Author: Ben Lawson

The Interconnectedness of Transnational Organised Crime – International Risks like never before.

The world is becoming increasingly interconnected. One state’s politics is no longer isolated in its impacts. The outcome of elections are becoming increasingly more meaningful for the stability of international relations, and global agreements. Wars being fought in the Middle East and Europe currently represent not only the interests of the states whose cities become […]

Episode 148: The International Risks Associated with Corporate Reputation with Rupert Younger

In recent podcasts, we have talked a lot about ESG, and the corporate responsibilities companies must take into account in their day-to-day working. The ways in which consumers view companies has changed dramatically over the last two decades, and corporate reputation is more important than ever, and reputations and brands are scrutinized than ever before. […]

Rupert Younger

Rupert Younger is the founder and director of Oxford University’s Centre for Corporate Reputation and co-author of two books – The Reputation Game and The Activist Manifesto. He has published widely on matters related to legitimacy, status, stigma, celebrity, reputation, and trust.  He chaired The University of Oxford’s Socially Responsible Investment Committee (2012-2017) and is […]

The Growing Importance of ESG in Business

Over the last few weeks, we have heard from both Valentina Lira, CEO of Viña Concha y Toro and, this week, Chris Coulter, CEO of GlobeScan. In both these episodes, these guests outlined how ESG considerations are increasing in importance for business, both well established, and growing. Whilst these guests have perfectly covered the ‘what’,today, […]

Episode 147: The International Risks of Human Trafficking and People Smuggling with Roy McComb

A few weeks ago, we spoke to Nathan Paul Southern, who gave us a deep dive into the links transnational criminal organisations have to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Transnational crime is a topic so vast, it would be an injustice to only cover one aspect of it, given  its impact on international risk. Today, […]

Roy McComb

Roy McComb is an experienced former law enforcement officer having held executive leadership roles as the Head of Organised Crime in Northern Ireland and a Deputy Director in the (UK) National Crime Agency, where he was the UK law enforcement lead for Modern Slavery/Human Trafficking, as well as Child Sexual Abuse.  He now provides strategic […]

Chris Coulter

Chris works with leaders in business, NGOs and governmental organizations to help them better understand and respond to shifting stakeholder expectations, build trust with key constituencies and exert greater influence in shaping a more sustainable and equitable future. Chris has two decades of experience in providing evidence-based counsel to leadership organizations in the areas of […]

Episode 146: The International Risks and Opportunities of the Future of ESG in Business with Chris Coulter

As we have seen in the recent COP28 conference, and our episode with Valentina Lira, the nature of business for both leaders and stakeholders is vastly different to what it used to be at the start of the millennium. The rising importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance issues  for businesses brings opportunities and risks and […]

The Serbian Elections – The International Risks and Why They Matter for Democracy

This week’s podcast had Dr Alexander Mesarovich discuss the Serbian elections, which took place towards the end of 2023. As discussed in the podcast, Aleksandar Vučić’s victory was not met with celebration, instead protests filled the streets of Belgrade, and other cities in Serbia, accusing Vučić’s party of fraud and calls for the elections to […]

Episode 145: The International Risks of the 2023 Serbian Election with Dr Alexander Mesarovich

Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 17 December 2023 to elect members of the National Assembly. While they were initially scheduled to be held by 30 April 2026, Aleksandar Vučić, the president of Serbia, called a snap election in November 2023, after previously announcing that snap elections could be either held in 2023 or […]