Rana Foroohar

Once or twice a century, economic and political paradigms shift in ways that transform our lives. That shift is upon us now. From de-globalization to the end of easy money, from changing demographics to the rise of AI, nearly all the major vectoral forces in the global economy are in flux. It’s been fifty years since our world shifted so profoundly, and now, as then, there will be huge opportunities and challenges inherent in this shift -- for countries, companies, workers and consumers. Calling on her last three award winning books, which critics have called “a trilogy for a new political economy,” Foroohar – the Global Business Columnist for the FT and Global Economic Analyst for CNN – lays out where we’ve come, where we are going and what it will mean for global growth, markets, and leaders trying to navigate change.

What will artificial intelligence create? What will it disrupt? And what will it displace? Throughout history, technology has always been the driver of economic growth and new jobs. But that transition takes time, and it’s only a win-win when the public and private sector can work together to make sure human skills keep pace with technological change. AI has the potential to dramatically increase human productivity. But it also comes with huge ethical challenges. Which countries, industries, and workers are best poised to leverage it? What will it mean for geopolitics? (Hint: the internet globalized the world, but AI may regionalize it). Could it’s deflationary effects help offset other inflationary trends around the world? And how can CEOs and boards best understand and navigate both the potential costs — and the opportunities — of generative AI? Calling on her work for the Financial Times, as well as her three best-selling books on the ways in which technology has transformed business and society, Foroohar will lay out what business leaders need to know about the biggest technological transformation of our time.

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Thomas Friedman declared globalization the new economic order in The World Is Flat. But the reign of globalization as we've known it is over, argues Financial Times columnist and CNN analyst Rana Foroohar. Drawing from her upcoming book, Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post Global World, she lays out how the rise of local, regional, and home-grown business is now at hand. The pandemic brought the fragility of global trade and supply chains into stark relief. It also illuminated the long-time vulnerabilities in our neoliberal economic philosophy, one that prioritizes efficiency over resilience and global profits over local prosperity. It's a model that produced massive wealth, inequality, environmental degradation, political bifurcation, and distrust in today's institutions. But the pendulum of history is swinging back, powered by geopolitical, demographic, and financial changes, as well as new place-based economics and a wave of technological innovations — from decentralized manufacturing and digital currencies to the internet of things and blockchain. The shape of companies, trade routes, national economies, and global politics are changing. In this engagement, Foroohar will sketch out the shape of this new tripolar world, calling on her exclusive conversations with top US and EU officials, as well as color reporting from China, America, Germany, the UK, and beyond.

Over the last forty years, we've gotten used to consuming more things, more cheaply, than ever before — from food to fashion to electronic gadgets. But this has come with huge downsides, from wage stagnation to environmental risks and human rights violations. Now, with the rise of ESG investing, regulators and financial markets are beginning to tally the true cost of the old model. And as countries roll out new ESG rules, we will see major changes in trade patterns, supply chains, tax codes, share prices, and labor markets. The next global financial disruption won't come from banks or China — but from the breakdown of the last half-century of neoliberal capitalism. Join Rana Foroohar as she shares her take on what it will all mean for companies, countries, consumers, and citizens.