Geoeconomics for Executives
Learn to Navigate in the Changing Geoeconomic Environment
Long-considered exceptional measures, such as sanctions, export controls, anti-competitive subsidies, investment screening mechanisms, and data localization requirements, are now becoming the new normal. This rise in geoeconomics is fundamentally shaking the business environment globally.
Understanding the dynamics of and navigating the new geoeconomic environment is indispensable for executives and business strategists. Companies are not necessarily passive or objects at the receiving end of geoeconomic change. They also have an agency of their own. Through corporate geoeconomics, a company can up its preparedness to mitigate risks. It may also shape the economic exchanges to their own commercial advantage.
The Geoeconomics for Executives program will help business leaders understand the new geoeconomic power politics, including the transforming relationship between state and market and between economics and security policy, as well as geopolitical risks and how to be prepared for them.
4.5 ECTS credits can be transferred from this program to the Aalto Executive MBA or Aalto MBA program.
The program provides fresh perspectives and analytical tools for the current challenges of any organization
Renowned international geoeconomic analysts and practitioners leading the discussions
Networking opportunities with executives facing similar challenges
Mastering Strategic Capitalism: Dr. Mikael Wigell on Leading in an Era of Geoeconomic Change
Aalto EE's Faculty Mikael Wigell: New Competencies for Executives in the Era of Strategic Capitalism
In the video below, Dr. Mikael Wigell shares insights into the new approach, mindset, and methods executives and corporate decision-makers need to master in the new era of capitalism and geoeconomic influence.
Aalto EE's Faculty Mikael Wigell: Novel Approaches to Succeed in the Changing Business Landscape
In the video below, Dr. Mikael Wigell tells about the importance of managing friction, controlling changes, and leveraging business in the heavily changing economic landscape - the era of strategic capitalism.
Benefits
The program provides an understanding of the corporate implications of geoeconomics and equips participants to facilitate building agency and preparedness of their organisation for future geopolitical and economic changes.
For
The program is for executives and directors dealing with corporate strategy and risk management. It also suits investors and other specialists who have the ambition and need to better understand the new geoeconomic environment in their work role, such as directors in strategic corporate security and supply chain management. The program also suits public authorities dealing with economic wealth and the resilience of the state.
The program is beneficial for:
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Executives leading organizations with challenges in the new geoeconomic environment
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Directors in strategy development, finance or risk management, preparing the response for future geoeconomical changes
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Investors seeking new opportunities and making strategic investment decisions
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Leaders and senior experts responsible for business continuity and strategic corporate security
Contents and Schedule
The program will cover key drivers shaping today’s geoeconomic trends, geoeconomic strategies, and their impact on corporate strategies and business models. It also discusses how companies can respond to geoeconomic challenges in their strategies and business continuity. It also covers the importance of industry ecosystems and economic security to ensure business resilience and prosperity.
The program is a three-day face-to-face program combining interactive expert lectures, group discussions, industry keynotes, and benchmarking and knowledge sharing among participants.
Program structure
Three-day program
Intensive face-to-face sessions with international experts and industry keynotes
Analysis and applying knowledge in your own context
Program based on interactive lectures and group discussions
Networking with fellow participants
Opportunity to share best practices and challenges
Instructors
Heiko Borchert
Dr. Heiko Borchert is a co-founder and Head of Strategic Assessments at Economic Security Forum.
Borchert is a leading strategic advisor specializing in defense economics, industrial policy, and security-driven transformation. He advises governments, corporations, and international institutions on how to adapt to a more contested and complex geopolitical landscape. His work focuses on the intersection of economic resilience, emerging technologies, and defense-industrial ecosystems.
Borchert has over two decades of experience shaping strategic foresight and public-private dialogue across Europe and beyond. His insights are regularly sought in areas ranging from supply chain security and dual-use innovation to strategic autonomy and economic deterrence.
Holding a PhD in International Relations and Economics, Borchert is renowned for bridging academic depth with strategic pragmatism. He co-develops the Geoeconomics for Executives course to equip corporate leaders with the tools to anticipate and act amid geopolitical volatility and geoeconomic rivalry.
Christian Fjäder
Dr. Christian Fjäder is the co-founder and Head of Strategic Resilience at Economic Security Forum.
Fjäder is an expert in strategic risk, national resilience, and the security dimensions of economic interdependence. With a background that bridges academia, government, and international cooperation, he has worked at the forefront of resilience policy, critical infrastructure protection, and strategic foresight. With leadership roles at Nokia, the Finnish National Emergency Supply Agency, and the World Economic Forum, he brings deep experience in resilience, risk management, and strategic foresight.
Fjäder holds a PhD in International Relations and is widely recognized for his contributions to risk governance, hybrid threats analysis, and public-private security cooperation. His work provides a foundation for understanding how companies can align risk management and strategic planning with national resilience frameworks.
As co-instructor of Geoeconomics for Executives, Fjäder brings deep knowledge of how states think about economic threats – and how companies can build resilience within a shifting geostrategic environment.
Mikael Wigell
Dr. Mikael Wigell is the Founder & CEO at Economic Security Forum.
Wigell is a globally recognized geoeconomics, economic security, and strategic risk authority. He is the Founder and CEO of the Economic Security Forum (ESF), a pioneering platform that bridges public and private actors to strengthen strategic resilience in an era of mounting geopolitical and economic disruption.
He has advised institutions such as the IMF, OECD, European Parliament, and Finnish Government, and serves as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Law & Geoeconomics and has held visiting fellowships at the University of Cambridge and Oxford University. Formerly Research Director at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Mikael has played a leading role in conceptualizing the shift from market capitalism to strategic capitalism, coining key frameworks now widely used in corporate and political risk analysis.
With a PhD from the London School of Economics, Wigell combines academic depth with hands-on experience advising large companies and national security agencies. His forthcoming book, The Age of Geoeconomics, explores how economic instruments – from export controls to industrial policy – reshape global strategy.
He brings a unique blend of intellectual rigor and strategic foresight to the course, helping decision-makers navigate today’s turbulent global economy with confidence and clarity.