Simon J Evenett is Professor of Geopolitics and Strategy at IMD. A globally recognized expert on trade, investment, and geopolitical dynamics, he is a leading analyst of the global business environment. For almost 30 years, he has guided board members, senior executives, EMBAs, and MBAs in understanding the significant shifts in the global business environment and their implications for firm operations, performance, and strategy. In 2023, he was appointed Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Trade and Investment.
To offer evidence-based solutions, Evenett has developed several policy intelligence initiatives that provide real-time information on legal, policy, and regulatory developments worldwide. In partnership with the Max Schmidheiny Foundation and the University of St. Gallen, he founded the St Gallen Endowment for Prosperity Through Trade (SGEPT), which now employs around 40 professionals. The SGEPT currently hosts three leading independent commercial policy monitoring initiatives: the Global Trade Alert, a key resource for trade monitoring and assessing trade tensions, the New Industrial Policy Observatory, and the Digital Policy Alert.
Launched in 2023, Evenett created the Crux of Capitalism initiative which provides valuable insights into the performance of firms and sectors in 21 major economies. Additionally, he has served as a World Bank official twice, on the UK Competition Commission, was a Member of the Trade and the Economy Panel at the UK Department of International Trade, and has sat on a number of high-profile commissions relating to the future of world trade.
His research focuses on geopolitical rivalry, international trade policy, protectionism, industrial policy, business-government relations, trade negotiations and agreements, and the WTO. Evenett draws out the implications of these developments for executives, corporate strategy, as well as for public policy. His work is cited in numerous fields, including international trade, international business, and international political economy/political science, and he has given over 650 presentations to private sector, public policy, and educational audiences.
At IMD, I will focus on the intersection of geopolitics and corporate strategy, but I also plan on sharing insights on corporate turnarounds, value-enhancement strategies, and broader issues concerning the role of business in society and the challenges facing Democratic Capitalism.
For 30 years, Evenett’s research and practitioner engagement has lain at the intersection of corporate decision-making, public policy and diplomacy, and markets. Starting with a focus on how firms manipulate trade policy processes to gain commercial advantage, his interests broadened to include corporate diplomacy, the impact of trade agreements and the WTO, and competition law and enforcement. With the revival of protectionism during and after the global financial crisis, Evenett’s efforts pivoted again. More recently, he has focused on the resurgence of industrial policy, geopolitical rivalry, and other defining features of our time, including China-US rivalry and state support for the clean energy transition.
Evenett is the author and co-author of over 250 publications and contributes thought leadership to diverse audiences through blogs and newspaper columns. Frequently cited in global media, he has published extensively in leading academic journals including The Journal of International Business Policy, the Journal of International Economic Law, and the Journal of Political Economy. Among his most recent works are The Scramble for Raw Materials: Time to Take Stock? co-authored with Johannes Fritz, and “The Return of Industrial Policy in Data”, a co-authored journal article.
Before joining IMD in 2024, Evenett was a Professor of International Trade and Economic Development at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, where he served as the Academic Director of the St Gallen MBA for over a decade. Previously he taught at Oxford University and held fellowships at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC. Evenett has been a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Johns Hopkins University twice and was Visiting Professor of Corporate Strategy at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business three times.
