From Blind Spots to Insights 2025

Conclusion Companies with significant cross- border operations have a vested interest in strengthening their capacity to understand both the risks and opportunities presented by unfolding geopolitical dynamics. There is considerable interest in how firms with extensive cross-border operations are reacting to the intensifying rivalry between governments in a multipolar world. Understanding how international businesses seek to capitalize on opportunities in a global economy shaped by increasing security considerations is of interest not only to corporate executives but also to analysts, officials and critical stakeholders, such as customers and investors. Ultimately, the response of international businesses will be shaped by how corporate executives track and assess geopolitical dynamics. This white paper has focused on how firms are developing their geopolitical radars and why they also need geopolitical sonars. Geopolitical muscle is essential for deriving actionable insights from these dynamics; but this muscle requires sufficient input, which this white paper addresses. On the whole, international businesses have taken great strides over the past decade to reduce geopolitical blind spots and improve their capacity to understand unfolding geopolitical dynamics. Companies with significant cross-border operations have a vested interest in continuing this journey – not only defensively but also to identify the commercial opportunities that a well-executed internal geopolitical function can uncover.Looking forward, companies should take several important steps. Moving from an experience- driven, backward-looking identification of geopolitical risks to forward-focused tracking of geopolitical dynamics will shift decision-making from a reactive to a proactive posture – and could create significant opportunities. Achieving this will require a deeper understanding of the drivers of such geopolitical dynamics. Ensuring that the internal geopolitical function overcomes legacy attitudes, supports institutional memory, reduces key person risk and facilitates timely information sharing will enable international businesses to better capitalize on opportunities as globalization continues to evolve within a multipolar world. Ultimately, it is the actions that companies take that determine the extent to which they can build competitive geopolitical advantage and seize new opportunities in this increasingly complex geopolitical environment. Geopolitical muscle is needed to turn insights into actionable and successful business strategies. This will be examined in greater detail in the next instalment in this white paper series. From Blind Spots to Insights: Enhancing Geopolitical Radar to Guide Global Business 23