S5.A8 What can war-gaming teach us? with Prashanth Shanmugan

What can war-gaming reveal that traditional strategy planning can’t? In this episode, we explore how it works in practice, what the experience looks like for participants, and what companies can discover through war-gaming. We also take a closer look at Pax Ludens, a business war-gaming simulation for professionals and leaders.

Prashanth Shanmugan is a geostrategist, government affairs advisor and international business advisory specialist working at the intersection of geopolitics, strategy and global business. He is President of the Australian Council on Foreign Relations, a Lecturer at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland where he is based at the Competence Centre for Mastering the Unknown, and a Reservist Officer in the Australian Army.

Earlier in his career, Prashanth was part of the Shell Global Scenarios team, where he developed expertise in strategic foresight linking energy systems, markets, policy and geopolitics. He now leads a creative advisory practice focused on narrative design, scenario development and public diplomacy, and leads the Pax Ludens initiative, a business war gaming simulation for professionals and leaders.

Prashanth is also an Ambassador for the New Energy Business School in the Netherlands, bringing an Indo-Pacific lens to discussions on energy geoeconomics and global security. Based in Australia, he works across the Indo-Pacific and Europe.