How do you capture a moment in time when the world is moving so fast? That’s the problem I grappled with when writing this editor’s letter. Will the words I write today still be relevant when this magazine hits the printer? Each morning in London, like many of you, I find a world dominated by the latest threat of tariffs from the Trump administration or Elon Musk’s mission to “reinvent” government. Uncertainty is the only constant in business today.
Speaking of Musk, inspired by the likes of singer Sheryl Crow and actor Jason Bateman, I recently joined the ranks of Tesla owners who have traded in their “Muskmobiles” for another brand. Since Musk aligned himself with Germany’s far-right during a recent election, Europeans are turning their backs on Tesla. Cars have been torched in Berlin, and a recent informal study found 94% of German respondents said they would not buy one of Musk’s electric vehicles. Other critics, meanwhile, are asking what Tesla without Musk would really be worth. Like countless car buyers, when looking for a replacement, I turned to European brands like Volkswagen and BMW, but found they were still miles behind Tesla. This theme of being slow to adapt to new technology continues to plague Europe. As Samuel Burke reveals while electrically powered robotaxis are cruising the streets of some U.S. cities, they have largely been absent from European ones, hamstrung by red tape.
Uncertainty is the only constant in business today.
Still, there are glimmers of hope—as Ryan Hogg finds in his analysis of Europe’s startup economy, charting the butterfly effect of Skype, the internet-based calling technology whose early employees went on to launch European household names like money-transfer giant Wise and ride-share challenger brand Bolt.
As one of the most powerful women in European finance, whose company serves over 170 million customers worldwide, Ana Botín, executive chair of banking giant Santander, is a leading example of the new European Dream—transforming a heritage brand into a dynamic global business that isn’t afraid to adapt. As Prarthana Prakash reports in the introduction to her exclusive interview with Botín, the chair’s bold moves have paid off, delivering €12.6 billion in profits last year.
Decathlon is another European giant that stands out from the competition. The almost half-century-old sports retailer has more than 100,000 employees, with over half of them owning a stake in the business. And as Prakash writes, by bringing research, design, production, and distribution in-house, Decathlon has become a formidable French force in the competitive world of sports retail.
This is an opportunity for European businesses to step up, embrace innovation, and play a part in creating [the] European Dream…
At the time of writing, European businesses and policymakers are scrambling to respond to a fresh round of American tariffs. Despite these challenges, there is reason for optimism: This is an opportunity for European businesses to step up, embrace innovation, and play a part in creating a European Dream where, as at companies like Decathlon, business generates value for shareholders and stakeholders alike. And if that dream is realized, and the car brands catch up, I can look forward to parking a European car in my driveway once again.
