Mood of the Boardroom: New Zealand businesses navigate geopolitical risks amid global instability (NZ Herald)
As global instability grows, New Zealand boardrooms are increasingly focused on assessing and mitigating geopolitical risks.
Now in its third year, the Russia-Ukraine war, alongside the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and rising tensions in the South China Sea, has made geopolitical challenges an unavoidable point of discussion.
These crises are affecting trade, sparking regional conflicts, and driving regulatory changes, with 72% of New Zealand’s top executives in the Mood of the Boardroom survey confirming that their businesses regularly assess vulnerabilities to these risks at the board level.
A further 27% of respondents say they do not have this on their risk matrix, and 1% remain unsure.
The growing complexity of global challenges has led New Zealand companies to adopt a more rigorous approach to risk assessment.
For some, like investment fund Morrison, the conversation has become a constant fixture in its strategy sessions. CEO Paul Newfield explains: “We spend part of every board meeting discussing geopolitical risks and we get great external perspectives to challenge our thinking”.
Air New Zealand Chair Dame Therese Walsh echoes this approach, noting that “as a global airline, the business is impacted by international regulations and global trends, and these are always contemplated”.
Similarly, Beca Group chair David Carter says this used to be an annual review.
“However this has been increased in response to the rising geopolitical uncertainty.”
