Jeffrey Garten

Jeffrey E. Garten addresses the great global issues of our times and tailors their significance to the audience at hand. He can discuss in depth the changing role of the US in the world economy; the deep financial pressures in Europe; the stagnation of Japan; geopolitical risk; the rise of China, India, Brazil and other big emerging markets; the changing financial system, (including the evolving relationship between Wall Street and Washington); new global trade patterns; pressures on natural resources ranging from energy to water and more—all with an eye to the implications for general audiences or industry groups. He draws on extensive hands on experience as a senior official in four Presidential administrations; as a prominent investment banker in New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong; as an author and journalist; and as a dean and professor at Yale.

The rise of countries such as China, India, Brazil, Poland, South Korea, Mexico, Russia and South Africa is fraught with both opportunity and risk. These emerging economies will fuel global trade and investment, presenting companies and investors with growing markets and supplying an increasing amount of productive talent. They present enormous challenges to the U.S. in terms of everything from cheaper labor to human rights. In recent years, moreover, these emerging market economies have begun to spawn their own multinational corporations—a development that is drastically changing the global corporate map and weakening the dominance of U.S. corporations.

A former political and trade advisor and investment banker, Garten discusses the rising global competition and how companies should react and adjust, stimulating dialog about new trends with an eye toward politics. With real-world experience transcending any single discipline, he focuses on the intersection of the economy and business, policy and politics. He will customize his presentation to your organization and provide real-time, real-world examples of how to plan for, and in, the future.

Garten raises five burning questions, tailored to the interest and backgrounds of the participants, and then orchestrates a vibrant discussion with the group. Some of the topics could include: Is the global economy fragmenting, and if so, what are the implications for business strategies? How are global trade and financial policies changing the environment for business? How should business leaders think about risk in early the 21st Century? What are the most promising countries and sectors to invest in, and why? What do tomorrow's business leaders need to know? In each case, Garten provides an introduction, but the session is designed to bring the audience in from the beginning.

Drawing on his two recent books for which he did extensive interviewing of global business leaders - The Mind of the CEO and The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda for Business Leaders - as well as on hundreds of interviews conducted for his monthly column in BusinessWeek, Garten explores the challenges CEOs, COOs, CFOs and other top business leaders will face in the decade ahead. His focus is on the implications of several challenges trends including the changing financial and regulatory framework, the impact of new technologies and the changing political and social environment. Among the questions posed and answered are:

What traditional leadership skills will be in greater demand than ever before?

How to balance the internal and external demands of running a company?

What is New?

There are a number of key factors will differentiate the global marketplace of the future from the one we have known as recently as the late 1990's. There include changing patterns of trade and investment; shifting policies and interests in the US, Europe, and Japan; the rise of China and other big emerging markets and what it means for global politics and business; changing regulatory demands; and the impact of global terrorism and the policy response to it. Garten combines his experience as an investment banker, a senior official in four presidential administrations and the knowledge he has acquired at Yale and as a prolific writer on international trade, finance, and politics to help leaders sift through a number of questions, including:

What should you know about underlying trends? What are the implications for your business strategy? What leadership qualities will be necessary to deal with these new challenges?