Tag: global trade

  • 23: Intentional Leadership in Global Trade

    2025 kept global trade on its heels. 2026 demands a different posture — one built on intentionality, clarity, and smart offense. In Episode 23, I break down the forces reshaping global trade and the mindset and moves leaders need to navigate the year ahead.

  • 22: 2025, the Year of the Unexpected

    The final episode of Rittener Reflections for 2025. When I launched this podcast back in January, I opened with five certainties I believed would shape cross‑border trade in the year ahead. What I didn’t anticipate—what none of us anticipated—was just how unpredictable 2025 would become. If Episode 1 was about preparing for volatility, this episode…

  • 19: The Ugly Mug

    Episode 19 arrives just before Thanksgiving: lessons from a lopsided mug and a turbulent year.” A lopsided mug from my childhood has become my metaphor for this ugly year in trade and in life. In this episode, I share its story, the turbulence of 2025, and five lessons worth keeping. I’ll leave you with a…

  • 18: Export Controls: Past, Present, and the Path Forward. – Pt. 3 I Can See Clearly Now (Not!)

    Welcome back to Rittener Reflections Episode 18 and to Part 3 of our series on export controls which I have called, “I can see clearly now” (Not!) You see, we’ve looked back, we’ve looked around—and now we look ahead. But clarity is elusive. Will the world split into two economic spheres? Can AI help automate…

  • 18: Export Controls: Past, Present, and the Path Forward. – Pt. 2 Reality Check

    Welcome back to this three-part series of Rittener Reflections where we seek to understand the complex, critical and ever-changing world of export controls, the past, present and the way forward. In Part 1, which I called The Long Strange Trip, we explored the historical arc of export controls. Today, we turn to the present—and it’s…

  • 12: Is Culture more important than Strategy?

    Please join me for episode 12, part one of Rittener Reflections as I am joined by Ken Wilcox the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) from 2001 to 2011 and CEO of SVB’s joint venture with the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in Shanghai until 2015. Ken is also the author of two books. The…

  • 10: “Techno Nationalism” with Alex Capri: Examining global transformation

    In this episode, we explore various topics in geopolitics, technology, and trade, including supply chain weaponization, export controls, tariffs, decoupling, nearshoring, tech diplomacy, and twelve strategic technology power multipliers.

  • 9: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint!

    Join me for Episode 9 of Rittener Reflections featuring Robb Gordon who is a good friend and former colleague from Intel. Rob and I worked together and often ran together when we were at the same place at the same time. In this episode I will reflect on two of my favorite topics: Trade and…

  • 8: Scenario Planning in a time of Uncertainty

    In this episode of Rittener Reflections, I had the honor of spending a few moments with Sheldon Bernard, who is the founder of A440 Management LLC, a firm focused on Special Situations and decision making under uncertainty. He is a trailblazer in the world of applied decision sciences. With over 15 years of experience in…

  • 7: BIS Update Conference: Day 3

    Today is March 20 and I am publishing the third and final part of this special episode of Rittener Reflections.  I am excited to have Julie Whitt, Jose Vega and Robert Kearsley with me as we wrap up our conversation on the last day of the Bureau and Industry’s Annual Update Conference on export controls…