Two factors of monumental importance are trending and molding the market for global trade professionals. First, corporate America’s attempts and commitment to complying with government trade regulations. Sanctions and export controls are the big concerns. Intellectual property sharing. OFAC and foreign trade regulations. Technology export control, specifically semiconductor manufacturing in China. Russian sanctions. ITAR compliance requirements. What a bundle of worries. Any one item is guaranteed to keep your chief trade compliance officer in fits.
A corporate culture that begins with top-down support is absolutely essential. Lack of internal cooperation to stay compliant can shut down your supply chain, cost millions in fines and create a public relations nightmare. Best in class trade compliance programs will be discussed in every meeting, in every board room across America. Keeping compliant is not new. Its importance in today’s hostilities cannot be understated.
The second issue in the board room getting a lot of attention and press coverage is the cultural and professional tsunami change occurring in the work week. Working hybrid or remote? Arguably this is the biggest change in the American labor force since Henry Ford popularized the 40-hour work week in the 1920s, and women entered the workforce by the millions during WWII. It seems companies have settled into a 3/2 hybrid, but not really for everyone. This change is in the white-collar world of workers that pound laptops all day and not the community of people who actually make and build stuff. Many companies are attempting to renege on remote employment agreements made during the COVID-19 lockdown. Fully remote is rare for new hires. Be careful with the hybrid employment agreements that include opt-out clauses at a company’s discretion. Buffett, Musk and now even Zuckerberg say it’s not good for business. Yet their companies provide that option. It’s not changing; hybrid is here forever, fully remote for some.