Shaping 2040

Global geopolitical tensions. A global pandemic. Volatile and hypercompetitive markets. Evolving consumer expectations. Rising competition for talent. The escalating threat of climate change. Leaders can't afford to wait and react to change in today's complex global environment. From where we stand today, anticipating the future has never been more challenging — or crucial.

Welcome to Shaping 2040 — a ground-breaking program by KPMG International, in collaboration with the UK's University of Leeds, to challenge some of the best and brightest among the next generation of leaders to step into 2040, describe the landscape – and how they ultimately shaped in. The global participants are future leaders with an array of distinguished backgrounds and talents working in collaboration with faculty from the University of Leeds and KPMG leaders to provide a provocative showcase of their vision for the future.

By 2040, capitalism as we know it may be unrecognizable. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation could trigger policies once seen as radical and environmental accountability will be infused in our lives like never before.

Shaping 2040's overarching message is clear. It is up to the leaders of today and tomorrow to shape the future — or be shaped by it.

Innovation that reflects a pivotal new era of challenges and opportunities cannot emerge in isolation. Instead, it is a collective response to a new holistic reality that will be dramatically affected by technology, business, science, and so much more. Shaping 2040 offers a coherent and revealing vision of an ever-evolving world as seen through the eyes of the next generation of leaders.