In a context marked by geopolitical instability, technological transformation, and the complexity of global markets redefining Europe's role in the world, the Cercle d’Economia brought together three business leaders to share how they manage their organizations in this scenario. Clara Campàs, Board Member of the Cercle, moderated the debate on this fragmented and unpredictable environment, in which companies are called to adopt more agile, anticipative, and resilient strategies.
Flexibility and anticipation: responses to uncertainty
Eloi Planes, Executive Chairman of Fluidra, emphasized that uncertainty is not new to companies, but the current situation —with trade tensions, new tariffs, and sudden shifts in global leadership— “requires extraordinary flexibility and agility.” For Fluidra, diversifying the supply chain, granting autonomy to local teams, and simplifying processes have been key to maintaining resilience. Planes highlighted the need to analyze competitive scenarios before making decisions, especially in a context where 50% of Fluidra’s business is concentrated in the United States: “We are making decisions to relocate our factories; today we manufacture on six continents, and we are looking at how we can balance manufacturing and change certain supply chain routes to ensure tariff levels are minimal.”
Núria Cabutí, CEO of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, stressed the combination of three vectors: technology, sustainability, and efficiency. Faced with fragmented markets and changing consumption habits, the publisher has bet on more localized production, print-on-demand, and logistics automation. Cabutí also highlighted how cultural interests are shifting towards books addressing global uncertainty, populism, and social collapse —with recent successes in dystopian fiction and political essays. Cabutí pointed to anticipation to adapt to changes: “We are adapting to the new inputs we get from the market and must be agile and flexible to respond to this new type of demand.”
Toni Ruiz, CEO and Chairman of Mango, advocated the need to prepare organizations to structurally live with uncertainty. With presence in 120 markets and production in 40 countries, Mango faces multiple geopolitical risks, so “we must understand the risks but also the opportunities.” Ruiz stressed the importance of creating scenarios rather than guessing the future, understanding what is cyclical and what is structural, and investing time in sharing knowledge with other companies to advance collectively.
Governance, talent, and internal response
All three speakers agreed on the need to strengthen internal governance in a more volatile world. Cabutí explained how Penguin Random House has institutionalized crisis committees, especially in cases of literary censorship —such as the removal of books from schools and libraries in the U.S.— and geopolitical tensions in Latin America, where they have had to withdraw from markets like Venezuela several times.
Ruiz highlighted the importance of addressing these issues from the executive agenda and with good corporate governance. He also defended creating spaces to share best and worst practices with other organizations and to understand changing scenarios. Planes added that the role of companies' boards must be to provide perspective and avoid hasty reactions. Fluidra has adapted to changes by strengthening its Business Intelligence team and adopting a decentralized and territorial structure to gain speed and response capacity.
Recommendations and commitments
All three agreed on emphasizing flexibility, scenario planning, and dialogue as essential elements for companies. They called on governments for stability, competitive environments, and less bureaucracy —especially in Europe, where regulation is often perceived as excessive. Finally, they valued the social role of companies: from promoting reading and culture (Cabutí), commitment to the environment and quality employment (Planes), to territorial investment and collaboration with social entities (Ruiz).
The debate revealed how, despite geopolitical disruption, companies that bet on rootedness, innovation, and anticipatory management can not only survive but actively contribute to a more resilient and shared future.
Session moderated by Clara Campàs, Board Member of Cercle d’Economia
Núria Cabutí, CEO of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial
Eloi Planes, Executive Chairman of Fluidra
Toni Ruiz, Chairman and CEO of Mango
