Dr. Dambisa Moyo, Economist and Author of How Boards Work

In this episode of Talks at GS, Dr. Dambisa Moyo, economist and author, discusses her views on the post-pandemic economic recovery, the policies that need to be enacted to address structural inequality, and insights from her new book, How Boards Work, which looks at the pressing issues boards face today, including shareholder vs. stakeholder capitalism, ESG priorities, and the need to increase diversity across board membership.

On the state of the global economy: “We had an aggregate demand shock. We were all at home last year. This year, we're coming back, getting vaccinated, hoping we get to herd immunity and that aggregate demand shock in the opposite direction will have a material effect on the economy. We've seen that already from consumer sentiment through to PMI, and some of the risks that we're seeing around inflation, but also you know, the forecast for growth…There's a rebound underway, but that's a very different scenario from a recovery. And I have continued to be deeply concerned about the prospect of recovery.”

On racial equity within a board: “It's a no brainer…you need diversity if you want to compete in the 21st century, and not just for the emotional sort of optics of it, actually the numbers show it’s really impactful in how decisions are made, how we allocate capital - which is a critical piece of success of companies. So I think we should all just accept that as a, ‘known known’.”
 

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The episode was recorded on May 6, 2021.