Events unfolding in Ukraine illustrate an increasingly dynamic and ‘competitive’ global geopolitical environment. Company boards and management teams often pay insufficient attention to geopolitical issues and their second- and third-order effects, at best only drawing on occasional board-level briefing with limited further analysis and action. Current tensions globally show that boards need to give greater focus to the increasingly uncertain impacts that impact undermining macroeconomic and investment conditions. Derek Leatherdale and Hanif Barma highlight some key areas that boards should focus on.