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What it Means to Me to be an American

As we celebrate America’s birthday and reflect on what it means to be an American, I want to share my perspective as a naturalized American citizen who grew up in divided Germany dominated by a…

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Global Governance Lessons from Wirecard, Europe’s Enron

For its sheer scope, daring, and size, Wirecard is being compared to Enron. What happens next seems both predictable and inevitable from a global governance perspective. By Andrea Bonime-Blanc and Michael Marquardt The original version of this…

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The International Diplomacy of Soap and a Beer

Despite being a global business consultant I have only shared this story with a few close friends before. My father was born in 1936 in a German town called Kassel, northeast of Frankfurt. The oldest…

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Do Not Make This Mistake When Doing Business Overseas

I remember the email well, although this was more than 15 years ago. Working as a global business advisor, it came from a potential business partner in mainland China and it started out promising. “Planning…

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Observations, Lessons and Potential Inspiration from this Crisis

As we all try to make sense of how this global health crisis has impacted our personal and business relationships, several observations stand out to me. Observations Countries where citizens have always been good at…

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5 Big Differences Between Germans and Americans

This is my 29th year living and working in the United States after immigrating from Germany in 1991. While developing international business strategy over the years I have come across many differences between Germans and Americans. Some…

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Global Leadership: How President Biden Would Perform on the World Stage

As I have traveled the world over the past three years since Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, I have stared into the disbelieving and disillusioned…

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Growing Up Surrounded By A Wall: Building Bridges Ever Since

As a very young boy growing up in West Berlin, Germany, I thought every city was surrounded by a concrete wall. As I grew older, I remember feeling angry learning about the abuse of power…

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Deutschland über alles? Nope.

A little more than a month ago, on September 24, federal elections were held in Germany. Chancellor Merkel’s party, along with its Bavarian sister party (the CDU/CSU) lost many seats in parliament but she still…

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A Year and a Half Later, VW Board Still Stuck in Low Gear

For corporate directors, Volkswagen AG’s “Dieselgate” is a textbook case of how a lack of effective corporate governance has led to worldwide criminal investigations and a loss of public confidence. Corporate directors and millions of…

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How Digital Technology Is Transforming Health Care – Finally

In 2013, American technology magnate Michael Dell said that “mobile will figure out health care … before health care figures out mobile.” Initially, he was right, but during the past year the healthcare industry has…

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Why the VW Board Appears Stuck in Low Gear

Volkswagen AG (VW), with annual revenues of $244 billion in 2014 and some 600,000 employees worldwide, now stands accused of systematically circumventing and violating environmental safety rules and regulations the world over, possibly for years….

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The Difference Between Good Corporate Governance and Bad

I immigrated to the United States from Germany almost 25 years ago, so I may be a little biased when I proclaim that United States democracy (despite all its pitfalls) truly does offer the world…

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Berlin, 25 Years Ago: “Turn on the TV, Any Channel!”

Twenty-five years ago, I was 19 years old and living in what was then West Berlin. In my last year of German high school, I often worked as a security guard at night to earn…

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Why Would a Tire Manufacturer, in 1900, Decide to Publish a Hotel and Restaurant Guide?

There was a story in the news recently about SABMiller Plc, one of the world’s largest brewers, working with 6,000 pub owners in South Africa to – among other things – significantly improve the quality of…

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“Fall of the Berlin Wall” in Hong Kong?

What does a Berliner who lives in the United States do in Hong Kong? He talks about his experience almost 25 years ago when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down! 2014 is a year of…

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Taking “Made in USA” into the Air!

I spent the past couple of days in Washington, D.C. in advance of German Chancellor Merkel’s visit to the United States. One of the fascinating conversations I had centered on the fact that many medium-sized…

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