Peter S. Goodman to address global shifts at RIT’s Sharpen the Saw event

What does it mean to lead in a world defined by disruption? Peter S. Goodman, global economics correspondent for The New York Times and best-selling author of Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World, will explore that question as the keynote speaker for RIT’s 21st annual Sharpen the Saw event.

Hosted by the Executive MBA program in Saunders College of Business, the two-day professional development and networking event will be held June 2–3 at RIT’s Max Lowenthal Hall. In addition to Goodman’s keynote, the June 3 program includes a keynote from Christina Gullo ’06 EMBA, co-founder of True North Executive Solutions, along with breakout sessions led by Executive MBA alumni and a networking reception. A golf outing on June 2 will kick off the event.

Goodman, who has covered economic transformation across five continents, draws on a career of reporting from global flashpoints including the 2000 dot-com crash, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. His keynote will examine how today’s supply chain disruptions, labor realignments, and political fractures are reshaping both global systems and individual lives.

“I think the recent pandemic made people aware of the unseen army of human beings, machinery, and business arrangements behind the things we used to take for granted,” Goodman said. “When you run out of toilet paper, or parts to make ventilators, or basic medicines because of a disrupted supply chain, it gets your attention. Suddenly people who never thought about global logistics were realizing just how interconnected and fragile the system really is.”

As traditional models of global trade shift, Goodman emphasizes that today’s leaders must be prepared to adapt:

“You better get used to the need to be flexible.”

Goodman connects his reporting to this year’s Sharpen the Saw theme: Reconnecting and Refreshing the Four Dimensions of Nature—physical, spiritual, mental, and social. His work is shaped not just by high-level analysis but by first-hand observation. He has ridden with truck drivers in India, interviewed job seekers at an unemployment office in Oakland, and spent time with miners in Sweden preparing for automation trials—all to better understand how macroeconomic forces ripple through everyday lives.

Despite chronic instability, Goodman remains cautiously optimistic.

“In terms of what we’ve got to work with, there’s never been a better time to be a human being,” he said. “Technology, creativity, and the capacity to fix our problems exist. The real question is: Do we have the political will, and do we care enough to ensure more people share in that progress?”

Registration is open to the public. Admission to the full two-day experience is $200; the speaker series and networking events only are $125.

Learn more and register on the Sharpen the Saw event page.