Bain at Davos: 10 years of improving the world
Each year, business, political and academic leaders convene in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, where they work together to improve the state of the world and shape global, regional and industry agendas to address the most pressing issues of our day.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of Bain & Company's participation and leadership in the World Economic Forum. Since 2004, Bain has been one of the 100 strategic partners of the Forum, a select group of global companies that lead the Forum's knowledge generation activities by setting the intellectual agenda of its meetings, contributing to the insight agenda of Forum publications and working to make sure that the Forum's initiatives result in real global change.
The 2013 annual meeting was attended by more than 2,500 top business leaders, international political leaders, academics and journalists.
Read Bain's insights from the floor at Davos 2013
The theme of Davos this year—"Resilient Dynamism"—included three pillars:
- Leading through adversity, which addressed such topics as strengthening personal resilience, building resilient institutions and improving decision-making.
- Strengthening societal resilience, which focused on sustaining natural resources, establishing shared norms and reinforcing critical systems.
- Restoring economic dynamism, which examined how to achieve inclusive prosperity, unleash entrepreneurial innovation and rebuild economic confidence.
Bain thought leadership at Davos
From the Bain partners whose views are sought out by journalists on the floor to the formal reports led by Bain industry governors, Bain's thought leadership was prominent throughout the Forum. Among the most significant of Bain's many activities during the course of the week:
Bain's annual private breakfast panel. For the ninth year, Bain hosted its popular breakfast panel. An audience of senior business and government leaders, including many Bain alumni, gathered to hear Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP; Harish Manwani, COO of Unilever; and Bain partner Rob Markey, head of the Global Customer Strategy & Marketing practice discuss the topic, "Leading by Letting Go." Each shared his thoughts on ways that companies inspire and empower customers and employees in an era where social media and transparency of pricing and information challenge traditional company control of brand messaging and strategic values.
Watch a video of the breakfast panel>>
Industry Governors: Trade and open borders. Supply chain barriers—not tariffs—are the most costly obstacles to trade. That was the main conclusion of "Enabling trade: Valuing growth opportunities," a yearlong collaborative World Economic Forum project that examined how supply chain barriers affect cross-border trade. Mark Gottfredson, Global head of Bain's Performance Improvement practice, led the project, fielded journalists' questions at the Open Borders Governors' press conference and served as one of the hosts at the Enabling Trade reception and dinner.
Read the report>>
Read press coverage of the report>>
Industry Governors: Healthy living. Heart disease, obesity and other chronic conditions have become the biggest threats to human health worldwide. Consistent with its message of improving the world, the World Economic Forum last year launched the Healthy Living Initiative to prevent non-communicable diseases and promote healthy living. Norbert Hueltenschmidt, Global head of Bain's Healthcare practice, led Bain's involvement in the initiative and was one of the leaders of the discussion at the Healthy Living Governors' session.
Read the report>>
Read the Healthy Living Charter>>
Read about our previous work with the 2012 World Economic Forum.
