Vladimir Lenin’s Return Journey to Russia Changed the World Forever
The author retraces Lenin’s return from exile in 1917, a journey that was to have a profound impact on human history.
Russians at the Gates
In this thoughtful piece, the author recalls his childhood interactions with the Red Army soldiers posted to a base near his home in Dresden in the 1970s.
How a Pillar of German Banking Lost Its Way
A piece navigating the troubled waters of Deutsche Bank.
The Most Charming Man In Washington
A profile of Yousef Al Otaiba, the Ambassador for the United Arab Emirates to Washington, by many accounts a supreme political operator who has access at the highest echelons of US government.
The Most Potent, Permanent and Elusive Figure in British Politics
A fascinating January 2016 profile of Jeremy Heywood, the man heading the UK civil service. He has been an instrumental part of government during the reign of the last three Prime Ministers, and reportedly has a seat at every table that matters.
China’s Robot Revolution
A look at the rise of industrial robots in China, a trend that will have a major impact on the global economy.
How E-Commerce Is Transforming Rural China
While Amazon and many of their US based competitors are seeking growth by diversifying beyond retail (movies, music, television), for their counterparts in China there is a huge amount of growth still to be had simply by spreading outside major urban centres. This piece looks at the impact on local communities, by examining the experience of Xia Canjun, a regional manager for JD.com covering the rural community he grew up in, and the CEO’s strategy back at HQ in Beijing.
The endless reign of Rupert Murdoch
A profile of Rupert Murdoch, fittingly epic in length given its subject’s lifetime spent “in the business of speaking power to truth”.
The Heart and the Fist
The journalist that wrote this story covering a political scandal surrounding the right wing, ex-Navy Seal, Governor of Missouri has an unusual angle – she went to the University of Oxford with his wife, and they were friends.
How Wetherspoon’s Conquered Britain
This is the sort of business profile usually reserved for tech unicorns. It turns out that this billion pound company, built by selling a vast volume of cheap pints (and coffees, and curries, and breakfasts), shares many similarities with Silicon Valley disruptors. It starts with a maverick founder and a relentless culture of innovation and competition, leads to the criticism that inevitably comes with scale, and ends up with the mixing of business and politics.