Best of LinkedIn: Strategy & Consulting CW 38/39 2026

AI and agentic AI

• A five step KYA methodology helps organizations assess, tier and govern agentic AI systems
• Over 70% of experts say treating AI agents as autonomous decision makers will fail, and 72% want named human owners
• Deloitte built four agentic enterprise scenarios to pressure test AI strategy
• Leading Asia-Pacific companies win with focused, CEO led AI transformations rather than endless pilots
• BCG X and AWS turned Aeromexico's contact center into an AI driven value engine
• BCG and Konecta moved 80+ GenAI deployments live in 12 months, lifting conversion 40%
• Gallup-reported worry about AI job loss rose from 20% to 27%
• AI speeds analysis, not decisions, which makes judgment the new marker of expertise
• GPT-6 Astra crossed OpenAI's Critical cybersecurity threshold

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Geopolitics and trade

• Tariffs now work as leverage, so exposure mapping comes before any sourcing change
• About 80% of world trade moves by sea, often through chokepoints
• KPMG urges boards to shift from geopolitical prediction to preparedness and stress testing
• About a third of executives are frequently surprised by geopolitical risk
• BCG research finds a coordinated Europe forms a distinct global pole of power
• EY finds AI sovereignty is not binary, with governments seeking selective agency
• Deloitte Global Trade Watch flags six critical developments including Canada and EU ties
• US tariff removal on Irish whiskey could lift sales, investment and jobs
• US economy is on track for 2.3% growth in 2026, and Canada's Q2 grew 3.3% annualized

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Sustainability and climate

• Sustainability is now a business resilience and economic security issue focused on execution
• WEF CSO Outlook shows sustainability embedding into core decisions, with momentum expected to hold
• BRICS 2026 shows sustainability becoming a trade and investment decision shaped by geopolitics
• Climate considerations must inform capital, risk and supply chain decisions before disruption occurs
• Food commodity volatility from geopolitics and climate makes resilience the new advantage
• ISSB and ESRS alignment was the focus of a London insurance forum on disclosure rules
• Three lessons from European energy markets can guide Japan's power sector, with no importable blueprint

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GCCs and India

• India's GCCs are evolving into global business control centres, with Hyderabad leading
• GCC talent must combine industry expertise, technology fluency and enterprise decision making
• Long term GCC success rests on aligned mandates, global careers, business context and self disruption

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Consulting and professional services

• Oliver Wyman launched a Geostrategy practice covering sanctions, trade, technology and supply chains
• Deloitte's 5.7% revenue growth shows institutional machinery, not individual Partners, drives Big Four success
• AI is forcing a rethink of how junior consultants build judgment and client understanding
• BCG launched a YouTube series on five Operations offers and released its fourth annual GFF report, Balance
• Deloitte advocates fusing Procurement and Finance to counter geopolitical and supply disruption
• EY Nordic colleagues invested nearly 20,000 learning hours this year

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Leadership and growth

• Breakout consumer brands solve real needs, earn demand, protect distinctiveness and run AI native
• CIOs earn credibility through operational excellence and cost cuts before building business capability
• Technology risk is now business risk, requiring technology risk expertise in audits
• Europe's decline is a choice, requiring political confidence, shared defense and long term thinking

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Thanks to Manoj Marwah, Tiger Tyagarajan, Martina Bo, Yvonne Zhu, Daniel Kuepper, Vlad Boutenko, Jeff Lindquist, Brian Elliott, Ash Mehra, Evan Benjamin, Borko Handjiski, Marc Beierschoder, Gino Dossche, Jacopo Piccolo Brunelli, Satish Muley, Shahzaib Sanwal, Paolo Lobetti Bodoni, Antony Panteli, Christopher Woolard, Christian Hüsing, Shalini Unnikrishnan, Franz Alexander Charpentier M., Jeff Walters, Keiichi Ushijima, Shin Ikeda, Daryl Box, Abhishek Sharma, James Byungjun Koh, Phil Smart, Qahir Dhanani, Courtney Rickert McCaffrey, Diego Pavoni, Rami Rafih, Jamie Avey, Natasha Buckley, George Haggar, Dr. Anne Kleppe, Dr. Bernhard Gehra, Marc Gilbert, Pierre Beaufils, Alysia Steinmann McWilliams, Riku Piipari, Cameron S., Jhansi Lakshmi Gorla, Katarzyna Jasiniewska, Charlotte Weston, Nikolaus Keuth, Camile Paparelli and everyone else who contributed insights to this edition. Find the full list of posts and voices on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-linkedin-cw-38-39-strategy-consulting-thomas-allgeyer-itqle/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3B02o9GFJbRwC7x2Hnp1Fr5A%3D%3D