Business and Biodiversity with Ximena Rueda

Business and Biodiversity with Ximena Rueda

No business operates independently of nature. This interconnectedness is too often overlooked in business and business education, but understanding it can open up powerful new opportunities. Our guest on this episode of The Global Exchange is Ximena Rueda, Dean of the School of Management at Universidad de los Andes and visiting professor at Stanford's Center for Food Security and the Environment. Ximena shares insights from her three years as co-chair of the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment [https://ict.ipbes.net/ipbes-ict-guide/data-and-knowledge-management/citations-of-ipbes-assessments/business-and-biodiversity-assessment#full-report], a landmark report that offers a framework for how companies can measure and manage their impact on the natural world. The conversation covers the economics of ecosystem services, why biodiversity is far more complex to measure than carbon emissions, and how businesses should approach community engagement. From rethinking value chains and supplier relationships to unlocking new business models rooted in sustainability, Ximena walks through the actions available to businesses today and reflects on the importance of recovering a sense of societal purpose for the next generation of business leaders. View a transcript of the episode. [https://gbsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/TGE-Ximena-Rueda-Transcript.pdf]

AI and Business Schools with Tawnya Means

How is AI reshaping teaching and learning? And is business education keeping up? This episode of The Global Exchange features a rich conversation with Tawnya Means, founder and principal at Inspire Higher Ed, co-founder of AdvancAI Higher Ed, and co-founder of AI Convergence — ventures collectively focused on helping higher education institutions lead AI transformation. Drawing on a multi-year study of nearly 50 institutions, Tawnya unpacks the magnitude of the transformation that's underway and discusses how to use AI "as a learning machine, not an answering machine." The conversation covers the difference between cognitive offloading and cognitive surrender, how AI can support business faculty with instruction and pedagogy, and why the single most critical success factor for schools navigating this moment isn't just the technology, but the faculty development and leadership surrounding it.

The Global Exchange: A Conversation with Margaret Andrews

What does it really take to become a better leader? According to leadership expert Margaret Andrews, the answer starts not with managing others, but with managing yourself. In this session, Margaret and Dan will explore how personal experiences, values, and worldview shape your leadership style—and how self-awareness can be your most valuable leadership tool.

The Global Exchange: A Conversation with Ronit Avni

Ronit Avni, CEO of Localized, and Dan dig into the growing imperative for “carbon intelligence”—a baseline fluency in sustainability and climate-aware decision-making that is becoming increasingly important to workforce development. But that’s just one piece of what Ronit calls the “skills triad”: green literacy, virtual fluency, and AI competency.

The Global Exchange: A Conversation with Arunma Oteh

How can capital markets become a more powerful force in driving sustainable economic development and lifting millions out of poverty? What does it take to lead reform in the most complex institutions and regions of the world? Listen in for an inspiring conversation with Arunma Oteh, one of Africa’s most respected financial leaders and global changemakers—and, according to Forbes, one of “Africa’s 50 most powerful women."