Each year, business, political and academic leaders convene 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.
Bain thought leadership
From our partners' views on the floor at Davos to the formal reports led by Bain industry governors—Bain & Company's thought leadership is prominent throughout the Forum each year. Some of the most significant of Bain's activities from the 2015 meeting:
Gender Parity
Bain chairman Orit Gadiesh led a discussion in the session "From Problem to Progress" on what gaps must be closed to make this the century of gender equality.
Middle management and day-to-day supervisors are key to women’s success in business, said Bain chairman Orit Gadiesh on a panel joined by Laura Tyson, professor at Berkley Haas School of Business; Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott Intl; and France Córdova, director of National Science Foundation, USA.
Orit Gadiesh shared the findings of Bain’s Gender Parity study "Everyday moments of truth: Frontline managers are key to women’s career aspirations," authored by Chicago-based Bain partner Julie Coffman. The panel group discussed why women still make up just 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs, and 19% of S&P 500 board member, despite multi-decade long efforts to capture the benefits of diversity in leadership. Bain’s study of 1,000 men and women within a representative mix of global companies, found an alarming result: Starting at par in talent, confidence and aspiration, by mid-career men were nearly twice as confident, as a percentage, that they can reach top management than women.
Gadiesh said the reasons are threefold: outdated stereotypes of senior alpha leaders, few alternative role models for women to identify with, and most importantly a lack of career guidance and encouragement from their usually male direct superiors.
India's Next Decade
Regional Managing Director EMEA and former Regional Managing Director Asia Paul Meehan was a challenger in the NDTV session "India's Next Decade," which was broadcast live. Given the slow uptake in private sector investments and the relative high cost of capital in India today, he asked the panel to address the issue of incentives for the private sector, in particular how to stimulate more investment in manufacturing value-added and the technology sectors.
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Bain's annual private breakfast panel
(By invitation only) For the 11th year, Orit Gadiesh hosted Bain’s annual breakfast discussion. An audience of over 100 senior business and government leaders joined our two guest speakers: Andrew Liveris, President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Dow Chemical Company and Julian Roberts, Group Chief Executive, Old Mutual Group; and Michael Mankins, Head of Bain & Company’s Americas Organizational practice to discuss the topic of workforce effectiveness under the broader theme of: "Time, Talent and Money – Unleashing the Productivity and Energy of Your Workforce." Read Michael Mankins' related article, "Your scarcest resource," published by Harvard Business Review.
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Industry Governors
The World Economic Forum regularly asks Bain to play a leading role in producing industry-specific insights that support its mission. In 2014, we assessed the investment needs required to transform the electricity sector to a more sustainable, affordable and reliable system; we measured the economic advantages a healthy population can create for economies; and we analyzed which measures beyond mere border administration streamlining are required to reduce trade barriers. The output of the 10 month-long assignments was shared at the 2015 Annual Meeting in Davos:
