TOM's Profile

This is interesting. I think, like you stated, the tech industry by nature is global. A global company like Microsoft benefits from information and talent sharing around the world. Your question about addressing tailored and localized solutions to me comes down to security and privacy. I think those are increasingly difficult to fully achieve in this world, and also could require Microsoft to be exposed to more risk than they’d like. While I support Microsoft, as one of the largest tech companies in the world, making a statement against public policies they are fundamentally against, I agree with your assessment of Microsoft finding more innovative solutions to connect their people from around the world. I think this type of investment, in their people, will continuously be one that will yield positive outcomes no matter what the circumstance.

The future of chocolate made me panic a bit. I think it’s great that Mars is taking the lead on combating this issue. Unfortunately, I’m not confident that this impact will be significant enough given the severity of the situation and the timeline – 2050 isn’t that far away! I’m curious to see how this industry will play out. I anticipate a lot of movement in terms of consolidations and aggregation of firms as they try to hedge the effects climate change will have on the supply of cocao beans and consolidate resources to pursue the initiatives that we see Mars doing here. It seems like the concentration of the beans is what makes this business so vulnerable. I’d be curious to see if any future innovations find a way around this.

Agree with your ending inquiries and I also wonder how Tyson can use their new focus into meat-alternatives and animal-wellness as a strong competitive advantage. I imagine this is an issue that all of their competitors are facing, so it is critical that Tyson does this well and quickly. I think this is also in line with where we are seeing consumer behaviors trending. Tyson can take advantage of that and really find the right channels to market these changes to their consumers. Sustainable efforts like these take time and require large investments in technology. It looks like Tyson is doing a pretty good job of streamlining their processes to include these changes as well as drive lower costs and higher utilization from farmers.

I think the question you posed on considering manufacturing outside of the Ireland and into the UK/Europe is the right one. This growth would help them expand potentially without passing on any additional cost to customers. As you stated, over 30% of Kerry Group’s exports are to the UK; the impact of any supply chain disruptions could be substantial for Kerry Group’s customers. In addition, if they consider expansion outside of Ireland, this could be an excellent foundation for future growth in the long term for the company as they begin to set up infrastructure and their brand outside of Ireland. Perhaps in the next decade they can begin to consider expanding outside of Europe.

This is both interesting and something that will be very relevant very soon. As the exemplary example for ‘industry disruption’, Uber is definitely facing some difficult decisions in regards to their business model and how it will inevitably need to change to keep up with where this industry is headed. I am confident, though, that as an industry disruptor, Uber will continue to make radical decisions. I wonder what the limits to their capabilities are in terms of potentially investing and maintaining their own fleet when AVs do hit the market. In addition, I wonder about their reaction to consumer needs and behaviors – could part of their business potentially turn into a AV leasing company? I do see industry lines blurring as there may no longer be a rideshare, taxi, driver hiring industry anymore in the next few years. Instead, we’ll see Uber competing against the GMs, Teslas, and Googles of the world.

This is super interesting. In a healthcare world where technology advancements have ironically most served to make healthcare more expensive instead of cost saving, I see a lot of potential in 3D printing. I can see 3D printing as a competitive advantage provided the companies that use them are able to integrate them smoothly into their current operations. I completely agree with your assessment of challenges with regulators and getting buy-in from other stakeholders who could be a bottleneck to the quality control aspect of 3D printing. I could see issues with privacy in information sharing and other various regulations as a barrier, but I think the advantages of efficiently using 3D printing for potentially printing live saving organs in the future are far too large to be ignored.