Philippa Kaur

It is common for family empires to eventually pass into the managerial hands of an outsider. Rarely does an heir later take back the reins. Yet that is precisely what is under way at Bertelsmann, a German media colossus. After more than 40 years of being run by a series of hired bosses, the company has signalled that one of two brothers descended from its founder will be its next leader. This is the latest surprising twist in a bizarre family saga. More

At the world’s best-known lingerie brand, the dirty laundry is on full display. In an open letter to Victoria’s Secret published on June 16th, Barington Capital, an activist investor, told Donna James, the brand’s chairwoman, that the company is failing its shareholders. Hillary Super, chief executive since August, has not “gained the confidence of employees”. More

THE RENAULT Twingo Equilibre is a pint-sized runaround for the thrifty. The special-edition Gucci Jackie Notte handbag is an iconic accessory for the loaded. Besides being available in black and a price tag on a similar order of magnitude—€14,000 and €10,000 ($16,000 and $11,500), respectively—the two appear to be nothing alike. On June 16th, they acquired an unexpected fresh commonality: Luca de Meo. More

The advertising business sells nothing so well as itself. This talent was on full display at the industry’s annual awards in Cannes, which began on June 16th. Advertising “not only pushes creative boundaries but also demonstrates the tangible impact creativity can have on business and society,” declared one festival bigwig. Trophies were solemnly awarded to campaigns promoting beer, chocolate and the New Zealand Herpes Foundation. More

Underpinning the digital economy is a deep foundation of open-source software, freely available for anyone to use. The majority of the world’s websites are run using Apache and Nginx, two open-source programs. Most computer servers are powered by Linux, another such program, which is also the basis of Google’s Android operating system. Kubernetes, a program widely used to manage cloud-computing workloads, is likewise open-source. The software is maintained and improved upon by a global community of developers. More

June 16th 2025 <!–> ]–> <!–> –>Bosses love to talk about company culture. Yet the concept is fuzzy. The Economist has partnered with CultureX, a research and AI firm, to measure corporate culture across 900 firms in 19 industries. CultureX’s data show that, while companies are often described as having a “good” or a “bad” […] More

Every company has a culture, whether it wants one or not. But too few firms think deeply about what they want their culture to be, or about how to embed it. As the latest episode of our Boss Class podcast discovers, it’s not enough to recite a few abstract nouns. No one has ever become more transparent or collaborative because they see those words in the lobby. More

Consumers outside Brazil may not be familiar with JBS, even though many will have tasted its products. But as the meat-packing colossus prepared to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 13th, its American competitors were quivering in their cowboy boots. The listing is designed to allow JBS, already the world’s biggest food company by revenue, to gobble up even more market share by tapping cheaper capital and attracting new investors. Yet it could also leave the firm vulnerable to litigation from its broad range of enemies, who include environmentalists as well as an unusual coalition of Republicans and Democrats. More