Good morning. When BlackRock CEO Larry Fink became co-chair of the World Economic Forum last year, he called up U.S. President Donald Trump and asked him to come speak, which he did. Fink also called Scott Galloway, an author, podcaster and NYU Stern marketing professor who has a very different view of what will make America great. As Galloway told me last night at our annual Fortune Global Leadership Dinner: “Larry Fink called me and said, ‘I want you to come.’ That was more than enough.”
With all the focus at WEF on heads of state—I even joined a media scrum after Trump’s meeting with Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky—I thought I’d bring you some insights from my conversation with Galloway. (I first met Galloway in 2009 as a fellow mentor at the Kairos Summit organized by then Wharton student Ankur Jain, who went on to found Bilt Group.)
Galloway last attended WEF in 1999. “The call sign of America back then was consumerism; it was more cooperation, alliances. Now, I feel the American brand is chaos, corruption and coercion,” he said. “America has been the operating system of the world … There’s just a sense of unease … In 1999, we said ‘we want more,’ now we want to make sure things don’t get worse.” He praised Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech as the best of the week. “All 27 member EU states should have been sitting behind him,” Galloway said. “Right now, it’s like Germany and the 26 dwarves.”
In soliciting both Galloway and Trump to come to Davos, Fink understands the power of WEF in bringing opposing world views under one roof. I heard Saudi Tourism Minister HE Ahmed Al-Khateeb compare notes with Switzerland Tourism CEO Martin Nydegger, saw Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick chat with random people in the hall, including me, and witnessed dozens of global leaders find areas of commonality at our dinners and lunches. (That’s why I also appreciated having Deloitte, Aon, PMI, Toptal, and Workday sponsor editorial gatherings that let us create our own village greens.)
On Monday, I moderated a CEO salon to discuss the results of the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer, in which 70% of this year’s respondents expressed an “insular” mindset; they don’t want to talk to, work for, or even be in the same space with anyone who doesn’t share their world view. Richard Edelman told me CEOs need to urgently address the sense of grievance that’s consuming the business world.
What leaders achieved at Davos is never immediately obvious—the details of the Greenland deal, for one, are still sketchy—but by showing up, Davos participants were at least coming together with an instinct to connect. That’s a good place to start.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]
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CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams, Claire Zillman and Lee Clifford.
