Oliver Wyman appoints darren Goldie as partner in Abu Dhabi office. 22 September 2026 Consultancy-me.com Global strategy and management consulting firm Oliver Wyman has appointed a new partner in its Abu Dhabi office. Darren Goldie joins Oliver Wyman as a partner in the Government and Public Institutions practice, bringing more than three decades of experience across defense, national security, and public service to the firm. He advises governments, defense organizations, and national security leaders on complex strategic challenges, helping them strengthen national resilience, modernize defense capabilities, and adopt emerging technologies amid growing geopolitical uncertainty. His work spans defense transformation, force design, aviation, military artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and defense industry ecosystems. He helps clients translate strategy into action by bringing together people, technology, governance, and partnerships. Before joining Oliver Wyman, Goldie spent more than three decades serving in the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian public sector. His career included leading the operational arm of the Royal Australian Air Force as Air Commander Australia, serving as Australia's inaugural National Cyber Security Coordinator, and advising the Australian Prime Minister on defense, foreign policy, and international affairs. In his work on transformation programmes, he believes successful change begins with people. He considers creating shared purpose, building trust, developing talent, and ensuring strategies are understood and owned throughout an organization as key success factors for making strategy work. Goldie is a Member of the Order of Australia and a recipient of the Conspicuous Service Cross. He holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science and a master of management from the University of New South Wales, as well as a master of strategic studies from the United States Air War College. Oliver Wyman launched its Abu Dhabi office in 2022. The global consultancy firm, which is part of professional services group Marsh, has five offices in the Middle East.

WFSGI publishes first ever economic impact report of the Sporting Goods Industry. The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) has just released 'The Industry that Moves the World,' the first-ever assessment of the sector's economic footprint in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, a Marsh business. According to the report, the sporting goods industry contributes an estimated $675 billion to global GDP each year - roughly 0.6% of world economic output and comparable to the entire annual GDP of Belgium and supports 28 million jobs globally, one in every 125 jobs on the planet. Tony Simpson, Partner, Global Sport Industry Lead, at Marsh's Oliver Wyman said: "For the first time, we can put a comprehensive economic value on the sporting goods industry and demonstrate the scale of its contribution to the global economy. What stands out from the analysis is not just the industry's economic footprint, but the relationship between innovation, participation, and public health. The industry's economic success and participation are closely connected. Greater participation supports industry growth and continued investment in innovation, while also contributing to healthier populations and stronger economies." The report provides a detailed breakdown of the industry's economic footprint across revenue, employment, tax contribution and innovation, alongside the trade, fiscal and health policy environment it operates in. It also highlights how every stage of physical activity and sport, from grassroots participation and professional competition to sports tourism, depends on the products, sponsorship and innovation the industry provides. "For decades, our industry has invested in innovation, enabled participation and performance, and supported economies, jobs and communities around the world. Yet until now, there has been no comprehensive assessment of the industry's global economic contribution," said Emma Zwiebler, Chief Executive Officer of WFSGI. "This report changes that - showing we're not only an economic powerhouse, but good for society, delivering a public health dividend by getting more people moving more often." Key Findings: - The total economic contribution of the sporting goods industry is an estimated $675 billion in GDP annually, considering the supply-chain and workforce wage-spending effects. - The sporting goods industry supports 28 million jobs in total, one in every 125 jobs on the planet. - The global sports economy is a $2.3 trillion market projected to reach $3.7 trillion by 2030. This projected growth is fuelled in part by grassroots participation and elite-level competition worldwide, both of which are underpinned by the industry. - The industry generates an estimated $120 billion in direct tax revenue annually, rising to approximately $230 billion including supply-chain and wage-spending effects. - An innovative industry - sports-related patent filings have grown 7.6% annually over the past decade - more than 70% faster than patenting overall. - Sporting goods companies contributed an estimated $5 billion in cash sponsorship in 2024, in addition to product and value-in-kind support and remain the largest single source of athlete sponsorship of any industry. Key Economic Priorities Outlined The report states that aligning the following three priorities is one of the most cost-effective growth and health interventions available today: - Trade frameworks that support resilient global value chains and predictable market access - Fiscal and regulatory treatment that recognizes the relationship between affordability and participation - Public-private cooperation that connects industry capabilities with national health, industrial and sporting objectives. Sporting goods face an average applied tariff of 14.1% nearly three times the rate applied across all traded goods. The report recognises the penalty is rooted in the industry's own sophistication - the technical, multi-country production that makes sporting goods effective for health and performance is the same characteristic that exposes it to repeated tariff charges as materials, components and finished products cross borders. What makes the products good for people makes them expensive to trade and in turn, discretionary items in many households. "At a time when physical inactivity is rising globally, we should be looking at how policy can make sport more accessible for people of all ages and backgrounds," said Zwiebler. "Governments, industry and society all have a role to play in aligning policy to keep barriers to participation as low as possible." Not Simply Another Player WFSGI Co-Chairs Jorge Casimiro and Dave Wheeler see this report as both a benchmark and a platform for the sporting goods industry: Jorge Casimiro, Co-Chair of WFSGI and Chief Government & Public Affairs and Public Policy Officer at Nike: "This report provides compelling evidence that the sporting goods industry is not simply another player in the global economy, but one of the world's great economic and social success stories. What truly distinguishes our industry is its dual role as both an economic powerhouse and a crucial driver behind sport and participation."

UK races to lead global digital markets push. September 8, 2026 UK Finance, working in partnership with Oliver Wyman, a global management consultancy, have set out a roadmap for how the UK can become a global leader in digital markets by building on its existing strengths in banking, insurance, FinTech, professional services, common law and regulatory credibility. The publication argues that the UK is well positioned to capitalise on the opportunity presented by securities tokenisation, provided it moves with urgency, given that other jurisdictions are advancing their own digital markets agendas at pace. According to the report, meaningful groundwork has already been laid since earlier research on the topic was published, including progress on the DIGIT sovereign debt instrument, greater legal clarity around digital assets, sustained engagement from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England, and robust participation in the Digital Securities Sandbox. The next step, the report states, is turning that groundwork into tangible delivery. The report frames tokenisation as a route to modernising market infrastructure, sharpening the UK's competitiveness, supporting broader economic growth, and enabling capital, collateral and liquidity to flow more efficiently through the financial system. It points to developments such as the Great British Tokenised Deposit as evidence that the UK can push this agenda forward while still safeguarding financial stability. The findings draw on interviews, surveys and roundtable discussions held with participants across wholesale banking, capital markets and market infrastructure. On the strength of this research, the report calls for closer coordination between government, regulators and industry, arguing that this is essential if the UK is to link up its existing advantages and construct the digital markets of the future. Enjoying the stories? Investors. The following investor(s) were tagged in this article.