Business Realities

In an article titled ‘The Rise of the Global Elite’, in which New Zealander Stephen Jennings is referenced, The Atlantic’s Chrystia Freeland discusses the modern-day super-rich, a “more hardworking and meritocratic” group, though “less connected to the nations that granted them opportunity.” In a paragraph highlighting the need for American businesses to “aggressively” internationalise, Freeland acknowledges Jennings who co-founded the investment bank Renaissance Capital. “Renaissance’s roots are in Moscow, where Jennings maintains his primary residence, and his business strategy involves positioning the firm to capture the investment flows between the emerging markets, particularly Russia, Africa, and Asia. For his purposes, New York is increasingly irrelevant. In a 2009 speech in Wellington, New Zealand, he offered his vision of this post-unipolar business reality: ‘The largest metals group in the world is Indian. The largest aluminium group in the world is Russian … The fastest-growing and largest banks in China, Russia, and Nigeria are all domestic.’”