Dolf van den Brink, CEO of HEINEKEN, left the company's global headquarters in Amsterdam for a company retreat. Over the next three days, the entire executive team would gather to discuss the company's future. The preliminary results for 2022, presented during the recent two-day Capital Markets Event, were positive, and the company's progress on its key strategic pillars painted an encouraging picture - a sign that HEINEKEN's EverGreen strategy was in full swing. However, rising prices and global inflation were expected to put pressure on operating costs and consumers' purchasing power. In addition, geopolitical and macroeconomic developments were threatening to create a post-pandemic world characterized by uncertainty and volatility. Finally, society was changing at a rapid pace, along with consumer and customer expectations. In June 2020, when van den Brink was appointed CEO at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, he was faced with a daunting task. Not only did he need to lead the company through an unprecedented crisis, he also had to future-proof the organization well beyond the end of the pandemic. In February 2021, after months of exchanges with over 200 colleagues around the world, van den Brink unveiled the company's new strategy, EverGreen. This multiyear plan was designed to turn HEINEKEN into a highly adaptive organization capable of thriving in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, while at the same time creating long-term sustainable value for stakeholders. The strategy was underpinned by HEINEKEN's analysis of its core strengths, emerging macro trends and perceived opportunities. As van den Brink made his way through the evening traffic, he thought about the upcoming company retreat, which he felt was coming at just the right moment. The team needed to reflect on EverGreen's implementation while deep-diving on key strategic initiatives that, if successfully implemented, would future-proof the company for years to come.

When Covid-19 hit the US in 2020, the grocery retail industry underwent a greatly accelerated digital transformation as consumers' habits changed drastically in a matter of weeks. As Americans sought to avoid their risk of exposure to the coronavirus, the adoption of online grocery shopping, click-and-collect and self-checkout skyrocketed. By 2022, it appeared this shift was here to stay, changing the grocery business for the long term. Yet, while big supermarket chains were scrambling to capture this new wave of digital shoppers, Trader Joe's consciously decided not to invest in e-commerce or omnichannel solutions. The company doubled down on experiential retail, choosing to remain a pure brick-and-mortar player and to keep its stores low-tech. Can this maverick company maintain a competitive advantage by going against the macro-trend of digitalization?

The global beer industry took an unprecedented hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the world, governments implemented restrictive coronavirus containment measures such as national lockdowns, curfews and social distancing mandates. Bars, pubs, restaurants and clubs were shuttered. Concerts, festivals and sports events were cancelled or postponed. Global tourism came to a standstill. The beer industry, which was largely tied to the hospitality sector, suffered furloughs, layoffs and steep declines in sales, as countries went in and out of (partial) lockdown in staggered stages throughout 2020 and 2021. While some companies had managed to offset on-trade losses with off-trade gains, overall, e-commerce and supermarket sales weren't enough to prevent the market from significantly contracting during the pandemic. Despite government support in certain countries, bankruptcy was a looming threat for many breweries, potentially giving way to a reconfiguring of market share around the world. The global beer industry was in distress even before the disruptive events of COVID-19, but the pandemic accentuated major vulnerabilities and accelerated key trends. What would define the beer industry during its COVID-19 recovery and beyond? How could players bounce back and thrive after the crisis? What lessons could be taken into the post-pandemic future? Elizabeth, a young associate at a top consulting firm, grapples with these questions while working for a leading client in the beer industry.

AB InBev had been the world's number one brewer since 2004, a position largely attributed to its aggressive strategy of pursuing large, international mergers and acquisitions. The disruptive events of the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to upend the existing market share distribution, as well as the outlook of the global beer market. Breweries frantically worked to pivot to capture retail sales in supermarkets and online to offset the shutdown of the hospitality sector. Many had suffered furloughs and layoffs; some faced the risk of bankruptcy. Even as lockdown measures began to relax for certain countries, the global economy and the beer industry were beset with uncertainty. In the midst of it all, Michel Doukeris, previously the President of AB InBev's North America division, took the helm as the beer conglomerate's new CEO in the summer of 2021. He had big shoes to fill; the reins were handed over by Carlos Brito, the "king of beers" personified, who had served as CEO for 15 years and was credited with transforming the company from a regional giant to a global titan. Doukeris was charged with leading AB InBev through its COVID-19 recovery and beyond. As he transitioned into his new leadership role, he began grappling with difficult and vital questions for his company: Which lasting changes and trends would shape the global beer industry coming out of the COVID-19 crisis? How could AB InBev become future-proof in a post-pandemic world? What would be imperative to defending AB InBev's status as the world's number one beer company?

In 2020, the global fashion industry was faced with substantial disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic had had disruptive consequences, both on the demand and supply sides. But the fashion industry was in distress long before the pandemic struck. In the last decade, the industry had come under intensifying scrutiny for being exploitative, environmentally damaging, and unsustainable. Numerous stakeholders were increasingly concerned about environmental issues, such as the impact of textile production and waste on climate change, as well as social issues, such as exploitative labor conditions for low-wage workers at the bottom of the value chain, especially in developing countries. Emilie had been asked to prepare a proposal on the future of the fashion industry in the post-pandemic era. She was due to present her proposal to the board the following Monday.

The global fashion industry was among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, facing major disruptions on an unprecedented scale. On the retail side, challenges included store closures as part of government lockdown measures, as well as sudden shifts in market demand since many consumers were largely confined to their homes and facing economic uncertainty amid a deepening recession. On the supply side, complex and vulnerable global value chains proved to be ill-prepared for factory closures, prolonged shipping delays and reduced labor capacity due to lockdown measures, as well as sudden order cancellations due to a halt in customer demand. While these supply and demand shocks were triggered by the events of the global pandemic, they came on the back of a laundry-list of sustainability issues for which the fashion industry had since long been widely criticized, such as the environmental impact of textile waste and exploitative labor conditions for workers at the bottom of the value chain. A global leader in apparel, PVH Corp. (hereafter referred to as PVH) - parent company of iconic fashion brands Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein - found itself in the same boat as many players in the fashion industry. PVH suffered significant declines in revenue and earnings, and was forced to make difficult decisions, including permanent store closures as well as substantial lay-offs and furloughs. Stefan Larsson, the president of PVH, who would succeed Emanuel Chirico as CEO in early 2021, had major strategic issues to address, not only to get the company through the COVID-19 crisis but to future-proof it in a challenging post-pandemic world.

As a global leader in healthcare technology, Philips had an important role to play in the COVID-19 pandemic. The surge in demand for life-saving medical equipment by hospitals around the world presented high-stakes opportunities for the company. At the same time however, national governments in most countries were compelled to implement safety measures that greatly affected commercial activity. The production and flow of physical goods were heavily impacted, leading to widespread disruption of global supply chains, which pulled a great deal of media focus on the topic of supply chains generally. The lockdown in China alone caused a global supply shock that many companies were ill-prepared for. Philips' Healthcare business units, particularly in diagnostics and respiratory equipment, faced critical supply challenges during the Corona crisis which garnered media attention both at home and abroad. In order to capitalize on the high demand for medical equipment, CEO Frans van Houten knew that Philips needed to overcome several hurdles to produce and deliver enough inventory to meet that demand. Furthermore, subsequent pandemic waves and other forms of crises could well cause future supply chain disruptions of the same scale and severity within the healthcare sector and beyond. Aware of the many challenges ahead, van Houten had to decide whether to revise the company's global sourcing strategy to future-proof it in a post-COVID-19 world - and, if so, how.