The global economic system is entering a period of radical change. For multinationals with cross-border supply chains, this is a problem. However, Michelin’s CEO Florent Menegaux argues that the flexibility his company has developed during the last decade will help it prevail through turbulent times.
“The world was different before COVID and before President Trump was elected in 2016,” says Menegaux. “This triggered changes around the world. We are present in 175 countries globally, but the world is evolving, especially in relationships between countries. The geopolitical risk that has always existed is now top of our agenda. We've also seen war arriving suddenly in Europe, which has completely changed our supply chains. We heavily depended on Russia for raw materials, and overnight we had to change all our supply chains for these and for some components of our composites.”
