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- Robin, it's so lovely
to see you here in Davos.

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There's such a great mix of leaders here.

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We start 2026, and I want to ask you,

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what are the biggest challenges
that you see for businesses

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and what are the biggest
opportunities that you see?

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- Well, I think on the challenges front,

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there's still some very
unpredictable conflicts

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going on around the world

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that serve as a kind of drag on certainty,

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drag on the ability for companies
to plan for the long term.

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The Ukraine War, I'm
worried it's gonna continue

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for most of '26 in some shape or form.

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That inevitably is going
to make the relationship

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between Europe and China difficult.

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And we've seen some signs

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that European governments
are maybe thinking,

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"Maybe we do need to have a
better relationship with China."

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So if you're trying to plan
for the long term as a company,

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how do I change my supply chains?

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How much can I trust

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that the US-China
relationship won't go wrong?

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Can I back a Chinese
investment into Europe?

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You don't have an answer.

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So there's a lot of the issues

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that are carrying forward,
almost, from 2025 into 2026.

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- Absolutely.

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- Let's look at the other side of it.

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What are the top
opportunities that you see?

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- Well, I think the American economy,

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at least on the surface

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and if you're invested
in the right parts of it,

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is going gangbusters on the back

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of this massive infrastructure
build out of like,

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the infrastructure portion
of the AI revolution

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is not just about chips, you
know, it's about construction.

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It's about skilled workers.
It's about network building.

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It's about energy, it's grids.

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- I mean, America is on a buying splurge

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for the AI revolution that could
really give rocket boosters

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to parts of the US economy.

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So I'd say the US economy
is one of my bright spots,

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at least for the next 12 months.

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- [Aparna] Yes.

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- I can't guess if there's
gonna be an AI bubble or not.

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And we've seen quite a bit of
investment going into Europe

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as a relatively rule of
law part of the world.

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So you get kind of Wild
West growth in America,

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but you might be getting more
predictable growth in Europe.

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I've been struck that we ended last year

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and started this year

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with a number of trade
agreements being signed.

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And so the EU-Mercosur
deal, which has been signed,

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the EU-India deal, which I think is likely

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to be signed quite soon.

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Everyone's thinking, "How can
we build up the infrastructure

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of potential growth?"

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And then my last point,

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2026 could be the year of India.

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- Hm.

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- I mean, here's an economy
that's growing, maybe it's 7%,

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where the infrastructure investment

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that remains seems to be paying off,

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the Modi government that
is trying to make an effort

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to show the growth can trickle down.

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It really focused on
simplifying market rules

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and opening up the market.

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I just feel that there's a...

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- There's a momentum.

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- Exactly.

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- We have a lot of challenger
companies out of India

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that are growing really well
and have global ambitions.

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And so I think you're right,

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there is a momentum that's building here

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that we are seeing here in
Davos as well, actually,

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so I'm optimistic about that.

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Robin, one question.

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And you know, we serve business
leaders most of the time

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and we work with CEOs.

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One of the questions that they're asking

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is around this mix of trade, investment

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and economic statecraft.

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This combination is playing out

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in almost every major
economy in the world,

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and it's playing out on the global stage.

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- So for a business leader,
if you were to say one thing

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to keep in mind for
2026, what would it be?

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- You know, my one thing to keep in mind

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is that all governments are
involved in industrial policy.

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It means governments are
gonna be interfering,

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but it's also good

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because it means that they may support you

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in particular mergers or acquisitions

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or investments you want to make.

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I think you have an
opportunity here for companies,

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for the moment, to try
to steer this emphasis

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on industrial policy
because of this competitive,

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more state-led form of market we're in,

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for companies to try and
turn it to their advantage.

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In the long term, there could be costs,

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but I think in the near
term there's opportunities.

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And if I was to add to that, Robin,

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I'd say I often advise CEOs,

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"You have to build a geopolitical muscle."

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- Right.
- We don't know

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what's going to come to you,

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so you need structural capabilities

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to be able to factor
geopolitics into every function.

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And that doesn't mean just
a global affairs team.

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It means a team that can build
that capability end-to-end.

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So that would be a no-risk and
no-fail move that you can do.

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- I strongly agree with you on it
for a particular reason.

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I've sensed that many companies

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have felt they know geopolitics
because they read the papers

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and they are often very
knowledgeable people.

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- Yes.
- They're traveling the world.

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They're meeting government leaders,

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often at a extremely high level.

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But as we've seen in this last year

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and we're seeing already
at the beginning of 2026,

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really unexpected things can happen.

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- Yeah.

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- It's almost impossible
to plan and so therefore,

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as you said, having structures, processes,

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I dare say structures for advice

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that can help you keep an eye on it

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because the surprise is
always around the corner.

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So yeah, I'm very much with you on that.

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- Great. Well Robin, thank
you for speaking with me.

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This was a great discussion. Thank you.

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- Thanks, Aparna. Pleasure.

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