Common Industry Challenges

I interviewed 20 sustainability managers 🎙️ That's their #1 pain point 🤕 ➡️ "Reporting is 1st. Impact is 2nd". Challenges that I can see with sustainability in companies: ❌ Competing frameworks confuse. ❌ Data collection becomes more important than actual impact ❌ Disconnect between reporting teams and operational teams ❌ Excessive time spent on documentation. ❌ Risk of greenwashing through selective reporting (I am sure you have your observations to add🙄) 5 secrets to turn this into the biggest opportunity for change: ✅ Use reporting to clarify sustainability vision 100%. ✅ Identify in-company 'spoilers' - and engage them! ✅ Change sustainability reporting from 'a burden' for all, to an 'invitation to do good' for each individual. ✅ Turn deadlines into celebration moments for internal change. ✅ Use data requirements as opportunities to understand the entire value chain (and opportunities for change). You know the pain ?🧐 📲 Ping me to re-write the script on your sustainability reporting ♻️ #circulareconomy #zerowaste #sustainability

The Mars–Kellanova deal just sent a warning signal to every mid-sized executive. The ink is dry on the $36B deal between Mars and Kellanova. Most headlines are focused on Pringles and Snickers under one roof. If you are an EVP at a $5B–$10B CPG company, you should be reading the subtext instead. The middle has officially become the kill zone. As we move into 2026, the market is bifurcating fast. On one end, you have the Titans like PepsiCo. They win on distribution, procurement power, and balance sheet strength. They can outlast cycles and absorb margin pressure longer than anyone else. On the other end, you have the insurgents like Mid-Day Squares and poppi. They win on speed, cultural relevance, and focus. They do not need to be everything to everyone. They just need to matter deeply to someone. If you are an $8B company sitting in the middle, you have a problem. You are too small to fight Mars on price and scale. You are too slow to fight Poppi on trends and experimentation. That makes you distressed inventory. From an executive search perspective, the signal is already clear. I am seeing a real talent migration underway. Strong leaders are quietly exiting the middle tier of CPG. Not because they lack loyalty or skill, but because they can read the direction of travel. They are moving up to the Titans for safety, structure, and longevity. Or they are moving down to PE-backed challengers for equity, scope, and real influence. Very few are choosing to stay parked in the middle anymore. For C-suite candidates, this matters more than ever. The “safe” role at a heritage, mid-sized brand is not as safe as it looks. In many cases, it is just a slow acquisition target with limited upside and shrinking decision autonomy. Career strategy in 2026 is about positioning, not comfort. My advice to senior leaders is simple. Do not get stuck in the middle. Be honest about where your company sits in the ecosystem and what that means for your trajectory. #FMCG #Mars #Kellanova #M&A #CareerStrategy #ExecutiveSearch

Mario Draghi's analysis of the future of European competitiveness highlights the changes that I have long considered necessary and urgent. Draghi points out that the telecom sector is overcrowded: "Today, the EU has dozens of telecom players serving around 450 million consumers, compared with a handful in the US and China, respectively," and adds, "as a result, in Europe both revenues per subscriber and capital expenditure per capita (...) are less than half the US’ and Japan’s levels," reaching the conclusion that "the declining profitability of the telecom sector now may represent a risk for industrial companies in Europe." There couldn’t be a more authoritative confirmation of the perfect storm I also described on stage at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2023 (https://lnkd.in/dfi5yQss). That’s where I showed how it was necessary and urgent to change the rules of the game, because #InactionIsNotAnOption. Some may have thought I was being provocative, but step by step, we are all converging on the same positions. First, there was the report "Much More than a Market" by Enrico Letta and Jacques Delors Institute, then the White Paper by the European Commission with Thierry Breton "How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?". Now, Mario Draghi's perspective joins them, recommending to "reform the EU’s regulation and competition stance to complete the digital single market for telecommunications, harmonizing rules and favoring cross-border mergers and operations," and he adds in more detail: • "reduce country-level ex ante regulation and favor rather ex post competition enforcement • facilitate cross-border integration and the creation of EU-wide players • introduce a ‘same rules for same services’ principle across the EU • encourage the definition of commercial contractual agreements for terminating data traffic and infrastructure cost-sharing • incentivize the deployment of new infrastructures by defining cut-off dates for older technologies". Well, let’s continue down this path, united as we are already doing, thanks to the work of organizations such as the Confindustria team led by Emanuele Orsini, GSMA, and Connect Europe, with the indispensable contribution of the Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy by Adolfo Urso, Alessio Butti, Agcom, and AGCM. We are ready to do our part, aware that the game we are playing is one of the most important: without #TLC, there is no digitalization. Report “The future of European Competitiveness”: https://lnkd.in/dhb875VR

Mercury eats up gold when they touch, making a soft mix called amalgam. It wrecks jewelry, amazes scientists, and is banned in lots of places because it’s toxic. Because of this unique property, mercury is unfortunately still used in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), primarily due to its low cost and ease of use. Miners mix liquid mercury with gold-containing ore, forming an amalgam that allows them to separate the gold from other materials. To recover the pure gold, this amalgam is then heated, causing the mercury to vaporize, leaving the gold behind. This simple yet dangerous method is prevalent in many developing countries where miners lack access to safer, more advanced technologies. The use of mercury in mining carries severe environmental and health consequences. When the mercury vaporizes during the heating process, it pollutes the air and can travel long distances before settling into water and soil. Once in aquatic environments, microorganisms can transform elemental mercury into methylmercury, a highly toxic organic compound that bioaccumulates up the food chain, contaminating fish consumed by humans and wildlife. Miners and their communities face direct exposure through inhalation of mercury vapor, leading to devastating neurological damage, kidney failure, and developmental issues, particularly in children. Recognizing these severe impacts, international efforts are underway to curb mercury pollution from ASGM. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty aimed at reducing mercury use and emissions. Programs like UNEP's planetGOLD are actively working to introduce and implement mercury-free mining techniques, such as gravity concentration and direct smelting, providing training and support to help artisanal mining communities transition away from this harmful practice and protect both human health and the environment.

How to Sustain Our Automotive Industry, and Particularly Its Suppliers, in Europe European automotive production is expected to remain between 15 and 16 million vehicles annually in the coming years. This volume will likely be shared among a growing number of manufacturers, particularly due to the arrival of Chinese automakers. Chinese OEMs will benefit in Europe from their domestic R&D cost base, global amortization volumes, and broad technological platforms. They are imposing their “business model”: shorter vehicle lifecycles, low annual volumes per vehicle — which require very limited investment per vehicle. Consequently, they will impose short development times, averaging 20 months. Currently, Chinese vehicle prices in Europe are roughly double those in China. However, they remain, on average, half the price of their European equivalents. This context forces European automakers to profoundly reassess and significantly restructure their cost base. They currently purchase on average 70% of their revenue. Competitive pressure could push them to buy more outside Europe, especially in Asia. Today, the European content in vehicles is around 90%. For electric vehicles, it is about 60%. Imported vehicles are taxed by the European Commission at rates between 18% and 45%. Imported automotive components are taxed at 3%. It is clear that protecting automotive suppliers is essential to protect the European automotive industry. The automotive industry vitally needs domestic suppliers. The European Union should impose a minimum European content requirement per vehicle. This content should not be less than 70%. This measure already exists in China and the United States. This European “local content” rule would apply to all manufacturers producing in Europe. This measure would particularly benefit tier 2 and tier 3 suppliers. Tier 1 suppliers, already present in China, have proven their competitiveness. This “local content” rule also protects the exports of EU-based OEMs to other countries, especially the United States, which imposes restrictions on the use of Chinese components and software. However, this solution is not unanimously supported in Europe, especially in Germany. Germany’s economic success was — and still is — largely based on free trade. Currently, German automakers are advocating for innovation and competitiveness rather than “local content”. But our technological lag and cost differences cannot be sufficiently closed in the short and medium term. We must act now!

In a chapter co-authored with Udit Mathur for IDFC Foundation’s India Infrastructure Report 2024, we examine the twin resource challenges shaping India’s clean energy transition: critical minerals and water. As deployment of solar, wind, and storage accelerates, securing access to critical minerals is essential. We outline five strategic priorities for the Government’s Critical Minerals Mission—ranging from long-term planning and exploration to processing capabilities and international partnerships. We also highlight the water risk: India holds just 4% of the world’s freshwater but supports 18% of its population. With renewables expanding in water-scarce regions, we recommend stricter enforcement of water-use norms and cluster-level planning. Our core argument is that with anticipatory policy, institutional reform, and global collaboration, India can deliver on its energy transition goals without being constrained by these vital resources. #EnergyTransition #IIR2024 #ReNewTheFuture Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) MoEF&CC

😱 If you’re still “becoming SDV”… your competitors are already becoming AI-defined. Just my personal take 💭, as always. Comment below — and if you want, feel free to share it with your network. The 3 S-curves dilemma is real — and it’s turning into the biggest strategic trap in the industry. 👉 The uncomfortable truth hiding in plain sight: 1️⃣) Hardware-defined vehicles (HDV) Most incumbents are still structurally anchored here: distributed ECUs, supplier black boxes, slow release cycles. 2️⃣) Software-defined vehicles (SDV) Many OEMs are only now entering the early stage of this curve, e.g., Toyota Motor Corporation, Stellantis or Ford Motor Company: centralized compute, OTA at scale, platform thinking, software orgs that can ship weekly—not yearly. 3️⃣) AI-defined vehicles (AIDV) Meanwhile, a different set of players such as GEELY, XPENG, Li Auto have already moved on: model-centric stacks, data flywheels, inference-first architectures, AI as the feature engine. Here’s the kicker: Hardware-first platforms at Stellantis, GM, Ford or Hyundai Motor Group are suddenly getting special attention — and budgets 💰 — to keep them competitive longer than planned. Why? 👉 Because the SDV transition is taking longer, costing more 💸, and breaking more legacy assumptions than many leadership teams expected. So executives are doing the rational thing in the short term: ✅ Extend the life of HDV platforms ✅ Patch architectures ✅ “SDV-wash” legacy E/E roadmaps ✅ Delay hard platform resets But it creates a brutal strategic bind: 👉 You’re funding patches, getting distracted and capped in the transformations to SDVs. 👉 Someone else with endless access to capita, right mindset, risk-taking approaches and no legacy are plowing through the SDV and AIDV challenges. The question nobody wants to say out loud: Should OEMs skip SDV if they don’t have a leading SDV program? A strategic direction could be to leapfrog to AI-defined capabilities. Not by skipping the radical foundational and architecture work… but by skipping the idea that SDV is the destination. The proxy of SDVs and the software-defined organization is the substrate. AI is the compounding layer. If your SDV program is not: ➡️ truly centralized compute (not “domain++”), ➡️ OTA at scale with weekly release capability, ➡️ an in-house controlled software platform with real ownership, ➡️ a data pipeline that feeds product improvement, … then you’re not building an SDV advantage. You’re building an expensive transition layer. In that case, “SDV” could become a bridge to nowhere. The market won’t wait for your migration plan. It’s on you to master capital allocation and organizational design decisions. 👇 I’m curious: If you’re not leading in SDV today, would you 1) leapfrog to AI-defined, or 2) double down on HDV and partner hard? #automotive #SDV #ADAS #AI #autonomousdriving #strategy

Rolling back clean energy policies to save European industry will backfire. Whilst it may seem attractive in the short term it is poor industrial policy in the long term. The latest attempts of Germany to once again derail European regulation on the phase-out of the internal combustion engine fall into this category. In my remarks at the European Council this week, I emphasised that standing still (or even moving backwards) on climate and clean energy policies is not a path to industrial strength — it’s a risk to Europe’s competitiveness. European industries need stability, clarity, and long-term direction to invest confidently in the technologies of the future. Policy uncertainty discourages innovation and diverts investment to other regions offering clearer signals. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is not standing still. If Europe hesitates now, it risks losing ground in the global race for the industries of tomorrow. Staying the course on climate ambition is not just about reaching net zero — it’s about ensuring Europe remains an industrial leader in the 21st century economy.

We built an industry around harvesting the wind. Last Monday in Hyde County, South Dakota, the wind was destructive. On June 29, a derecho produced a 131 mph straight-line gust near Highmore: one of the strongest straight-line thunderstorm gusts ever recorded in the U.S. It buckled towers and snapped blades across ENGIE's Triple H and North Bend wind farms, leaving more than 20 turbines scattered across the prairie. The images are striking. But what's nagging at me is something less visible. Standard IEC Class I turbines are rated to survive extreme gusts of roughly 112 mph. At 131 mph, this wasn't a design failure in the conventional sense; it was a storm outside the distribution the turbines were designed for. The wind hazard models underpinning turbine certification, project finance assumptions, and insurance pricing were all built on historical data, and that data reflects a climate that may no longer exist. For those of us who think about the risk infrastructure behind clean energy portfolios, that's the real wake-up call. The energy transition needs capital, capital needs accurate risk pricing and design standards, and right now the models we're using to do that pricing are running on historical distributions that an event like Highmore just blew past. #RenewableEnergy #WindEnergy #ClimateRisk #ClimateInsurance #EnergyTransition