Today, we received our first known member from Japan. It is possible we already have members from Japan. But this one is noticeable as this member has laboured for days to transfer money to our US office. Gracious luckily, help came. This marks the 36th nation represented in the Tekedia Mini-MBA global community.

Dear whom it may concern,

Thank you for attending with the payment.

I will be getting help from my Nigerian friend in Japan with a bank account to remit the $140 fee to your bank account.

With the name […].

[….]

The deposit of 50,000 NGN to the bank account suggested has been completed.

Please confirm that it went through.

[…]

Most Kind,

[…]

With hub.tekedia.com, we are building a community of innovators and growth champions. Build connections with innovators and advance the wealth of communities.

Join me at the Hub at 4-4.20pm WAT on Wed (Feb 3) as I webcast on a topic titled “The Most Important Cost To Understand When Scaling Digital Startups”. Connect https://hub.tekedia.com/admin to join live.

Case 1: “Oil giant Exxon Mobil suffered its first annual loss in decades last year as the pandemic prompted energy use to plunge. The firm lost $22.4bn as energy prices dropped – at one point falling below zero. The downturn forced the company to make drastic cuts to its workforce and investment plans”.

The pandemic has taken a massive toll on Big Oil as demand has all but dried up, with global travel still largely restricted and swaths of ex-commuters working from home. Energy, according to The Wall Street Journal, was the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 last year. Exxon and BP both reported annual losses of $22 billion and $18.1 billion, respectively, and for Exxon it was the fourth consecutive loss for the first time in modern history.  Exxon Mobil is investing $3 billion over the next five years in efforts to lower emissions. The CEOs of Exxon Mobil and Chevron spoke last year about combining into one oil giant, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources. The market value of a combined Exxon/ Chevron could surpass $350 billion. (Innews)

Read further for Case 2 on the same site: “Drugs giant Pfizer has said it expects $15bn of sales this year of the coronavirus vaccine it developed with German firm BioNTech. The vaccine was one of the first to be authorised for use by countries including the UK and the US. The vaccine sales represent a quarter of its expected revenue for this year.”

Two companies, two sectors and two different scenarios. The Covid-19 pandemic may provide a thesis on what portfolio managers may have to do when balancing risks. This world is becoming stochastic and that state may be the steady state if the climate change worst case model comes to pass.

That health insurance companies declared massive profit is an irony in a time when the world experienced one of the most challenging healthcare issues in decades. Why did they make money? Lockdowns and restrictions froze hospital visits and with limited hospitalizations, those elective surgeries which cost so much were waived, pushing insurers to keep their premiums. Those premiums give you the massive profits.

 When you look at the different outcomes from Exxon and Pfizer, you will understand the challenge ahead if the projected climate change paralysis happens. Yes, there could be structural redesigns which can change the economic architectures of nations. WIth no resilience, humans will suffer. Africa needs to invest to acquire and deepen its resilience to such shocks. They could be existential. 

One of his generation’s finest operators with capability to combine amalgam of empires with ease, is stepping down. Yes, Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, will step down as CEO. He will move into the Executive Chairman position. Andy Jassy will replace him as CEO. 

If you look carefully, Jeff has determined the future of Amazon by appointing the executive who currently runs the cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, the most profitable unit of the digital conglomerate, as Amazon CEO. Through AWS, Amazon taxes the world of commerce and is certainly the future of the empire.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will step down from his role as chief executive later this year and transition to the role of executive chair, the company said Tuesday. He will be replaced by Andy Jassy.

Bezos has been Amazon’s CEO since its founding in 1995. He oversaw its growth from an online bookseller into a $1.7 trillion global retail and logistics behemoth, which has also made Bezos into one of the world’s richest people. Jassy has worked for Amazon since 1997 and currently serves as CEO of the company’s cloud business, Amazon Web Services, which is its biggest profit driver. (CNN)

Fellow Amazonians:

I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO. In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.

This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, “What’s the internet?” Blessedly, I haven’t had to explain that in a long while.

Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.

How did that happen? Invention. Invention is the root of our success. We’ve done crazy things together, and then made them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more. If you get it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. And that yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive.

I don’t know of another company with an invention track record as good as Amazon’s, and I believe we are at our most inventive right now. I hope you are as proud of our inventiveness as I am. I think you should be.

As Amazon became large, we decided to use our scale and scope to lead on important social issues. Two high-impact examples: our $15 minimum wage and the Climate Pledge. In both cases, we staked out leadership positions and then asked others to come along with us. In both cases, it’s working. Other large companies are coming our way. I hope you’re proud of that as well.

I find my work meaningful and fun. I get to work with the smartest, most talented, most ingenious teammates. When times have been good, you’ve been humble. When times have been tough, you’ve been strong and supportive, and we’ve made each other laugh. It is a joy to work on this team.

As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition. Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihoods. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else. As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.

Amazon couldn’t be better positioned for the future. We are firing on all cylinders, just as the world needs us to. We have things in the pipeline that will continue to astonish. We serve individuals and enterprises, and we’ve pioneered two complete industries and a whole new class of devices. We are leaders in areas as varied as machine learning and logistics, and if an Amazonian’s idea requires yet another new institutional skill, we’re flexible enough and patient enough to learn it.

Keep inventing, and don’t despair when at first the idea looks crazy. Remember to wander. Let curiosity be your compass. It remains Day 1.

Jeff