The Active Share

As it turns out, culture has a lot to do with how we operate. But how difficult is it to measure? In this episode of The Active Share, Hugo sits down with Dr. Tom Reader, an associate professor of organizational psychology at the London School of Economics, to discuss the broad role culture plays in all kinds of organizations; why great cultures are the defining feature of good companies; and how engaging with diverse perspectives can help foster meaningful cultural growth and innovation.

Microchips are the foundation of the modern economy, but what are the geopolitical implications of this new power player? In this episode of The Active Share, Hugo spoke with Tufts University associate professor Chris Miller, author of the book Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology, about the decades-long, globe-spanning battle to control one of the world’s most critical resources.

Low interest rates and a focus on being green led to significant underinvestment in the old economy. Netflix rose and Exxon fell. But we’re now beginning a rotation away from the new economy back to the old, says Jeff Currie, global head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs. In this episode of The Active Share, Jeff tells Hugo how he sees the future of energy, from green tech to oil, from the east to the west—who will win, who will lose, and how investors can prepare.

When a society embraces cognitive diversity, powerful outcomes can result. In this episode of The Active Share, Hugo sits down with Matthew Syed, a best-selling author, highly acclaimed speaker, and award-winning journalist, to discuss what it means to think in complex ways; the implications of moving away from group think; and how investors can benefit from diverse cultures and voices.

There’s no debating that we’re in tumultuous times, but who’s coming out ahead and who will be left behind? We asked geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan, critically acclaimed author of The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization. Through his work at the U.S. State Department, private intelligence company Stratfor, and his own firm (Zeihan on Geopolitics), Peter has gained a unique perspective of the way the world works and offers some insight about the end of globalization.

According to Gary Gerstle, University of Cambridge professor and author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era, we’re moving to a new political order. But will it resemble the welfare state that began with the New Deal? Will it be more like the capitalistic state of recent decades? Or will it be something else entirely? In this episode of The Active Share, Hugo speaks with Gary about what gave rise to the old orders, and what may be coming next.

When Aoifinn Devitt created The Fiftyfaces Podcast in 2020, she wanted to showcase the diversity of the world’s investors by telling their stories. Now, she tells Hugo her own story—from her start as a lawyer to her current role as the first female chief investment officer at Moneta, an investment advisor with $27 billion of assets under management. In this wide-ranging discussion, Aoifinn explains how the Russia-Ukraine conflict could change how we think about ESG, whether we’re in a new investing regime, and what she’s learned from podcasting.

Most organizations are wary of rebels, but they shouldn’t be, says Francesca Gino, Harvard Business School professor and author of Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life. Join Francesca and Hugo for a discussion of the complex problems that organizations face in 2022, and why we need people to embrace their rebelliousness in order to solve them.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks have led to dramatic changes in corporate strategy and behavior. But it’s easier for a company to change than a country. In this episode of The Active Share, Hugo speaks with Teal Emery, founder of Teal Insights, a boutique research consultancy focusing on sustainability issues in sovereign debt markets, and Yvette Babb, a portfolio manager of William Blair’s emerging markets debt team. The topic of discussion: What does ESG mean in the context of sovereigns versus corporates?

Powerful global forces could cause billions of people to relocate over the next few decades, a transition that may have significant investment implications. Join Hugo and Parag Khanna, Ph.D., founder and managing partner of strategic advisory FutureMap and author of Move: The Forces Uprooting Us, for a discussion of what’s driving migration, including demographics, climate change, and politics.