Explore expert insights from a global authority on business competitiveness. Discover proven strategies to elevate your organisation’s performance and thrive in today’s market.
Europe
Switzerland
Core Intelligence Domain: Global Economy & Competitiveness
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland | Languages: English, French
Representation: Represented globally by PSpeakers Global Intelligence
Stephane Garelli is widely recognised as the world’s pre-eminent authority on global competitiveness, blending profound macroeconomic insight with pragmatic corporate strategy to guide C-Suite decision-makers through complex global transitions. As Professor Emeritus at the prestigious Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne and the University of Lausanne, Professor Garelli pioneered the proprietary frameworks by which nations and multinational enterprises measure, analyse, and enhance their competitive edge. His unparalleled tenure as Managing Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Davos Symposium for over a decade cemented his status as a strategic visionary at the nexus of geopolitics, macroeconomics, and international business.
Professor Garelli is the visionary founder of the IMD World Competitiveness Center and the creator of the celebrated IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, the most comprehensive and authoritative annual report on the competitiveness of nations. Under his direction, this proprietary framework has become an indispensable tool for governments, central banks, and Fortune 500 boards striving to benchmark their economic resilience, infrastructural efficiency, and regulatory environments against international peers.
His deep understanding of how market forces, technological disruption, and shifting geopolitical realities impact business models allows him to provide forward-looking foresight on global trade dynamics. He actively analyses the shifting balance of economic power, the implications of deglobalisation versus regionalisation, and the macro-trends defining the next decade of corporate strategy.
Beyond his academic and macroeconomic contributions, Stephane Garelli possesses extensive, hands-on boardroom experience. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Le Temps, a leading Swiss French-language newspaper, navigating the challenging digital transformation of the media landscape. Additionally, his strategic counsel has been instrumental on the boards of major global entities, including Sandoz, Banque Edouard Constant, and the Olympic Museum. This dual capability—uniting rigorous academic research with tangible corporate governance—enables him to deliver highly actionable intelligence to executive audiences.
As an author, Professor Garelli has translated complex economic phenomena into accessible, transformative business strategies. His bestselling book, Top Class Competitors: How Nations, Firms and Individuals Succeed in the New World of Competitiveness, remains a cornerstone text for modern strategic leadership. In his subsequent work, Are You a Tiger, a Cat or a Dinosaur?, he addresses the critical need for organisational agility, challenging leaders to assess their operational speed, adaptability, and resilience in an era characterised by relentless disruption.
“The "world" has never been as competitive as today. Thanks to technological advances, the playing field has grown considerably wider. New and hungry entrants are claiming a share of the business. Established companies, as well as states and individuals, need to develop a new frame of mind and find new ways to enhance their competitiveness if they are to survive. The merit of Stephane Garelli’s book is to remind all of us that, unless one can make it and stay in the Top Class, the years ahead may become quite painful.”
“Global competition has significantly changed most industries. Stephane Garelli, with his IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook background, brings interesting, eye-opening insights to this key topic.”
“Every global leader will find this work not just important, but a necessity.”
“Today, competitiveness is on the top on our agenda at Nestlé. Stéphane Garelli is one of the most stimulating thinkers that I have met on the subject and his research, writings and teaching have had a major impact on the way we approach this fundamental challenge at Nestlé.”
“In a world, which is becoming increasingly globalized, Dubai is constantly reinventing itself in order to sustain its competitive advantage over other cities. Stephane Garelli's work has had a strong influence on our strategies by allowing us to focus on non-traditional means of building competitiveness.”
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