Roland Berger and Creative Dock during WEF AM 2023 asked the question: How executives can collaboratively navigate through the current multi-crisis environment

Berlin/Davos/Munich, 25 January 2023 – Roland Berger, global management consulting firm, and Creative Dock, Europe’s and MENA's largest independent corporate venture builder, hosted the second joint event for almost 80 C-suite executives from Europe and MENA at the margins of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2023. The event’s key topics were: How executives can collaboratively navigate through the current multi-crisis environment and be equipped for different geopolitical and macroeconomic scenarios.

The keynote, given by Michael O’Sullivan, Managing Partner at Harvest Innovation Advisory and author of The Levelling, was followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Ulrike Handel (former member of the Executive Board at Axel Springer) and Astrid Hermann (Chief Financial Officer at Beiersdorf).

O'Sullivan`s keynote speech touched on several topics that resonated in Davos in general, such as the rise of inflation, the end of globalisation and the shift to a multipolar world of large regions, the war in Ukraine, the rise of China's ambitions or the democratic recession in general, where, according to the Democracy Index, less than 7% of the world's population lives in a so-called full democracy.

Martin Pejsa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Creative Dock, says: "Societies and businesses around the globe are facing unprecedented challenges and the threat of prolonged difficulties – be they related to war, climate, energy, inflation etc. But despite these gloomy perspectives, Davos turned into cautious optimism among executive leaders, as the global economic outlook for the year ahead looked better than feared. Large corporations can play a major role in overcoming these hurdles. We already see those green energy investments or AI latest advancements also have a big potential. Today's organisations want to realise truly sustainable businesses. Europe and the MENA region need to invest in future competitiveness and leverage their current large assets, which will open the door to new innovative products and services for people. Corporate venture building can be the answer to overcoming global challenges, staying ahead of the competition and making a positive global impact."

Fabian Engels, Partner at Roland Berger, says: “Under the theme ‘Cooperation in a fragmented world’, the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum highlighted the imperative for dialogue and cooperation among stakeholders from all sectors. Our joint event lived up to this spirit, enabling discussions on navigating through the current environment to ultimately overcome fundamental challenges. This cautious optimism and the ‘can do attitude’ expressed in Davos are encouraging, especially in a time of multiple crises.”