Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Board Agenda: The Macro Memo

This episode of The Macro Memo podcast delves into the intersection of macroeconomics and geopolitics, highlighting how these factors are reshaping business strategies. With discussions on the shift from neoliberal globalization to a multipolar world, the importance of understanding geopolitical risks for international expansion is emphasized. The conversation also touches on sustainability reporting, the varying approaches to climate change between the US and Europe, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in productivity. As businesses navigate economic uncertainty, the need for a balance between regulation and deregulation is underscored, alongside a cautious optimism about future government policies.

In this special edition of The Macro Memo, we examine the seismic shifts in global trade policy following dramatic US tariff announcements. With duties briefly imposed on over 90 countries—before being swiftly revised to a flat 10% and a steep 145% on China—boards and executive teams now face extraordinary volatility in trade conditions and economic indicators.

Host Gavin Hinks is joined by economist George Lagarias and business strategist Mark Kennedy to dissect what this all means for business leaders. The episode explores how tariffs impact inflation, supply chains, business modeling, and investor sentiment, and why managing uncertainty must now be a core leadership skill. From stock market turbulence to Treasury yield dislocations, our experts assess both the risks and the surprising opportunities that lie ahead.

We also look at how corporate leaders should think about resilience—balancing cost control with agility, resourcefulness, and long-term strategic positioning. As firms pause investment decisions and rethink market exposure, the episode offers a clear-headed guide to scenario planning, talent retention, and the potential realignment of global trade. 

 What does Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement hold for UK business and what will it do for the economy? How is global trade affected by conflict and geopolitical uncertainty? And can companies play a role in making sure artificial intelligence is safe, or is the world heading for a Terminator-style melt down? 

Mark Kennedy, partner and member of Mazars’ group executive board, alongside George Lagarias, Mazars’ chief economist, offer their analysis of global trends to Board Agenda’s Gavin Hinks in this episode of Macro Memo.

What’s next for boards in the UK pharma and life sciences industry? Navigating the challenges of innovation, productivity and ESG in a post Covid world.  

The life science industry is in a dynamic phase of transformation which has been rapidly accelerated by the pandemic, with more workforce agility, shortening development and review times, increased speed to market, and greater efficiencies. In response to the pandemic, life sciences companies mobilized impressively to meet the needs of their employees, patients, customers, and communities. This mobilization, however, has upended well-established business norms, including about how and where people work. 

 panel guests discuss.

-            Key priorities for boards in life sciences industry as they transition to the future of healthcare

-            Harnessing opportunities from rapid digitalisation and tech disruption

-            Building resilience in an era of rapid transformation

-            Ideal skill sets and composition of life science company boards

-            How boards in pharma and life science are integrating ESG and building trust with stakeholders

An industry of high strategic importance to the economy, the UK auto sector is undergoing rapid change, dealing with clean tech innovation, a shift to electric vehicles, supply chain issues and poor sales. To explore how boards in the industry are tackling these issues, Gavin Hinks interviews Mike Hawes CEO of the SMMT, Dr. Andy Palmer, CEO of Switch Electric, and Louis Burns, Partner and auto sector lead at professional services firm Mazars. 

Consumer retail firms are witnessing upheaval. Aside from uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the retail sector is confronted with the climate change agenda, supply chain realignment, cybercrime and data security. It is a dynamic and fast-moving set of issues which could spell the end of the road for some retailers if not managed correctly. Some have already had to close their doors.
 
To explore these issues, Board Agenda has convened a panel of experts for a round table discussion about the priorities for boards in this new era of consumer retail. 

Hosted by Gavin Hinks of Board Agenda, panel speakers for this episode are:
Helen Dickinson, CEO of the British Retail Consortium
Ian Shepherd, Chairman of Bensons for Beds
Matt Dalton, Partner and retail lead at Mazars 
 
Key discussion points.
-             Key priorities for boards in the retail consumer industry for 2022
-             How boards in retail are responding to ESG
-             Resilience and supply chain realignment 
-             The skills required on consumer retail boards in an era of change    
-             Harnessing opportunity from AI and disruptive technologies

Sir Donald Brydon, one of the most prominent board directors in the UK, is chairman of Tide Holdings, and the former chair of the London Stock Exchange, Sage and Royal Mail. Sir Donald is also the author of a 2019 government commissioned report into audit reform, the recommendations of which are being proposed for new UK corporate governance rules.  

This year he was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sunday Times, Non-Executive Director Awards and in this interview Gavin Hinks talks to Sir Donald about his career as a non-executive, how he has seen the role transform, the priorities for board members today, and his views on audit reform. 

As UK government proposals increase responsibilities for directors, our latest podcast discusses the impact on the oversight of risk management by the board, and specifically on the issue of internal controls and the payment of dividends.

Experts from Mazars the global auditing and accountancy firm, explain the implications of the reforms in discussion with Gavin Hinks, the editor of Board Agenda.   

The proposals come as part of a host of measures set out in a government white paper, Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance, which aims to improve risk management.

The Covid-19 pandemic has helped crystallise the need to renew efforts on boardroom diversity in UK firms, it has thrown a spotlight on the relationship between companies and their stakeholders and this, in turn, has increased the need for corporates to ensure their boards are diverse. 

 There is growing pressure on boards to change. Companies can now expect to be challenged more robustly; boards may need to take more nuanced decisions; shareholders will be more forceful and active; customers and employers are more engaged; supply chain, human rights, climate risks and community relations will receive more scrutiny. The collective skillset of a board will need to change and adapt to all of this. 

Gavin Hinks hosts a round table discussion with three experts on board selection. 
The podcast will focus on: 

·       Why post pandemic, the pressure to accelerate diversity on boards will intensify

·       The present state of board diversity within the UK’s leading firms

·       The opportunities for boards to harness the benefits diversity 

·       Practical steps for firms to drive diversity on their boards forwards

Panel guests:
Kit Bingham is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ London office and head of the UK Board Practice. He leads searches for chairs, non-executive directors, and chief executive officers across a wide range of industries and supports board effectiveness through succession planning, onboarding, evaluation, diversity and inclusion, and talent mapping.

Doyin Atewologun  is a multiple award-winning Chartered Business Psychologist, consultant, executive coach, researcher and skilled facilitator. Doyin was the lead researcher of the 2017 Sir John Parker Review into ethnic diversity on FTSE 100 boards. She has worked with FTSE 100 businesses, United Nations agencies, the UK Civil Service and professional services firms.  She is Dean of Rhodes Scholarships at the University of Oxford and also currently holds faculty positions at Cranfield School of Management, UK; Queen Mary University of London, School of Business and Management; Lagos Business School, Nigeria and the Human Resources Management Department at University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Anthony Carey is a partner with Mazars in the UK and leads its board practice. He is also very actively involved in the firm’s contribution to thought leadership and public policy especially in relation to the future of audit, corporate governance and boardroom developments, corporate reporting and corporate responsibility. In addition, he plays a leading role in the Centre for Audit Committee and Investor Dialogue, a joint initiative between Mazars and a number of leading institutional investors.

Anthony is a chartered accountant and chartered director and is an experienced reviewer of board effectiveness across a range of sectors, including banking, insurance and the public sector. Past appointments include being a member of the FRC Financial Reporting Lab Steering Group and of the FRC’s Financial Reporting Review Panel and he also serves on the Executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance for a number of years.

In this podcast episode of Board Agenda we focus on the issue of ethics in the workplace and discuss the findings of a new global survey which finds that pressure on employees to compromise standards has increased significantly during the pandemic, in the US and in 10 other countries around the world, including the UK. 

The research is from the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, and we discuss the findings with  chief executive Patricia Harned. 

Many firms have been vocal about well-being of their employees, but the evidence from this study shows that workplace conditions, during the pandemic, including flexible working, has increased pressure, and compromised standards among employees, particularly middle management. The risks for boards and leadership teams are evident. 

How strong values and clear communication with the board helped guide one of the “world’s most ethical companies” through the pandemic.

The world faces a global shortage of technology skills, according to experts, and in our latest interview Deanna Mulligan, former chief executive of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, reveals how the crisis might be addressed.

Mulligan speaks about her new book, Hire Purpose: How Smart Companies Can Close the Skills Gap, which spells out how a corporate purpose focused on lifelong learning in the workplace can address the shortage.

She says we have learned much from the pandemic in how to address the issue. “One of the things we learnt is that companies can be much more flexible and adaptable than perhaps they have been in the past or thought they would be,” she says. “And we saw employees learning new skills on the fly in order to help with this crisis.”

She adds: “We are continuing to function as a society in really dire conditions we hadn't really anticipated. And the reason we've been able to do that is because companies have been able to adapt. As this crisis hopefully subsides, we will be able to use those skills to really attack this skill gap.”

In a discussion hosted by Gavin Hinks, Mark Kennedy and George Lagarias explore the impact of the US election results, the rise of populism in Europe and the intricate relationship between macroeconomics, geopolitics, and business. They highlight the ongoing volatility in business environments, particularly in light of the US election result and its shifting global leadership. The conversation touches on trade tensions, especially between the US and China, and the potential for positive economic outcomes despite challenges. They also address the importance of European unity in the face of rising populism and the need for political cohesion to enhance competitiveness. Overall, the sentiment remains optimistic as businesses navigate these complex dynamics.

Legal & General Investment Management has over £1trillion in assets under management, is one of Europe’s largest asset managers & provides investment management services for many of the UK’s biggest corporate pension schemes. We talk to Sacha about Legal & General's current agenda with boards  and where it may go in the future;  about inclusive capitalism & the changing environment for boards as they come to terms with demands for action on climate change and sustainability, to be purposeful and to be accountable to not only to shareholders but all stakeholders, including customers, employees and the communities their firms serve. 

Dame Alison Carnwath discusses the role of the non-executive director, future fit boards & the skillsets now needed by board members to meet the demands of a rapidly transforming business environment. 

Dame Alison  is presently an independent director for Zurich Insurance Group AG, BASF AG and PACCAR, and a Non-executive Director of BP.  She is also a Senior Advisor to Evercore Partners, and Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board at Livingbridge. Between 2008 and 2018 she was Chair of FTSE 100 property company Land Securities.

Dame Alison Carnwath was the recipient of the Sunday Times Non-Executive Director Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. 

What does it take to be an effective non-executive director?
The demands on non-execs have grown considerably in recent decades, while the pandemic has added significantly to the pressure confronting organizations. What are businesses looking for from NEDs  & how can a non-executive director make a real contribution to the boards they serve?

During this podcast of Board Agenda  editor Gavin Hinks  will be asking three winners of the Sunday Times NED Awards 2020 for their perspectives about how they think the role has changed in recent years, what is required for non-execs to be effective in boardrooms today, and the advice they would give to anyone beginning a career as a NED. 

Interviewees for this podcast are: 

• Bernadette Conroy who is on the board of Network Homes & the Financial Conduct Authority
• Ian Durant, Chairman of Greggs PLC the bakery group & DFS the furniture retailer
• David Rasche, Chairman of the technology company GB Group

In this episode of Board Agenda, we interview John Allan, the Chairman of Tesco & one of the UK’s foremost corporate leaders to gain his insights about the role of non-executive directors, their responsibilities and priorities at time when their role on the board has arguably never been more critical, during a period of great uncertainty for business community & the economy of the UK. 

We discuss the key issues that boards should focus on in the current business environment, the questions NEDs should be asking senior management, how the pandemic has influenced the priorities for boards & companies, how boards can get the most value from their NEDs & the skills & expertise most needed on boards in these challenging times. 

 
This episode aims to explore crisis leadership, a pressing issue in boardrooms during the current pandemic. 

Crises can have diverse origins: natural disasters, cyber-attacks, data breaches and political upheaval.

Handled badly, a crisis can ruin a company’s hard-earned reputation and threaten its very existence.

Covid-19 is an extreme example but how should boards and leadership teams plan for and best manage crises that confront them? 

Our guests this episode are Matt Dalton, partner at Mazars who is the firms lead on organization resilience and Professor Ludo Van Der Heyden from the INSEAD corporate governance centre, who recently produced a paper entitled a ‘Crisis Management Blueprint for Covid 19’

. 

The EU faces little choice but to act on recommendations from a high level report that it needs to invest €750m to €800m a year to head off economic “decline” in the trading bloc, according to a leading economist.

George Lagarias, the chief economist at professional services firm Forvis Mazars, says there will be difficulties negotiating the investment funds as a “common” pot of borrowing, particularly against claims that it could threaten the national sovereignty of EU member states. But, Lagarias warns, European leaders have no choice, despite the downside risks.

“Will Europe get there? As an economist, I don’t think it has any other choice. Eventually, that’s where things lead us,” Lagarias said.

Lagarias makes his comments in the latest episode of The Macro Memo, a Board Agenda podcast exploring global economic developments.

The podcast also reflected on the coming budget—the UK’s first under the new Labour government—due to take place on 30 October.

Lagarias noted that the chancellor Rachel Reeves would need one eye on “extremely jittery bond markets” which “definitely raises the level of difficulty”.

The Reeves budget faces having to address budget black holes, sluggish growth and the need to repair public services.

Tune in to the latest episode of The Macro Memo podcast for analysis and insight about the impact of upcoming events on business and the economy, in partnership with Forvis Mazars.

 How will the result of the US election outcome affect geo politics? Is the Fed on the brink of its first rate cut? How has it got there? What implications does it have for the US economy? What are the implications for the global economy? What will the impact be on trade? Is Keir Starmer building bridges to the EU and can he really soothe trade relations? Is it just confidence building or are there hard agreement to be reached? All this and more in this episode of Board Agenda's podcast 'The Macro Memo' in association with Forvis Mazars. 

This episode of the Macro Memo podcast explores the impact of elections on business and economics, focusing on the European elections, the French election, and the upcoming UK general election. 

Business leaders expect a “volatile” time as they manage the fall out from high inflation during a time of political uncertainty as elections play out in the UK, the US and in Europe. 

The warning came from Mark Kennedy, a partner at Forvis Mazars, on Board Agenda’s Macro Memo podcast.

He was reflecting on the way business adapted to high interest rates and inflation and how those lessons will inform their approach now as rates remain high.

 "Business leaders are very rational. They've done the analysis and said, 'This is going to be volatile for a while."

France is about to stage National Assembly elections and the US will go through presidential elections in November. European election have just seen shift to the right. The UK goes to the polls on 4 July with pollsters expecting a win for the Labour Party. 

George Lagarias, chief economist with Forvis Mazars, said what investors would really need to see is resolution of the trade frictions cause by Brexit and a more predictable business environment. 

Lagarias said “I think Britain’s strength is boredom. No offence because boring means predictable. Boring means legal systems where laws and regulations are not changed too often. That is much needed by business.”

Lagarias also said a shift to the right in Europe could cause issues for trade. “The more we stray from the centre, the more we stray from mainstream politics, the more problems get out of hand".

Tune in to the latest episode of 'The Macro Memo' podcast for analysis and insight about the impact of upcoming elections on business and the economy. 

A great wave of regulation is washing across business: capital rules for banks, cyber security and sustainability reporting mean corporate leaders appear to be in a new age of oversight. What’s driving this rule-making overdrive and how should business respond?

Mark Kennedy and George Lagarias of Mazars, and Gavin Hinks of Board Agenda—also ask why London is struggling as a centre for IPOs and, with the Paris Olympics just around the corner, we ask whether showpiece events can really boost finance and economics?

Those are some the big issues under discussion in this month’s Macro Memo podcast as it explores the international business landscape.

All this and much more in Board Agenda’s podcast series, The Macros Memo, the global trends briefing for boards and directors. 

You can access the podcast via Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to hit subscribe.

The global economic landscape appears to be going through a form of fragmentation. There are growing tensions between the US and China over “dumping” of industrial products; the German economy is in “troubled waters”; France has revised down its growth; and the UK has sunk into recession (though could emerge quickly). Yet the largest developing world economies continue to do grow at a clip. What’s driving the differential performance? And how should business respond?

These are among the big questions tackled in this month’s The Macro Memo podcast, as it considers an evolving economic environment.

The team—Mark Kennedy and George Lagarias of Mazars, and Gavin Hinks of Board Agenda—also consider the maturing, or more realistic, view of artificial intelligence and its prospects, and examine what European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (pictured) could do to improve EU competitiveness.

The Macro Memo podcast looks ahead at prospects for 2024. Some observers think the inflation crisis is close to resolution. But is it? And what are the implications for business and, most importantly, interest rates.  

Those are some of the big questions tackled by The team—Mark Kennedy and George Lagarias of Mazars, and Gavin Hinks of Board Agenda, who also look at the risk of trade wars and whether the EU’s concern with Chinese electric cars reflects bigger issues.

Lastly, this episode looks at labour markets and how companies will cope with a global shortage of skills, a big theme of the World Economic Forum’s meeting this year in Davos.

COP 28 is underway in Dubai but what responsibility do business leaders have for beating climate change? How will trade benefit from from US and European efforts to improve relations with China? And can companies in the EU, and elsewhere, expect an interest rate cut for Christmas?

Mark Kennedy, partner and member of Mazar’s group executive board, alongside George Lagarias, Mazars’ chief economist, offer their thoughts on global trends to Board Agenda’s Gavin Hinks in this edition of Macro Memo.