The Wall Street Journal

Summits

Online

December 07-08, 2020 Global

7:00pm — 8:50pm ET Newsmakers We invite you to join The Wall Street Journal Dec. 7, 2020 for Newsmakers, the opening night of the WSJ's CEO Council meeting. This is a pivotal time in American history. We'll chart the course of the new Biden administration and define what it means for global commerce. We'll hear from potential heirs to the Trump agenda. And we'll debate whether the Republican Party, and its pro-business traditions, is still identifiably the GOP of modern memory. Join us for an evening of provocative conversation and insight. CEO Council Summit 11:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. ET America at a Crossroads The CEO Council will meet Dec. 8, 2020 at one of the most decisive moments in modern American history. An unprecedented pandemic and economic downturn are reshaping the business landscape. The U.S. national election will chart a new course for the country. Trade relations between the world’s biggest markets are rapidly altering. And social protest over race, opportunity and equality is rocking society — placing companies and their executives in a vital leadership role.

Speakers

  • Deborah Birx

    Coronavirus Response Coordinator

    White House Coronavirus Task Force

  • Tom Cotton

    U.S. Senator (R., Ark.)

  • Anthony S. Fauci

    Director

    National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

  • Robert P. George

    Professor of Jurisprudence

    Princeton University

  • Gita Gopinath

    First Deputy Managing Director

    International Monetary Fund

  • Annette Gordon-Reed

    Carl M. Loeb University Professor

    Harvard University

  • Col. Daniel Javorsek

    Program Manager, Strategic Technology Office

    Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

  • Elaine Kamarck

    Founding Director, Center for Effective Public Management, Brookings Institution

    Director, National Performance Review, The White House (1993-1997)

  • William Kristol

    Chief of Staff to the Vice President (1989-1993)

  • Carrie Lam

    Chief Executive

    Hong Kong

  • Jill Lepore

    Professor of American History

    Harvard University

  • David R. Malpass

    President

    World Bank

  • Gen. Mark A. Milley

    Chairman

    Joint Chiefs of Staff

  • Elon Musk

    Founder and CEO, SpaceX

    Executive Chairman and CTO, Twitter (Online)

  • Mike Pompeo

    U.S. Secretary of State

  • Cedric Richmond

    Senior Adviser to the President-elect

    Director, White House Office of Public Engagement, Biden Administration

  • Arne Sorenson

    President and CEO

    Marriott International, Inc.

  • Michael Steele

    Chairman

    Republican National Committee (2009-2011)

  • Shinsuke J. Sugiyama

    Ambassador

    Embassy of Japan in the United States of America

  • Julie Sweet

    Chair and CEO

    Accenture

    north_america

  • Justin Trudeau

    Prime Minister

    Canada

Newsroom Hosts

  • John Bussey

    Associate Editor

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Elena Cherney

    Chief News Editor

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Kate Davidson

    Economics Reporter

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Andrew Dowell

    Asia Editor

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Charles Forelle

    Deputy Editor in Chief

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Jamie Heller

    Business Editor

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Daniela Hernandez

    Digital Science Editor

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Stefanie Ilgenfritz

    Health and Science Coverage Chief

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Greg Ip

    Chief Economics Commentator

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Catherine Lucey

    White House Reporter

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Matt Murray

    Former Editor in Chief

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Jonathan D. Rockoff

    Health and Medicine Editor

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Gary Rosen

    Editor, Weekend Review

    The Wall Street Journal

  • Gerald F. Seib

    Former Executive Washington Editor, The Wall Street Journal; Visiting Fellow, Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics

  • Nikki Waller

    Coverage Chief, Life & Work

    The Wall Street Journal

Sponsor Session Participants

  • Taher Behbehani

    General Manager and Head of Mobile B2B

    Samsung Electronics America

  • Manoj Bhargava

    CEO

    Hans Power & Water, LLC

  • Kazuhiro Gomi

    President and CEO

    NTT Research

  • Matthew P. Moynahan

    Chief Executive Officer

    Forcepoint

  • Takayuki Morita

    Senior Executive Vice President, CFO,
    Member of the Board, and incoming
    CEO and President effective as of April 1, 2021

  • Jun Sawada

    President and CEO

    NTT Corporation

Program Participants

  • Dr. Kathy Bloomgarden

    CEO

    Ruder Finn

    north_america

  • Aiman Ezzat

    CEO

    Capgemini Group

    europe

  • António Horta-Osório

    Group Chief Executive

    Lloyds Banking Group

  • Caroline Kennedy

    U.S. Ambassador to Japan (2013–2017)

  • David Kline

    EVP and CTO

    News Corp

  • Almar Latour

    CEO; Publisher, The Wall Street Journal

    Dow Jones

    north_america

  • Phillipa Leighton-Jones

    Host, The Trust

    WSJ | Barron's Group

  • Sri Manda

    Deputy Chief Information Security Officer

    News Corp

  • Jun Murai

    Distinguished Professor

    Keio University

  • Christiana Riley

    CEO

    Deutsche Bank USA Corp

  • Admiral Michael S. Rogers

    Commander, United States Cyber Command

    Director, National Security Agency

  • Wilbur Ross

    U.S. Secretary of Commerce

  • Edward Roussel

    Chief Innovation Officer

    Dow Jones

  • Angela F. Williams

    President and CEO

    United Way Worldwide

    north_america

Program

12/07/2020

7:00 p.m. - 7:10 p.m.

Opening Remarks

Sponsor Video
Manoj Bhargava, CEO, Hans Power & Water, LLC

Matt Murray Former Editor in Chief The Wall Street Journal
7:10 p.m. - 7: 45 p.m.

The Next Four Years
The election of Joe Biden as president of the United States will shape business and global affairs for years, and perhaps decades. What’s in store?

National Security
Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser-designate
Interviewer: Matt Murray, Editor in Chief, The Wall Street Journal 

Domestic and Business Policy
Cedric Richmond, Senior Adviser to the President-elect
Interviewer: Gerald F. Seib, Executive Washington Editor and Chief Commentator, The Wall Street Journal

7:45 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

The World According to Trump: Two Views
President Trump has changed much – from taxes to regulation to the tenor of politics to America’s role in the world. What’s the lasting effect for business, who might one day inherit his mantle, and is the Republican Party in transition or already fully transformed?

7:45 p.m. – 8:05 p.m.
Trump and the Next Generation
Tom Cotton, U.S. Senator (R., Ark.)
Interviewer: John Bussey, Associate Editor, The Wall Street Journal

8:05 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
What Is the Republican Party?
Linda Chavez, White House Director of Public Liaison (1985)
William Kristol, Chief of Staff to the Vice President (1989-1993)
Michael Steele, Chairman, Republican National Committee (2009-2011)
Interviewer: Catherine Lucey, White House Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

8:30 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.

Leadership for the Big Things
Chief executives need to set ambitious goals for their teams, and then inspire those teams to get from here to there. What does it take to tackle the big things in an increasingly interconnected and, at times, divisive world? What skills are essential to sell a common vision and overcome hurdles that may have stymied previous generations of leaders?

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister, Canada
Interviewer: Elena Cherney, Editor, Coverage, The Wall Street Journal

8:50 p.m.

Closing Remarks
Matt Murray, Editor in Chief, The Wall Street Journal

8:50 p.m.

Sponsor Remarks
Sanjeev Gupta | Executive Chairman and CEO, GFG Alliance

12/08/2020

10:00am - 10:30am

Sponsored Breakout Sessions

Modern Cyberwarfare Strategies for the new Distributed Workforce
Fortune 1000 companies are now operating in the era of the Unbound Enterprise with a hybrid workforce that has exponentially expanded today’s cyberattack surface. In an interview with Former NSA Director Admiral Michael Rogers and Forcepoint CEO Matthew Moynahan we will uncover insights on the evolution of cyberwarfare strategies and how lessons learned from nation-state threat actors apply to the new distributed workforce.
Matthew Moynahan | CEO, Forcepoint
Admiral Michael Rogers | Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency (2014-2018)
In conversation with: Sri Manda | Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, News Corp


Leading the Way Forward: A Conversation on Technology and Business Transformation
In this session, we’ll have an open discussion about how mobile technology can help companies solve COVID-era challenges, be more agile, seize opportunity, and tackle what’s next
Taher Behbehani | General Manager and Head of Mobile B2B, Samsung Electronics America
In conversation with: Edward Roussel | Chief Innovation Officer, Dow Jones

These are sponsored sessions and not part of The Wall Street Journal News Department’s program.

11:00 a.m. - 11:10 a.m.

Welcome Remarks

Almar Latour CEOC CEO; Publisher, The Wall Street Journal Dow Jones
John Bussey Associate Editor The Wall Street Journal
11:05 a.m.

Sponsor Session: The New Digital Roadmap
C.P. Gurnani | CEO and Managing Director, Tech Mahindra
In conversation with: David Kline | EVP and CTO News Corp

This is a sponsored session and not part of The Wall Street Journal News Department’s program.

11:10 a.m. - 12:40 p.m.

The X Factor: Covid-19, the Economy and Business
Business plans and economic growth depend on taming the coronavirus. Global ingenuity – in medicine, business logistics, and central banking — is charting a path back to health and growth. But results around the world are uneven, and setbacks abound. What’s the likely timetable for beating the virus and what will the post-coronavirus business landscape look like?

11:10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
The Health Crisis: The Administration’s Plan
Deborah Birx, Coronavirus Response Coordinator, White House Coronavirus Task Force
Interviewer: Stefanie Ilgenfritz, Health and Science Coverage Chief, The Wall Street Journal

11:35 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The Health Crisis: Advice for the Biden Team and Business
Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Interviewer: Jonathan D. Rockoff, Health and Medicine Editor, The Wall Street Journal

12:00 p.m. – 12:20 p.m.
The Economy: The U.S. and Industrialized World
Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist, International Monetary Fund
Interviewer: Greg Ip, Chief Economics Commentator, The Wall Street Journal

12:20 p.m. – 12:40 p.m
The Economy: China, India and the Developing World
David R. Malpass, President, World Bank
Interviewer: Kate Davidson, Economics Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

12:40 p.m.- 1:00 p.m.

Case Study: Hong Kong
Hong Kong has long been a vibrant center for global business, committed to transparency and the rule of law. China now is stepping on those traditions. Is it time for business to rethink its presence in Hong Kong?
Carrie Lam, Chief Executive, Hong Kong
Interviewer: Andrew Dowell, Asia Editor, The Wall Street Journal

1:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.

Mapping the Minefields
The world can be a dangerous place for business. A worldview through the lens of U.S. national security.
Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Interviewer: Gerald F. Seib, Executive Washington Editor and Chief Commentator, The Wall Street Journal

1:20 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.

Task Force Sessions: The Business Agenda (Chatham House Rules)
Members of the CEO Council will break into workgroups where they will debate the agenda – as it affects business – that they believe the next administration should adopt. The sessions will convene under Chatham House Rules moderated by a Wall Street Journal editor. A summary of each conversation – the CEOs’ policy recommendations to the president – will be published in The Wall Street Journal.

Trade and China Policy
Co-Chairs:
Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO, Ruder Finn
Mark Machin, President and CEO, CPP Investments
Moderator: Elena Cherney, Editor, Coverage, The Wall Street Journal

Management of the Economy and the Coronavirus Crisis
Co-Chairs:
Steven Cahillane, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Kellogg Company
Aiman Ezzat, CEO, Capgemini Group
Moderator: Charles Forelle, Financial Editor, The Wall Street Journal

Addressing Inequality and Inclusion in the Workplace and Society
Co-Chairs:
António Horta-Osório, Group CEO, Lloyds Banking Group
Angela F. Williams, President and CEO, Easterseals
Moderator: Jamie Heller, Business Editor, The Wall Street Journal

America’s Role in the World
Co-Chairs:
Christiana Riley, CEO, Deutsche Bank USA Corp
Moderator: Gerald F. Seib, Executive Washington Editor and Chief Commentator, The Wall Street Journal

2:20 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

American Innovation
Long a master of innovation, the U.S. now has big competition from China and other centers of creative enterprise. How can CEOs inspire the best in innovation in their ever-larger global organizations? Will the U.S. remain one of the most commercially creative countries or is it relinquishing that position to other, differently organized nations?
Elon Musk, Co-Founder, Tesla; Founder, SpaceX
Interviewer: Matt Murray, Editor in Chief, The Wall Street Journal

2:45 p.m.

Sponsor Remarks
Jun Sawada | President and CEO, NTT Corporation

2:50 p.m. - 3:05p.m.

Top Gun: Human vs. Machine
Artificial intelligence beat a world chess champion. It beat an expert in the abstract game of Go. But what happened in August 2020 when things got more serious — when AI took the controls of a U.S. jet fighter in simulated combat with a human pilot? And what does the altered role for human warriors say about how companies can deploy AI and still nurture individual aspiration and motivation in their operations?
Col. Daniel Javorsek, Program Manager, Strategic Technology Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Interviewer: Daniela Hernandez, Digital Science Editor, The Wall Street Journal

3:05p.m. - 3:20 p.m.

American Exceptionalism?
The nation’s founders set an ambitious American idea and ideal. Is the public protest over race relations, inequality, and errant myths of American history the natural evolutionary advance toward that ideal?
Annette Gordon-Reed, Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard University

3:20 p.m. - 3:40 p.m.

Break

3:40 p.m. - 4:05 p.m.

When Institutions Take a Beating
In Democratic societies, institutions are key. They preserve continuity during political storms and are meant to affirm the rule of law – and rules in general. What happens when they come under attack from inside the political system? Are institutions as rock-solid as we think? And when they recover, are they stronger or weaker?
Robert P. George, Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University
Elaine Kamarck, Founding Director, Center for Effective Public Management, Brookings Institution; Director, National Performance Review, The White House (1993-1997)
Jill Lepore, Professor of American History, Harvard University
Interviewer: Gary Rosen, Editor, Weekend Review, The Wall Street Journal

4:05 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

The Call for Business Leadership
Social upheaval, whether it’s brought on by a health crisis, political tension, or popular protest, calls for leadership. CEOs and their companies often have to fill that role. What makes a good leader and a good company in times of difficult social change? Is our modern business culture up to the job?
Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International
Julie Sweet, CEO, Accenture
Interviewer: Nikki Waller, Deputy Business Editor, The Wall Street Journal

4:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.

The U.S. in the World
The Trump administration set an ambitious agenda for America’s role in the world, recrafting the country’s approach to China, Iran, NATO, and other nations and alliances. Is America in a better place? And will the changes be lasting?
Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State
Interviewer: Matt Murray, Editor in Chief, The Wall Street Journal

4:50 p.m.

Closing Remarks
John Bussey, Associate Editor, The Wall Street Journal

5:30 p.m.

JAPAN AND THE U.S.: INNOVATION AND THE FUTURE OF CONNECTIVITY

5:30 PM OPENING REMARKS
Shinsuke J. Sugiyama | Ambassador, Embassy of Japan in the United States of America

5:40 PM THE STATE OF JAPAN-U.S. RELATIONS
Wilbur Ross | U.S. Secretary of Commerce

In conversation with:
Phillipa Leighton-Jones | Editor at Large, The Trust, The Wall Street Journal | Barron’s Group

5:55 PM 5G AND BEYOND: A GLOBAL DIGITAL PARTNERSHIP
As national security, prosperity and stability have become more reliant on technology, the partnership between the U.S. and Japan has become more critical. The countries have collaborated on setting standards for the internet economy, 5G, data, trade, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and the internet of things revolution. How is the relationship between these two nations helping to build the sustainable smart city of tomorrow, clean global 5G technologies and an axis of influence?

Caroline Kennedy | U.S. Ambassador to Japan (2013–2017)
Jun Murai, Ph.D. | Distinguished Professor, Keio University
Takayuki Morita | Senior Executive Vice President, CFO and Member of the Board, NEC Corporation
Kazuhiro Gomi | President and Chief Executive Officer, NTT Research, Inc.

In conversation with:
Robert Thomson | Chief Executive, News Corp

6:40 PM CLOSING REMARKS

6:45 PM PROGRAM ENDS

This is a sponsored event and not part of The Wall Street Journal News Department’s program.

Sponsors

Presenting Sponsors

Supporting Sponsor

The Wall Street Journal CEO Council December Summit

Event Gallery

    Request Information

    Learn more about other WSJ Memberships