The New Challenges of Brand Management

Frontiers In the digital age, brand is signaled by marketers, but meaning is cocreated with consumers. Marcus Collins January 30, 2025 Reading Time: 10 min  Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in this series Jon Krause/theispot.com The image and meaning…

The GenAI Focus Shifts to Innovation at Colgate-Palmolive

Topics AI in Action This column series looks at the biggest data and analytics challenges facing modern companies and dives deep into successful use cases that can help other organizations accelerate their AI progress. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Colgate-Palmolive, the consumer…

AI Photo Analysis Illuminates How Personality Traits Predict Career Trajectories‌

Personality characteristics have long been thought to predict a wide range of personal outcomes, including career success: being conscientious, for example, will take you further professionally than, say, being neurotic. ‌ However, because personality has primarily been measured through surveys, obtaining large-scale, detailed data on personality traits has been challenging.…

Unlocking the next frontier of personalized marketing

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:16 mins read

Here’s the challenge facing brands and retailers: Communicate clearly with a vast array of consumers who speak thousands of languages, hail from countless different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds, and make purchasing decisions based on highly personal preferences. It’s no easy feat to reach all of these consumers on a broad…

IKEA Foundation pledges £2 million to Oxford initiative championing refugee leadership

The RLRH launched in 2020 to address the lack of refugee-authored scholarship and under-representation of refugees and displaced people in higher education, particularly at graduate level. By providing access to training, mentorship and funding, the RLRH aims to redistribute power and opportunity to researchers and students from displacement backgrounds so…

The Stop Campus Hazing Act—The Bipartisan Effort to Prevent Hazing in Higher Education Settings

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:10 mins read

Quick Hits The SCHA requires that higher education institutions participating in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 programs collect, report, and publicly disclose hazing-related incidents and implement hazing prevention and awareness programs. The SCHA also mandates that institutions, as part of their Clery Reports, begin collecting hazing…

DeepSeek R1 is now available on Azure AI Foundry and GitHub

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:5 mins read

DeepSeek R1 is now available in the model catalog on Azure AI Foundry and GitHub, joining a diverse portfolio of over 1,800 models, including frontier, open-source, industry-specific, and task-based AI models. As part of Azure AI Foundry, DeepSeek R1 is accessible on a trusted, scalable, and enterprise-ready platform, enabling businesses…

Researchers develop new method to identify fake Covid-19 vaccines

The new method, published in npj Vaccines, analyses the vaccine vial label and its adhesive and therefore allows the vaccine vials to be retained in the supply chain. Furthermore, the study has shown that the technique can also differentiate genuine Covid-19 vaccine liquid from falsified vaccine surrogates, using a recently…

Early support for children living in marginalised communities can improve developmental outcomes

The Omama study, undertaken by Dr Michelle Fernandes and the F1000 research group, focused on Roma children living in poor communities in Eastern Slovakia who are subjected to the “triple threat” of poverty, stunting and early developmental delays, with many prevented from achieving their full developmental potential by age five…

The Transformative Power of Hands-On vs. AI Training

  • Post category:Civility Partners
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the workplace, and HR functions are no exception. From recruitment to onboarding and even manager training, AI-based platforms are becoming the go-to solution for many organizations. These programs promise scalable, customizable courses with instant feedback and on-demand accessibility, an enticing prospect for companies seeking efficiency.…

Nature finance and biodiversity credits: A private sector road map to finance and act on nature

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Closing the approximately $700 billion annual nature financing gap is essential to halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. Alongside the necessary governmental action, the private sector has a critical role to play in mobilizing the funding needed. To support businesses in these efforts, this road map outlines the steps…

Is Dialogue with an ‘Alternative Truth’ Possible? Historical Memory and New Narratives About Holocaust

On January 29, 2025, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion dedicated to historical memory in the context of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops. Anton Bespalov, the moderator of the discussion, noted that although Nazism was defeated by the joint efforts of the West…

Fostering better decisions through holistic ROI estimates

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:8 mins read

Recent volatility has added new layers of complexity to a topic that already challenges business leaders: prioritizing investments. When executives want to understand the trade-offs between different initiatives, they typically compare the projects’ net present values (NPVs)—the measure of an investment’s worth over its entire lifetime discounted to today. In…

What the Trump Administration Means for Sustainability Efforts

Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images A new (or is it old?) administration is back in power in the U.S. After a four-year Biden Administration, one…

Pivotal Labor and Employment Law Issues in 2025: Healthcare

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits Healthcare employers will have to navigate several labor and employment law issues in 2025, including a potential continued rise in union organizing, new restrictions on the use of noncompete agreements, emerging workplace safety risks, compliance concerns, additional pay transparency laws, and immigration regulatory and enforcement changes. The issues…

Microsoft Cloud and AI strength drives second quarter results

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:88 mins read

Microsoft Cloud and AI Strength Drives Second Quarter Results REDMOND, Wash. — January 29, 2025 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year: ·        Revenue was $69.6 billion and increased 12% ·        Operating…

Improving government productivity: A systemwide approach

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:10 mins read

Making government more productive offers substantial rewards for the public. A McKinsey study across 42 countries found that if public services could reach the productivity levels of the leading performers in their peer groups, the improvement would be worth an estimated $3.5 trillion per year. Since then, governments have spent…

The Code Generation Explosion and What It Means for Code Reviews: Our investment in Baz

  • Post category:Battery Ventures
  • Reading time:6 mins read

As we navigate through the current AI revolution in software development, one thing is glaringly apparent: Both the infrastructure and application layers are experiencing a surge in demand. AI and other trends are dramatically increasing the amount of code being developed, meaning there is more code than ever that needs…

Trove of California history to be housed at Stanford

Stanford University Libraries (SUL) have assumed permanent stewardship of the California Historical Society Collection, a trove of over 600,000 items spanning the history of California and the West since the 18th century.The collection, acquired in collaboration with the Bill Lane Center for the American West, will become known as the…

Resetting the EEOC: President Trump Removes Two EEOC Commissioners

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits President Trump removed two of the three Democratic commissioners on the EEOC. The removals leave the EEOC with two remaining commissioners and likely will lead to a Republican majority that will push the president’s agenda, including recent executive orders. The unprecedented action is likely to lead to legal…

Microsoft is beginning to celebrate its 50-year anniversary. Check out our photos, timeline and more

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Frequently asked questions How is the company celebrating its 50th anniversary?  Microsoft is commemorating our 50-year anniversary by celebrating the achievements of our employees, customers, and partners that have dreamt, built, and used Microsoft technology as a force for good, while also looking ahead to the future.  Microsoft recognizes that…

NLRB Shake-up: President Trump Removes Board Member, Discharges General Counsel

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits President Trump removed NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox and discharged NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, marking a significant shift in the Board’s leadership. Wilcox’s removal leaves the NLRB without a quorum (minimum of three members) to hear cases, raising questions about the legality of the dismissal and potential court…

The rise of Asian global players

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:4 mins read

By 2040, Asia could contribute 42 percent of global GDP, be home to 60 percent of the Fortune Global 500 companies, and have 55 percent of the world’s total workforce. These factors form a favorable macro backdrop for Asian companies, driving the emergence of what we call Asian global players.…

Non-invasive brain stimulation opens new ways to study and treat the brain

The control panel to the human experience is hidden inside a bony box. We can thank our skulls for keeping our brains safe. But this protective case also makes the three-pound organ that generates our mental lives and behavior particularly challenging to study and treat. Add to this the sheer complexity…

G20 South Africa: The Fourth Successive Global South Presidency

Two major areas for consolidation leading from the Brazil G20 are a major motivation for reviewing past agreements and declarations, as well as the extent of past G20 resolutions: The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and the incorporation of the voices of civil society and other engagement groups to…

China Consumption: Welcoming the Year of the Snake

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:5 mins read

We have finally left 2024 behind us and are looking forward to what the new year 2025–the Year of the Snake–will bring for China consumption. Looking back at 2024, we’ve seen a steep contrast between perception and reality. Consumer and business sentiment remains at an all-time low, and there is…

Geopolitics and the geometry of global trade: 2024 update

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:39 mins read

Trade relationships are continuing to reconfigure, and changing geopolitics is a major reason. The United States has continued to shift trade away from China and toward other economies such as Mexico and Vietnam. In some cases, this is due to these economies forming an intermediate step in trade flows between…

Young adults generally more active after starting work, but sleep less – unless working from home

The increase in physical activity was mainly seen in those doing semi-routine occupations such as bus driving or hairdressing, and routine occupations such as cleaning or waiting, or technical jobs. There was little change seen among people entering managerial or professional occupations.People who work from home saw a decrease in…

Google, As Non-Party, Not Subject To Injunction That Expressly Ordered It To Take Down Youtube Posts

In Future Motion, Inc. v. Lai, decided Jan. 7 by Judge Michael Simon (D. Or.) (appeal filed Wednesday), plaintiff sued defendant for patent infringement, and Judge Simon issued an injunction that purported to bind not just defendant but others: [I]n accordance with the Court's inherent equitable power to issue provisional…

How Ferrari Hit the Brakes on a Deepfake CEO

Matt Harrison Clough In July 2024, an executive at luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari received several messages that appeared to have been sent by CEO Benedetto Vigna on the messaging and calling platform WhatsApp. The messages, which originated from an unfamiliar number, mentioned an impending significant acquisition, urged the executive…

Student needs, impacts of new administration discussed at Faculty Senate

Leaders of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) outlined key student priorities, and President Jonathan Levin discussed potential impacts of the new presidential administration for Stanford during the Faculty Senate meeting on Thursday.In the student government’s annual report to the senate, ASSU President Diego Kagurabadza and Vice President Divya…

Improving B2B energy propositions: Four trends reshaping the industry

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:18 mins read

With the energy transition gathering pace, businesses are prioritizing cleaner energy sources and electrification to meet decarbonization goals and reduce energy costs. They are taking a more active role in managing their energy supply with the associated services, for example, through the direct procurement of clean energy via power purchase…

Oxford shares ambitious plans to support transformative social and economic change locally

Beyond Town and Gown: Working Towards a More Inclusive Oxford outlines the collegiate University's commitment to making a positive contribution and creating opportunities for all in the city and county.    A new report detailing Oxford University’s ambitious plans to support positive social, economic and environmental change in the city and county has…

Oxford and GSK launch £50million immuno-prevention programme to advance novel cancer research

The agreement establishes the GSK-Oxford Cancer Immuno-Prevention Programme, aimed at exploring the potential of cancer prevention through vaccination.The programme leverages the complementary expertise of GSK and Oxford in the science of the immune system, vaccine development and cancer biology. It is hoped that the insights generated through the programme into…

Botanic Gardens must team up to save wild plants from extinction

A major study of botanic gardens around the world has revealed their struggles with one fundamental aim: to safeguard the world’s most threatened plants from extinction.Researchers analysed a century’s worth of records - from 1921 to 2021 - from fifty botanic gardens and arboreta currently growing half a million plants,…

Paul Yock receives National Medal of Technology and Innovation

Emeritus Professor Paul Yock, MD, formerly the Martha Meier Weiland Professor in the School of Medicine, a professor of bioengineering and of cardiology, and founding director of Stanford Biodesign (now the Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign), traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this month to receive the National Medal of Technology…

California Pay Data Report Filing Platform Opens on February 3, 2025: A Preview of What Is to Come

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Quick Hits The deadline for filing the 2024 California pay reports is May 14, 2025, and the filing platform will open for new filings on February 3, 2025. California requires covered employers to file payroll employee reports for their own employees and requires covered employers to file labor contractor employee…

Best practices from the Ontario Securities Commission: Crypto asset trading platforms

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:6 mins read

This article summarizes the Ontario Security Commission’s guidance on best practices for crypto asset trading platforms to ensure compliance with know-your-client, account appropriateness assessment, and client limit requirements. On December 10, 2024, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) released OSC Staff Notice 33-757, arising from a review of six registered crypto…