Meet The Leader

Forget snacks and gym memberships: Today's worker wants to know you value their family. 
 
When Reshma Saujani founded Moms First -- a movement to drive paid leave for families --she already had a successful non-profit under her belt in Girls Who Code. But she quickly learned that advocating for moms and parents uncovers a host of structural barriers that hold back both women and families.

In a special conversation recorded at the 2024 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, she shared how leaders will need to focus on their teams' families to stay competitive and to bridge a host of gaps - including gender pay gaps and labor shortages coming down the line. She also shared how a special AI-powered tool her organization built -- PaidLeave.AI -- is helping thousands better understand leave benefits in New York State and showing how new technologies can expand opportunity in surprising ways. 

Where do you see yourself and your team a year from now? How can you maximize tech - and mitigate its risks? How can you stay focused despite increasing geopolitical tensions? What impacts will small decisions now have in 5 to 10 years? In this special compilation episode of Meet The Leader recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, heads of top companies, civil society organizations and non-profits shared what leaders should prioritize this year. They share questions to ask yourself, how to set your objectives, ways to better serve your team, the risks to keep on your radar and ways to build your vision for the long term.

In this episode: 
Sander van 't Noordende, CEO, Randstad
Fidelma Russo, CTO, HPE
Milton Cheng, Global Chair, Baker McKenzie
Daphne Koller, CEO, Insitro
Hilde Merete Aasheim, CEO, Norsk Hydro
Petra Jenner, senior vice president and general manager, Splunk 
Christy Hoffman, General Secretary, UNI Global 
Reshma Saujani, founder, MomsFirst
Olajumoke Adekeye, Founders, Young Business Agency
Catalina Cock Duque, Co-Founder and President, Fundacion Mi Sangre
Rudayna Abdo, founder, Thaki
Jagan Chapagain, Secretary-General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

What’s next for the year ahead? Is a much-promised “soft landing” for certain economies possible? And what new impacts can we expect from inflation? Meet The Leader caught up with International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva at the Annual Meeting in Davos to get her take on what's ahead, including how upcoming elections and other global challenges could make some moves especially tricky in 2024. She discusses the findings of a new IMF report exploring how AI will impact jobs in different economies around the world in the decades to come -- and how leaders can get prepared now. She also shares the mindsets and approaches that can help leaders stay nimble in what could be an unpredictable year -- along with what gives this "die hard" optimist hope. 

New approaches to partnering and collaboration will be key to tackling climate action. This will require new mindsets, new systems and connecting with people and groups you might have otherwise overlooked. To better understand how collaboration is evolving, this week’s episode talks to Chief Procurement Offers, leaders who do more than acquire goods and services, but who increasingly work across the business and hold a holistic perspective, exposed to everything from the bottom line to changing trade rules, innovations and shifting geopolitical contexts. They share methods they use to collaborate in new ways -- practices any leader can put to work to push climate action forward.

In this episode: 
Rachael De Renzy Channer, Global Head of Sustainability, Egon Zehnder 
Andrea Fuder,  Chief Procurement Officer, Volvo Group 
Björn Stenecker, Chief Procurement Officer, Vattenfall 
Dan Bartel, Chief Procurement Officer, Schneider Electric

Canadian-Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy interviews fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg about the designer's life and one-of-a-kind perspective. The spirited, wide-ranging conversation goes beyond the creation of the famous wrap dress and how Furstenburg built one of the world's most recognizable brands, to explore how these two strong female creatives open doors for others and navigate challenges in their industries. 

Recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 18, 2024. 

Watch the full session here: https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024/sessions/wrapped-in-leadership

Intel Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger talks with World Economic Forum Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab in this wide ranging conversation on technology, leading edge semiconductor production and the trends shaping the year ahead. Recorded January 17, 2024.

Watch the session here: https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024/sessions/a-conversation-with-pat-gelsinger-and-klaus-schwab

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Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella speaks to World Economic Forum Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab in a special wide ranging conversation covering how AI will transform science, new game-changing technologies that will drive progress, and more.

This conversation was recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Recorded January 16, 2024. 

Watch the session here: https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024/sessions/a-conversation-with-satya-nadella-and-klaus-schwab

How do the world's top leaders maximize their time to connect and build solutions to the world's biggest problems? This special highlight episode shares insights recorded at past Annual Meetings in Davos, Switzerland with a range of voices including CEOs, entrepreneurs, civil society leaders and an astronaut. They share the personal approaches they employ to listen effectively, build trust, strengthen collaborations, seek out new perspectives and ensure their leadership meets the moment. 

In this episode:

Roy Jakobs, CEO, Royal Philips

Priya Lakhani, CEO and Founder, Century Tech

Alex Liu, Chairman, Kearney

Matthias Maurer, astronaut, European Space Agency

David Rubenstein, founder, Carlyle Group

Achim Steiner, administrator, UNDP

Ashleigh Streeter-Jones, founder, Raise Our Voice Australia

Swami Sivasubramanian’s first experience using a computer was in high school in India, where there was just one computer for the entire school. While each student could use the computer for just a few minutes a day, those few minutes sparked his lifelong passion for technology, one that led to his current role as VP of Data and AI at Amazon Web Services. It also drove home to him that any exposure to new technologies can be transformative. He talks to Meet the Leader about why it's critical to prioritize access to AI training for a range of ages and backgrounds, especially those in non-technical fields like HR or Marketing where new possibilities will be on the horizon. He also shares a slate of free AWS programming for cutting edge AI tools as well as guidance for leaders setting training priorities for the year ahead. He’ll also explain how he's changed as a leader and technologist since starting at Amazon as a mere intern and the key questions that can help teams get future ready, including one that helped teams at AWS maximize technologies like machine learning. 

Want a book for that hard-to-shop-for person? Or a book to make you that much sharper in the year ahead? In this special collection episode, CEOs, startup founders and more share the books that have changed their minds, how they lead and even changed their careers. Their book picks include business classics, as well as surprising selections from histories, how-to books and the Bible. These recommendations helped this year's class of leaders better manage teams, their time and their energy, all while making critical shifts in their lives and mindsets. 

Interviewees include:
Alyssa Auberger, CSO, Baker McKenzie
Deborah Braide, E-Guide
Didier Elzinga, Chief Executive Officer, Culture Amp
Martine Ferland, Chief Executive Officer, Mercer
Tiya Gordon, founder, It's Electric
Fahd Jamaleddine, co-founder, Nafda Lebonan
Cassandra Mao, Chief Strategy Officer, Halo Car
Benjie de la Pena, Chief Executive OfficerShared Mobility Center
Blake Scholl, Chief Executive Officer, Boom Supersonic
Mitzi Short, CEO of New Season Coaching and Consulting
Aaron Tartakovsky, Chief Executive Officer, Epic Cleantec
Dylan Taylor, chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Voyager Space
Angela Williams, Chief Executive Officer, United Way Worldwide

Interviews in this episode were recorded at: Annual Meeting, Davos Switzerland; Sustainable Development Impact Summit, New York; Urban Transformation Summit, Detroit.

2023 saw an unprecedented number of forcibly displaced people worldwide - 110 million and counting - all thanks to climate calamities, conflict and more. Kelly Clements, the deputy high commissioner of the UN’s refugee agency shares the unique ways businesses around the world have stepped in to help tackle this problem, putting training in place to help refugees become economic drivers or even designing education solutions that help children in remote areas stay in school. She also shares what gives her hope, what keeps her up at night and the traits she depends on most to drive this work – insights that can help leaders of any stripe tackling complex challenges.

Demanding transparency and accountability aren't just the right things to do - they're key to tackling big global goals and rooting out things like corruption, self-dealing and undue influence. Ahead of International Anti-Corruption Day, we speak to Delia Ferreira Rubio, a lawyer, anti-corruption expert and the former long-time chair of global society organization Transparency International. She helps leaders look at the big picture to make things happen, sharing what’s needed to build cultures of integrity - and the risks that can emerge if key steps aren’t taken. Recorded at the Annual Meeting in Davos in 2023

As the climate summit COP28 kicks off this week, and Egypt hands the summit baton to Dubai, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation discusses what any negotiation needs to be effective. In her role, Rania Al-Mashat helps drive economic diplomacy and she shares the phrases that can help build common ground, the personal traits that can forge perseverance  and the mindsets that are key to make trust and action possible. This conversation, recorded during UN Week in New York this September, also explores some of the key priorities leaders will explore for climate action this year and what should be kept in mind to drive progress. 

Executive coaches Mitzi Short and Lori Marcus share a tactical approach to careers and promotions to help women get their work noticed while eliminating gender bias in the workplace. These coaches, two of the 6 members of Band of Sisters (a group of former executives turned authors and speakers), discuss the the block and tackle of promotions: what experiences you must have on your CV for C-Suite roles; what development  conversations you should be having with your boss (or your direct reports); and if you’re a male leader, how you can be a better sponsor across your organization to help position women and people of color for leadership positions and opportunity.

Band of Sisters: https://thebandofsisters.com/

Excerpts from Band of Sisters' recent book “You Should Smile More”

• This stubborn barrier is widening the gap for women in leadership: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/11/stubborn-barrier-widening-gender-gap-women-leadership/
• How 'sponsors' can achieve gender parity in leadership: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/11/sponsors-can-achieve-gender-parity-leadership
• The 4 insidious phrases prevent the gender gap in leadership from closing: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/11/4-phrases-gender-gap-leadership

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Melting arctic ice will have knock-on effects around the globe, impacting farms, homes, livelihoods and more. But making people care about melting ice or the Arctic - things most people will never see firsthand - can be almost impossible. Unless you get creative, that is. Arctic Basecamp (a group of arctic experts and scientists), has found a range of creative ways build awareness, including: a special basecamp during Davos (where visitors can learn the latest research by day and some spend the night like polar researchers in below zero temperatures), attention-getting apps, and ice cream booths that drive home the fact our favorite foods are vulnerable to climate change. There's even a new metaverse experience developed with Accenture on Polar Tipping Points (as part of the World Economic Forum's larger Global Collaboration Village). Meet the Leader talked with founder Gail Whiteman and board member and actor Rainn Wilson about how they strategically "speak science to power," to grab the attention of changemakers from grassroots activists to heads of state. They also discuss how they target and connect with a 'moveable middle" a segment of the population open to change and willing to consider new ideas and approaches.

Related article:https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/10/climate-change-messaging-rainn-wilson-arctic-basecamp/

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The first black female CEO of one of the largest privately-funded global non-profits discusses the experiences that helped her learn how to be a better advocate for others. These experiences range from a father who served in the NAACP tackling civil rights in 1960s South Carolina, to her own life journey serving as a trial lawyer, a Baptist minister and in the military during Operation Desert Storm. Angela Williams will explain what she’s learned about partnering and rallying others for a cause - and what every leader must know about engaging others and getting your point across.

Related article: Great leaders ask these 4 questions: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/10/leadership-advocacy-mobilization-relies-on-understanding/

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Trust time. Pick your moments. Find joy in doing. Know the future is not ordained. These are just some of the hard-won lessons learned that have guided the top minds in government, civil society, business on Meet the Leader. This 101st episode collects the program’s highlights, from Jane Goodall's run-in with a grumpy cabbie, to a moment that changed how Al Gore communicates, to a habit that Verizon’s CEO can’t work without. Dig in and take a tour though the one-of-a-kind insights, aha moments and turning points that shaped the world’s biggest changemakers.

In this episode: 

Jane Goodall, Founder, Jane Goodall Institute; Al Gore, Founder, Climate Reality Project; former US Vice President; Hans Vestberg, CEO, Verizon; Bas Van Abel, Founder, Fairphone; Punit Renjen, Global CEO Emeritus, Deloitte; Caroline Casey, Founder, The Valuable 500; Harmony Jade Wayner, International Arctic Research Center; Andrea Fuder, Chief Procurement Officer, Volvo Group; Yuxiang Zhou, Founder, Black Lake Technologies; John Amaechi, Founder, APS Intelligence.

Related article: 5 leaders and the turning points that changed their leadership approach

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