Geopolitics Demands New Leadership by CCOs

The convergence of geopolitics and global business has become = ubiquitous. Olympic sponsorships, supply chains, and ransomware attacks are creating headlines and headaches for multinationals trying to survive as a global business in an increasingly nation-first world. 

In this shifting geopolitical landscape, Weber Shandwick’s Home Country as Stakeholder research identified a new business stakeholder on the block – home country – that is creating a new set of choices and challenges for business leaders. 

For Chief Communications Officers (CCOs), the rise of home country as a critical stakeholder presents a new opportunity to exercise leadership.  

Consider this – nearly six in 10 global executives (58 percent) say their home country (where their company is headquartered) is a “very” important stakeholder to their business. So important, in fact, that home country is second only to customers (63%) and equal to shareholders. Further, national security is rated 6 to 10 percent higher in importance than even diversity & inclusion, ESG and climate change when it comes to making business decisions. 

These findings present tough questions to consider: If a business serves all stakeholders who matter, how is it expected to serve its home country? What does it mean to deliver value to your home country? How should a business contribute to its home country’s national security? 

These geopolitical challenges are stark because acting in the interest of your home country often means acting counter to the interest of another country in your global footprint. This tension is impossible to avoid in a geopolitical competition shaped by such nation-first mottos as Brazil Above Everything, China Standards 2035, European strategic autonomy, Nation First in India, Made in All of America and Brexit, to name a few.  

Negative media attention, public boycotts, employee open letters, forced apologies and social media lightning strikes can follow. 

So, why and where do CCOs need to be leading anew? Here are three areas to begin: 

1. The Employee and Public/Consumer Blindspot. In our research, employees and consumers are tied near the bottom of the list (8th out of 13) as information sources executives say they use to determine geopolitical risk. Yet these constituencies are themselves quickly becoming a major force pressuring companies on geopolitical issues. See here for an example. CCOs are uniquely attuned to the perceptions, priorities and narratives of employees and consumers. And CCOs are the most likely executives to pick up on signals that can help their company get ahead of simmering issues. CCOs can and should bring these geo-insights into conversations with the CEO, Board, General Counsel and Government Relations whenever possible.
2. The Present Day Disinformation Threat. Nearly half (49 percent) of global executives are “very” concerned about disinformation surrounding their company. It is up to CCOs to anticipate and build reputation resilience against this very real geopolitical threat to business. That means understanding the nature of information statecraft and how a company’s home country could make it a target of disinformation by state and non-state actors.  
3. Preparing a Public Stance Before it is Too Late. The vast majority of executives (87 percent) agree their companies should be prepared to take a more public position on geopolitical issues over the next five years. CCOs are essential to anticipating which issues the enterprise will need to speak out on – willingly or not – and ensuring the organization is prepared inside and out, domestically and internationally. This means factoring in home country expectations and preparing for inevitable blowback from domestic or foreign stakeholders. Considering how many multinationals have recently stumbled when it comes to geopolitical issues, time is of the essence.

We’ve always known that communications leaders are essential to the business and reputation of a company. The geopolitical landscape and rise of the home country stakeholder, first identified in our research, now makes that leadership role even more critical. Those who answer the call sooner rather than later will help their organizations mitigate risk, seize opportunity and ultimately help define what it means to be a business in the 21st century geopolitical arena. Is 2022 the year?

Michelle Giuda is Executive Vice President of Geopolitical Strategy & Risk at Weber Shandwick. She served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs from 2018 to 2020.