Middle East Bain & Company leaders participated in World Economic Forum in Davos

As one of the strategic partners of the World Economic Forum, global strategy consultancy Bain & Company played a notable role in shaping discussions and agendas of government officials and private sector executives.
The 2025 edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the mondaine Swiss village of Davos had as its key theme ‘Shaping the Intelligent Age’, with much of the focus unsurprisingly going to the transformative power of artificial intelligence and its little brother, generative AI.
Bain & Company’s Worldwide Managing Partner Christophe De Vusser, who spearheaded the firm’s 20-person delegation, said that the theme resonated strongly with Bain & Company, given its role at the forefront of the AI strategy consulting market. “As the focus on AI evolves from promise to performance, we believe it will transform industries at a scale unmatched since the internet’s rise.”
Other discussions at WEF focused on geopolitical, economic, and environmental topics, as well as challenges that companies face in becoming resilient and remaining future-proof.
Leaders that were part of Bain & Company’s line-up included Orit Gadiesh (Chair Emeritus) and US-based senior partners Laura Miles, Chuck Whitten, Hernan Saenz, and Karen Harris, with Tom De Waele and Julien Faye the two top representatives from the Middle East. De Waele has been leading the firm’s Middle East business since 2020, while UAE-based Faye is the global leader of the firm’s Financial Services practice.
De Waele joined the DP World-hosted panel discussion titled “The UAE Shaping a Resilient Global Trade Landscape: Supply Chains in the Intelligent Age.” The session explored the UAE’s leadership in shaping a more stable and resilient global trade environment through its strategic economic initiatives, including Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs), as well as its investments in advanced infrastructure and digital innovation.
Alongside the Bain & Company executive, the panel featured Abdulla Al Hashmi (Chief Operating Officer of Parks & Zones at DP World in GCC), Ram Ramachandran (Senior Vice President at Tech Mahindra) and Alice Usanase (Vice President at the Africa Finance Corporation).
Reflecting on the UAE’s role in global trade resilience, De Waele said: “The UAE has become a global model for how economies can thrive in the face of disruption. Through digital transformation, public-private partnerships, and a focus on connectivity, the country has built a trade ecosystem that is not only resilient but also continuously adaptive and strengthened by challenges. It was a privilege to discuss the UAE’s vision for the future of global trade and how other regions can learn from its approach in the intelligent age.”
Reflecting on the several discussions he had with executives at WEF, Faye stated: “What struck me most in my meetings with financial services executives is that today is the right time to scale the AI transformation. Institutions have completed a lot of tests, and they have now realized that if they don’t scale at speed, the won’t realize the benefits of AI technology fast enough. The competition for market leadership is fierce.”
Recent research from Bain & Company among executives found that in financial services, companies reported an average 20% productivity boost from generative AI, particularly in software development and customer service. Large banks, insurers, and other firms in the sector continue to outpace other industries in their investments.
Bain & Company has been a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum for 25 years. That level is the top tier of the WEF’s extensive partner model, with only 100 companies globally allowed into the band.