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What we learned at Davos

The Shortlist

Emerging ideas for leaders ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
The CEO Shortlist
The CEO Shortlist

Curated by Alex Panas, global leader of industries, & Axel Karlsson, global leader of functional practices and growth platforms

Welcome to the latest edition of the CEO Shortlist, a biweekly newsletter of our best ideas for the C-suite. This week, we’re reflecting on learnings from this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Every year, we collaborate with the WEF to investigate the year’s most critical issues, and our in-house institutes—covering global business trends, human health, and Black economic development—examine many more. We appreciate the opportunity to connect and hope you find our perspectives novel and insightful. You can reach us at Alex_Panas@McKinsey.com and Axel_Karlsson@McKinsey.com. Thank you, as ever.

—Alex and Axel
An image linking to the web page “A proactive approach to navigating geopolitics is essential to thrive” on McKinsey.com.

A little tense. Business leaders today see geopolitical tensions as the biggest risk to economic growth. For those who want to take an active role in the current moment of uncertainty, we explore how to build a geopolitical strategy around ten value drivers. Equally, we don’t believe this period of geopolitical distancing will last forever. As Axel told the Financial Times’ Andrew Hill in Davos, “I am a big believer in globalization. . . . I think it is only a matter of time before we see globalization swing back.”

Actioning AI. It’s been two years since ChatGPT changed the global conversation about AI. Now, as Alex said in a Davos interview with LinkedIn, “Generative AI is at the forefront of every conversation we have with CEOs and management teams.” But that conversation is changing. Last week, folks were buzzing about DeepSeek, the new wild card in the race for AI leadership. And, as Alex reports, chats with leaders are moving beyond questions about creating value with gen AI and toward conversations about how gen AI can “fundamentally transform the business.”

We already know why. If there was any remaining doubt as to why urgent climate action is needed, last month’s California wildfires put it to rest. “The question is,” Axel emphasized in Davos, “how long will the energy transition take?” Leaders must move beyond the why to focus on how to reduce emissions, ensure affordable energy and materials, provide reliable and secure energy systems, and strengthen competitiveness for companies and countries.

We hope you find these ideas inspiring and helpful. See you in a couple of weeks with more McKinsey ideas for the CEO and others in the C-suite.

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by "McKinsey CEO Shortlist" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 03:26 - 7 Feb 2025