The European Business Review – May-June 2026

Summary

£15 / US$22 buys The European Business Review May-June 2026 (Issue 05) with a cover story on Global Mortgage Group unlocking frozen real estate equity. Robert Chadwick and Donald Klip explain how they built the world's only platform for the unbankable. AI fatigue gets the David De Cremer treatment. Prithwiraj Choudhury argues work-from-anywhere can futureproof your organisation.

The cover story (p.36) interviews Donald Klip and Robert Chadwick on building Global Mortgage Group and America Mortgages. David De Cremer, Kwong Chan and Jin Kim address AI fatigue as the hidden challenge in AI adoption (p.13). Terence Tse argues the AI trade is crowded but space is not (p.18). Joerg Niessing and co-authors unlock agentic AI's true potential from pilots to pipelines (p.22, Editor's Pick). Prithwiraj Choudhury makes the case for work-from-anywhere (p.76). Brunello Rosa analyses the long-lasting economic consequences of the war in the Middle East (p.62).

Regular sections include Leadership in the AI Age, Future of Work, AI in Business, Artificial Intelligence, Cover Story, Strategic Spotlight, Strategy, Innovation, Corporate Governance, Global Economy, Supply Chain, ESG, Remote Working, Crisis Management, Change Management, People Management, Leadership, Wellbeing and Luxury Strategy. Contributors include Ambika Zutshi, Jerry Haar, Hervé Legenvre and Adrian Furnham.

—————

Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.36 · Financial Services for the Unbankable — The Journey of Global Mortgage Group
Robert Chadwick and Donald Klip, Co-Founders of Global Mortgage Group and America Mortgages, describe building a platform that unlocks frozen real estate equity for global investors. The interview covers regulatory navigation across multiple jurisdictions and the technology stack that makes automated property valuation possible. Apply their cross-border compliance framework when evaluating any fintech partnership.

▸ AI in Business

p.13 · AI Fatigue — The Hidden Challenge in the Race for AI Adoption
David De Cremer, Kwong Chan and Jin Kim identify the psychological and organisational barriers slowing AI integration. The article presents survey data showing adoption drops after the initial pilot phase in most companies. Use their three-stage adoption model to diagnose where your own organisation's AI effort is stalling.

p.22 · From Pilots to Pipelines — Unlocking Agentic AI's True Potential (Editor's Pick)
Joerg Niessing, Carsten Feldmann and Michael Bucker argue that most companies get stuck in pilot purgatory. They propose a pipeline architecture that moves AI agents from experimental to operational. The article includes a readiness assessment tool for scoring your organisation's pipeline maturity.

p.18 · The AI Trade Is Crowded. Space Isn't.
Terence Tse presents the investment case for space-tech as an alternative to crowded AI equities. Data covers launch-cost reductions, satellite-based services revenue growth and the players best positioned. Consider Tse's allocation framework if your portfolio is overexposed to AI-name stocks.

▸ Leadership & Culture

p.4 · Harnessing Human Empathy and Vision for Leadership in the AI Era
Ambika Zutshi, Andrew Creed and Patrick J. Murphy argue that empathy becomes more valuable as AI handles routine decisions. The article includes a self-assessment for leaders to measure their empathy score against AI-readiness metrics. Run the assessment with your direct reports to identify blind spots.

p.76 · How Work from Anywhere Can Futureproof Your Organisation
Prithwiraj Choudhury presents data on productivity, retention and talent access from fully distributed companies. The article covers legal, tax and cultural barriers that companies still need to address. Use the four-factor readiness framework to audit your current remote-work policy.

▸ Global Economy & Geopolitics

p.62 · The Long-Lasting Consequence of the War in the Middle East
Brunello Rosa traces the economic ripple effects — energy prices, supply-chain rerouting and defence spending shifts. The analysis includes GDP impact projections for European and Asian economies through 2027. Factor his worst-case scenario into your 2026-2027 corporate planning assumptions.

▸ Strategy & Innovation

p.48 · Radical Renewal — Why It Is Critical for Companies and Why They Fail in It
Nando Malmelin and Matti Pihlajamaa dissect the reasons established companies fail at radical transformation. Case studies include a European industrial firm that successfully executed a full business-model pivot. Apply their five-failure-mode checklist before launching your next transformation initiative.

p.54 · How Europe Could Turn Ambient Listening into Competitive Advantage
Konstantin Vdovenko and Katarzyna Byszek-Stevens examine voice-data as a strategic asset in retail and healthcare. The article reviews privacy regulations across Germany, France and the UK. Use their market-readiness map to identify which EU countries offer the clearest regulatory path for ambient-listening pilots.

▸ ESG & Governance

p.71 · Impact Externalities — How Capitalism Can Drive Authentic Social Impact
Adam Crouch and Llewellyn D W Thomas argue that impact investing needs standardised externality accounting. They propose a framework that prices social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns. Take their externality scorecard to your next impact-investing committee meeting.

—————

Editor's Take

The May-June 2026 issue is one of the stronger EBR editions this year, with genuine variety across AI, finance, geopolitics and workplace strategy. The Global Mortgage Group cover story is the standout — specific, technically detailed and genuinely novel. David De Cremer on AI fatigue is the second must-read. The weaker link is the luxury strategy piece (p.111), which stays at a conceptual level without proprietary data. The sheer number of sections (19) fragments the issue; several articles run only two pages and lack depth. This issue best suits senior strategy executives and corporate innovation officers who want breadth across multiple business disciplines rather than deep dives into one topic.

Strengths
• GMG cover story offers rare fintech-founder detail
• De Cremer on AI fatigue addresses a real, under-reported problem
• Terence Tse space-tech argument provides a genuine contrarian view

Weaknesses
• Luxury strategy piece lacks proprietary data
• 19 sections fragment the issue; several articles feel too short

Verdict: Recommended — Broad strategic coverage with two standout pieces for senior decision-makers.