- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady previews a high-stakes World Economic Forum in Davos.
- The big story: The weak business case for Greenland.
- The markets: Mixed globally, with U.S. markets closed for MLK Day.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning from Davos, Switzerland where the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is now underway. Organizers are calling this one of the highest-level gatherings in WEF history, a mix of almost 3,000 global leaders with about 850 top CEOs and chairs and a record 400 top political leaders, including 64 heads of state. All eyes will be on President Donald Trump, who’s coming with five cabinet secretaries and a large delegation of other senior officials. The theme this year, WEF’s first without founding chairman Klaus Schwab at the helm: “A Spirit of Dialogue.”
Some might find that conceit to be ironic in a week when Trump threatened to impose tariffs on European nations that oppose his plan to buy Greenland, and Europe vowed to fight back. No wonder the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer finds a world retreating into isolationism. All the more reason for leaders around the globe to come together at a time when the stakes feel so high.
As I walked past USA House last night, a man lay sprawled on the icy ground, surrounded by paramedics trying to gauge if he could get up on his own. It felt like an apt metaphor for the sentiment I’ve encountered from several non-U.S. business leaders here so far: shell shock, a burst of unfamiliar pain and a desire to stay as close as possible to the U.S. As Mohamed Kande, the Washington-based global chairman of PwC, explained to me last night: “The U.S. continues to be the No. 1 destination for investment; people respect the fundamentals of the economy and the fundamentals of the companies.”
While geopolitics will likely dominate the news agenda, AI will dominate many of the discussions in hotels and sponsored houses along the Davos Promenade, where large numbers of unofficial attendees spend much of their time. That’s where the coveted parties, receptions, programming and dinners take place.
Fortune, for one, is hosting a series of gatherings, from C-suite lunches and the Fortune Most Powerful Women reception to our annual Global Leadership Dinner and a special block of programming this Wednesday at USA House. You can check out our full schedule here.
I’ll be joined on the ground by my colleagues Alyson Shontell, Kamal Ahmed and Jeremy Kahn, who will be filing dispatches, taping vodcasts, and moderating conversations throughout the week. (Kamal’s first column is here.)
One of my favorite places in Davos to experience a true spirit of dialogue is Barry’s Piano Bar, also known as “Cloudflare After Dark” since Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince rescued veteran WEF pianist Barry Coulson when Coulson’s longstanding Davos gig down the street dried up. If the six G7 members who are in town this week could sit around that piano, belting out some tunes, that might give peace a chance.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
Top leadership news
There’s no business case for taking Greenland
President Trump is stressing the national security rationale for the U.S.'s desire to annex Greenland. That may be wise since there’s essentially no business case for the move, as Fortune energy editor Jordan Blum reports. The icy island’s harsh environment is only one reason why.
National debt is killing the American dream
Low housing stock, education barriers, and the high cost of living are all crushing the American dream, but one leading economist is naming another culprit: the U.S.’s ballooning national debt, which now totals $38.5 trillion. Fortune's Eleanor Pringle explains why.
Ford CEO’s AI warning
Ford CEO Jim Farley is warning that the U.S. won’t achieve its grand AI ambitions if it doesn’t solve its blue-collar labor shortage; such workers are needed to build the AI data centers and related manufacturing facilities. “How can we reshore all this stuff if we don’t have people to work there?” he said.
The markets
S&P 500 futures were down 1.11% this morning; U.S. markets are closed for MLK Day. The last session closed down 0.06%. STOXX Europe 600 was down 1.24% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.46% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.65%. China’s CSI 300 was up o.05%. The South Korea KOSPI was up 1.32%. India’s NIFTY 50 was down 0.42%. Bitcoin was at $93K.
Around the watercooler
A filmmaker deepfaked Sam Altman for his movie about AI. Then things got personal by Beatrice Nolan
When Jamie Dimon poached a top Berkshire exec, he called Warren Buffett, who said ‘If he’s going anywhere, at least he’s going to you’ by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Exclusive: Elon Musk’s Boring Co. is studying a tunnel project to Tesla Gigafactory near Reno by Jessica Mathews
Like DoorDash and Google’s CEOs, Informatica boss is a McKinsey alum—he says being ‘pushed around’ by smart consultants helped him grow by Emma Burleigh
CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams, Claire Zillman and Lee Clifford.
