03:27.248 Good to see you, Georgie.