Business Diplomacy Today

In Episode 28 of Business Diplomacy Today, host Matthias Catón is joined by Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking. Matthias and Mary Ellen examine the persistent gender gap in financial inclusion and its linkages to digital inclusion. Matthias and Mary Ellen begin their conversation by analysing why finance is not optimised ... Read more

In Episode 27 of Business Diplomacy Today, host Matthias Catón is joined by Till Klein, Head of Trustworthy AI at appliedAI. Matthias and Till explore the forthcoming EU AI Act, including an investigation of its core principles and implications for businesses. Their conversation begins by looking at key points of the EU AI Act, including ... Read more

In Episode 26, host Matthias Catón is joined by Lewis Sage-Passant, Global Head of Intelligence at Novo Nordisk and founder of EncyclopediaGeopolitica. Matthias and Lewis delve into the intricacies of how multinational corporations navigate geopolitics and international relations. Matthias and Lewis investigate how the changing responsibility of security intelligence teams and how, in a corporate ... Read more

In Episode 25 host Matthias Catón is joined by Simone Menne, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany. In their discussion, Matthias and Simone address the intricacies of transatlantic relations between the US and Germany and how this relationship is shaped by geopolitics. Following themes of economics, politics and international relations, Matthias and ... Read more

In Episode 24 of Business Diplomacy Today, host Matthias Catón is joined by Karel Lannoo, CEO of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). In their discussion, Matthias and Karel dive into the complexities of implementing a digital currency and its impact on the financial landscape; in this episode, specifically on the case of the ... Read more

In Episode 23 of Business Diplomacy Today, host Matthias Catón is joined by Tom Standage, Deputy Editor of The Economist and editor of its future-gazing annual, The World Ahead. Timely, with the start of the new year, Matthias and Tom delve into global trends and predictions for 2024; as well as their implications for businesses ... Read more

In Episode 22 of Business Diplomacy Today, host Matthias Catón is joined by Prof. Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University. Drawing inspiration from Harold’s recent publication Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalisation (2023), Matthias and Harold discuss seven major turning points in the history of globalisation. Their conversation ... Read more

Episode 21 of Business Diplomacy Today covers the emerging significance of middle powers. Host Matthias Catón is joined by Michael Mazarr, Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation. Matthias and Michael discuss how middle powers are rising and their impact on global trade and business environment. Beginning with definitions of middle powers, Michael explains the ... Read more

In Episode 20 of Business Diplomacy Today, host Matthias Catón is joined by Ashoka Mody, Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in International Economic Policy at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University and author of “India is Broken: A People Betrayed, Independence to Today”. Matthias and Ashoka delve into how the ... Read more

In Episode 19 of Business Diplomacy Today, host Matthias Catón is joined by Vera Axyonova, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie REWIRE Fellow at the University of Vienna and Principal Investigator of the project ‘Expert Knowledge in Times of Crisis – Uncovering Interaction Effects between Think Tanks, Media, and Politics’. Vera shares her expertise on the influence that ... Read more

Jan Kratzer, Chaired Professor for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management and Founder/Academic Director of Centre for Entrepreneurship (CfE) at Technische Universität Berlin, joins Matthias Catón in this episode. Jan shares his expertise on challenges for entrepreneurs in low-income countries, comparing them to high-income countries. As their discussion explores the concept of entrepreneurship in fragile states, Matthias ... Read more

In episode 17 of Business Diplomacy Today, Matthias Catón is joined by Ludivine Wouters, Managing Partner of Latitude Five, an investment and advisory firm operating in emerging markets. Ludivine shares her expertise in the metals and mining industry, specifically concerning the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM Act). Matthias and Ludivine explore the EU’s approach ... Read more

In this episode, host Matthias Catón and Wilfried Aulbur, Senior Partner of Roland Berger, explore the navigation and development of business strategies in a volatile and ever-changing world. Through topics of geopolitical relations, climate change, and technological innovation, Matthias and Wilfried discuss the importance of agility to transform business strategy and respond to uncertainties. Drawing ... Read more

This episode of Business Diplomacy Today explores the topic of water security. Host Matthias Catón is joined by Susanne Schmeier, Head of the Water Governance Department and Associate Professor of Water Law and Diplomacy at IHE Delft. They discuss the global water crisis and its implications for meeting the 2030 Agenda, pollution issues, overuse, and ... Read more

In this episode, Matthias Catón speaks with Famke Krumbmüller, Executive Director of the Geostrategic Business Group at EY, on building a robust corporate strategy in a volatile world. Famke introduces us to definitions and sub-categories of political and geopolitical risk and how companies can enhance their risk management protocols to be more prepared and expectant ... Read more

In this episode, Matthias Catón and Crystal Ennis discuss the migration governance complex, defined as how migration governance happens in practice and the various actors involved. Their discussion focuses on labor migration and examines its definitions, the fragmentation of migration governance, changing trends and geographical destinations of labor migration, and how we (individuals, organizations, and ... Read more

In this episode, Matthias Catón speaks with Sophie Eisentraut about the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the world’s leading forum for debating international security policy. The episode investigates the effectiveness and relevance of multilateral dialogues from a broader perspective and the trends we can see in the future of international cooperation. Matthias and Sophie compare their ... Read more

In this episode, Marjolaine Chaintreau, Head of Private Sector Digital Payment Innovation at the Better than Cash Alliance, and Matthias Catón discuss the evolution, importance, and impact of digital payments and, more broadly, access to financial services. The discussion examines how digital payments promote social inclusion and empowerment among individuals and the innovation and regulation ... Read more

This episode of Business Diplomacy Today explores the importance of measuring external impacts in society and how companies can incorporate sustainability practices. Our guest expert, Matthias Mahlendorf, discusses the performance measurement for managing sustainability, performance, and digital transformation of management control. Topics include measuring social value, the benefits of sustainability for companies, normative aspects of ... Read more

In this episode, Matthias Catón speaks with Talal Rafi, Senior Global Management Consultant at Deloitte and a Deloitte Global Economist Network member. The discussion investigates how markets, notably emerging markets, can navigate the current economic climate when developing corporate strategies. Talal highlights the importance of supply-chain diversification through different lenses, how democracy can influence investment ... Read more