Davos 2015: oil prices, China domination and Greek eurozone exit on the agenda

World Finance asks Mark Spelman, Managing Director at Accenture Strategy and member of the Global Agenda Council, what the most important back-room discussions will be at the WEF in Davos, 2015

January 20, 2015
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Transcript

World Finance: Mark, so, what are the most significant back-room conversations that are going to be taking place at Davos this year?
Mark Spelman: First and foremost, people are looking at confidence around the macro-economic conditions, and how that compares with geo-political risk. So, people want to know, is the economy really robust, on the global stage? What’s happening in the US, what’s happening in China? It’s the backbone of the global economy; how does that compare with some of the risks, for example, in the eurozone? A potential Greek exit; what’s happening with Russia with oil prices; are we going to see reform, particularly in Latin America?

So people are looking at those geo-political, economic risk issues.

I think there are going to be some other very interesting issues: oil prices are going to be a key topic, not just in terms of what’s actually happening to oil prices, but how they’re being used – for example, to stimulate growth – but also being used as a geo-political tool for those countries that have got particular weight on oil as a key lever in their economic development.

So I think that’s going to be a key topic. There will also be some other important topics. COP21 is coming up in Paris at the end of 2015 – Al Gore’s going to be there – so a lot of discussions on climate change, and how that’s going to play out.

That leads you onto discussions, I think, around sustainability; and the whole question about the licence to operate: what does that mean for leadership in the 21st century?

And I think again this whole question about businesses’ responsibility, not just to deliver shareholder value, but also its responsibilities to more societal issues. They become the backdrop issues.

So those will be some of the things that I would be looking for in Davos this year.