Most senior panels do not fail because the speakers are weak. They fail because no one is leading the conversation. In volatile geopolitical and corporate environments, public discussions are not neutral. They signal strategy. They expose alignment — or the lack of it. They shape how leaders are perceived. Moderation is not logistics. It is strategic leadership in public.

My response to the volatility that has marked the opening weeks of 2026 has been to be slow and steady. That is deliberate. In my recent paper, State of the World 2026: Leadership When Outcomes Widen, I argue that as the range of plausible outcomes expands, leaders face a heightened risk of over-reacting