Public Sector
Lorenzo Zambrano, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, made his mark by transforming the regional Mexican cement company Cemex — started by his grandfather in 1906 — into a multinational powerhouse, with operations in 50 countries and 2013 revenues of $15.2 billion. Zambrano obtained an MBA from...
In late April, Beijing reported first-quarter GDP growth of barely above 7%, far lower than the 10 to 11% rates typical for the last decade. The news prompted business headlines full of stark warnings about a continuing slowdown of the Chinese economy at the precise time when most of the developed...
You would be hard-pressed to find a story about American politics today without the word “polarized” in it. Talk of greater partisan differences began in the 1980s, heated up after the contentious 2000 election, and continues: Consider media coverage of the deep ideological divisions surrounding...
Over the span of his career, David Pitt-Watson has played multiple roles: social entrepreneur, politician and financier. He has been a partner at Deloitte, Assistant General Secretary of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party, and Treasurer of Oxfam, Britain’s largest development charity. He is best-...
Global poverty is a profound and persistent problem: More than a billion people live on less than $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank. While many Stanford researchers dedicate their work to alleviating poverty, a new university-wide initiative promises them more support.
As part of the...
Consumers love a deal, and even more so if it’s customized just for them, right? Not so fast, says Itamar Simonson, a marketing professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Simonson has found that rather than being enticed by them, consumers are skeptical of those personalized offers that...
For Chinese professionals leading hectic lives in crowded, polluted city centers, a vacation in the countryside provides a rare opportunity to slow down and breathe fresh air. Besides providing for their own rest and relaxation, these tourists potentially offer a much-needed source of income for...
To fiscal hawks, and some political centrists, “mandatory’’ entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security are at the heart of unsustainable, out-of-control federal spending.
Mandatory programs, unlike “discretionary” programs, continue year after year and essentially run on autopilot...
For nearly his entire life, Peter Georgescu has been obsessed with the struggle of good versus evil in human nature. “Why is it possible for people, most of whom can also be loving and compassionate, to do terrible things?” wonders Georgescu, author of The Constant Choice: An Everyday Journey from...