Knowledge Partner

Mckinsey

Partner

C3.ai
Huawei
Heidrick
Insigniam
salesforce
Slack Future Forum
Splunk
Zuora
  Click here to see video of all sessions.

Since 1995, the Global Forum has been hosted by the editors of FORTUNE in great cities on the dynamic frontiers of global business. The Forum creates a valuable opportunity for a select group of CEOs of the world’s biggest companies and economic leaders to actively engage in intimate discussions.  In 2020, we gathered global participants virtually on October 26-27.

Overview

This year’s FORTUNE Global Forum occurs during a time of unparalleled worldwide upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been cut short, millions of jobs lost, and countless businesses shuttered or idled. The damage to the workforce has reached a level that is not just a problem of the unemployed, but an existential threat to all humanity, and all business. The traditional models of how employees work and how companies operate have been turned on their heads. Populations have become more technologically connected, yet people are more separated than ever.

Inequalities in society have worsened due to the pandemic, with people of color, women, and those on the lower echelons of society more heavily affected by the crisis. The rifts between knowledge workers and manual workers, the well educated and the less-well educated, top-tier cities and the rest are likely to widen. Anti-globalization sentiment and the reshoring of U.S. manufacturing, accelerated by the U.S.–China trade war, have intensified due to disruptions in the supply chain and continued fear of virus flare-ups.

Business leaders see a long road ahead. A majority of CEOs surveyed for the Fortune 500 believe it will be the first quarter of 2022 before overall economic activity returns to levels reached before the pandemic. Another 27% don’t expect that activity to return until the first quarter of 2023. It’s a moment of great crisis and great challenge, but it is also a moment of great opportunity: the time for reset. Perhaps one of the most consequential questions is, what do companies want to look like when they emerge from the crisis?

We’ll delve into ways organizations can leverage this moment to become more resilient and agile in advance of the next big calamity, to ensure they continue to lead with purpose and embrace the notion that stakeholder capitalism is more important than ever. We’ll examine how the crisis has fast-tracked innovation across a myriad of value chains and how customers have helped advance that change. We’ll seek to identify ways to reduce inequalities in society, increase access to technology, and retrain and reskill employees for the new workplace. And we’ll drill down on sustainability and why this global pause may be the opportunity to enact a clean slate in the face of climate challenges.

Speakers

Ajay Banga

Chief Executive Officer

Mastercard Inc.

Kai-Fu Lee

Chairman and CEO

Sinovation Ventures

Beth Ford

President and CEO

Land O'Lakes, Inc.

James Mwangi

Chief Executive Officer

Equity Group Holdings

Agenda

* All items are in Africa/Abidjan time. Click on the agenda items to find out more.
7 - 7:50 PM
LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE: THE INCLUSION IMPERATIVE
Ken Barrett,Vernā Myers,Nzinga Shaw,Lyndon Taylor,Anilu Vazquez-Ubarr

Hosted by Heidrick & Struggles

7 - 7:50 PM
LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE: ACTIVATING PURPOSE TO CREATE A SHARED IDENTITY
Douglas Baker,Naina Dhingra,Adena Friedman,Steve Rendle

Hosted by McKinsey & Company

7 - 7:50 PM
LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE: CONNECTING THE WORLD
Rodrigo Baggio,Suzanne Ehlers,Suzanne Fallender,Sam Nkusi

Hosted by Huawei

7 - 7:50 PM
LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE: WHAT IT TAKES-THRIVING IN THE DATA AGE
Carolyn Magill,Doug Merritt,Davi Rosenberg,Sam Yagan

Hosted by Splunk

7:50 - 8:00 PM
BREAK
8 - 8:05 PM
WELCOME
8:05 - 8:35 PM
MEETING THE MOMENT
Darius Adamczyk,Margaret Keane,Arne Sorenson
8:35 - 8:50 PM
GIANT TURNAROUND
Lawrence Culp
8:50 - 8:55 PM
LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT: ACHIEVING RACIAL EQUALITY
Mellody Hobson
8:55 - 9:10 PM
INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP
Brian Cornell
9:10 - 9:30 PM
GETTING TO NET ZERO
Roberto Marques,Steve Oldham
9:30 - 9:35 PM
LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT: RETRAINING YOUR WORKFORCE
Ginni Rometty
9:35 - 9:55 PM
REFRAMING CAPITALISM
Daniel Schulman,Hamdi Ulukaya
9:55 - 10:15 PM
CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Beth Ford,Enrique Lores
10:15 - 10:30 PM
HEALTH CARE’S BIG PIVOT
Larry Merlo
10:30 - 11:00 PM
NETWORKING
11 - 11:15 PM
WORK, REIMAGINED
Stewart Butterfield
11:15 - 11:30 PM
STRENGTHENING THE GLOBAL FOOD CHAIN
Juan Luciano
11:30 - 11:45 PM
DRIVING VALUE CREATION
Sonia Syngal
11:45 PM - 12:00 AM
AUTOMATING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Jean-Pascal Tricoire

Contact Us

The Global Forum program is developed with the guidance of FORTUNE editors, whose journalistic perspective provides unique insights into the key trends and dynamic people that are driving business. Each program is tailored to the immediate needs of its audience, with themes and speakers carefully selected to deliver maximum value.

For Speaker Suggestions:

To submit a speaker suggestion, please complete the form at the link below. There are no exact deadlines for speaker submissions.
Please click here to submit a speaker suggestion. 

For Participation:

Participation at the 2020 FORTUNE Global Forum Virtual is by invitation only. Registrations are non-transferable. 
Tel: 1-866-661-3840
E-mail: globalforum@fortune.com

For Sponsorship Opportunities:

A limited number of corporate sponsorships are available. Please contact us for more information.
Elizabeth Parks and Monica Sembler
E-mail: fortunesponsorships@fortune.com

For Press Inquiries:

Alison Klooster, Senior Manager of Brand Communications, FORTUNE
Tel: +1 212-522-3194
E-mail: alison.klooster@fortune.com

Tech Tips
  1. All attendees must apply for registration here before they are given access to the conference platform.
  2. Once you are on the event page, click on “Enter Event”.
  3. You are now in the Reception. This is the Welcome page or “lobby”. Here you can quickly find out what’s currently happening and learn more about the program, speakers, and partners.
  4. During the conference, you can visit other areas of the event listed on the left-hand side: Stage, Sessions, Networking, and Booths.
  5. Chat: On the right-hand side of the screen, the chat panel allows you to send event-wide chats and directly message other attendees.
  6. Stage: The main program sessions will take place here. During the event, if “Live” is on the stage, it means that live onstage video is streaming.
  7. Sessions: This is where meetings with Fortune Editors and Brainstorm Health Co-chairs will take place. Take a deeper dive into specific topics in small groups of your peers. You’ll be able to pose questions to the moderators via the chat panel.
  8. Networking: Get matched up for a one-on-one video meeting and click “Connect” to automatically exchange your contact information.
  9. Booths: This is a virtual exhibition hall where you can connect with the conference partners, and also view the special artwork series.