What the C-Suite Must Prioritise After Davos 2026: AI, Skills and Geopolitics

Oliver Harris, Global Managing Director at PageGroup

The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos made one thing unmistakably clear: the age of stability is over. New geopolitical alliances have emerged, economic relationships have shifted, and longstanding partnerships are under visible strain. For business leaders, this confirms what many have known for years: flexibility and agility are no longer just a competitive advantage, they are a prerequisite for survival.

Across the week, three themes stood out from a talent strategy perspective. Two were widely discussed, and one was significantly under-explored. Together, they point to what large businesses must prioritise next.

1. 40% of jobs globally will be transformed or eliminated by AI, according to Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

AI’s impact on work was one of the most dominant threads at Davos. Georgieva’s headline-grabbing prediction signals the scale of change ahead. But behind this number lies critical nuances that matter far more for the C-suite.

• AI will create more jobs than it replaces

While an estimated 92 million roles will be displaced by 2030, the World Economic Forum’s own projections suggest 170 million new roles will be created globally over the same period. These jobs are likely to be focused on the green transition, care sector, construction, logistics, and of course, servicing AI.

• AI’s mass impact on work is just beginning

It has been three years since ChatGPT emerged. Once hailed as the moment AI entered the mainstream, its impact has largely been limited to task level improvements for individual employees. While AI’s productivity gains are welcome, they haven’t matched early expectations. If companies are to unlock the full power of AI, they need a holistic rethink of business workflows.

• AI can make work more human

By automating administrative processes and repetitive tasks, AI opens up space for employees to focus on more strategic initiatives. Examples include creativity, relationship-building, critical thinking, and continuous learning, among others. These skills - not specific technologies - will define the next decade of work.

2. Mindset and skills are some of the biggest levers for success, according to Satya Nadella, CEO at Microsoft

As AI becomes increasingly commoditised and intuitive to use, the real business differentiator no longer lies in the AI race - it lies in people. After all, if every organisation has access to similar technology, the only difference is how well your employees use it.

Such conditions – combined with AI’s rapid reshape of jobs and its creation of new ones - are set to accelerate the rise of a skills-first approach. This is where talent strategies focus on demonstrable real-world capabilities such as aptitude for coding or ability to work under pressure rather than traditional job titles or degrees.

Companies that prioritise capability over traditional credentials can unlock wider talent pools, surface unconventional high potential candidates, and build teams that are genuinely prepared for what’s coming next. And in a decade where the next disruption is always around the corner, the most valuable skills inside your organisation will be evergreen human strengths: collaboration, a growth mindset, and data driven decision making.

3. What was missing from the conversation? Talent strategies in a fragmented and polarised global economy

Despite Davos’ global backdrop - with thousands of leaders from every major economic region attending - one topic received surprisingly little attention: how shifting geopolitical alliances will transform hiring, workforce design, and global operating models.

Large enterprises are on the front line of this challenge. They must build talent strategies that are globally consistent yet locally responsive, all while unifying an increasingly polarised workforce under a credible “one team, one mission” culture.

Winning organisations will treat this task as a strategic business design challenge, not an HR afterthought. Modern talent strategies must combine deep cultural fluency and genuine in country expertise while being firmly anchored to global business objectives. That means reading regulatory changes early, tracking the rise of new talent hubs, and converting local nuance into global advantage - whether through cost optimisation, accelerated capability building, or stronger organisational resilience.

The companies that will lead the next decade will be those who integrate local realities into a coherent global strategy in a world where the political, economic, and geographic centre of gravity never stops shifting.

What This Means for the C-suite

• Define the skills that matter most: Be explicit about the capabilities needed to win in your industry and embed them into hiring and professional development plans.
• Clarify the human–AI division of labour: Design workflows that intentionally outline what humans do, what machines do, and how both interact.
• Adopt a global-local hiring lens: Continuously evaluate where to locate your people based on skills availability, regulation, cost, and strategic relevance.
• Double down on collaboration: Partnerships across industries, higher-education institutions, and – most importantly – within your own organisation will be essential to closing skills gaps and building the workforce of the future.

The organisations that emerge strongest from this period of disruption will be those that put humans at the centre, focus on skills not titles, and bridge the global-local divide. These firms will not just withstand uncertainty. They will thrive.