Also: South Korea's arms boom, the CEO tenure gender gap, Woolworths' new CEO.
Good morning.
The last decade has seen a steady string of reports about companies re-shoring, friend-shoring, de-risking and otherwise unwinding the globalization of the late 20th century, when companies sourced supply from the lowest global bidder. But does that mean globalization is dead? Not at all, says Nicole Sahin, CEO of G-P, who was our guest this week on Fortune‘s Leadership Next podcast.
“I read the news sometimes about globalization being in retreat, and I think it’s a little absurd….The reality is our entire economic ecosystem is interwoven so closely together that any business of any scale ultimately has people and talent from all over the world. You just can’t build an enterprise-level business or a high-growth company without it. So I don’t believe that globalization is in reverse…It’s accelerating.”
Sahin should know. The company she founded makes it easier for companies to source talent from all over the world, and her business is booming. Sahin believes efforts to build resilience into companies is causing them to move into even more countries, not fewer.
“We’ve been doing this for over 12 years now, and it’s so interesting to watch the movements and the trends of where companies are hiring. They always need to de-risk in a global environment. It’s not just China. They also need to be really careful of where they’re hiring and avoid consolidating their resources in any one place. So smart businesses…are really spreading out where their talent is.”
Sahin worked as an anthropologist in Guatemala before founding G-P, which at its last funding was valued at $4.2 billion. You can listen to the full Leadership Next interview on Apple or Spotify.
Meanwhile, Walmart is in the news these days for its plan to buy TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion. But perhaps even more important is the news it let drop on its recent earnings call. CEO Doug McMillon said the company’s ambitious plan to work with its suppliers on projects to take a gigaton of greenhouse gases out of the environment by 2030 has “exceeded that 1 billion ton mark six years early.” Whoever said companies are backing off climate commitments hasn’t been to Bentonville recently.
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
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K-Pop, K-Beauty…K-Defense?
South Korea is carving a niche for itself in the global arms industry, as Western governments run low on ammunition due to their support for Ukraine. South Korea is now the world’s ninth-largest arms exporter; President Yoon Suk Yeol wants to be in fourth place by 2027. But there’s a complication: Korean law prevents arms from being exported to current war zones. Nikkei Asia
The CEO tenure gender gap
Women Fortune 500 CEOs spend an average of 4.5 years at the helm, compared to 7.2 years for men. Experts suggest that boards turn to women leaders when a firm is in crisis to signal an openness to change. That can lead to a “glass cliff” when women CEOs are later pushed out when they can’t turn things around quickly. Fortune
A new woman CEO on the Global 500
Woolworths, Australia’s biggest retailer, will have its first woman CEO in its 100-year-long history. Amanda Bardwell, who runs the retailer’s e-commerce division, will take over after the surprise resignation of Brad Banducci. Woolworths is currently under fire for its market power in Australia, and Banducci recently walked out of a television interview when questioned about alleged price gouging. Bloomberg
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2024: M&A Poised for Rebound In its 10th year, Deloitte's “2024 M&A Trends Survey: Mind the gap,” indicates dealmakers are optimistic about M&A activity for the year ahead, while being adept at strategic pivots, and making greater use of advanced technologies. Read more.
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