Good morning. Leaders across sectors joined Fortune on Wednesday at the USA House in Davos, Switzerland, for a special series of conversations exploring the state of the U.S. economy, business innovation, and new frontiers for growth.
As an investor for more than 50 years, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio told Fortune’s Kamal Ahmed that, after studying the rises and declines of reserve currencies in major empires over the last 500 years, he sees the same patterns repeating “like a movie.”
It all boils down to five specific forces that interact—money and debt, domestic politics, world order, nature, and technology, Dalio said. Every issue today sits within the interaction of these forces and their long-term cycles, he said.
When debt grows faster than income, governments face a choice between painful debt crises or printing money, which gradually erodes the existing monetary order, he explained. Over time, this leads to political conflict at home, as wealth and values gaps widen and faith in democratic institutions weakens.
At the same time, the post–World War II, U.S.-led, rules-based global order is breaking down because enforcement of “global rules” ultimately depends on the most powerful countries, which do not always comply, Dalio explained. “Who makes the rules, who enforces the rules, and how are you going to deal with that?” he asked.
On top of that, shocks from nature, such as pandemics and climate events, and waves of new technology disrupt economies and power structures.
“And certainly we’re having one of the greatest inventions, if not the greatest invention, when human intelligence is working with artificial intelligence,” Dalio said.
AI continues to be a top priority for leaders. To hear what executives, including Dara Khosrowshahi (CEO of Uber), Robin Vince (CEO of BNY), and Vas Narasimhan (CEO of Novartis) discussed with Fortune at the USA House, you can watch the full conversation in the video here.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Ann Hyllengren was appointed CFO of Ember LifeSciences, Inc. Hyllengren joins Ember LifeSciences from Amgen, where she brings nearly two decades of experience. Most recently, she served as a senior executive on Amgen’s investor relations team. She also held multiple senior finance leadership roles at Amgen, including serving as head of finance for the U.S. General Medicine business unit. In addition, she served as CFO of the Amgen Foundation.
Anubhav Mittal was appointed SVP and CFO of Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV), a global agricultural products company, effective Feb. 17. Mittal brings 20 years of experience. Most recently, he served as CFO of ADM Nutrition, Archer Daniels Midland Company’s global nutrition, flavors, and ingredients business. Mittal also previously served as CFO of ADM’s Global Pet Solutions business and as ADM’s global head of business development and M&A.
Big Deal
The State of Privacy 2026 survey report from global professional association ISACA finds that privacy professionals are facing a data-dominated landscape, a complex web of regulations, and more limited resources this year.
ISACA members work in IT audit, cybersecurity, governance, and risk management. These professionals are feeling increasingly strained, with 65% saying their roles are more stressful now compared with five years ago.
The survey found that respondents were most stressed by the rapid evolution of technology (71%, up from 63% last year), followed by compliance challenges (62%) and resource shortages (61%).
The report is based on a survey of 1,800 privacy professionals in the ISACA community worldwide.
Going deeper
“Donald Trump, CEO-in-Chief: How the president’s dealmaking instincts are shaking up business and the government” is a new
Fortune feature article by Geoff Colvin. In his second term, President Trump has doubled down on one-on-one negotiations and unpredictability. Colvin analyzes his major changes and whether they will endure.
Read more here.Overheard
“Pinterest envisions a world where social media companies and AI companies are competing on their safety records.”
—Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, writes in a Fortune opinion piece.
