Introduction While U.S. regulators seem to be easing enforcement on misleading sustainability disclosures—evidenced by the SEC’s recent disbandment of its ESG enforcement task force—Canadian regulators are becoming more aggressive. Regulatory scrutiny of “greenwashing” has increased significantly in Canada. What was once an opportunity for Canadian companies to freely promote their ESG progress has now become a growing area of risk, as sustainability reporting faces heightened accountability. The recent enactment of
Section 01: Executive Summary This week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour’s first budget in 14 years, kickstarting the age of big spending by government. The Labour Government embarked on a bold new strategy in this week’s Budget. Against a backdrop of low growth and lower fiscal revenues, Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out a Budget that significantly increases the tax burden on all businesses and many workers. However, her Budget lives
Complicated times demand great leaders. Here’s an overview of traits and practices required to succeed as a leader today and a look at the factory model that can help aspiring managers ascend. Leading a global organization in today’s fragmented world is difficult—perhaps more difficult than ever. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the acceleration of geopolitical tensions, leadership teams have faced an increasing number of uncertainties and disruptions. These include
Earlier this week, our friends at Liquid.AI introduced their first products powered by Liquid Neural Networks (LNNs). This is a new generation of AI models that promise to achieve state-of-the-art performance at every scale, while maintaining a smaller memory footprint, more computing efficiency and much better transparency. But what are Liquid Neural Networks exactly? And why should you care? To understand, let’s consider the classical Large Language Models we’ve been
As the U.S. election enters its final 13-day stretch, the political and security landscape continue to be shaped by a confluence of complex and potentially volatile factors, creating a highly charged and unpredictable environment for November 5th and the days and weeks following. Given this environment, and as a follow up to our earlier analysis on the security environment related to the elections, this assessment outlines possible risks and provides
When it comes to supply chain resilience, have companies taken their eyes off the ball? Supply chain disruptions keep on coming. From missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea to automotive production delays following floods in Europe, global supply chains continue to experience instability. Meanwhile, trade tensions are choking the movement of semiconductor products, manufacturing equipment, and critical materials. The latest Bespoke Business Development’s Global Supply Chain Leader
Telcos that use responsible AI frameworks can unlock new revenue streams and spur long-awaited growth. Over the past decade, the telecom industry has faced one daunting challenge after another. Telcos have endured relentless competitive pressure from fast-moving technology companies that entered their core sectors of communications, connectivity, and data transport. In the hopes of igniting revenue growth, telcos have sought to reinvent themselves. They have created new tech-driven product offerings—from
Bespoke Business Development’s Global Resilience Survey reveals how leaders in advanced industries view the current landscape and highlights the challenges ahead as they manage uncertainty. The recent Bespoke Business Development Global Resilience Survey reveals some striking insights about the impact of disruptive trends on corporate sentiment within advanced industries. We surveyed more than 300 individuals in executive and senior-leadership roles across automotive and assembly, commercial aerospace, industrial and electronics, and
China’s fiscal stimulus will emphasize support for medium- and long-term growth rather than immediate jolts to household consumption and infrastructure spending. Fiscal stimulus will focus on supporting indebted local governments, increasing capital adequacy at big banks, digesting unsold housing inventory, and supporting consumption by disadvantaged groups. The leadership’s shift to more forceful stimulus is a tactical adjustment rather than a strategic one; industrial policy and national security remain the top
A new Bespoke Business Development analysis quantifies the impact that digital and AI can have on consumer goods businesses and where consumer-packaged-goods executives should focus their efforts. The narrative surrounding generative AI (gen AI), a moon shot, once-in-a-generation innovation, is that it could utterly reinvent how businesses—consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) companies among them—are run. CPG leaders are heeding the call. In a 2024 survey of CPG leaders,1 71 percent said they adopted