Matthew Hanson's Profile

It will be interesting to see how companies like Foxconn deal with these isolationist policies. In particular, I wonder if these policies are just directed at forcing companies to manufacture where they sell, or if they are also looking to promote national companies over international companies. If the latter it could be difficult for Foxconn to operate anywhere a local competitor exists (e.g., United States), however if the former it seems much easier of a hurdle to overcome depending on the capex involved.

Great and thoughtful post. This also makes me wonder how the US Navy is able to navigate long-term planning for climate change when certain parts or entire administrations may be opposed to addressing potential issues regarding climate change. In particular, I wonder do they face budget approval issues when it comes to the long-term preventative maintenance for their existing sea-level infrastructure? Based on this post, it seems they are still able to get budget approval regarding these issues. I also wonder if their latest focus on renewable energy for their vehicles is done as stated to reduce reliance on foreign fuel sources or if it is in relation to climate change and an attempt to reduce emissions.

It is interesting to see Amazon making a focused effort on renewable energy for AWS. Given the size of Amazon as a retailer and the impact that has on the environment due to the consistent movement of goods using non-renewable energy sources, that this would even be any ones concern at Amazon. I wonder if Amazon is truly interested in focusing on renewable energy and doing it across their core product for retail as well, or if they are more concerned with managing the power source for their many income driver in AWS. I could see a play where they have the benefit of calling it a focus on renewable energy, while their true focus is just providing insurance to their traditional supplies of power.

This feels as if it is a collective problem for the entire auto industry and I wonder if because of that OEMs may just continue business as usual even if NAFTA were to fall through and tariffs were imposed. If OEMs are just able to collectively pass the tariffs onto consumers, their price differential to consumers will remain the same as today and performance relative to other car brands should continue as normal. However, there may be less demand for cars at this higher price point especially with a greater influx of ride sharing platforms and additional talks of infrastructure investments.

The digitization of healthcare is always fascinating given the slow adoption of EMRs due to concerns around patients health records and the increased vulnerability of data theft. I agree that Quartet faces a challenge due to this slow adoption of EMRs but I bet they also face a challenge in being a digital product offering for health care professionals. Doctors are often no longer making decisions around programs to utilize leaving it to centralized buyers / decision makers. Would bet that due to sensitivity around digitization and healthcare, that these decisions often get escalated to CEOs who are unlikely to sign off to concerns around data vulnerability.

The final question regarding support start ups or relying more on in-house R&D is an interesting one. In particular, in areas with less regulation we have seen several large and traditional companies embrace more of a VC model when it comes to R&D – think Campbell Soup. What a VC model could enable for TESCO is even as Japan’s government may determine fuel mix, TESCO could have the ability to invest in technology that may not be used in their home market but rather abroad. This could help prove effectiveness and then potentially help influence government regulation.