The financial crisis altered the very nature of the international balance of power. Five years later, the presumption is that the crisis is in the rearview mirror -- and that the volatility that shook markets and felled governments is behind us too. But we've entered a new order that's vastly more uncertain than what preceded it. International coordination is breaking down. Global challenges like climate change and nuclear proliferation are becoming more intractable as no one country or group of countries is in a position to set the international agenda. The G-20 is too crowded and conflicted; the U.S.-led G-7 can no longer run the show. In such an environment, we have to ask: What are the big question marks for sustainable global prosperity going forward? How are the roles of the United States and China evolving? And where are the world's next big opportunities?
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I sat down in New York not long ago with Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Co., to talk about how global power dynamics are shifting and what that means, tactically and strategically, for a $180 billion company dealing with customers and governments in more than 200 countries, from Suriname to Vietnam. Coca-Cola is a quintessential American brand -- and the largest private employer in Africa. In my conversation with Kent, everything from China's rise and the dubious fate of Europe to the safety of the secret Coke formula was in play. Here are edited excerpts:
Foreign Policy: What are some of the ways that a company like Coca-Cola can bring about positive global change in a world where governments increasingly don't have the power to do so?
Muhtar Kent: That to me is straight down the alley of what we call the "golden triangle," a collaborative effort between government (at every level), business, and civil society as they come together to tackle big issues -- societal issues, economic issues, investment issues, governance issues -- that face all of us. The future is going to be much more about closer, better, longer-term collaborations between these three entities.
Businesses need to proactively create models that make a difference in society and let everyone else use them, talk about them, emulate them -- and build on them. An example is Coca-Cola's "5 by 20" campaign, a movement to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2020 by bringing capital, training, mentoring, and by working with governments. If we can create 5 million entrepreneurs in 10 years, just through one business working closely with government, working closely with organizations like the International Finance Corporation, by working with Mexico City, Kinshasa, Buenos Aires, Delhi, or Mumbai, that's a big thing. It will lead to a better society and better community in each of those markets. And this isn't just a charity; it's an activity that's good for business. That makes it self-sustainable.
FP: As the CEO of a leading multinational corporation, do you engage with governments around the world differently than someone in your role would have five or 10 years ago?
MK: Yes. I think we've moved much more towards a collaborative partnership model, like I've been describing. Before it was much more compartmentalized. There wasn't a holistic thought process, and it was always a transactional model: I'm asking something; they're asking something. So it's moving from a transactional "you, me, give, take" model toward a more holistic model with government as a key stakeholder. That's a good thing.
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