Davos 2020: Top Ten Impressions

Davos 2020: Top Ten Impressions

As I reflect on yet another thought-provoking week at Davos, I’m pleased to share with you my top ten impressions from the meeting:

1) CLIMATE URGENCY: Tackling climate issues was at the top of the agenda for almost everyone. But to make the bold progress needed, we have to change the context for business set by governments, investors, consumers, and employees.

2) NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR CARBON CAPTURE: A range of innovative solutions, including reforestation and agriculture, received dramatically more attention this year. They present a huge upside, including supporting farmers and lowering the costs of recapturing atmospheric carbon. A dinner discussion on the Terraton Initiative sponsored by Indigo was a highlight of my week.

3) ALIGNING MULTI-STAKEHOLDER MEASURES: I was pleased to see that there is increased CEO receptivity to aligning on multi-stakeholder measures, starting with climate. But big hurdles remain in gaining broader acceptance from both public and private companies. 2020 will be a critical year for making progress.

4) THE POWER OF INCLUSION: The Female Quotient and Shelley Zalis rock! The FQ lounge was the highest-energy spot in Davos last week—and personally was my favorite public conversation. My firm belief is that for inclusiveness to work, we need to create environments in which everyone can be their authentic selves and all leaders feel accountability for diversity.

5) AI’S PROMISES—AND CHALLENGES: There were many discussions about the role that AI can play in making the world a better place, including its future use in creating improved outcomes in health care and climate change. But there was also wide recognition of the challenges AI presents, such as cybersecurity, data privacy, and data ethics. 

6) BUILDING BIONIC COMPANIES: It was encouraging to see how CEOs are increasingly aware that the best pathway to building competitive advantage is to combine AI and digital technologies with an enabled workforce and change how work is done.

7) GEOPOLITICS PART 1: The fear of rapidly accelerating geopolitical risk was much reduced from last year. Recent trade agreements and a clearer Brexit path certainly helped. But we all see that long-term pressures remain, particularly when it comes to the US-China relationship and the race for next-gen technology.

 8) GEOPOLITICS PART 2: Nearer term, it’s not just about the US and China. This meeting highlighted the likely rise in US-Europe tensions. (US: tariffs, imports, and European defense spending; versus EU: carbon inclusion in trade relationships and taxes on major US tech firms.) Rhetoric will heat up throughout 2020—but the battles are more likely for 2021, depending on the US election. 

9) PREPARING FOR THE DECADE AHEAD: In a WEF session moderated by Andy Serwer of Yahoo Finance, I had a great conversation about strategy for the next decade with Mark Machin of CPPIB and Renée Mauborgne of INSEAD.

Davos also made clear to me that BCG’s framework for winning the ’20s, created a year ago, has only grown in relevance now that the new decade has begun. Great job Martin Reeves and BCG Henderson Institute!

10. DAVOS: The press loves to skewer Davos, but the WEF’s ability to advance the dialogue on topics critical to all of us and bring different parts of society together remains truly unique. Thank you, Klaus Schwab, for 50 years of commitment to advancing the state of the world! 

Huge appreciation to members of the BCG Davos team, who work so hard to enable us to contribute, connect, and learn. Looking forward to working together with our private-, public-, and social-sector partners to drive tangible impact and value creation for all in 2020 and the decade ahead.




Nick van Ratingen

MedTech | Recruitment & Interim Management at Habilis

4y
Like
Reply
Jean-Louis Jorus

Independent Consultant Renewable Energies | Business/Project Development & Market Entry | Origination | Projects, Policies & Companies Audit | Business Due Diligences | France & West Africa (Nigeria)

4y

Awesome

  • No alternative text description for this image

👍Very nice posts 📷 Let us know if we can be of service in the future.🙌 www.saccopy.com #banners #flyers #booklets #signs #card & more❤️

To view or add a comment, sign in

Insights from the community

Others also viewed

Explore topics