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International In-house Counsel Journal logoInternational In-house Counsel Journal logo

New Priorities of Corporate Directors: Geopolitical and Technological Disruptions

Abstract

This article highlights the rising geopolitical tensions and technological competition between the United States (and allied liberal democracies) and China (and certain other authoritarian regimes). These geopolitical challenges will impact the functioning of every major industry. Management and boards of directors can expect a continuation of supply chain disruptions, export controls, sanctions, market access prohibitions, and technology regulations such as the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. In the last seventy-five years of relative stability, corporations have had respite from such challenges. This epoch is over, requiring farsighted and proactive boards to reassess supply chains, business partners, and risk management protocols. The role of policymakers also must expand beyond regulations and sanctions and encourage corporate decisions that favor long-term investment. This article explores new corporate governance priorities and governmental policy directives that can help businesses navigate a bifurcated and disrupted global order.

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Authors

Donald Rosenberg
Former General Counsel, Qualcomm, USA

Donald J. Rosenberg is a Fellow in Residence at the Center on Global Transformation in UCSD’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. Formerly Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Qualcomm Incorporated. During his 14 year tenure at Qualcomm Don played a key role in shaping and executing the company’s strategic direction and policy initiatives regularly engaging with governments throughout the world, including US, China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the EU and its Member States, Brazil and Canada. Before joining Qualcomm, Don served as Senior Vice President , General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Apple Inc., and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of IBM Corporation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; the National Committee on US/China Relations; the International Advisory Board at University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Global Policy and Strategy; and the China Leadership Board of the 21st Century China Center at UCSD. Don has served as an adjunct professor of law at New York's Pace University School of Law, where he taught courses in intellectual property and antitrust law.

David Teece
Executive Chairman, Berkeley Research Group LLC, USA

David J. Teece, Executive Chairman of the Berkeley Research Group. He is also a Professor at the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley. He has authored over 30 books and 200 scholarly papers, and he is co-editor of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management, and Industrial and Corporate Change, an Oxford University Press Journal. Dr. Teece has received eight honorary doctorates and has been recognized by Royal Honors and is a member of the Royal Society of New Zealand. In 2020, Teece was rated #1 worldwide in management by London-based Clarivate and was given “Clarivate Laureate” status in economics (for innovation, entrepreneurship, and competition) in 2021 he was saluted as a ‘Distinguished Management Thinker’ by Thinkers50. Google Scholar indicates that he has been cited over 190,000 times. He has co-founded three companies and taken two public. Dr. Teece has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and has held teaching and research positions at Stanford University and Oxford University.

Kirti Gupta
Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies, USA

Dr. Kirti Gupta is the Vice President and Chief Economist at Qualcomm with ~20 years of experience in the mobile industry in diverse roles spanning engineering, product, litigation, and policy. She and her team provide economic analysis and thought leadership on global Technology, IP, Antitrust, and macroeconomic policy issues to Qualcomm’s executive team, in collaboration with various business units internally, and a global network of experts, influencers, and policy makers externally. She is also a Senior Advisor at the Washington D.C. based think-tank, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the co-founder and Executive Director at the Haas School of Business’s initiative on Managing Geopolitical Risk.. Prior to her role as an economist, Kirti spent over a decade as a wireless systems-engineering expert, working on R&D for the third and fourth generation wireless cellular standards that connect most of the mobile devices in the world today. Dr. Gupta holds a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego. She has published widely in policy, law, and economic journals, and holds over 50 patents in the field of wireless communications.

Companies

Qualcomm

Berkeley Research Group LLC logo

Berkeley Research Group LLC

Berkeley Research Group, LLC (BRG) is a global consulting firm that helps leading organizations advance in three key areas: disputes and investigations, corporate finance, and performance improvement and advisory. Headquartered in California with offices around the world, we are an integrated group of experts, industry leaders, academics, data scientists, and professionals working across borders and disciplines. We harness our collective expertise to deliver the inspired insights and practical strategies our clients need to stay ahead of what’s next. Recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Management Consulting Firms, we have in-depth experience across a wide range of industries and markets, from construction and energy to technology and healthcare. No matter what sector your business is in, we have experienced professionals who understand the challenges you face—making us better equipped to help solve them.

Center for Strategic and International Studies

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