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 emerged with a mandate to form the next government and...
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 started to figure it out. More than 15 years after...
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. News first broke in September 2015 that the German automaker...
If you are an executive at a successful company, then you have probably expanded into new locations within your country numerous times. Each new location required you to confront local red tape and consumer sentiment, but with a little hard work, your new location was...
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 money so I could travel. November 9th, 1989, fell on...
"Translating Corporate Culture Across Borders" is a favorite subject of mine. I very much enjoy speaking about what I believe corporations need to be mindful of when they expand their operations overseas or when they acquire a business in another country. The National Association of...
For many years I have had a close-up view of an industry that most people know nothing about until a tragic incident occurs. Picture yourself on that vacation of a lifetime – an African Safari, a diving trip somewhere off a Polynesian island, a long-planned...
That is no longer the question. At least not for most corporations in most industries in most countries. The question has been answered, in the affirmative. I remember getting my first Casio wrist watch with a digital display as a kid growing up...
Ever looked for the 4th floor of a hotel in China? You will be looking for a long time… This week I had the opportunity to speak at the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Spring Forum in Washington D.C. The theme was “Global...
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 German companies (the German “Mittelstand”) expanded into the U.S. and...