McKinsey is focusing on six major themes at this year’s annual meeting.
Every year, thousands of top decision makers representing governments, business, and civil society gather in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting to address major global issues and priorities for the coming year. The 2025 annual meeting, the largest yet, is convening from January 20 to January 24 with the overall theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.” During a McKinsey Live session, senior partners Solveigh Hieronimus, Shelley Stewart III, and Lareina Yee outlined the six major themes driving McKinsey’s agenda this year at Davos, including those that are prominent on the CEO agenda, critical for collective global order, and new fast growth topics:
1. AI transformation: It’s never just tech. Only 11 percent of AI pilots have been successful, and, while 93 percent of companies plan to invest in AI this year, only 1 percent of those say they have the maturity required to reap the productivity benefits that would boost performance. The current business challenges are rewiring the organization, implementing clear processes, policies, practices, and tools for the whole business, and acquiring and building talent to stay ahead of generative AI skill gaps. For more, see A generative AI reset: Rewiring to turn potential into value in 2024.
2. Resilience and geopolitics: Shape or be shaped. As trade interventions surge—by a multiple of 12 since 2010—and concerns about trade policies ratchet higher, political tensions are among leaders’ biggest concerns. Organizations have become more serious about scenario planning; they’re crafting risk and response plans to find the opportunities among growing geopolitical risks. For more, see our recent publications: Geopolitics and the geometry of global trade and Building geopolitical resilience: The people agenda.
3. Energy transition: Beyond the “why” to the “how.” While reducing emissions remains the global goal, concerns about regional competitiveness and energy reliability and affordability are pushing the role of private capital to the fore. What are the levers for allocating capital in a productive and competitive way? For more, see The hard stuff: Navigating the physical realities of the energy transition.
4. Women’s health: Improving quality and building stronger economies. Although women live longer, on average, than men, they are 25 percent less well than men during their lifetime. Investments addressing the women’s health gap could add years to life and life to years—and potentially boost the global economy by $1 trillion annually. See the report on Closing the women’s health gap: A $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies and other related insights.
5. 21st-century leadership: Creating tomorrow’s leaders today. The CEO agenda has always been daunting and now is growing more complex. Yet many companies are not effective at investing in the human capital needed to manage through difficult times. Companies need to become leadership factories, to build as many leaders for the future as possible. Such companies will see the CEO as the chief talent officer, with scaled and operationalized leadership development and effective mechanisms in place. For more, see The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory.
6. Space: A cross-industry engine for growth, efficiency, and positive societal benefits. A banner year for space exploration, 2024 saw a surge in SpaceX activity, improved satellite technology, and new scientific research that will lead to additional practical applications on Earth. Space-related activities could deliver nearly $2 trillion in global economic growth by 2035. For more, see Space: The $1.8 trillion opportunity for global economic growth.
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That’s just some of the work we’re doing at Davos. For the full picture, see McKinsey and the World Economic Forum 2025.
To continue the conversation on Davos, please Join senior partners Tracy Francis, Daniel Pacthod, and Rodney Zemmel on Tuesday, January 28 at 11:30 a.m. EST / 5:30 p.m. CET for a debrief of what happened at this year's World Economic Forum. They will discuss the ideas that dominated conversations, provide an inside look into key sessions, and share the takeaways all global leaders should know.
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