Best of LinkedIn: Strategy & Consulting CW 38/ 39

The period was defined by a single tension: AI adoption is accelerating while the human and governance foundations underneath it are still being built. Geopolitical exposure, from tariffs to maritime chokepoints, moved from a scenario topic to an operating requirement, and sustainability was repositioned as a resilience and economic security agenda. Across all three, the advantage is shifting from speed of action to quality of judgment.

Date

October 1, 2026

Strategy & Consulting

Thomas Allgeyer

Methodology: Every two weeks we collect most relevant posts on LinkedIn for selected topics and create an overall summary only based on these posts. If you´re interested in the single posts behind, you can find them here: https://linktr.ee/thomasallgeyer. Have a great read!

Listen to our podcast

If you prefer listening, check out our podcast summarizing the most relevant insights from Strategy & Consulting CW 38/ 39

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

‍

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

‍

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

‍

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

‍

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

‍

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

‍

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: