As I posted earlier, I'm going to be doing a lot of listening, observing, and blogging while at the World Economic Forum confab in Davos. But I'll also be doing some talking, taking part in a number of panel discussions. And I'd love to have your input on what points you think are important for me to raise, as well as any questions you'd like me to ask my fellow panelists.
The first panel I'm on will be discussing the key events that shaped the U.S. economic and political scenes in 2006, and looking ahead at America's prospects for the coming year. We'll also attempt to forecast how what happens in our country will impact the rest of the world. My fellow panelists include New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, David Gergen, Nicholas Kristof, and Jay Nordlinger, managing editor of National Review. Paul Laudicina, Chairman of the Board of management consultant firm A.T. Kearney, will moderate.
Next up, a look at "The Singles Economy". This panel will be analyzing the growing economic impact of well-educated, single professionals in their 20s and 30s -- particularly young single women. Panelists Brad Anderson (CEO of Best Buy), Prof. Esther Duflo (MIT), Kim Mi-Hyung (Kumho Asiana Group, S. Korea), Katherine Marshall (World Bank), psychologist Dagmar O'Connor, and moderator Peter Sullivan (Editor-in-Chief, Independent Newspapers, South Africa) will thrash out whether businesses are successfully tapping into this emerging demographic, and explore how the "womanization" of society will impact the consumption of goods and services.
I'll also be part of a panel on "Living in a Connected World" that includes John Chambers (Cisco), Phillip Alvelda (MoviTV), Rodrigo Baggio (Brazil's Committee for Democracy in Information), Tarek Kamel (Egypt's Minister of Communication and Information Technology), Paul Sagan (Akamai), David Kirkpatrick (Fortune Magazine), and Sir Stelios Haji-laonnou (easyGroup) (I lived in England for 11 years and never met a knighted Greek. Can't wait.). This diverse group will examine how people, companies, and governments can prepare themselves for the connected future. We'll focus on the way advancements in technology will impact consumer behavior, and on the kinds of security and privacy concerns that will be raised by our increased connectivity. As part of the discussion, we'll also try to imagine what a day in the life of a human being will be like in 2015.