The Global Insight

For companies operating in the US, does the 6 January storming of the US Capitol mark a point of no return in terms of an American security environment transformed by socioeconomic pressures, COVID-19 and radicalisation? Or will the incoming Biden administration bring a return to normalcy that sees the stark polarisation of the past four years fade? This week’s panel includes Jonathan Wood, lead analyst for the United States and Canada, and Shawn VanSlyke, a Principal within Control Risks’ Crisis and Security Consulting Practice for North America. 

The UK approved the first COVID-19 vaccine in early December, and the pandemic entered a new phase. While this is certainly a moment for optimism, vaccines bring new challenges around efficacy, distribution and public resistance. This week’s panel includes Caroline Naumann, Associate Director for Crisis and Security Consulting and also our COVID-19 Advisory Lead in EMEA,  and Joseph Smith, Senior Analyst responsible for providing analysis on international business issues as well as one of our leaders on analysis of the vaccine rollout.

What does a Biden administration mean for the US relationship with Europe and Latin America? Join Charles Hecker and a panel of Control Risks experts for a discussion about the impact Biden's policies and politics will likely have on trade, defence and populism in these two key regions. This week’s panel includes Jonathan Wood, our lead US analyst, Alexandra Kellert, our lead UK analyst, and Thomaz Favaro, our lead analyst for Brazil and the Southern Cone. 

This week we're taking a break from our typical panel discussion to bring you a truly in-depth look at the potential for unrest before, during and after the upcoming US presidential election. Listen in on a webinar discussion with our own experts Matthew Hinton, Allison Wood and Aaron Schwirian, who join Steven Antoine, the CSO of Yum! Brands, to look at measures that companies and investors operating in the US should consider taking in order to protect their people and assets. 

As the Brexit trade deal negotiations enter the eleventh hour, both sides say they want a deal, but both sides still seem intent on trying to corner the other into their deal. Join Charles Hecker and a panel of Control Risks experts for a discussion about what this all means for business. This week’s panel includes Alexandra Kellert, our lead UK analyst, Oksana Antonenko, a director in our political risk consultancy for Europe, and Florian Otto, an associate director in our European political risk practice. 

Covid-19 was the low-probability, high-risk event that many companies and business leaders were not prepared to handle. Focused on daily navigation of the crisis, few business leaders have considered preparation for the next global crisis. Join Charles Hecker and a panel of Control Risks experts as they explore how agility in the face of unpredictable risk is key to building a resilient organization. This week's panel includes Matthew Hinton, a New York based Partner and one of the leaders of our Crisis and Security Consultancy in the Americas, Claudine Fry, a London-based Director of our Global Risk Analysis division, and Allison Wood, an Associate Director in Global Risk Analysis who manages our political risk consultancy in the US. 

 

What lessons can Belarus teach the rest of the world? Belarus held elections on 9 August in a race that, as always, Alexander Lukashenko won in a landslide. In the lead up to the election, Lukashenko was facing strong competition from Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, an almost accidental candidate, who, with the help of a team of powerful and creative women, mustered tends of thousands of supporters. When Lukashenko won, the citizens of Belarus took to the streets. Join Charles Hecker and a panel of Control Risks experts as they unpack the drivers behind the unrest and its regional and global implications. This week's panel includes Eimear O'Casey, a Senior Analyst in our global risk analysis division, Bota Iliyas, an Analyst also in our global risk analysis division, and Nabi Abdullaev, Partner and head of our Moscow office. 

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How did we get here? The relationship between the US and China has been frustrating politicians and business people for well over a decade. Control Risks has been following this relationship ever since our own forecasts, and everyone else's, began predicting that China was well on its way to becoming a modern global superpower. Join Charles Hecker and a panel of Control Risks experts as they trace the evolution of US-China relations over past ten years and on into the future, exploring what this all means for global business. This week's panel includes Andrew Gilholm, Principal and Director of the analysis practice for Greater China and North Asia, Jonathan Wood, Director and lead analyst for the United States and Canada, and Bliss Khaw, Principal and Americas-based representative on China issues. 

 

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This week we're taking a break from our usual panel discussion to bring you an interview from a podcast we really enjoy: Airmic Talks. Airmic is the UK’s risk and insurance association, and their podcast, Airmic Talks, is currently running a series on the key themes emerging from their annual survey: Top Risks and Megatrends 2020. In this episode, Airmic’s Richard Cutcher interviews Control Risks’ #James Owen, Partner, Cyber Security, on the role of technology in digital transformation programmes, new cyber attack trends, the vulnerability of social media to manipulation and disinformation campaigns and the growing tension between seamless digital connectivity, regulation and national sovereignty issues – including how this will shape the internet of the future.

Subscribe to stay updated with new episodes of The Global Insight every other Thursday. And be sure to check out our other podcasts as well, available on our website or by searching Control Risks wherever you listen.

 

 

Join Charles Hecker and a panel of Control Risks experts for a discussion on security dynamics impacting companies operating in the Bay of Campeche, one of Mexico's oil and gas hubs. The panel this week includes James Sinclair, a Partner at the Mexico City office leading the Crisis and Security Consulting division in Mexico and Central America, Cormac McGarry, a maritime security specialist based in London, Adriana Thomas, a security analyst based in Mexico City, and Eduardo Arcos, a special risks analyst based in London. There is also a Spanish version of this discussion available on our channel hosted by Daniel Linsker, a Partner at Control Risks and currently managing Control Risks’ Mexico City office. 

Subscribe to stay updated with new episodes of The Global Insight every other Thursday. And be sure to check out our other podcasts as well, available on our website or by searching Control Risks wherever you listen.