International Conference on Strategic Management and Business Strategy

An anticipated shift in the global pharmaceutical supply chain away from China has investors excited about Indian contract research , development and manufacturing organisations (CRDMOs), companies that offer services from early-stage drug discovery to late-stage drug development. Export-focused CRDMOs including Anthem Biosciences, Sai Life Sciences and Divi’s Laboratories are trading at expensive valuations, reflecting investor enthusiasm as i nnovator drug companies look at diversifying and derisking their operations. However, experts cautioned that while CRDMOs are expected to post high growth, their financial performances have yet to reflect it. Bengaluru-based Anthem Biosciences made a stellar debut on the stock exchanges on 21 July, listing on the National Stock Exchange at a premium of 27 percent over its initial public offering price of  ₹ 570. The IPO, with an issue size of  ₹ 3,395.79 crore, was subscribed 67.42 times. Anthem’s stock traded at a price-to...

The  two-year old AI company —most recently in the news when its chatbot praised Hitler—said in a  blog post  Monday that it has launched a new division, called “ Grok with Government” and signed a contract worth up to $200 million with the Department of Defense. xAI also announced that it had been added to the General Services Administration schedule, meaning that xAI products will now be available for purchase across every government office and agency. xAI’s new DoD contract is part of a new effort to develop AI agent workflows across a “variety of mission areas,” the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office said in a press release, without giving many more specifics.  Google , OpenAI, and Anthropic were also awarded up to $200 million contracts as part of the new effort, according to the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office. A number of tech companies, including  Meta ,  Amazon xAI’s new ties with the Pentagon are likely to raise...

Like many fleet-driven industries, the waste management industry is grappling with labor uncertainty. Last year, the Federal Reserve opted to cut interest rates due to cooling inflation , and it had signaled the intent for additional cuts in 2025. However, the current administration’s ongoing trade negotiations have led the Fed to be cautious about cuts, wanting to https://business-strategy-conferences.scifat.com/ wait and see how the negotiations—specifically the tariffs—affect the economy and job market.    According to a July report from the  Associated Press , June hiring reached 147,000, up from 144,000 in May (and outpacing the forecast), while unemployment fell to 4.1 percent (below forecast). On the flip side, average hourly wages didn’t hit the expected month-over-month target, though year-over-year gains are on track. Private sector hiring was about half what was expected and was outpaced slightly by the public sector.    While these numbers pres...

  Co-author Prakhar Gupta, aged 25, is an All India Rank-holding Chartered Accountant , IIM Indore Executive Programme alumnus, and a former associate at Ernst & Young. More than 400  business  professionals, chartered accountants , and industry leaders gathered in Indore for the launch of How the Wealthy Borrow to Win, a new book co-authored by CA Vishnu Gupta and CA Prakhar Gupta. The event marked the formal unveiling of the book, followed by a presentation in which the authors explained key approaches used by entrepreneurs to raise capital and manage debt. The discussion centred on how borrowing, when done strategically, can serve as a tool for business growth rather than financial strain . Event Title: International Conference on Strategic Management and Business Strategy Website Link Nominate here Registration link: Social Media Link Facebook Twitter Pinterest Blog Youtube

  South Korea is considering legislation that would impose legally binding human rights obligations on many companies operating in the country , both domestic and foreign . This could be a turning point in Asia’s regulatory landscape, heralding a new era for human rights obligations for businesses across the region. The Legislative Bill for the Act on the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment for Sustainable Business Management , also known as the Corporate Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Act, was reintroduced to the South Korean National Assembly in June 2024. It would require large Korean companies , as well as foreign companies with significant operations in Korea, to conduct due diligence on their operations and supply chains to identify and address human rights and environmental issues. The bill, which mirrors developments in the European Union, targets companies with over 500 employees or annual revenue above $280 million, and lowers the threshold to 25...

  Apple is nursing a fresh wound this week after losing one of its most crucial AI leaders to Meta. Ruoming Pang, the executive who oversaw Apple Intelligence, has jumped ship to join Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs. Pang wasn’t just any Apple employee. He led a 100-strong army of engineers crafting the language models that make your iPhone summarise texts, generate those Genmoji, and prioritise your notifications . Now he’s traded the Apple Park spaceship for Meta’s Menlo Park headquarters, becoming the latest big name to answer Mark Zuckerberg’s call. The leading exec’s departure i s a gut punch to a company that’s been scrambling to prove it can play in the AI big leagues. The timing couldn’t be worse, either. Just last month, Pang’s right-hand man, Tom Gunter, had already packed his bags and left. Pang’s departure was reported by  Bloomberg  and the outlet’s sources suggest Apple is losing the talent it desperately needs. Apple spent years building up its A...

  Embedding target setting and achievement into business functions, budget processes, and 1-to-3-year strategic plans is critical to incremental–and ultimately transformative –change and resiliency. Companies have been setting climate targets for more than 20 years and the rate of target setting, as well as the aggressiveness and coverage of these targets , has increased in large part due to pressure from external stakeholders, including customers, regulators, and investors. Climate targets are the most viable way for companies to navigate risks, create opportunities , and ensure long-term resilience and profitability in a changing world.  Navigating climate risks Climate risks  encompass the potential financia l and operational impacts that may affect a business because of climate change . They include both physical risks and those associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy: Physical risks:  Climate change creates physical risks, including extreme we...

  Meta has onboarded a prominent  OpenAI   researcher , Trapit Bansal, to work on advanced artificial intelligence (AI) reasoning models within its recently established AI superintelligence team, according to a report by  TechCrunch . Trapit Bansal had been with OpenAI since 2022 and played a major role in launching the company’s reinforcement learning research , working closely with co- founder Ilya Sutskever. He is named as one of the original contributors to OpenAI’s first AI reasoning model, known as o1.   His LinkedIn profile indicates that he left OpenAI in June. OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood confirmed to TechCrunch that Bansal had indeed exited the organisation. Bansal is expected to significantly strengthen Meta’s new AI superintelligence group, which already includes notable figures such as former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. The team is also in discussions to bring in former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and Safe Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Gross. ...