Inside the Munich Security Conference: what today’s geopolitics really means for business

March 20, 2026, 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 a.m. CET.

This event will take place online. To attend the webinar, please register using the form below.

Geopolitics is no longer a background risk; it is shaping markets, supply chains, regulation, and competitive advantage. 

The Munich Security Conference recently saw global decision-makers convene to discuss this changing landscape. In this webinar, Dr Merriden Varrall and Dr Timo Blenk draw on real‑time lessons from the forum to help business leaders understand what is changing, why it matters, and how to respond.

Featuring on the ground perspectives from Munich, this webinar also previews ESMT’s new online Executive Education program, Geopolitics for Business, designed to help leaders build geopolitical awareness into everyday decision making.
 
Join us for a better understanding of this crucial point in geopolitics, and a taster of how this new program can help you become a more informed leader.
 
Your webinar hosts:
 
Dr. Merriden Varrall is CEO of vantage geopol and Special Advisor on Geopolitics to KPMG, where she advises businesses on geopolitical risk and global strategy. A former UN diplomat in China, she is a recognised expert on geopolitics, East Asia, and China’s foreign policy, and previously served as Lead Partner for Geopolitics at KPMG Australia and Director of the Lowy Institute’s East Asia Program. Dr. Varrall holds a PhD in Chinese foreign policy from Macquarie University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and her work has been published in The New York Times and The Quarterly, among other outlets.

Dr. Timo Blenk is Senior Partner and CEO of Agora Strategy Group AG, a geopolitical strategy consultancy specializing in geopolitical risk analysis and business diplomacy. He is also a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen. Previously, he served as Secretary General of the Swiss Political Science Association (2015-2018) and worked as a research assistant at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich (2014-2015). Dr. Blenk holds a doctorate from the University of St. Gallen, with a dissertation on financial market regulation in the eurozone.