2019 | Edelman

I flew back from Chicago to New York City yesterday on United for the 20th time this year. I have flown United to Asia and to Europe on multiple occasions. The gate staff always thanks me for my loyalty. The flight attendants are focused and courteous. The pilots are good team captains. What a difference four years makes!

When Oscar Munoz came to United, he replaced a CEO who resigned under much scrutiny, was dealing with a rather contentious merger with Continental Airlines. And he was honest about the state of United saying that the company hadn’t “lived up to our promise or potential.”

From the start, Oscar was out to change the game. He promised to come to a better place with the United unions and make it a unified company dedicated to customer care. He didn’t lead from behind the desk. He went out on a 100-day familiarization tour and spent time with mechanics, baggage handlers, catering operations, flight attendants and pilots. He posed for selfies. He went to customers, at consulting firms and food companies. He listened, took notes and went back to fix operational problems.

He would eventually shepherd the company’s global ad campaign: The New Spirit of United. Within weeks this became the headline of his administration, a people-focused company with a CEO who cares. Shortly thereafter, he hosted a suits and slippers party for high frequency United customers in New York City with sleep experts, including Arianna Huffington, to debut the new United Polaris business class service – designed to provide the best sleep in the sky. He built the strongest executive team in the industry by surrounding himself with smart and talented leaders like Scott Kirby. And he managed crisis by changing company policy.

Oscar came to the Edelman global leadership meeting in June. The oldest of nine children of Mexican-born parents, and the first in his family to graduate from college, he talked about the critical lessons he learned about hard work and the uniting power of shared purpose. He spoke about our relationship and the importance of PR counsel and culture to the success of CEOs. The lessons he imparted, about building trust with his team and thereby with his customers, about fair bargaining with unions and the necessity of shared prosperity, about admitting mistakes and taking corrective actions to make it right, and finally about his sunny approach to life, are ones that I will carry with me for my life.

Whether it was during the good or deeply trying times he stayed true to his promise and his approach. He is an example of a CEO leading, learning and persevering. Oscar will continue as CEO through May then move into the role of chairman. Yet, it’s clear today that he will leave United better than he found it. The people of Edelman salute you. You are a profile in courage and a transformative leader.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

Not long ago, influencer marketing was a trend. Every year-end report marketers could get their hands on invariably had a chapter on “The Rise of Influencers” or “Why Influencers Are Here to Stay.” This made sense in the past because this marketing tactic – powered by social media – began in the mid-2000s and for quite some time was considered an emergent marketing tactic that lived under content creation, community management or paid media.

Today, influencer marketing is a critical part of the marketing mix. In fact, according to Business Insider Intelligence, it’s expected to grow to a $15 billion industry by 2022, up from $8 billion in 2019.

Edelman’s 10 Trends Influencing 2020 report offers an in-depth look at the 10 important influencer developments we believe will impact business, society and government in the coming year. This report is designed to serve as a guide to the challenges, experiences and opportunities your organization, employees, customers and stakeholders will face in 2020 and beyond. Here is a breakdown of three of the 10 trends we explore:

Listen Up: The Rise of the Audio Influencer

Podcasts offer a new medium for creativity in a landscape where influencers and sponsored posts are everywhere you look on social media.
32 percent of Americans reported having listened to a podcast within the past month.
The worldwide podcast market is growing rapidly, and this is expected to continue as tools to facilitate the creation, publishing and management of podcasts become mainstream.

Going Steady: From Influencer to Ambassador

As brands seek influencer content that is authentic, relationships with influencer partners are moving from transactional to long-term.
As their audiences grow, brands are relying on influencers for insights into engaging and maintaining loyal fans. With long-term (or always on) influencer partnerships, audiences are more likely to trust an influencer’s recommendation and to act when key messages are reinforced over time.
Long-term collaborations allow influencers to have more time and flexibility to develop creative ideas that the brand and their audience will love.

In Authenticity We Trust: Get Real or Get Lost

Millennials and Gen Z are becoming more wary and distrustful of artificial or inauthentic influencer content, creating a new challenge for influencers and brands.
72 percent of consumers said they would unfollow an influencer over disingenuous endorsements.
A shift from a depiction of the idealized toward more relatable and real is underway and becoming the new cultural norm.
Influencers and brands will prioritize authentic partnerships and collaborations to meet the increasing demand led by Gen Z and millennials seeking real and relatable experiences.

Download the Report

Ann Newland is Head of Strategic Operations of Edelman’s Influencer team.

Last night I was inducted into the PRWeek Hall of Fame. It’s an incredible honor made even more significant by the fact that I follow my father Dan, who was posthumously inducted five years ago.

I’d like to thank Steve Barrett and the staff at PRWeek for bestowing this honor upon me. I’d also like to thank the people at Edelman and Zeno for constantly striving to make real change in the world and for always putting our clients first.

Please see my acceptance speech below.

I am deeply honored to be on this stage tonight. I was here five years ago to accept the award posthumously for my father, Dan, the founder of our firm, my mentor and my best friend.

Tonight, it is my turn. I am not by nature a reflective person. In my mind, I am still in my early 30s and running the New York office, waking up every day to win new clients, to come up with great ideas for existing clients, to beat our competitors, to work with the media. But news of this honor has moved me to look back on the past 41 years.

Working at a family business is a special privilege. I had the opportunity to work with my dad for 35 years. I learned from my mother the importance of networking and of maintaining true friendships. My brother and sister have brought their unique talents in sustainability, HR and tech. My wife Claudia helps me to see the colors in life and has brought me into the burgeoning Hispanic community. Now my children are preparing to take this firm forward. But know that I am going to be around…for a long time because this is my life’s work.

I’d like to take a moment and acknowledge all Edelman and Zeno employees, past, present and future for your tireless work, commitment, fearlessness and drive to deliver innovative and industry-leading work for our clients every day.

I am so proud to have been a mentor to many of the most senior people at Edelman and the DJE companies. I am fortunate to have around me people such as Matt Harrington, Vic Malanga, Russell Dubner, Lisa Sepulveda, Katie Burke, Barby Siegel, Rob Rehg, Ed Williams, Kristine Boyden, Nancy Ruscheinski and Fiorella Passoni. And to have worked with people like Jody Quinn for more than 35 years.

I was lucky to have had mentors such as Mike Morley, Pam Talbot, John Scanlon, Mike Deaver and, most of all, my dad.

They have all dedicated their careers to the proposition that an independent firm can make it in a world of giant holding companies.

Among the many assignments and moments that stand out from my career are:

The launch of Advil OTC ibuprofen with Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan; reputation work for Penn State and the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company;
And our nonprofit work including the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after 9/11 and our current partnership with the Gun Safety Alliance to help reduce gun violence.

One of the things I am most proud of is the Edelman Trust Barometer. This January will mark the 20th anniversary of our annual look at the state of trust in the world. I had the idea for the Edelman Trust Barometer in 1999 after the “Battle in Seattle.” I am beyond pleased that it has developed into the industry’s most important piece of intellectual property.

I’m also proud of the bold move we made to be the first communications agency to significantly invest in digital, starting in 1997 with the Butterball Turkey Talk Line.

As an industry, this is our time to directly challenge ad agencies and digital firms. The traditional model of communicating through advertising is no longer effective due to ad blocking and Netflix. But in today’s complex world it’s not just about how you communicate, it’s also about what you do. We want to serve companies who are interested in real change and looking to become advocates outside their own arenas.

And that’s why Edelman will continue to sail on as a proud independent with the broader ambition to be a communications firm based on Earned Creative and strategic advice.

With all that to do, I feel that I am just getting started. Benjamin Button watch out.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

Paul Green

Richard Edelman delivers his acceptance speech at the 2019 PRWeek Hall of Fame.

We are preparing the Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 for release in Davos in January. But this week our financial team released the Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Institutional Investors, a study of 600 institutional investors in six markets around the world probing the importance of ESG issues (environment, social, governance). The findings are stunning, especially that 84 percent of respondents believe that maximizing shareholder returns can no longer be the primary goal of the corporation, that business leaders must commit to balancing the needs of shareholders with those of employees, customers, suppliers and local communities. Bye-bye Milton Friedman, hello Klaus Schwab and the world of stakeholder capitalism!

Here are the key findings of the study:

Building Trust is Key to Multi-Stakeholder Commitment—75 percent of respondents said that companies need to have high trust levels to attract best and brightest employees, 74 percent said it was critical to win new customers and 72 percent said it would increase valuation multiples.
ESG Practices Build Trust—59 percent said maintaining a healthy corporate culture increases trust for investors. 53 percent said that addressing societal issues raises trust.
Investment Depends on ESG—Three of five respondents said that they have increased their investment allocation to companies that excel in ESG factors. 56 percent of investment are hiring more ESG staff internally.
ESG Practices Lead to Better Performance—54 percent agreed that ESG initiatives lead to favorable impact on growth, followed by risk management (54 percent), reputation (51 percent) and return on investment (47 percent).
Board Involvement is Expected – 99 percent of investors expect the board of directors to oversee at least one ESG topic. 57 percent said that they vote for board candidates who will increase attention to ESG issues.
Board Composition Matters—55 percent said that board diversity has a significant impact on trust. Diversity characteristics that investors look for, include business expertise (59 percent), strategy philosophy (53 percent) and experience outside of the industry sector (52 percent).
Link Compensation to ESG Progress—More than half of the investors surveyed say that linking executive compensation to ESG target performance improves trust in the company.
Key ESG Priorities for Investors—The most important are: data privacy, cybersecurity, employee health and safety, eco-efficiency, diversity.
Without Trust, Beware of Multi-Stakeholder Activism – 71 percent said that companies will make themselves responsible for employee or consumer activism if they overemphasize shareholder returns, at the expense of other stakeholders. Three-quarters say that a company with employee activism are less attractive investments.

Our Lex Suvanto, global managing director of financial communications, calls this study a “wake-up call for corporate leaders. Investors are drawing a straight line between corporate investments and societal value. ESG priorities are no longer optional.”

I would only add that the Business Roundtable announcement in August of stakeholder replacing shareholder is now echoed by the investment community. The investors want companies that are looking ahead, recognizing that consumers buy from and employees work for institutions that make values and value of equal importance.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

Mihály Köles

The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Institutional Investors identifies pivotal issues shaping investment criteria and how companies can build trust with the investment community.

Edelman’s third annual Investor Trust report reveals that investors believe companies must address the needs of a wide range of stakeholders, not just shareholders, and must implement effective environmental, social-impact and governance (ESG) practices to win trust across all these audiences.

The research surveyed 607 institutional investors, including financial analysts, and stewardship officers, chief investment officers and portfolio managers across six countries (U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan), representing investment firms that collectively manage over $9 trillion in assets. The report is a supplement to the Edelman Trust Barometer launched annually in January at the World Economic Forum.

Contact us to learn more about the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Institutional Investors findings and events being held globally.

I am now returning from a 10-day-long trip to North Asia. The three economic superpowers are grappling with each other and the rest of the world on tariffs, security, rights of women and sustainability. It is a time of nationalism, populism and a new embrace of history that governs policy. Here is a country-by-country analysis:

Korea — The Moon Administration is part way through its term. As in many countries, there is deep division between right and left. President Moon is seen as anti-business but also as a white knight cleaning up a corrupt system that had too much coziness between business and government. He is pursuing the dream of one Korea, with ongoing discussions with his counterpart in the North.

Korea is deeply anti-Japanese at the moment. Consumer boycotts of Japan's brands have been implemented causing a drop in sales. While I was in market the Koreans nearly pulled out of a mutual defense pact including advance warnings on missiles. Japan has reacted in kind by banning export of a key semiconductor necessary for Korean-made cellphones. Korea is trying to find an economic strategy for the next 50 years. In a world of protectionism, it is difficult to sustain an export driven approach based on autos and electronics. Korean companies are investing in local manufacturing near large consumption markets. I love this country in the same way I love Chicago. The people are hard-working, straightforward and competitive.

China — I attended the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Beijing for two days. The event attracted high-ranking members of the Chinese Government and many former U.S. Government officials. The most significant contribution came from Dr. Henry Kissinger, who was interviewed for an hour about the state of U.S.-China relations, proclaiming: “It is no longer possible for one side to dominate the other. We are in the foothills of a new Cold War…We do not at present have a mechanism for political discussions with China. It is all being done through trade talks…China is a continental power, the U.S. a naval power. If the two superpowers are forced to take opposite positions, conflict is likely.”

Hank Paulson, former Treasury secretary, said that the technology world risks being Balkanized into Chinese and U.S. on AI, 5G and quantum computing. The Chinese should rethink their drive to indigenize tech and stop protecting financial markets and state-owned companies. Meanwhile the U.S. should keep its financial markets open to Chinese listed companies, allow Chinese students to study in the U.S. and stop weaponizing export controls.

Wang Qishan, vice president of China, was blunt and reflective, stating: “We need a more equitable system of global governance and a more multilateral approach. We need to know each other’s history. There will be trust only with understanding.”

China is clearly being affected by trade issues with the U.S. Car sales are down 11 percent this year after a 10 percent drop the year prior. But the tech sector is burgeoning. I had dinner with Kai Fu Lee, AI impresario, who told me that the advent of 5G will only accelerate e-commerce and entrepreneurship. China is to be amazed at and awed for the ambition, perseverance and success of state capitalism.

Japan — It is now less than a year until the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is into his third term, popular and reliable. But Japan too is trying to find a model for the next 50 years with a dominant neighbor and receding ally.

Sustainability seems a promising area. I visited MHI, which is convinced of the potential of wind turbines. Ajinomoto is looking to the future of food as plant-based, developing partnerships with food startups in the U.S. and Europe. Nissan has created a zero-emissions ice cream truck now launched in the UK.

The visual arts is another growth opportunity. I went to the new teamLabs Planets installation in Tokyo. This is a 650-person firm started two decades ago with the dream of producing projection-based art. I saw them first in the Milan Expo at the Japan House. They are now ready to launch in force in the U.S. with three major projects in New York City and two in Las Vegas.

For our business in Asia, the future is now because the business climate is more complex and our classic competition, the ad agencies, are weakened by local firms. We will be encouraging our client CEOs to speak up and push their companies to work for the betterment of society while remaining profitable. We will do more local creative work that is based on Earned Creative. We will invest in digital production and data skills to target the content as media continues to shrink. I leave inspired and more convinced than ever of our potential. Thanks to all my colleagues who made this trip a delight, including my fellow bowlers in Korea and VR survivors in Japan.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

Berenice Melis

During my trip through Europe last week I did media interviews with a number of the leading publications in the region. Here are some highlights from my discussions with the Irish Independent and El Mundo.

Irish Independent: Do CEOs absolutely have to opine on big issues? Can’t they just keep their heads down and let others take the lead or put out a bland statement about ‘respecting everyone’s values’?

Richard Edelman: I expect CEOs to stand up and speak on the issues of the day and not wait for government. CEOs can’t be putting their finger up and seeing which way the wind is blowing. You have to decide, and you have to speak. The new normal for CEOs is to opt for participation instead of the so-called ‘no-risk’ play, which is not to say anything. Otherwise, you’re going to be seen simply as a guy working for Wall Street. And that’s not what the job is anymore. You’ve got a stakeholder world, not a shareholder world.

Irish Independent: Why has it become so important for them do this?

RE: Most importantly, it’s about staff morale and retention. I think the core constituency is actually the employees. Our [most recent] Edelman Trust Barometer shows clearly that the new ‘most trusted institution’ is ‘my employer’ not the government. So, employees will work for companies where they feel that the values are equivalent to their own. Employees are saying that they want the company [they work for] to aspire to something and to have a purpose. In an economy where you’re short of people, the employees actually now have the power.

Irish Independent: What is your take on the current state of media?

RE: There needs to be a different business model with conferences and other things. But the current model is broken. It’s right thought bubble or left thought bubble. And you only read what you agree with, reinforcing your opinions. And so the media, in order to have a business model seems to migrate right or left.

Irish Independent: Are there still too many newspapers?

RE: There are never too many newspapers. There are now too few, with too few reporters. In the U.S. I think there are less than half as many people in local newspapers. So who’s going to fill in? I look at my own behavior. When I wake up in the morning, I’m looking at Axios and Politico and things that are verticals, as well as the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Bloomberg.

El Mundo: How would you summarize the evolution of trust since you started the Edelman Trust Barometer?

RE: There are several great conclusions. The first one is the fall of confidence in government. The second one, the dissatisfaction of the lower classes. The third one is related to people’s fears to issues such as robotization and job loss. In fact, four out of every five people think that their situation will be worse in the next five years.

There has also been a change in the authority paradigm. Before, it was up-down—imagine Moses with his Tables of the Law. Now we give authority in a horizontal way, to other people like us, someone in our family or group of friends, and trust is local. And above all, people place trust in companies and brands.

El Mundo: Isn’t it impressive that we trust more in our company than in other institutions?

RE: The employer has become the last option. Media has fallen because of fake news and government trust has dropped. So, who should we trust? We need to trust in our employer. One of the points that interests me most, is that companies hit rock bottom in trust in 2008, since then, they have gone up and today, they generate higher trust that NGOs.

El Mundo: According to the Trust Barometer Special Report: In Brands We Trust?, more than the 50 percent of the people think that brands have better ideas to solve social issues than governments. You even talk about brand democracy. But does this present the risk of brand dictatorship?

RE: I understand your skepticism, but I am very optimistic towards brands. I see that they are facing very important challenges like e-commerce and disruptor brands. They are realizing that purpose and having something distinctive is more powerful. Our data shows that two-thirds of consumers will buy or boycott a brand solely because of its position on a social or political issue.

El Mundo: You talk about the impact of fake news a lot. Do you think people are aware of its impact and is that why the trust in traditional media has gone up?

RE: The fall in trust in social media is huge among developed countries. And this is the result of fake news. It has become hard for people to be sure of anything. And this is tragic. But this situation benefits journalists and media. As long as newspapers keep adapting to how and when the public wants to consume the news, they will do well.

El Mundo: Spain, just like other countries, is going through a difficult political situation. What should politicians do to regain trust?

RE: They must work to eliminate inequalities and fears, as well as, collaborate with the private sector, because the idea of the government managing it all by itself is ridiculous. Above all, there needs to be optimism, which there is not. I was a little kid when Kennedy got elected, but I remember his optimism showed that we could even go to the moon. I think that it is necessary to have that optimism and vision, instead of fighting over small things.

Before my European trip, I had not understood the fragility of the Continent. At the moment, the EU is governed by fears, from job loss to a machine, to downward economic mobility due to globalization. Four in five people believe that they will be worse off a decade from now, and two-thirds worry that the pace of innovation is too quick. Populism is a response to those who believe the game is rigged, a desperate attempt to maintain the status quo. Europe is only made more vulnerable by cheap tricks by candidates, such as moving General Francisco Franco’s body out of the Cemetery of Heroes after 44 years as a means of rallying Socialist voters in Spain. Or the disgrace of the Woodford Equity fund wind-down that left hundreds of middle-class pensioners grasping for what little is left after accusations of active manipulation of performance metrics to mislead investors. It is essential for those in a position of authority to provide a credible path forward for Europe as a place with a distinguished past, a unique set of humanist values and a commitment to change.

Jacek Dylag

Over the past three years, Edelman and LinkedIn have collaborated to investigate the impact of thought leadership on business generation. This year’s survey results reaffirm that companies with the best ability to produce timely, thought-provoking thought leadership content are much more adept than their competitors at capturing their customers’ attention and turning that attention into positive results.

This year’s study features expanded insights from 3,275 global business decision-makers in the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Singapore, India and the United Kingdom.

B2B decision-makers and CXOs told us that strong thought leadership content not only strengthens a company’s reputation but also positively impacts RFP invitations, wins, pricing and cross-selling that occurs post-sale. Poorly executed thought leadership, however, can have an equal and opposite effect, leading decision-makers to remove a potential vendor or partner from consideration altogether. Further, 74 percent of B2B marketers globally do not have a way to attribute thought leadership efforts to sales impact.

This disconnect becomes all the more important with the finding that 88 percent of decision-makers surveyed believe that thought leadership is effective in enhancing their perceptions of an organization—yet only 17 percent of them rate the quality of most of the thought leadership they read as very good or excellent.

2020 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study_GLOBAL from Edelman

Get in touch to discuss this year's findings with one of our Business Marketing experts

Edelman first studied Millennials and their relationship with financial services in 2016, and each year since, our intellectual property has been inspired by unexpected learnings and industry trends. Our 2018 edition, Millennials with Money, found that 25 percent of affluent Millennials held or used cryptocurrency, and another 31 percent were interested in using it. And nearly a quarter (23 percent) were using a robo-advisor for financial advice.

At the same time, it has been a fascinating year for cryptocurrency and digital advice. Cryptocurrency has come a long way from an academic concept and digital advice is becoming ubiquitous in financial products and services. We see the overarching goal of such innovations to be greater financial inclusion and have seen bold experimentation with the future of money and the advice we get to manage it, which are the key themes we focused on in this year’s edition, Millennials & The Future of Money.

Download the Report

I have spent the past week in four European cities: Madrid, Lisbon, Frankfurt and Munich. I spoke at the annual Santander International Banking Conference and then at Web Summit. I met with a group of German opinion formers at a dinner hosted by Burda, numerous CEOs, and officials from the European Union, and I listened to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair talk about making tech work for the masses. Here are some observations on the week:

Southern Europe Still Disconnected from Northern Europe Financially—The borrowing costs for Spain and Italy are significantly higher than for France and Germany. A Spanish company with the same creditworthiness as a German company can be denied a loan because of sovereign risk. Italy has not yet made significant fiscal reforms nor has the workforce endured the 30 percent cut in wages that resulted from the 2011-12 crisis in Spain. There is hope for true monetary union but that seems unlikely given German opposition.
Macron Is the Star Leader in Europe—His recent proposal for a more active military policy fell on deaf ears in Berlin. But the economic effect is palpable. For the first time, more venture capital money is invested in France than in Germany this year.
Fear About the Next Big Recession—There are negative interest rates in Europe. Monetary policy is nearly exhausted. Fiscal budgets are strained, with several NATO members already failing to meet the 2 percent of GDP commitment. One expert said, “Citizens will not give government another chance; they will not have the forbearance for a long and slow recovery.”
The Radical Labor Party Platform—Jeremy Corbyn will go to the voters with a return to 1970s ideas such as nationalized industry, special taxes on non-domicile residents (foreigners) and appropriation of private school property such as playing fields. But according to pollster MORI, 70 percent of British voters believe the economy is rigged in favor of the elites, and 65 percent want to nationalize the rail network. For the first time since 2002, the British are in favor of higher taxes if it means more public services.
Upcoming Elections—The Spanish seem likely to re-elect the Socialist Party as the first force over the weekend. Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, will need a compact to form Government in case PSOE wins. There are doubts about socialist´s potential allies. In the meantime, opposition led by People´s Party (PP) is increasing according to the latest polls. Risk of blocking again if there are not clear majorities emerging from the ballot boxes. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, will need to gain a majority of seats to stay in office, as none of the opposition parties will join him in a coalition. There is a scenario in which Corbyn becomes prime minister by cobbling together all the other parties.
German Auto Industry—Issues of the past few years have rocked the most important industry in the country, which directly employs 1 million workers. The problems continue, with Mercedes now the latest under scrutiny. Auto production in Germany declined 9 percent last year and is on track to decline another 9 percent, due to trade issues with the U.S. and slowdown in China.
The Opportunity for Small and Medium Enterprises—Only 8 percent of European SMEs sell outside of their home market. There is renewed emphasis on getting financing to entrepreneurs.
German Niche Dominance—I met the largest producer of screws and bolts, still proudly family-owned and operated. I also met a representative of the largest brake manufacturer for cars and trains. These companies have expanded effectively to North America and Asia, in both cases serving nearly 100 markets.
The Potential of Artificial Intelligence—Europe is far underestimated in its capacity to compete against China and the U.S. I met one young entrepreneur last night who is collecting data from all of the 70,000 rail crossings in Germany in order to speed up the trains and ensure better and safer traffic flow in cities. Industrial AI will be the focus for many of the German startups. There is renewed emphasis on connections with universities, especially in the Technical University of Munich, which is spawning many new enterprises.
Relationship with America—I leave the best for last. There is grudging recognition that Europe is on its own; the period of postwar American leadership that was unstinting and unselfish is at an end. It is ironic that tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and on Monday we mark the 101st anniversary of the end of World War I.

I leave the Continent convinced that the private sector has to step into the void left by distracted and dysfunctional government, to drive innovation and commit to reskilling of the workforce (an estimated 54 percent of jobs in Europe are at risk due to automation). I know this is contrary to the European model, which has been much more about public-private partnership. But when you consider that the German government has allocated only $3 billion to AI research from the 2020 budget, it is a signal that European giants such as Siemens, Philips and hundreds of startups will have to show the way. Europe has undeniable advantages in culture, living standards, education and respect for individual rights. But it is time for European CEOs to commit to growth in their home markets, instead of investing in the U.S. and Asia.

Richard Edelman is CEO.

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