Each January, the World Economic Forum convenes its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Heads of state, chief executives, policymakers, scientists, and civil society leaders come together to address the most pressing challenges shaping our world. The Forum remains one of the few places where those influencing global systems can exchange perspectives and search for common ground.
As I return to Davos this year, my focus across these conversations centers on one question that continues to shape my work and is also one of this year’s core themes:
How can we better invest in people?
This year’s theme, A Spirit of Dialogue, feels especially timely. As the global workforce undergoes deep change, the conversation must move beyond systems and technology alone. The real challenge is how we support individual professionals as they prepare for constant transition.
What does this shift mean for people, for labor markets, and for the broader economy?
The Davos agenda and programme will focus on five global challenges that require collaboration between the public and private sectors, with all stakeholders involved. Across these areas, growth, resilience, and innovation will guide how leaders navigate complexity and pursue future opportunities. A central pillar that ties these conversations together: How can we better invest in people?
I. The Transformation Imperative
There is a reason investing in people sits at the center of the Davos agenda. We are not approaching transformation.
We are already living inside it.
Work is shifting. Roles are evolving. Expectations are being rewritten across sectors and geographies. Together, these forces are reshaping labor markets, leadership models, and public institutions at the same time.
Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly. Workforce composition is changing. Environmental transition is creating new forms of economic activity while reshaping existing ones. Together, these forces are altering not only how work is done, but also how people experience continuity and agency across their careers.
What often gets lost in conversations about automation is this: the story is not primarily one of loss. It is a story of transition. New forms of work are emerging alongside displacement. The real challenge is not disappearance, but direction.
For many individuals, the path forward remains unclear.
For me, supporting people through accelerating change is what investing in people truly means.
This sits close to my heart because, no matter where we are in our careers, this moment affects all of us.
II. The Human Advantage
One of the most consequential ideas shaping this year’s agenda is what the Forum describes as the human advantage.
As intelligent systems absorb routine tasks, professional value shifts toward distinctly human capabilities: energy, intuition, judgment, empathy, and leadership. These qualities matter because they rely on context, discernment, and lived experience, dimensions machines cannot replicate.
This reframes the future of work. We are not competing with technology. We need a deeper understanding of what makes us human.
That shift brings both hope and urgency. Human contribution is rising in importance, yet many capabilities have long remained unseen. As systems evolve, we have an opportunity to recognize experience, skills, and knowledge in ways that reflect who people are, not only what they have done.
Read more about some of the trending terms you may hear in Davos this year.
III. The Year of the Individual
What does it mean to invest in people when systems evolve faster than institutions can respond?
This question has led me to frame 2026 as the ‘Year of the Individual’.
In past years, investment has focused primarily on structures: programs, platforms, and credentials. These matter. Yet structure alone cannot sustain trust.
This year offers people an amazing opportunity to take more ownership of their careers. AI can help individuals better understand their strengths, track how their skills evolve, and reflect on what they are learning over time. Instead of relying only on titles or past roles, people can begin to see patterns in how they work, make decisions, and contribute value.
In conversations with professionals across industries, I hear the same questions surface again and again:
- What happens to my expertise when a system can complete my work in seconds
- How do I trust decisions involving an agent I cannot fully understand?
- What is my value when the speed around me increases beyond what I can absorb?
These questions reveal something important: people are trying to find their footing in an environment that is accelerating faster than human cognition naturally adapts.
And that is precisely why this year must belong to the individual.
IV. From Dialogue to Deployment
The spirit of dialogue championed in Davos must translate into tangible action.
Public-private collaboration is central to this shift. No single government or organization can address the scale of change alone. Shared effort is required to align education with emerging needs, modernize pathways for recognizing capability, and support people as they navigate transition.
Learn more about World Economic Forum
For organizations, the responsibility is clear. Investment must extend beyond tools and processes toward cultivating human capacity. This includes strengthening judgment, supporting continuous learning, and enabling people to adapt with confidence.
As intelligent systems increasingly shape value creation, leadership itself must evolve. The task is moving away from hierarchy and toward orchestration, enabling people and machines to work together.
That is why a leader’s priority, alongside adopting new technology, must be to bring care and responsibility to every deployment decision.
Hello, Davos
Throughout the week, I will be engaging in panels and roundtables exploring workforce transitions, the growing importance of the human advantage, and how we can better prepare individuals to take an active role in navigating change.
Davos remains an important space for these conversations, and I am excited to share updates from Davos throughout the week. See you there!
With gratitude,
Tarja
