Industry Updates Archives

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Female Executives

March 12, 2023
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Women appear to be making progress in increasing their share of the C-suite. Specifically, the evidence suggests that 26% of CEOs and Managing Directors in 2021 were women as opposed to 15% in 2019. [See source.] Barrett Group research supports this notion, showing an improvement from 24% to 25% in...

INDUSTRY UPDATE: e-Commerce

March 5, 2023
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Introduction e-Commerce As a definition of e-commerce “commercial transactions taking place over the internet” seems a bit general. Virtually every business has this characteristic in the meantime. In fact, in this context, we usually think of the big firms that have evolved to be largely internet-based...

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Big Tech

February 12, 2023
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Big Tech Introduction When minus 26.8% is the best performance in a peer group, clearly the group’s performance was dismal. And yet, that is how 2022 shook out for big tech stocks. They were not alone, of course, with other tech darlings such as Salesforce or Tesla also performing poorly. In...

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Energy

January 22, 2023
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Energy Introduction Fossil Fuels in Retreat A slowing economy has reduced demand for oil in 2022 even while the supply has tightened with OPEC+ curbing production again after an increase in Q3. Global oil inventories rose as a result while refining capacity throttled back at least in the short term,...

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Management Consulting – December 2022

January 8, 2023
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Management Consulting Introduction When researching the management consulting industry, the first aspect one is likely to notice is its amorphous contours; as one source puts it: “Despite the relatively mature state of the market, the large variety of services (industries, functional areas, market/region...

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Information Technology – December 2022

December 18, 2022
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Industry Update: Information Technology Researching this particular update, we were filled alternately with wonder and dread. That may be simply how it feels to be facing the opportunities and challenges in the information technology field. Especially, facing these challenges on the cusp of 2023. Why...

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Health Care – December 2022

December 2, 2022
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Introduction: Health Care As much as we might all prefer to see Covid-19 in the rearview mirror, it is not yet behind us. Coupled with increased infection rates from flu, the winter of 2022/23 will probably see resurgent strain on health care providers as they struggle to manage a lack of trained...

Industry Update - Private Equity and Venture Capital

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Private Equity & Venture Capital – October 2022

October 30, 2022
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Introduction: Dry Powder and a few Questions about Private Equity and Venture Capital The last two years have been extremely strong in terms of fundraising for PE and VC firms. One measure had them sitting on as much as $1.4 trillion in fresh capital (dry powder) as of mid-year 2022 (See source.),...

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Financial Services – October 2022

October 3, 2022
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Financial Services Market Outlook As we define it, the Financial Services Market comprises banking, investment advice and management, investment banking, insurance, accounting, and associated financial services. One source says this about the industry’s prospects: “The global financial services market...

INDUSTRY UPDATE: Manufacturing – September 2022

September 11, 2022
Chairman's Blog, Industry Updates

Introduction The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the overall manufacturing output in the US returned in Q2 2022 to the pre-Covid 19 peak of Q4 2018. (See Graphic below and Source). Buttressing this generally positive result is further evidence that the number of “establishments” (essentially,...