Business Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic

Dr. Badri N. Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder of Infisum, an Experienced Academic and Corporate Researcher, and currently affiliated with McKinsey and Company as a Consulting Economist participates in Risk Roundup to discuss “Business Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic”.

Risk Roundup Webcast: Business Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic

Business Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic

The SARS-CoV-2, identified as the causative agent of an outbreak of viral pneumonia centered around Wuhan, Hubei, China, and now named as a COVID-19, is a full-blown pandemic impacting most nations. While the coronavirus outbreak is a terrible human tragedy at all levels, it is not just a health crisis of immense proportion; it is also an economic crisis. It is shaking up the global economy, and the impact is being felt by individuals and entities across nations: its government, industries, organizations, and academia.

With the rapid spread of COVID-19, there is enormous uncertainty for businesses at all levels. A million questions are racing through decision-makers minds:

Will factories be allowed to operate?
What will be the impact on businesses?
Will companies suffer and go bankrupt?
Will current business models survive?

These growing questions are adding stress to the already challenging reality of businesses.

New Global Reality

In this unprecedented new global reality, there is going to be a dramatic restructuring of the fundamentals of economic and social order in which humans, business, and society have traditionally operated. How exactly this pandemic crisis-driven restructuring unfolds remains to be seen. But, one thing is sure, the restructuring of the global economic order is imminent—the redesign of business models is coming.

As a result, there is a clear need to begin a discussion on:

How to navigate to the next normal?
How to restructure the entire human ecosystem of cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space?

Restructuring of Business Models

The COVID-19 crisis has implications for systems at all levels. The current business models and methods are not built to be resilient to pandemics or even any other natural or human-made disasters.

COVID-19 has changed everything for businesses. There is no doubt that the shock to businesses and industries from the economic impact of the ongoing virus-suppression efforts could be the biggest in nearly a century. As a result, things generally taken for granted for businesses are no longer possible. As the pandemic continues to expand, it is crucial to understand and evaluate:

What is the path to the next normal for businesses?
What will normal look like for businesses in the coming tomorrow?
How will business operations and models restructure?
What will happen if businesses stop operating for a long time? For how long can they do that?
How deep an economic shock can businesses sustain without causing human suffering that our societies are unable or unwilling to bear?
How are business leaders navigating this time of uncertainty? What changes will likely emerge short term and long term?

For businesses, this is a war on every front. In the face of these challenges, new ideas and imaginations are a vital necessity to come up with new business models. While it is impossible to say how long the COVID-19 health crisis will last, for the businesses, a new normal will take years. How businesses navigate the turbulent time will define and determine not only our coming tomorrow but also the very future of humanity.

The time is now to evaluate the Business Implications of COVID-19!

For more, please watch the Risk Roundup Webcast or hear the Risk Roundup Podcast

About the Guest

Dr. Badri N. Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder of Infisum, an Experienced Academic and Corporate Researcher, Applied Economist, Policy/Business Consultant and, Interdisciplinary Scientist with extensive experience publishing papers, producing and managing global economic datasets and models widely used by academic/ policy/industry researchers and analysts across the world.

He is currently affiliated with McKinsey and Company as a consulting Economist and as Principal Investigator as well as a hands-on contributor for grant-funded and consulting projects with top universities like Purdue University, Harvard University and London School of Economics. Badri has published several international publications in the areas of trade, energy, environment, agriculture, labor, health, and manufacturing, cutting across disciplines, with numerous citations in top journals like Nature and American Economic Review, the peer reviewer and editorial board member for several international journals.

About the Host of Risk Roundup

Jayshree Pandya (née Bhatt), Ph.D., is a leading expert at the intersection of science, technology, and security and is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Risk Group LLC. She has been involved in a wide range of research, spanning security of and from science and technology domains. Her work is currently focused on understanding how converging technologies and their interconnectivity across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space (CAGS), as well as individuals and entities across nations: their governments, industries, organizations, and academia (NGIOA), create survival, security, and sustainability risks. This research is pursued to provide strategic security solutions for the future of humanity. From the National Science Foundation to organizations from across the United States, Europe, and Asia, Dr. Pandya is an invited speaker on emerging technologies, technology transformation, digital disruption, and strategic security risks. Her work has contributed to more than 100 publications in the areas of science and commerce. She is the author of the books, Geopolitics of Cybersecurity and The Global Age. She writes about Artificial Intelligence on Forbes.

About Risk Roundup

Risk Roundup, a global initiative launched by Risk Group, is a security risk reporting for risks emerging from existing and emerging technologies, technology convergence, and transformation happening across cyberspace, aquaspace, geospace, and space. Risk Roundup is released in both audio (Podcast) and video (Webcast) format. It is available for subscription at (Risk Group Website, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Android, and Risk Group Professional Social Media).

About Risk Group

Risk Group is a Strategic Security Risk Research Platform and Community. Risk Group’s Strategic Security Community and Ecosystem is the first and only cross-disciplinary and collective community that is made of top scientists, security professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, policymakers, and academic institutions from across nations collaborating to research, review, rate and report strategic security risks to protect the future of humanity.