Plenary: The Global Economy and Corporate Strategy

The global economy continues to be in an extraordinary state of flux. COVID, an unprecedented modern human tragedy, has continued to cause a massive shock to domestic economies and to the global supply chain. The United States’ powerful fiscal and monetary response creates a confluence of historic macroeconomic conditions with implications, including inflation concerns and potential asset bubbles, that are difficult to predict. Compound this domestic policy stimulus uncertainty with Brexit, the conflict in the Ukraine, increasing trade friction between the United States and China, and the possibility of increased corporate, personal, and capital gains taxes, and the challenge of macroeconomic forecasting becomes particularly fraught. How can a corporate director help set strategy and decide on capital allocations in an environment so bedeviled by profound uncertainty? This panel reviews the state of the global economy, highlights the major evolving risk factors, and connects macroeconomic trends to practical, bottom-line issues salient to corporate strategy oversight.