Executive summary With rising uncertainty, growing trade tensions and weakening international economic institutions, more executives now acknowledge the need for stronger capabilities to sense, interpret and respond systematically to geopolitical dynamics. Geopolitics has climbed up the corporate agenda, and for good reason. It is an area reshaping markets and supply chains worldwide, revising the landscape of risk and opportunity, and it is structurally persistent, sustained by enduring economic, technological and political rivalries. This research, based on more than 55 interviews with senior executives across sectors and geographies, reveals three key takeaways: 1 Leadership attention is high, but structure lags. Geopolitics has long been the purview of the board and CEO, but leadership alone no longer has the bandwidth to manage the speed and scale of today’s disruptions. Many companies are now building their geopolitical capabilities, with momentum accelerating since COVID-19 and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Yet only a minority have fully institutionalized them into decision-making. 2 There is no single blueprint for institutionalization. More than half of the companies interviewed locate their geopolitical capability within government or corporate affairs, while fewer than 20% have a dedicated geopolitics or international relations/affairs unit. Firms pursue different operating models: task forces, senior advisers, full-time dedicated teams, etc. Each can be successful. The most effective firms combine agility and agency. They align ambition and design, factoring in intrinsic characteristics, such as exposure, structure and culture.3 Translation into business implications is a prerequisite. The ability to connect geopolitical developments to corporate value creation and express them in standard commercial, financial or operational terms is a prerequisite for relevance. Without this bridge, even strong geopolitical awareness remains disconnected from action. This paper offers a pragmatic toolkit for executives seeking to build or strengthen their geopolitical muscle through five practical building blocks: 1 Mandate: Anchor responsibility at the CEO and board level with delegated authority and a clear mission going beyond crisis management, clearly communicated to the rest of the organization. 2 Radar and sonar: Combine internal and external intelligence into relevant business insights. Quantify exposure, link it to financial forecasts and deliver concise reporting. 3 Operating model: Design a function by employing archetypes – watch tower, influence network, command cell(s) or nerve centre – that fit the company’s structure and culture. Proximity to the CEO and cross-functional coordination are critical regardless of where the muscle is hosted within the organization (e.g. government or corporate affairs, corporate strategy, risk). 4 Talent: Appoint leaders with deep business experience, supported by teams blending diplomacy, strategy, intelligence, regulatory and legal backgrounds with analytical and project management skills. 5 Decision integration: Embed geopolitical inputs into strategic planning, capital allocation, supply chains and logistics, communications and policy engagement in a coherent and consistent manner across markets.Building the capabilities to detect, assess and translate geopolitical signals into decision-making is no longer optional for global companies. Building Geopolitical Muscle: How Companies Turn Insights into Strategic Advantage 4

Building Geopolitical Muscle 2026