As regional trading blocs emerge, today’s multinational playbooks will become increasingly obsolete. Marc Gilbert, BCG’s Global Lead for its Center for Geopolitics, unpacks what every CEO needs to know to master the multi-polar world, from what winning looks like to navigating local rules, preferences and politics without losing the global edge.

Learn More:

Marc Gilbert: https://on.bcg.com/4p2KjqP

What’s in Your Tariff Response Toolkit?: https://on.bcg.com/47z0M03

Services Are the New Fault Lines in Global Trade: https://on.bcg.com/43hUsaM

BCG on International Trade: https://on.bcg.com/3JBZoAB

Bonus Content on Trade and Tariffs: https://youtu.be/08RH9rSjH5Y

Chapters

00:00-01:38 The scenario: The multinational has become regional

01:39-02:57 The current state of trade and tariffs

02:58-04:25 How are CEOs navigating geopolitical risk?

04:26-06:59 What are command centers and how are leaders using them?

7:00-08:11 How do CEOs focus on long-term value during turbulence?

08:12-10:18 What major trade blocs could emerge in the future?

10:19-11:54 Will companies need to restructure to thrive?

11:55-12:57 How will companies adapt?

12:58-13:53 Which industries are likely to be most disrupted?

13:54-14:33 Bill and GENE Teaser

14:34-16:39 How can companies acquire the best talent?

16:40-17:34 How can companies insure they have the best AI talent?

17:35-19:21 How would regulation develop in this new world?

19:22-20:10 How should companies think about their headquarters?

20:11-21:11 Will local wins cannibalize global value?

21:12-22:39 How will trade disputes be handled?

22:40-23:51 What scenarios could disrupt this future?

23:52-25:47 What is one no-regret move CEOs can make now?

25:48-28:34 Bill and GENE: Building apps with no experience using AI

28:35-29:18 Outro

Many fear a future where huge swaths of the workforce are replaced by AI. But those concerns are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how companies can best unlock AI's profit-boosting potential, says Julie Bedard, a Fellow at BCG Henderson Institute. Instead of replacing people with AI, she says, companies should upskill workers with higher-order capabilities and put them in charge of AI tools—which will serve not as coworkers but as human-controlled conduits for better outcomes.

Learn More:

Julie Bedard: https://on.bcg.com/4ofmtYQ

AI Is Moving Faster Than Your Workforce Strategy. Are You Ready?: https://on.bcg.com/3LeAEi6

BCG’s Latest Thinking on People Strategy: https://on.bcg.com/4oaJmMU

BCG on GenAI: https://on.bcg.com/4oJKqYd

BCG Henderson Institute’s Latest Insights: https://on.bcg.com/3WZhwHu

Chapters

00:00-02:04 The scenario: Does placing AI on equal footing with humans limit its potential?

02:05-02:51 Will companies become more profitable by replacing humans with AI?

02:52-03:59 Where will AI replace humans?

04:00-04:56 AI as a tool

04:57-06:10 What skills will be needed to succeed?

06:11-07:32 Who will need to be upskilled?

07:33-08:31 What happens to corporate hierarchy?

08:32-09:58 How can companies use AI holistically?

09:59-12:01 What does AI mean for mature workers?

12:02-14:16 How can the education system prepare?

14:17-14:56 Bill and GENE teaser

14:57-18:50 How to build a talent strategy

18:51-21:33 The role of the CPO

21:34-22:53 Is AI a coworker?

22:54-24:06 What happens to mentorship?

24:07-27:34 How companies can approach fear surrounding AI

27:35-29:07 How companies might approach AI in the future

29:08-30:20 What could disrupt this future?

30:21-31:43 No regret moves for CEOs

31:44-33:49 Bill and GENE: How to introduce AI agents to your team

33:50-34:33 Outro

Sponsored and boosted content is a reality of web searches these days, making it harder for consumers to find agnostic product recommendations. Consumers who want to cut to the chase will increasingly use LLMs. Chatbots can quickly comb the web to help consumers research products and serve up recommendations that fit personal needs and tastes. BCG’s Andrej Levin explores how consumers will use LLMs to transform the car buying experience and how CEOs across industries can position their companies to thrive in this burgeoning AI-enabled consumer journey.

Learn More:

Andrej Levin: https://on.bcg.com/4nSUluo

BGC’s Latest Thinking on Automotive: https://on.bcg.com/4mYjenj

Will AI Become the Best Car Sales Advisor?: https://on.bcg.com/46Na1cy

Chapters

00:00-02:38 The scenario: AI reinvents how consumers shop

02:39-04:00 How are people already shopping for cars with AI?

04:01-05:20 How will information reach consumers using LLMs to buy cars?

05:21-08:04 Who controls the information LLMs access?

08:05-09:41 What happens to brands that lag behind?

09:42-11:07 What happens to customer loyalty?

11:08-13:12 How can auto manufacturers approach regional differences?

13:13-14:23 How will LLMs merge with the web and traditional search?

14:24-17:18 Will your car sensors help serve up recommendations?

17:19-19:43 How can AI improve financing in car buying?

19:44-20:15 Bill and GENE teaser

20:16-22:38 How can AI assist with everyday purchases?

22:39-24:53 Can retail shopping experiences compete with LLMs?

24:54-26:00 Will mass market brands break down?

26:01-27:32 Who will be in control of consumers’ data?

27:33-29:20 Will sponsored content find its way to chatbots?

29:21-31:46 How can business leaders ensure their product shows up in LLMs?

31:47-32:33 What could disrupt this future?

32:34-33:34 What no-regret move could CEOs make now to prepare?

33:35-36:36 Bill and GENE: How to become visible in LLM search

36:37-37:20 Outro

AI is creating greater customer personalization, but a far more fundamental change is coming. Over the next decade, it will break down silos across organizations and give CMOs always-on access to better, deeper, and far more comprehensive information. In this episode, BCG’s Janet Balis explores how this will fundamentally change CMOs’ decision making. They will no longer focus exclusively on marketing campaigns; rather, they’ll broaden their oversight to delivering business outcomes—and they’ll do it by leading a holistic, company-wide transformation.

Learn More:

Janet Balis: https://on.bcg.com/46NNawp

BCG’s Latest Thinking on Marketing and Sales: https://on.bcg.com/4pJwe2u

BCG on the Media and Entertainment Industry: https://on.bcg.com/4mBDECp

Too often, a company’s sales strategy is limited by finite resources. Even the largest multinational corporations have to make tough decisions about where to deploy their sales teams. But as they grow more sophisticated, AI agents are expected to be capable of reaching and interacting with not only your largest and most valuable clients and customers, but also small businesses most sales teams simply didn’t have the bandwidth to engage before. BCG’s Phillip Andersen examines the potential of AI-driven sales teams and imagines how AI-agents might even negotiate simple transactions with each other.

Learn More:

Phillip Andersen: https://on.bcg.com/46plrlt

BCG’s Latest Thinking on Marketing and Sales: https://on.bcg.com/47L7ZKR

A Bold AI Ambition for B2B Marketing, Sales, and Service: https://on.bcg.com/3VVCNBi

How to Accelerate the GenAI Revolution in Sales: http://on.bcg.com/42zfEZb

Chapters:

00:00-02:13The scenario: AI sales agents of the future

02:14-03:02 How do sales teams currently prioritize where to put their resources?

03:03-03:46 How are most sales teams using AI right now

03:47- 06:09 What have we learned from AI already being used in customer service?

06:10-08:40 What doors will AI agents open for sales teams that are currently closed to them?

08:41- 11:08 What would AI outreach look like in the future?

11:09-12:56 What is the role of humans when AI agents are making deals?

12:57-13:24 Short break

13:25-16:13 How to use AI agents to build relationships with valued clients

16:14- 17:47 Who owns the “redline”?

17:48-19:43 How will junior members of the team grow their skills?

19:44-22:16 How can AI help junior members grow their skills?

22:17-23:38 What kind of skills will humans need to succeed when they're augmented by AI agents?

23:39-25:47 What will it look like when two AI agents interact with each other?

25:48-27:50 How will AI agents gained trust of customers?

27:51-29:25 What could disrupt this path to the future?

29:26-31:45 No regret moves for CEOs

31:46-35:23 Bill and GENE: A hypothetical conversation between two AI agents.

35:24-36:08 Outro

Who Wants to Be a CEO?

The role of the CEO is both powerful and punishing. Christine Barton, BCG’s CEO Advisory lead in North America, explores how to make the job more fulfilling. It starts with clarity of purpose, building the right leadership team, and minimizing activities that are time and energy sinkholes.

Learn More:

The So What from BCG: https://lnk.to/so-what-general-show10

Christine Barton: https://on.bcg.com/4n4CyAk

BCG’s Insights for CEOs: https://on.bcg.com/4l6jujg

Moves Only a CEO Can Make: https://on.bcg.com/4kUtpJ2

Balancing a Dynamic Career and a Rewarding Personal Life: https://on.bcg.com/3TfaYTz

Quantum computers harness the almost mystical properties of subatomic particles to solve problems that are beyond even the most powerful “classical” computers available today. Will these computers usher in a new generation of custom pharmaceuticals and sustainable materials—or will they be used to crack every password and create global chaos? BCG’s Antoine Gourévitch imagines the coming age of quantum computers and dives deep into ways they could supercharge the discovery of new materials. But the quantum age comes with huge risks as well; governments around the world are already racing to develop quantum-safe passwords that will keep our data secure.

Learn More:

Antoine Gourévitch: https://on.bcg.com/4hMrXaQ

BCG on Quantum Computing: https://on.bcg.com/3AGK415

GenAI on GenAI: https://link.chtbl.com/bcg-genai-on-genai?sid=IT

CEO Digest: https://link.chtbl.com/ceo-digest-bcg-show?sid=IT

CEO Moments of Truth: https://on.bcg.com/ITMoT

While discussions of US tariff policies dominated Q2 earnings calls to an unprecedented degree, another equally important trend is bubbling just under the surface in C-suites and on trading floors: concern that the economic uncertainty caused by tariff turmoil may lead to a downturn. That’s the conclusion of the third edition of the CEO Radar—a tool to help CEOs determine which issues truly deserve their time and attention. It unpacks the leading topics discussed on more than 4,500 earnings calls worldwide in Q2 2025, enabling chief executives to compare their agendas to those of their peers, and to the market’s expectations. On this episode of the CEO Radar Podcast, Edward Adams of Bloomberg Media Studios is joined by BCG Global Chair Rich Lesser and Mai-Britt Poulsen, Global Leader of BCGs Consumer & Retail Practice, to discuss how CEOs can build their resilience.

Listen to CEO Radar: https://sponsored.bloomberg.com/immersive-story/bcg/the-ceo-radar-q3-2025