“Today’s geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty creates a real opportunity for the company to leverage its broad capabilities to help businesses navigate and grow during challenging times,” said Marsh President and CEO John Q. Doyle.
Doyle told Bloomberg in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos that business leaders around the world must rethink how they respond to risks and strategies in the face of growing geopolitical uncertainty, as events in places like Venezuela, Iran and Greenland highlight changing global dynamics.
“This is a higher-risk period. Overall, what we’re looking at is a geoeconomic confrontation,” the CEO said.
He continued: “We have about 100 people in Caracas. When the incident occurred at the beginning of this year, our first priority was to ensure their safety.
“This is also an example of how business leaders need to think: immediately assess their assets in the Caribbean and Latin America to understand broader contagion or risk. We did scenario planning and have done similar work for our clients.
“Greenland, and specifically the issue of rare minerals, is an example, perhaps an extreme example, of the conversations that have been happening globally over the past few years.
“Many businesses have frameworks in place for assessing opportunities and risks in today’s geopolitical environment. We do our best to work closely with our clients to help them invest with confidence, including providing financing for these risks.
“We have products, capabilities and advisory services to address civil unrest, social unrest and similar risks. Those products are in greater demand right now.”
Doyle noted that while this is a remarkable moment in many ways, it also presents opportunities for businesses.
For Marsh, uncertainty has reportedly created real opportunities to help the company thrive and demonstrate its full capabilities.
Doyle concluded: “We have a lot of assets, and artificial intelligence is a great example of the risks and opportunities that exist. The heightened cyber risks brought by artificial intelligence have not been paid enough attention.
“Of course, AI will also bring about job displacement, economic disruption and business model disruption, but at the same time, it also provides the opportunity to reinvent work.
“I’m excited about this as a company and we’re helping customers think about how to deploy these technologies in their workplaces.”
