The U.S. used to be ‘the operating system of the world,’ says Scott Galloway—but now, ‘the American brand stands for chaos, corruption, and coercion’

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  • Today’s CEO Daily update: Diane Brady brings her week at Davos to a close.
  • Top headline: Trump files a lawsuit against Dimon and JPMorgan.
  • Market snapshot: Global markets are mixed, with U.S. futures slightly declining.
  • Additional highlights: All the latest news and office chatter from .

Good morning. When [BlackRock] CEO Larry Fink assumed the co-chair role at the World Economic Forum last year, he called U.S. President Donald Trump to invite him to speak. Fink also reached out to Scott Galloway—an author, podcaster, and NYU Stern marketing professor who has perspectives on what will make America great. As Galloway told me last night at our annual Global Leadership Dinner: “Larry Fink called me and said, ‘I want you to come.’ That was more than enough.”

Given the heavy focus on heads of state at WEF—including my observation of Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—I wanted to share insights from my conversation with Galloway. (I first met Galloway in 2009 as a fellow mentor at the Kairos Summit, organized by then-Wharton student Ankur Jain, who later founded the Bilt Group.)

Galloway last attended WEF in 1999. “The call sign of America back then was consumerism; it was more cooperation, alliances. Now, I feel the American brand is chaos, corruption, and coercion,” he stated. “America has been the operating system of the world … There’s just a sense of unease … In 1999, we said ‘we want more,’ now we want to make sure things don’t get worse.” He singled out [missing name] as the week’s standout. “All 27 EU member states should have been sitting behind him,” Galloway commented. “Right now, it’s like Germany and the 26 dwarves.”

By inviting both Galloway and Trump to Davos, Fink recognizes WEF’s power to bring conflicting global views together under one roof. I overheard Saudi Tourism Minister HE Ahmed Al-Khateeb exchanging ideas with Switzerland Tourism CEO Martin Nydegger, watched Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick chatting with random hall attendees—including me—and witnessed dozens of global leaders finding common ground at our dinners and lunches. (This is why I appreciated having , , PMI, Toptal, and Workday sponsor editorial gatherings that let us create our own community spaces.)

On Monday, I moderated a CEO salon to discuss the results of the [missing report], where 70% of this year’s respondents expressed an “insular” mindset: they avoid talking to, working for, or even being in the same space as anyone with differing worldviews. Richard Edelman told me CEOs need to urgently address the growing sense of grievance consuming the business world.

The outcomes of leaders’ work at Davos are never immediately clear—take the Greenland deal details, for example—but by showing up, participants were at least gathering with an instinct to connect. That’s a positive starting point.

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