Bloomberg New Economy
Forum 2025
Breakout Sessions
Designed to complement main stage programming, breakouts are opportunities for delegates to participate in purpose-driven dialogue, to build new relationships and business connections, and to meaningfully and productively engage with others.
Delegates will have the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions scheduled from 1:15 PM – 2:30 PM or 3:00 PM – 4:15 PM unless otherwise noted.*
Please submit your top breakout preferences via the Bloomberg New Economy Exchange and we will do our best to place you in your first preference.
Delegates will be able to see their breakout placement one week prior to the Forum within Exchange. Once on site, delegates will need to sign up for the Wait List at the Help Desk in order to join breakouts.
These private, in-person roundtables and workshops are hosted under Chatham House Rule and meant to be highly participatory.
Delegates will be able to pick up and bring a boxed lunch into the room during the 1:15 PM breakout block. Please plan to arrive 10 minutes before the session start time.
*Exact timings are subject to change.
November 19 - Wednesday
The Biotech Dilemma: Who Wins on Innovation, Scale, and Access?
After years of investment and scientific progress, breakthrough medicines are becoming a reality—especially in oncology. From personalized therapies and diagnostics to AI-driven protein design and GLP-1s, innovations continue to hit the market at record pace. At the same time, industry, government, and academic priorities are also evolving from innovation alone to delivery at scale: how best to get these breakthroughs into patients’ hands globally, without deepening the access divide.
Hosted by the Bloomberg New Economy International Cancer Coalition, this roundtable will explore whether Western R&D ecosystems still dominate invention– at a time when the race ahead is no longer only about who discovers the next breakthrough, but who can build, test, and deliver it faster and more affordably.
Scenario Planning Workshop: When AI Goes Rogue
In a world of relentless change – geopolitical shifts, AI breakthroughs, climate shocks – leaders need to anticipate trends and disruptions before they crystallize.
This collaborative crisis simulation, led by an expert wargaming facilitator, puts participants inside a real-world scenario: an AI model gone rogue inside a global business. Together, you’ll navigate escalating AI-driven crises, map critical decision points and stress-test the consequences.
Come prepared to challenge your assumptions, test your decision-making and ultimately navigate what lies ahead with greater confidence.
This workshop will be facilitated by Jacquelyn Schneider, Hoover Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. It will run for 2 hours.
Future-Proofing the Built Environment
Technology, climate change, demographics, and economic shifts are testing our cities. Fast-growing economies are racing to expand, while mature ones must find new uses for empty space — and all will need more energy. How can cities adapt and thrive? This roundtable, hosted by the Bloomberg New Economy Dynamic Cities Coalition, brings together leaders in infrastructure, finance, real estate, and urban design to explore neighborhood-level investments and partnerships that unlock value and resilience.
From Bold to Bankable: Private Session with the 2025 Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts
Every transformative idea faces the same challenge: scale. Startups often bring the breakthroughs, but it’s the incumbents and investors who can provide the platforms for rapid growth. In this session, disruptors, VCs, and global leaders will exchange perspectives on what it takes to move innovation from bold concepts to global impact — and why collaboration, not isolation, drives the future.
China’s Economic Balancing Act: Innovation, Security and Social Stability
China’s economic story isn’t one of assured ascent or imminent collapse – it’s a constant balancing act. Innovation collides with control, openness grapples with security and local initiative jostles against central authority. Each trade-off is provisional, each recalibration held together by compromise. Can China keep growing while tightening control? Can it remain open while fortifying itself? And how will these choices ripple across supply chains, entrepreneurship, US-China competition under Trump 2.0, and the broader geopolitical realignment of our time?
Featuring:
- Goodwin Gaw, Chairman & Managing Principal, Gaw Capital Partners.
- Jim McGregor, Chairman, Greater China, APCO Worldwide
- X. Rick Niu, CEO, Nexus Worldwide LLC
- Tong Zhilei (Ray), Founder, Chairman & President, COL Group
- Jing Qian, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Center for China Analysis, Asia Society Policy Institute (Facilitator)
November 20 - Thursday
The Five Ts Reconfiguring Global Flows
Global businesses are facing interconnected fault lines shaping and reshaping the future of commerce and finance, including the switch from free Trade to fee trade, along with Technological disruption and decoupling, Tax uncertainty, Treasury and currency risks, and Territory disputes. What new trade flows and financing models are emerging? How do you navigate them? This roundtable, hosted by HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery, will unpack how these “Five Ts” are aligning and realigning the global economy, from trade in goods and services to stablecoins and tokenized assets.
AI’s Emerging Risks and How to Manage Them
AI’s rapid advances show little sign of slowing. Companies are rushing to innovate, governments are scrambling to regulate, and societies are left to absorb the risks. From disinformation that erodes trust to job losses that upend livelihoods and weaponization that threatens global stability, the dangers are escalating. Who holds the power to shape AI’s future, and at what cost?
Featuring:
- Matthew Fitzpatrick, CEO, Invisible Technologies
- Charles Phillips, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Recognize
- Parmy Olson, Technology Columnist, Bloomberg (Facilitator)
Powering the Future: Meeting AI’s Scaling Energy Demands
The AI and digital infrastructure revolution is fueling an unprecedented surge in energy demand. Data center electricity use is poised to surge 4-10x by 2030 risking power shortages, grid overloads, and increased carbon emissions without massive investment in clean energy and transmission. Yet, this is not only a supply challenge – it is also a design challenge.
Join Envision’s CEO, Lei Zhang, and other leaders in the field for a thought-provoking discussion on solutions to the electricity supply gap – exploring how off-grid, net-zero industrial parks, a diversified energy mix, and other innovative approaches demonstrate that AI is not only the culprit behind spiking demand but also a catalyst for delivering sufficient green energy supply.
Scenario Planning Workshop: Testing NATO’s Resolve
In a world of relentless change – geopolitical shifts, AI breakthroughs, climate shocks – leaders need to anticipate trends and disruptions before they crystallize.
This collaborative crisis simulation, led by an expert wargaming facilitator, puts participants inside a real-world scenario: Russia’s invasion of a Baltic state. As NATO weighs an Article 5 response, you’ll face hard choices, map decision points, and test the consequences of every move.
Come prepared to challenge your assumptions, test your decision-making and ultimately navigate what lies ahead with greater confidence.
This workshop will be facilitated by Jacquelyn Schneider, Hoover Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. It will run for 2 hours.
India's Strategy to Become a Tech Powerhouse
Trade and Tariffs: Navigating the New Era
Global trade is no longer governed by economic fundamentals alone – it is increasingly shaped by political leverage, national security concerns, and shifting alliances. The Trump administration’s aggressive use of tariffs as a strategic weapon marked a turning point in trade policy, setting in motion a new era of uncertainty for multinational businesses, exporters, and global supply chains. Today, with protectionism on the rise and trade relationships under constant renegotiation, companies must navigate a landscape where tariffs can be imposed – or lifted – with little warning and significant consequences. This session unpacks the legacy of tariff-driven diplomacy, the outlook for trade under renewed political polarization, and what businesses must do to mitigate exposure and build resilience in a volatile global marketplace.
Featuring:
- Lutfey Siddiqi, Honorable Special Envoy for International Affairs, People’s Republic of Bangladesh
- Shannon K. O’Neil, Senior Vice President, Director of Studies & Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, Council on Foreign Relations; Author, The Globalization Myth: Why Regions Matter
- Tom Orlik, Chief Economist, Bloomberg Economics (Facilitator)