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DeSantis May Mock The Cool Kids At Davos But Leaders Are Feeling Alright

Here’s an edited excerpt from this week’s CIO Newsletter. To get it to your inbox, sign up here.

Close your eyes to let your mind drift towards Landwasser Valley in the Swiss Alps, up 5,120 feet to the resort town of Davos, where around 2,500 important people in cruelty-free boots will gather next week at the World Economic Forum to talk about the future of the world. Specifically, they’re focused on the ‘polycrisis’ laid out in WEF’s Global Risks Report. That’s the tangled web of challenges wherein war begets an energy crisis that exacerbates food shortages made worse by drought, for example, and efforts to resolve a challenge like energy prices can make it harder to solve another like, say, climate change.

And solving a polycrisis requires a polyglot gathering of polymaths, politicians (no relation) and an eclectic mix of other stakeholders. While that’s hardly a mind-blowing concept for systems thinkers like CIOs, Davos has long enraged politicians like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who again slammed it this week as a gathering of ‘jetsetters’ and ‘elites’ proposing ‘woke’ solutions that would ‘weaken Western society.’ More on that below.

While 52 heads of state and government are heading to Davos, nearly 600 CEOs are also expected to be there—along with their C-suite compadres and teams that should help swell the total number of Davos ‘attendees’ to around 10,000. In a world that’s preaching public-private partnerships as we stare down a recession, that makes C-suite players critical in getting things done.

No wonder we’re getting drenched with data about how business leaders really feel–and what they’re planning to spend. (Don’t be alarmed if your boss asks how you feel, too.) We know from our own research and events that C-Suite leaders are concerned about finding the right talent, technologies and sustainable growth. An EY study tells us almost a third of CEOs are halting planned investments because of geopolitics and 98% of them are bracing for a downturn. The latest Accenture/UN Global Compact survey of 2,600 CEOs found 93% reporting 10 or more simultaneous challenges, creating pessimism about reaching sustainability goals.

Signs of Optimism

But there are signs of optimism in the senior ranks. World 50/G100 released a survey of 219 senior-level executives this morning that found 72% of them reporting their short-term (one-to-three year) outlook for growth to be good or excellent while 91% said the same when looking out over the next three to five years. (For the full survey, click here.)

Technology and telecommunications executives were most pessimistic about growth prospects over the next one to three years, perhaps because they’ve felt the immediate impact of inflation most acutely in terms of costs and demand. Consumer goods leaders were most pessimistic about the longer term. Across the board, the most optimistic players were CEOs in the business services sector — and in the U.S., where 21% described their short-term as excellent vs. only 4% of leaders from non-U.S. companies.

The most important accelerator of growth: advances in technology, followed by an easing of the talent shortage. The biggest barriers to achieving that growth: talent and labor shortages, followed by recession and inflation. You know what isn’t really holding them back? Budget constraints and raw material shortages.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne P. Clark also expressed optimism this week, talking up an Agenda for American Strength that could spur innovation and jobs while helping to tackle all these wicked problems. Their biggest foe: government. As she put it: “The polarization, the gridlock, the overreach, and the inability to act smartly and strategically for our future is making it harder for all of us to do our jobs.” Well, we have a House Speaker.

CIOs In Davos

With all this talk about innovation and interconnectedness, CIOs may be thinking “Hey, I should be in Davos.” Sure, but odds are high you just got back from CES. (See paragraph 7 about budget constraints.) You may be packing now if your company is one of WEF’s 100 strategic partners or one of another 900 member companies—or a “new champion,” NGO, important institution or founder Klaus Schwab thinks you’re interesting. Then there’s getting a plane ticket and hotel. The U.S. delegation is only sending 19 people.

Still, if you're feeling a little wistful about not going to Davos next week, you're not alone. I have fond memories of crashing into Best Buy's Brad Anderson as I tried to traverse a snow bank, seeing Muhtar Kent of Coca Cola pull a wad of bills out of his pocket to prove he always carries cash and having another CEO stop a sentence midstream to say "Is that Maria Bartiromo?" before dashing off. I, too, am not part of Schwab’s inner circle.

Davos Man?

Take comfort in knowing that nobody can accuse you of being part of a global elite—or worse. When I searched “How many CIOs attend Davos,” Google served up an excerpt from The Cabal, a 2022 thriller by Florida-based author Alan Refkin. We find protagonist Matt Moretti in the Oval Office, telling the President “Ballinger” that he and his partner believe the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum is also a meeting spot for a secretive group called The Cabal. Its goal, according to the book’s Amazon description: to “establish perpetual global monopolies that would ensure extreme generational wealth while advocating that centralized government control creates greater economic stability, ratchets down global tensions, and establishes a society of equals.” (Quick, to the Batmobile!)

“We want to go to the Davos forum, sir, but the cost is steep,” says Moretti.

“How steep?”

At hearing the steep number, the President gives the nod, calling it a “better use of taxpayer money than some of the bills Congress sends me,” and says he’ll call Chinese President “Liu” to suggest he send two of his Cabal-fighting spies to Davos—but not before warning our protagonists to keep a low profile amid the “multitude of journalists.”

Lesson #1: Even the President doesn’t know how many CIOs attend Davos.

And then, of course, there’s our real-world hero, Ron DeSantis. He summed up the vision of Davos attendees as thus: “They run everything and everyone else is basically a serf.” (I’m not sure that’s what Edelman’s Justin Blake had in mind when he suggested CEOs should imagine they’re at Davos every day.)

Lesson #2: Your governor probably doesn’t know how many CIOs attend, either.

I digress. As many a CEO has told me, they really only go to the Swiss Alps at this time of year to meet customers and have tough conversations on critical issues. It’s work work work — and you’re more likely to run into an activist in braids than a Hollywood star. Think of all the money you’ll save by watching it online and come to Forbes for updates. If you’re a CIO or CTO — or know one who’s worthy — fill out the nomination for our CIO Next list. Then offer to trade carbon credits with the boss when they get back to town and remember how good you’re feeling about the growth picture this year. Have a great week.

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