PwC’s global chairman says most leaders have forgotten ‘the basics’ as 56% are still getting ‘nothing’ out of AI adoption

4 weeks ago 8

For the past two-and-a-half decades, the mandate for global business leaders was relatively straightforward: grow the existing business, allocate capital efficiently, and implement technology to drive productivity. But Mohamed Kande, global chairman of PwC, speaking to Fortune in Davos, Switzerland, ahead of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, insisted that era is over. Kande argued that the CEO job has changed more in the past year than anything he’s seen over the last quarter-century.

“This is one of the most testing moments for leaders,” Kande told Fortune‘s Diane Brady, describing a new “tri-modal” mandate that requires executives to simultaneously run their current business, transform it in real time, and also build entirely new business models for the future. “I’ve not seen that in 25 years,” he said.

Despite this pressure, Kande’s message to the global business community is rooted in historical optimism. “Do not fear the future. It is unsettling. It is true. Every day something changes, but do not fear it,” he said, noting that all the uncertainty so stressful to executives has happened before, from tariffs, roughly 100 years ago, to the industrial revolution, even further back. “Eventually, something good will happen.” Kande allowed that he’s an optimist by nature, but he insisted that top leaders can adjust to this business climate.