Take on Tomorrow

This special series of Take on Tomorrow, PwC’s award-winning podcast, unpacks how the global economy will change over the decade ahead and what that means for business and society. We’ll explore how business will navigate—and shape—the challenges and opportunities ahead, including emerging technology, climate impacts, and new ways of collaborating across industries.  Though basic human needs will stay the same, the way they’re met—by business, government, and others—will rapidly evolve. We look at distinct domains, each centered around a fundamental and universal human need: how we move, how we make and build things, how we feed and care for ourselves, and how we fuel and power society, as well as the way governments, capital, and technology will enable this industry reconfiguration. Along the way, we’ll meet the innovators driving the efforts to tackle society’s greatest challenges and learn how businesses can capture the value that’s in motion and the exponential possibilities that come with it. Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.

AI is being embedded in everything we do, from the way our cities operate to how we live and work. Information, decision-making, and problem-solving are all being transformed. Enter the “AI agent,” here to help people work smarter and more productively. But will people trust this rapidly evolving technology? And what happens if that trust erodes? Business and society are working to navigate the myriad challenges AI presents—and to answer a big question: how can we work to build responsible AI in the age of agentic AI?   In this episode, recorded live at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, PwC’s Sarah von Fisher is joined by PwC’s Matt Wood, Global and US Commercial Technology & Innovation Officer. They discuss what the age of agentic AI looks like and what leaders can do to make sure the technology is deployed ethically, and with accountability and transparency—as AI becomes more engrained in our everyday lives.  Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2024 PwC. 

Business leaders are asked to perform the ultimate balancing act.    They face pressure to manage their company’s environmental footprint, adjust to the impacts of climate change, and build rewarding experiences for employees and customers, all while continuing to deliver financial performance. So, how do they accomplish that? And what can the business world learn from companies that are already testing new ways to respond to these pressures?    In this episode of Take on Tomorrow, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke talk with Charles Conn—venture capital investor, author, and longtime Board Chair of outdoor gear and clothing company Patagonia. They discuss how Patagonia squares its ethical commitments with the need to make money in a highly competitive market, and lessons the company’s learned that can apply to other businesses. They also talk to Colm Kelly, Global Leader, Corporate Sustainability, for the PwC network, about what he hears in boardrooms and how the real-world impacts of the climate transition are prompting change.   Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2024 PwC. 

Consider this: more than half of the companies that were listed on the Fortune 500 in 2003 have since gone bankrupt, been acquired, or otherwise ceased to exist. And the question of survival is just as urgent for businesses today: 45% of respondents in PwC’s most recent Global CEO Survey said their company won’t be viable in ten years if it sticks to its current path. So how do businesses stay ahead of the curve, and make sure they’re still around in 20 years’ time? In this episode of Take on Tomorrow, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke are joined by Daniel Susskind, Research Professor in Economics at King’s College London, Senior Research Associate at Oxford University, and author of Growth: A Reckoning. Together, they look at how innovation and ideas can lay the groundwork for a new way to measure growth. PwC’s Global Business Model Reinvention Leader, Matthew Duffey, also joins the discussion to explain why companies need to innovate—sometimes completely reinventing their business models—if they’re to compete in the late 2020s and beyond. Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2024 PwC.

Quantum computing could revolutionize how we live, and it's fast approaching reality—but is the world ready? Quantum computers use the laws of quantum mechanics to solve complex problems in seconds—making them far more powerful than the most advanced supercomputer. The possibilities seem limitless: it could help treat previously incurable diseases, help us make better informed decisions, and completely reinvent our ways of living.   The impact will be huge. So, how should business leaders navigate this unchartered territory? How can they invest in the right technology? How will workers learn to use it, and what are the benefits–and risks–to society? In this episode of Take on Tomorrow, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke talk with Caltech mathematical physicist Spiros Michalakis about the forthcoming quantum revolution and what it could mean for businesses and society, and PwC’s Global Chief AI Engineer Scott Likens weighs in on the business opportunities this new technology could bring.  

Take on Tomorrow, the award-winning podcast from PwC’s management publication, strategy and business, returns on Friday 27 September for Series 3. Join hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke and hear some of the brightest minds and boldest thinkers on how they’re tackling the greatest challenges facing the world. Follow Take on Tomorrow so you don’t miss an episode. 

If cybercrime were a country, it would be the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, according to the World Economic Forum. In the face of such a substantial and pervasive global challenge, generative AI is emerging as a tool to level the playing field—offering sophisticated capabilities for both cyberattackers and defenders. In this episode of Take on Tomorrow, Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Microsoft’s Chief Security Advisor in EMEA, is joined by Sean Joyce, PwC’s Global Cybersecurity and Privacy Leader. Together, they spotlight how organizations can leverage GenAI for cyber defense, where policymakers fit in, and what opportunities exist for companies that get cyber resilience right. 

The findings from PwC’s Global CEO Survey are out, and they reveal a fascinating dichotomy: while CEOs’ optimism about global economic growth has more than doubled year-on-year, 45% don’t think their company will survive for more than a decade on its current path—a 6% increase from last year. What’s driving CEO anxiety about the long-term viability of their business models? To what extent are global megatrends, like generative AI and climate change, prompting CEOs to make changes? And what strategies can CEOs employ to keep their organizations agile and future-ready? Join special guest host Sarah von Fischer and PwC Global Chair, Bob Moritz, for a live recording from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, as they dissect the insights from PwC’s latest survey of 4,700 CEOs around the world.