Looking back at 2023 … Airbus pioneers and Arabic pearl divers … a year of innovating and transforming everything

2023 was a year of many turning points. Polycrisis, maybe. Uncertainty, certainly. A nexus of change.

The year started a few weeks early for me. I was in the film studio in late December, recording a series of new videos for business leaders. Actually it was a full-on brain download of short (120 x 10 minute) clips about changing markets, the new challenges for business, a new breed of disruptors, and new inspirations for business leaders .

One mega-program is called WaveRiders , on strategic rethinking and building your future-ready business. The other,?Better World , is about sustainable innovation. They're also available as inspiring keynotes and practical workshops.

And then everything changed.

In a filming break, I glanced at the news headlines. OpenAI, a previously low-key think tank driven by Elon Musk and now by?Sam Altman , had launched ChatGPT . Within weeks, every business headline was about Generative AI . Within two months, it had 100 million weekly users (Instagram took 2 years). It really was a gamechanger. As the year progressed, AI developed exponentially.

For many people in business, 2023 has felt like a perfect storm—battling inflation, the impact of global conflicts, supply chain breakdowns, and how to get to grips and embrace the new tech.

Every leader I met said that not just change, but accelerated transformation , was top of their agenda. Dynamic markets. Relentless change. Certain uncertainty. Crisis meets opportunity, and innovation is the only way forwards. In a survey by PwC, 39% of CEOs said they?do not think that their companies will be economically viable within a decade if they continue on their current path.

Seize control of your destiny, shape the future you envision, now.

January 2023 : Circular innovation in Istanbul

I started the year in Istanbul, Turkey, in the snow. I was back working with the board and executive team of Aster Group , an innovative textiles and fashion business, reviewing the strategy we developed 5 years ago, and rethinking the future, again. This time with a greater focus on premium brands , intelligent fabrics, sustainable processes,?and profitable growth in fashion and beyond.

Sustainability is now a given (fashion drives 5% of carbon emissions, consumes 98 million tonnes of non-renewable resources every year, and uses 93 billion cubic metres of water annually). We explored everything from Bolt Thread's mushroom-based fabrics to regenerative subscription models, new global suppliers and consumer personalisation. The Kocali family (Ali and Ismael, below) remain ambitious and intrepid. Family businesses have much more agility to innovate and grow in new ways.

Nvidia's Jensen Huang ranked as the world's best CEO, in the Brand Guardian Index 2023 , taking into account business reputation and sustainability, alongside growth and value creation. Netflix "No Rules, Rules" CEO, Reed Hastings , having grown and transformed the business from DVDs by mail to streaming content, seemed to run out of steam, and stepped down. A milestone for female leaders was achieved, with 10% of Fortune 500 leaders now women. Maybe, the future is female .

Innovations continued at pace. Liquid Death stood out as one of the most distinctive brand launches, ?a punk rock attitude, to promoting fresh, bottled water from the Austrian Alps. In Spain, the Kings League , broke the rules of soccer, with a crazy 7-a-side league concept developed by former Barcelona star?Gerard Piqué. In Sweden, a revolution in sustainable battery technology is being led by Northvolt , and in Switzerland a subscription to On running shoes enables you to get a new (regenerated) pair of Cloudneos as often as you want.

February 2023 : Pioneering the future of Airbus

It was even colder in Malmo, Sweden. "Friends of Executive" is a fabulous CEO network created by Jimmy Olden a decade ago. All the top Swedish business leaders want to be part of the FoE community, learning from and collaborating with each other to think smarter and innovate faster. I was their provocateur - exploring how to "Recode your Business ". There is no shortage of inspiration nearby, my ranking of Swedish Innovators included ABB to Doconomy, Essity to Klarna , Oatly to Polestar.

Flying south to Toulouse, France, I was impressed by the Airbus 320 Neo. I was working with the corporate strategy team at Airbus. Bringing together all of their strategic thinkers, we explored what it meant to be "Pioneers and Transformers " in today's world, and in a large organisation with intimidatingly huge challenges to decarbonise. Airbus, now the market leader, wants to lead the aviation world to green hydrogen ?by 2035. To do that, it might just have to become the world's largest hydrogen company too.

Onwards to Washington DC. I love how the Europe to USA time difference makes it easy to get up before sunrise, for a fabulous 10km run around the National Mall (photo below), in particular to watch the sun rising over the Capitol towards the Lincoln Monument. Alone with Abraham Lincoln at 5am, bathed in golden spring light. Wow!

Innovations continued at pace. Patagonia , maker of those wonderful fleeces, realised it had a problem in micro-plastics, and collaborated with Samsung to eliminate them, 35% of the world’s plastic waste. Sustainable innovation comes in many forms, including the Allbirds MO.ONSHOT , the world's first zero-carbon shoe. Meanwhile, Temu , the online discount store owned by the e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, is rapidly disrupting fashion retail, and more popular than Shein, just 4 months after launching.

March 2023 : Arabic pearl divers and French Viagra

The Middle East is one of the most vibrant markets today, with glittering futuristic innovations, but also reinventing its heritage. Al Ghurair is a diversified family-owned conglomerate based in Dubai, UAE.?The group’s origins trace back to the 1930s when Ahmad Al Ghurair and his son Saif were?pearl divers?in?Dubai, going on to create the UAE’s first cement factory, flour mill, and sugar refinery. Today, with new purpose , we explored strategies to develop in finance, real estate, and manufacturing.

Viagra is one of the best pharma brand stories, an accidental discovery in South Wales, when trials for Sildenafil a new angina drug by Pfizer produced an unexpected side effect. Pfizer boldly rebranded the little blue pill as Viagra, focused on erectile disfunction, and more positively on a happy sex life. Yet most healthcare brands are still obsessed about their molecules and medical applications. In Paris, France, I worked with?Biocodex ? exploring his to build more positive brands in healthcare.

Each year's Most Innovative Companies ranking by Fast Company is a treasure trove of inspiring stories. Top of the rankings this year was Open AI, mostly for its collaborative development with Microsoft. Brazilian neobank for the unbanked, Nubank, was ranked in 5th, while new running shoe brands On and Hoka raced to make the top 10.

Innovations continued at pace.Neuzeller Klosterbr?u , a German brewery, created a powder to which you just add water to create a great authentic beer, reducing carbon emissions by 90%. Nokia rebranded after 157 years, and ChatGPT gained an MBA, plus law and medical qualifications.?Meanwhile, last year's overhyped metaverse proved the undoing of Meta Platforms, with a dramatic 55% plunge in market value, as it refocused on AI.

April 2023 : Transformational leaders in Segovia

Every year I take a group of around 30 senior executives a a week in the stunning world heritage site of Segovia, Spain. In the converted monastery where Queen Isabella asked Christopher Columbus to explore the new world, we consider new possibilities for innovation. and growth. The Global AMP , which I created for IE Business School, is a 9 month transformational journey - personal and business, bringing many of the world's top thought leaders, educators and business leaders.

As the Academic Director, I seek to inspire, disrupt and transform participants - to set them on course for a new future. In the film studio Life Talks about?“a moment that shaped my life” bring tears and exhilaration in equal measure. Joining me, global thought leader Tendayi Viki flies in from Zimbabwe to explore innovative business models, while Norwegian venturer Christian Rangen embarks on Transform! a 10 week simulated transformation of the mobility sector, with participants working in C-suite teams. All the ideas, insights and academic theory is brought together in Gamechanger Projects , ready to transform their future businesses.

If Segovia, with Roman aqueduct and towering?Alcazar, isn't enough history, next stop I find myself in Pompei, Italy , the ultimate immersion into living archeology. Exploring the almost intact streets, from luxurious villas to fast-food stores, the sun shines bright, the cypress trees sway, and Mount Vesuvius looms. Change can happen quickly , even when things seem to be going well. So how will your business move before you have to?

On Earth Day, I gave away free copies of my book?"People Planet Profit ".Rampant wildfires and destructive flooding were all too familiar this year.?7 billion trees lost annually, 1 million species at risk, 10% of people have 76% of wealth, 9% live in extreme poverty. We need to accelerate action, from reduced emissions to more radical ideas. ?I particularly like the?RSA’s regenerative business ?concept, including the 10Cs life-centric business model and 7 principles for?Regenerative Leadership .?

May 2023 : Reinventing?cement,?reinventing?healthcare?

The?Holzbrücke at Rapperswil is an 800m timber bridge across Lake Zurich in Switzerland. Made of original wood piles dating back to 1523BC, it was rebuilt by Romans and then by Rudolf IV in 1360. Building techniques have come a long way since then, today most depending on concrete.

Swiss cement company Holcim is the world leader of an industry that emits 8% of carbon emissions. At the Holcim Future Builders ?Forum I challenged leaders to accelerate change, decarbonisation through product and process innovation, and industry transformation. Brimstone ?is one innovator making carbon-negative cement by replacing limestone with silicate rock, which doesn’t produce CO2 when heated, and also creating silica instead of fly-ash. It featured in?Fast Company's World Changing Ideas of 2023 .

Switzerland is also a global hub of healthcare innovation. At Novartis I met up with my Global AMP "student" and chief medical officer Antonio Martin to explore the role of pioneers in health, but also in transforming business. In "Pioneers of a Better World" ?we explored innovators like Ultima Genomics who is revolutionising DNA sequencing, and Crispr Therapeutics leading the way in gene editing. Global life expectancy has gained 30 years?thanks to advances in medicine and public health. People are living longer, healthier lives ?and the global population of over 60s is growing 5x faster than others. The “longevity economy” is worth more than $22 trillion.

"Air " was one of my favourite movies of the year, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon telling the story of how Nike signed rookie star Michael Jordan, and created the Air Jordan brand that continues to deliver $5 billion revenue annually, 5% of which continues to go to the retired basketball player.

June 2023 : Saudi innovators and French retailers

Saudi Arabia is transforming rapidly, not through oil but technology. 20 years ago I first worked with STC , the state telecoms operator. Today STC is a vibrant international tech player. In the STC Bootcamp I worked with the organisation's leaders to explore "Gamechanging " - the next megatrends, and how to shift from telecom and tech to become a truly transformational player in every aspect of society - from retail and mobility, to education and government. Also in Riyadh this year, I worked with a luxury airline, exploring the future of luxury travel and service.

Carrefour’s “food transition for all” is a combination of innovation in brands, consumer experiences, and business models. Through a series of workshops we explored what this could really mean. Take Buc-ee’s gas stations in Texas, for examples, recently ranked by Forbes as the world's best customer experience. Or Femsa , the Mexican drinks and retail multinational from Monterrey. Founded in 1890 as Cuauhtémoc Brewery, it is now the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world, but also with a portfolio of supermarkets, restaurants, drinks and more.

"Reinventing Everything " was my theme for Cisco's Marketing Velocity Summit, at the beautiful Asia Garden Hotel, just outside Alicante, Spain. Cisco and its global partners are a great example of succeeding through a network model, with all the multiplying benefits that can bring beyond traditional organisations - not least the speed and agility to change, to be global and local at the same time.?Cisco was ranked #1 in “Best Companies to Work For 2023” .

Less than 700 humans have ever travelled to space. That's about to change, as Virgin Galactic launched regular monthly sub-orbital flights, with its 73 year old founder onboard the first. Some years ago, when I interviewed Richard Branson , this was his biggest ambition. It's been a slow and painful journey to get here, but the shimmering Spaceport in New Mexico was a suitable venue for a dream come true.

July 2023 : Concordia, Integritas, Industria and the OECD

"Changing World and Leading Change " was my theme with leaders of the OECD, IMF, EBRD, and international organisations. In the fabulous Parisian chateau of Baron Henri de Rothschild, and former hunting lodge of French kings, we explored the future strategy of these inter-governmental organisations. Lots of initiatives, funding, meetings, reports, words. But also the need for clear focused and futuristic thinking to cut through the safe compromises more normally associated with such organisations.

In contrast, we had X. Elon Musk's rebranded Twitter was not afraid to challenge the status quo. The?$44 billion acquisition (in November, the company estimated its value had fallen to less than $20 billion) brought Musk closer to his dream of a “superapp”. X was initially his online bank, founded in 1999, merged with Confinity, rebranded as PayPal, sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, who spun it off in 2015. Now we have X.com

Joe Tsai , the new chairman of Alibaba. The billionaire Taiwan-born lawyer, who is a crypto enthusiast, and owner the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, was one of Alibaba’s 17 co-founders. Shou Chew is a Singaporean who started out at Goldman Sachs where he led investment in Alibaba, and then Bytedance. In 2021 he joined Bytedance, the Chinese AI-based media business that owns TikTok. Now, amid huge political challenges and future uncertainty, he became CEO of TikTok.

Innovations continued at pace, including?Modelo Especial ,?the new king of beers. The Mexican brand, first brewed in the northwestern town of Tacuba in 1925, is now outselling Bud Light across North America, thanks to the rising power of Latino consumers. "Breakthrough Brands " were all around. Interbrand's 2023 report also showcased?Betterhalf and Bilt, Cake and Caraway, Fishwife and Fisker, Open AI to Zepeto.

August 2023 : Canvanauts and Messimania?

Australia's Canva is ranked the "world's best workplace for innovators ". In just over a decade, Melanie Perkins ' has grown to more than 125 million worldwide users?supported by a team of 3,500 Canvanauts is united in their passion for creativity and collaboration. Work benefits include an annual Vibe & Thrive allowance for employees to spend on whatever wellbeing and development support they seek.?Siemens, Dealmaker, Adobe, AB InBev, Holcim and Genentech were also ranked highly by Fast Company's annual report.

When Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup for Argentina last year, it felt like a fitting end to a glorious career.?The football star had done it all, with a record seven Ballon d’Or awards as the world’s best player. Then he announced his shock move to?underachieving ?US soccer team Inter Miami, in a novel business model that saw him take a share of the club's ownership, Apple TV rights, and Adidas merchandise sales.?His flamingo pink club jersey became ubiquitous. Beach bars are serving Messi Mojitos, the Hard Rock Cafe offers the Messi Burger, and a local brewery sells pale pink cans of GOAT 10 beer.

Innovations continued at pace. AI supermodel Noonoouri released her debut single which topped music charts around the world. The avatar influencer, created by Munich agency Opium Effect, has over 400,000 followers on Instagram, and signed with Warner Music to launch Dominoes about how “we can all make a difference to the world”.

I also got to run around an island - Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is only 10km around - but it is one of the most spectacular places, and with an incredible history. Famous as the birthplace of Christianity in England, it was also the first landing point of Vikings. I grew up not far from here, and indeed my surname Fisk probably comes from those Nordic invaders. Today though, I ran the whole island, including the sandy causeway that is covered by sea for most hours of the day.

September 2023 : Azerbeijan, the land of fire

I was back in Baku, Azerbaijan for another week of "Future Makers " a strategic acceleration program for the C-suite team of Azercell, the region's leading telecoms business. Almost every telecoms company today wants to be a tech company (consider Etisalat's transforming to e&, for example), while others want to be truly customer-centric. The latter probably means leaving tech to others, and thinking about how to help people live better lives, and businesses to grow their businesses. That's a big choice, but worth making in a world of rapid change, collaboration and expectation.

Azerbaijan is known as the land of fire because fire can spontaneously burst from the earth, today reflected in the ultra-modern architecture of its capital city. Washington DC seems quite slow and sleepy by contrast. However there was real urgency in bringing together the CEOs of each of Holcim's businesses. The challenge to decarbonise the old world of cement, and reinvent the new future of construction, was our mission.

Radius Recycling is the World's Most Sustainable Company 2023 , ranked by Corporate Knights. It's the story of how a one-man Seattle-based scrap metal recycler reinvented itself with a circular business model for precious metals. The steel industry is setting the standard in decarbonisation, inspired by the two standout pioneers of green steel, H2 Green Steel (from Sweden) and Boston Metal (USA).?

Innovations continued at pace. I had a great 5 days in Copenhagen, Denmark exploring some of Denmark's (and the world’s most innovative and sustainable companies) - including Arla (from dairy to planet-based foods), Lego, Maersk, Novo Nordisk (with its new obesity-busting drug, Ozempic), ?rsted, Too Good, and Vestas - while chilling on the Kalvebod Brygge, and running around Freetown Christiana!

October 2023 : Handprints in Tuscany

Flying into Pisa, Italy, the tower seemed to be leaning even more than normal. But today's destination was 50km north, the fabulous old walled-town of Lucca. The 3S Sustainability Awards, sponsored by Sofidel, Europe's second largest tissue paper company), is a prestigious event. My keynote focused on "Handprints not Footprints " - time to focus on increasing the positives rather than just reducing negatives - to consider the social and environmental impacts and opportunities of brands and business.

NTT is a fascinating company, one of BCG's World's 50 Most Innovative Companies , although much less well known than peers like Sony and Lenova. The breadth of intelligent technologies, data analytics and hardware installation, means it can do so much more for client organisations. Dallas, Texas was a long flight for an 8 hour executive workshop, but worth it for one that can be the "Future Makers ".

Schroders , meanwhile, is one of those more traditional investment management companies that is still not sure about tech, or tech companies. While the company's website talks up sustainable investments, it feels like all money is good. Endesa , the Spanish energy giant is much more sustainability focused. NBK , the leading bank from Kuwait is keen to embrace innovation more dramatically. And Hungerstation , another Saudi Arabian business, now part of DeliveryHero group, is keen to look far and wide for new ideas.

Innovations continued at pace. This year's Earthshot Prize ?winners for sustainable innovation included Acción Andina (Peru) protecting the Andes, Colourifix (UK) sustainable dyes for clothing, Freetown Treetown (Sierra Leone) saving trees, and Sea Forest (Australia) seaweed animal food.?Meanwhile Amazon introduces Digit , a humanoid bipedal robot with a turquoise torso and smiley eyes, created by Agility Robotics. The e-commerce giant has "750,000 robots working collaboratively with our employees.”

November 2023 : Future Radar in Montenegro?

Kotor, Montenegro?is a beautiful?old Mediterranean port, built during Venetian times, at the head of a fjord-like bay on the Adriatic coast. Dramatic and beautiful, even in a thunderstorm.?The winding streets and squares of the fortified old town is overrun by tourists in summer, but in November it was deserted. I was here to help another investment companyexplore the future - in particular of clean energy and real estate. "Future Radar " is my powerful technique that combines qualitative foresight and quantitative insights, through analysis and workshops, to understand the trends and companies that are shaping the future of markets.

In Munich, I was hosting the Future Book Forum for the 10th consecutive year. Back in 2014, Canon's Joerg Engelstadter sat down to explore how we could shake up the book publishing world. It's a slow, conservative, and low-profit business, but also with great emotional attachment and social benefits. This year my theme was Liquid Design-?how digital and physical media come together innovatively, in order to reimagine the way in which content is created, produced, distributed and consumed – how book publishing becomes liquid. A great example is U2's "greatest show on Earth” launching the new Las Vegas Sphere , and setting new standards in customer experience.

It was great to explore the future of content with Manuel Lucania and Julio Covacho, founders of Spanish AI business Quantic Brains . They helped me create a new 300 page book in 3 minutes, a soundtrack in 15 minutes, and animated movie of the book in 30 minutes. Meanwhile Norwegian entrepreneur?Eirik Wahlstr?m, founder of Ludenso , the world’s leading AR platform for publishers, added virtual reality to augment the reader experience. The world was in my hands as I held up the future of books.

December 2023 : Kaleidoscopes and Trailblazers

It's been another frantic and fantastic year of interesting projects, intrepid travel, and all the new ideas and insights that are gained along the way. I love exploring the future of tech-enabled business, the exponential, social, gamified impact of brands like Bolt and Temu, reinventions like Fujifilm and Jio, strategies like PingAn , influencers like Noonouri, and nextgen AI chatbots like Grok and Pi.

I was particularly inspired by new ventures like Lilium , the Munich-based “flying taxi”with vertical take off and landing, 300km range at 300kph, zero carbon fuelled, developed by former CEOs of Airbus and BMW. Best Inventions of 2023 included Adidas' Adios world-record breaking shoes to Bond's heartbeat necklace, CisionVision's cancer scanner to Dyson's Airstrait, Lego's Braille Bricks to Leqembi Alzheimer drug, Nike's Aerogami and "revolutionary hypercard" Czinger 21C .

I realise that few people get to see the business world like I do - to explore all the latest ideas, bring together new insights and practices, and actually work with business leaders to develop and implement them. That combination of new thinking and practical action is critical, particularly in markets of relentless change. As I look forwards to the new year ahead, I'd like to share my foresight, and optimism for the future. And hope that I can help you too to shape a better future in 2024.

• Trailblazers: Innovators to watch in 2024 ... from Authentic Brands to Crispr Therapeutics, Lanzatech to Temu, who are the companies shaking up markets, emerging from margins into the mainstream, and likely to make the most transformational impact?
• Kaleidoscope: Trends to explore in 2024 ... from Accelerating AI to Synthetic Realities, Greenwashed Out to Physical is Digital, which are the trends that will shape your customers and markets most in the year ahead, and create new platforms to innovate and grow?
• Business Brain: Ideas to embrace in 2024 ... from Beautiful Questions to The Long View, Hidden Potential and Impromptu, what are the new concepts that are shaping the way we work, think and win in business, connecting the best ideas of thought leaders and bestselling books?

Contact me at [email protected] if you would like to explore ideas for 2024.?

Trailblazers by Peter Fisk also includes

• 250 companies ?innovators shaking up the world
• 100 leaders with the courage to shape a better future
• Future Now the new OS of business, the next CX of brands

Kaleidoscope?by Peter Fisk also includes

• Megatrends 2030 ?as pathways to future opportunities
• Trend Kaleidoscope 2024 curating all the current trends
• Future Radar ?accelerating your next business strategies

Business Brain?by Peter Fisk also includes

• Next Agenda curating the best new ideas for business
• Business Futures Project research, reports, and toolkits
• Recoded ?49 codes to help you develop a better business future

Peter Fisk is a global thought leader - bestselling author, leadership catalyst, strategic advisor, keynote speaker - working with business leaders to reimagine their markets and strategies for a better future. He leads GeniusWorks, an innovative business accelerator based in London, and is visiting professor of leadership, strategy and innovation at IE Business School in Madrid.

His recent projects include Adidas’ growth into new markets, Cartier’s redefined luxury, Coca Cola’s brand strategy, and Microsoft’s strategic innovation, exploring the future of food to fashion, travel to technology. He has written 9 books, translated into 35 languages, including “Business Recoded: Have the courage to create a better future”, reviewed by FT with “Wow! The book you have to read now”.

Explore more …

• Future Makers: ?accelerated leadership development that is innovative, issue-driven, and action-driving
• Innolab Workshops : strategic consulting that is fresh, energising, insight-driven, creative and collaborative
• Keynote Speaking that is inspiring, topical, engaging, customised and actionable

Happy new year!?