Davos 2012 is in action

The conference has begun. Blackberries, black suits, and BMWs have taken over the streets of snowy Davos. 3,000 leaders have across the world have flooded the halls and sessions sharing their opinions on the debt crisis, emerging economies, health reform, technological innovations, diversity, and more.

A key conversation has been on the role of business in society. CEOs have been challenged to break the view that there is no ‘them’, there is only ‘us.’ We live in an increasingly interconnected world and many of the conversations have questioned the decision-making practices of CEOs. Business leaders have been called to personalize their role in society, openly share their tax payments and how they make an impact in their community. Matt Bishop from The Economist spoke of the failure of shareholders to focus on long-term sustainability, called for ethical capitalism, and advocated that atleast 1 person under the age of 30 to be on each company board.

My most inspiring moment of the day was the opening plenary with Desmond Tutu, former archbishop of Cape Town, who said “we need a revolution led by women. I think women ought to be saying to us men: You have made a mess, just get out and let us in…let us re-align forces, let us ensure that women have a significant part in the decision-making process.” His speech came shortly after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the world’s most powerful woman, gave the keynote address at Davos.

The push to promote women and youth at these forums has been exciting and inspiring to me, yet there is much more work to do in this domain. The Global Shapers delegation is an incredible set of 70 leaders, yet it isn’t entirely representative of all young people today. However, for me, truly being of service is about stepping up to the opportunities here and engaging with people who are very different from me. We need more Gen Y leaders to step up (in December, I called for more Gen Y women to take the stage). This is an evolution that will be happening for the next century.

More to come! Follow @davos @wef and #4mygen for leaders from our generation.

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