ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
An AI-native strategy firmGlobal Advisors: a consulting leader in defining quantified strategy, decreasing uncertainty, improving decisions, achieving measureable results.
A Different Kind of Partner in an AI World
AI-native strategy
consulting
Experienced hires
We are hiring experienced top-tier strategy consultants
Quantified Strategy
Decreased uncertainty, improved decisions
Global Advisors is a leader in defining quantified strategies, decreasing uncertainty, improving decisions and achieving measureable results.
We specialise in providing highly-analytical data-driven recommendations in the face of significant uncertainty.
We utilise advanced predictive analytics to build robust strategies and enable our clients to make calculated decisions.
We support implementation of adaptive capability and capacity.
Our latest
Thoughts
Podcast – The Real AI Signal from Davos 2026
While the headlines from Davos were dominated by geopolitical conflict and debates on AGI timelines and asset bubbles, a different signal emerged from the noise. It wasn’t about if AI works, but how it is being ruthlessly integrated into the real economy.
In our latest podcast, we break down the “Diffusion Strategy” defining 2026.
3 Key Takeaways:
- China and the “Global South” are trying to leapfrog: While the West debates regulation, emerging economies are treating AI as essential infrastructure.
- China has set a goal for 70% AI diffusion by 2027.
- The UAE has mandated AI literacy in public schools from K-12.
- Rwanda is using AI to quadruple its healthcare workforce.
- The Rise of the “Agentic Self”: We aren’t just using chatbots anymore; we are employing agents. Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett revealed he has established a “Head of Experimentation and Failure” to use AI to disrupt his own business before competitors do. Musician will.i.am argued that in an age of predictive machines, humans must cultivate their “agentic self” to handle the predictable, while remaining unpredictable themselves.
- Rewiring the Core: Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted the difference between an “AI veneer” and a fundamental rewire. It’s no longer about summarising meetings; it’s about autonomous agents resolving customer issues without scripts.
The Global Advisors Perspective: Don’t wait for AGI. The current generation of models is sufficient to drive massive value today. The winners will be those who control their “sovereign capabilities” – embedding their tacit knowledge into models they own.
Read our original perspective here – https://with.ga/w1bd5
Listen to the full breakdown here – https://with.ga/2vg0z
Strategy Tools
PODCAST: Effective Transfer Pricing
Our Spotify podcast discusses how to get transfer pricing right.
We discuss effective transfer pricing within organizations, highlighting the prevalent challenges and proposing solutions. The core issue is that poorly implemented internal pricing leads to suboptimal economic decisions, resource allocation problems, and interdepartmental conflict. The hosts advocate for market-based pricing over cost recovery, emphasizing the importance of clear price signals for efficient resource allocation and accurate decision-making. They stress the need for service level agreements, fair cost allocation, and a comprehensive process to manage the political and emotional aspects of internal pricing, ultimately aiming for improved organizational performance and profitability. The podcast includes case studies illustrating successful implementations and the authors’ expertise in this field.
Read more from the original article.
Fast Facts
Fast Fact: Great returns aren’t enough
Key insights
It’s not enough to just have great returns – top-line growth is just as critical.
In fact, S&P 500 investors rewarded high-growth companies more than high-ROIC companies over the past decade.
While the distinction was less clear on the JSE, what is clear is that getting a balance of growth and returns is critical.
Strong and consistent ROIC or RONA performers provide investors with a steady flow of discounted cash flows – without growth effectively a fixed-income instrument.
Improvements in ROIC through margin improvements, efficiencies and working-capital optimisation provide point-in-time uplifts to share price.
Top-line growth presents a compounding mechanism – ROIC (and improvements) are compounded each year leading to on-going increases in share price.
However, without acceptable levels of ROIC, the benefits of compounding will be subdued and share price appreciation will be depressed – and when ROIC is below WACC value will be destroyed.
Maintaining high levels of growth is not as sustainable as maintaining high levels of ROIC – while both typically decline as industries mature, growth is usually more affected.
Getting the right balance between ROIC and growth is critical to optimising shareholder value.
Selected News
Term: Tokenisation
“Tokenisation is the process of converting sensitive data or real-world assets into non-sensitive, unique digital identifiers (tokens) for secure use, commonly seen in data security (replacing credit card numbers with tokens) or blockchain (representing assets like real estate as digital tokens).” – Tokenisation
Tokenisation is the process of replacing sensitive data or real-world assets with non-sensitive, unique digital identifiers called tokens. These tokens have no intrinsic value or meaning outside their specific context, ensuring security in data handling or asset representation on blockchain networks.
In data security, tokenisation substitutes sensitive information like credit card numbers with tokens stored in secure vaults, allowing safe processing without exposing originals. This meets standards such as PCI DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA, reducing breach risks as stolen tokens are useless without vault access.
In blockchain and crypto, it converts assets like real estate, artwork, or shares into digital tokens on a blockchain, enabling fractional ownership, trading, and custody while linking to the physical asset in secure facilities.
How Tokenisation Works
Typically involves three parties: the data/asset owner, an intermediary (e.g., merchant), and a secure vault provider. Sensitive data is sent to the vault, replaced by a unique token, and the original is discarded or stored securely. Tokens preserve data format and length for system compatibility, unlike encryption which alters them.
- Vaulted Tokenisation: Original data stays in a central vault; tokens are de-tokenised only when needed within the vault.
- Format-Preserving: Tokens match original data structure for seamless integration.
- Blockchain Tokenisation: Assets are represented by tokens on networks like Ethereum, with compliance and custody mechanisms.
Benefits of Tokenisation
- Enhanced security against breaches and insider threats.
- Regulatory compliance with reduced audit scope.
- Improved performance via smaller token sizes.
- Data anonymisation for analytics and AI/ML.
- Flexibility across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid setups.
Key Theorist: Don Tapscott
Don Tapscott, a pioneering strategist in digital economics and blockchain, is closely linked to asset tokenisation through his co-authorship of Blockchain Revolution (2016). With Alex Tapscott, he popularised the concept of tokenising real-world assets, arguing it democratises finance by enabling fractional ownership and liquidity for illiquid assets like property.
Born in 1947 in Canada, Tapscott began as a management consultant, authoring bestsellers like The Digital Economy (1995), which foresaw internet-driven business shifts. He founded the Tapscott Group and New Paradigm, advising firms and governments. His blockchain work critiques centralised finance, promoting decentralised ledgers for transparency. As Chair of the Blockchain Research Institute, he influences policy, with tokenisation central to his vision of a ‘token economy’ transforming global markets.
References
1. https://brave.com/glossary/tokenization/
2. https://entro.security/glossary/tokenization/
3. https://www.fortra.com/blog/what-data-tokenization-key-concepts-and-benefits
4. https://www.fortanix.com/faq/tokenization/data-tokenization
5. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-tokenization
6. https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/tokenization
7. https://www.keyivr.com/us/knowledge/guides/guide-what-is-tokenization/
8. https://chain.link/education-hub/tokenization
Polls
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Take the poll – “What determines your success?”
Then read So You Think You’re Self Aware?
Services
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We help clients to measurably improve strategic decision-making and the results they achieve through defining clearly prioritised choices, reducing uncertainty, winning hearts and minds and partnering to deliver.
Our difference is embodied in our team. Our values define us.
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Define optimal business portfolios aligned with investor expectations
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Define how to win against competitors
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Understand your business’ core, reach full potential and grow into optimal adjacencies
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M&A, due diligence, deal structuring, balance sheet optimisation
Global Advisors Digital Data Analytics
14 years of quantitative and data science experience
An enabler to delivering quantified strategy and accelerated implementation
Digital enablement, acceleration and data science
Leading-edge data science and digital skills
Experts in large data processing, analytics and data visualisation
Developers of digital proof-of-concepts
An accelerator for Global Advisors and our clients
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We hire and grow amazing people
Consultants join our firm based on a fit with our values, culture and vision. They believe in and are excited by our differentiated approach. They realise that working on our clients’ most important projects is a privilege. While the problems we solve are strategic to clients, consultants recognise that solutions primarily require hard work – rigorous and thorough analysis, partnering with client team members to overcome political and emotional obstacles, and a large investment in knowledge development and self-growth.
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