Zsoka Taylor McDonald

This year’s Davos is done and dusted, and WEF is the winner. After being dismissed as increasingly out of touch, they pulled off the near-impossible: bringing countries, industries, and leaders together to tackle the most pressing issues of our time. A few standout moments: Mark Carney's era-defining speech reminded us that middle powers can punch above their weight—but only with courage and intention. As a New Zealander, that resonated. Trump's Davos appearance delivered an unexpected off-ramp from escalating tensions around Greenland. The pivot on military intervention and European tariffs was welcomed and reassuring…for the moment. Energy transition discussions were pragmatic: companies can't solve this alone. Sustainability matters, but only with systemic change. AI conversations were thoughtful and nuanced—especially Accenture CEO Julie Sweet's point that humans need to lead AI, not just be “in the loop”. That demands real commitment from leaders to reskill people and communicate honestly. The diversity imperative was acknowledged: innovation requires it. And cutting funding? That's just handing global talent—and competitive advantage—to markets like China. By week's end, the leaders I talked to felt energized. Problems more manageable. Moods better. But here's what Davos glossed over: According to Section (AI consulting), CEOs and workers see AI completely differently. Workers are anxious. C-suite is bullish. FleishmanHillard's global License to Lead research confirms it: leaders are highly confident of their ability to execute the transformative change AI demands. Employees and other stakeholders aren't convinced—based on their lived experience of leadership communication and follow-through. My question: Do leaders know where the tipping point is for their people? What truly matters to them? Their bottom line? That gap is the real challenge more CEOs need to address through consistent communication and operational accountability. Those leaders who narrow it will have a clear advantage: more productive and happier employees, and a better chance of AI adoption success and realizing the return on their investment. 

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Trust, Education, Engagement and Collaboration 💡 Four critical elements that communications and public affairs professionals should take note of when navigating the complex and uncertain geopolitical and economic landscape today. These were some of the points raised on of the most engaging panels I've moderated: "Techplomacy at the crossroads: Trade, Tensions and Tomorrow's Innovations" at the #CorporateAffairsForum 2025 organized by PRCA APAC. #Trust is key across all levels when: - new technologies like AI are being deployed at an unprecedented scale in all geographies, and governments are trying to define the rules of engagement - platforms like Uber are expanding at scale but need to ensure that traditional players are not impacted and are being invited to play an active part in mobility innovations - Ensuring the utmost compliance and trust when you are at the centre of global trade and currency flows #Education and communications clarity is central to cutting above the noise. Employing new ways of communicating through owned media like blogs and podcasts ensure that the company's stance is clear. Constant #Engagement with key stakeholders can change conversations from confrontational to #collaborative. Walking the talk, zooming in on the right stakeholders and finding direct and indirect ways to build trust through activities, meetings and programs. Underpinning everything is an acute awareness of the changing landscape, the nuances of each market in Asia Pacific, how actions from other regions can impact locally and pivoting accordingly. A big thank you to Jake Wilczynski (OpenAI), Mae L. (Airwallex) and Pei Chih Marvin Ma (Uber Taiwan), for your candid views and sharing. It was fun! Ed Burleigh #Techplomacy #TheHoffmanDifference

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Extra caution continues when professionals in journalism and PR gather information since it can be taken out of context and become misleading. The public/consumers must also work harder to find accuracy where they consume information. Reading and doing research on their own is vital since finding trustworthy information from credible and reliable sources is dwindling. Here is an interesting study: "But a recent study co-authored by researchers affiliated with the University of Maryland indicates that some social media users deliberately repurpose credible journalism to advance misleading claims."

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