Q&A with Ali Karami Ruiz
We sat down with Ali Karami Ruiz, who has recently joined FTI Strategic Communications as a Senior Managing Director.
Ali, welcome to FTI – tell us a bit about your background?
My background has been building bridges between public and private sectors, and am an internationalist at heart. I have seen first-hand the tangible impact international organizations have on all industries as a former business spokesperson to the OECD. Throughout my career, I have advised companies how to optimize results through global cooperation. I know how governments think, and also how different business sectors operate and the challenges they must overcome.
You work in multilateral engagement… can you explain what that means?
It is the way governments and stakeholders use global platforms to solve common challenges that each of them faces at home. And, of course, given the current geopolitical, macroeconomic, and post-pandemic context, it is a very powerful space that addresses fragmentation and boosts interconnectedness. These organizations might be discreet, but they definitely pack a punch. Decisions made at OECD, UN, and G20 levels affect both businesses’ reputation and their bottom lines.
What key trends are you seeing as organisations look to broaden multilateral engagement?
There are 3 main trends I have recently observed:
- First, governments increasingly use multilaterals to reach geopolitical and policy objectives.
- Second, intergovernmental organizations carry weight in the growing debates on environment, social, and governance commitments. Their initiatives influence legislative action in this field.
- Third, mutilateral organizations are policy amplifiers: they can take regulation from one country and promote it as a model for implementation in others.
And what stakeholders are you engaging with most around these issues?
At corporate level, with government affairs global functions, but also with business development, sustainability, people and transformation, digital, and communications executives given the expanding mandate of international organizations.
Industry associations also play a pivotal role, as they respond in national and supranational contexts on public health, taxation, trade, innovation and IP, and climate change.
So, what should companies be thinking about as they engage with organisations such as OECD, UN, G20 etc?
It’s all about foresight and response. It allows companies not only to address immediate policy and reputational challenges, but also to anticipate global developments that will determine their license to operate in markets in the medium and long term.
Any final messages for companies who are facing legislation from multilateral organisations?
They need to see multilateral engagement as an essential part of their strategy and resource it adequately as it will be critical to their success. I came to FTI to establish a practice that will guide businesses on how to define and manage their engagement with international institutions and maximize the outcomes from it.
To learn more about Ali, please read his bio here: https://www.fticonsulting.com/emea/experts/ali-karami-ruiz
| The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals.
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