- The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions or Summer Davos took place in Dalian, China on 23-25 June under the theme 'Innovating at Scale'.
- Between sessions, a familiar feature from Davos returned: the golf buggy interview, where leaders and experts were asked one simple question: What drives you?
- Discover what 11 voices from across business, technology, culture and beyond had to say.
Following its debut at the Annual Meeting in Davos this January, our golf buggy interview series Ideas on the Move returned at the Summer Davos in Dalian, China, where more than 1,800 leaders gathered under the theme "Innovating at Scale".
Once again, we asked leaders, innovators and changemakers one simple question: "What drives you?"
Their answers span curiosity, courage, empathy and urgency, and together they reveal what fuels action in a world that feels increasingly uncharted.
From historian and podcaster Adam Tooze to astronaut Soichi Noguchi and Olympic diver Guo Jingjing, here's what they said.
Embracing unprecedented history - Adam Tooze
For renowned historian, author and podcast host Adam Tooze, looking at the modern economy isn't about finding easy parallels with the past - it's about recognizing the radical uniqueness of our current moment. Driven by a raw, almost childlike curiosity, he views his role as capturing history unfolding in real time.
"I'm just fascinated by the world... more and more, I feel the role of the historian is actually to say, 'You know what, we've never been here before'...
"Don't laugh when people say these times are different. They genuinely are. And my sense is we ain't seen nothing yet. This is just the beginning of what a truly global world looks like."
A life's mission - Sumant Sinha
Sumant Sinha, the founder, chairman and CEO of ReNew, views the global energy transition not merely as a commercial sector, but as an existential necessity. As one of India's leading voices on renewable energy, he notes that while technical hurdles like grid infrastructure and financing are immense, the shift requires a deeper, personal alignment of human purpose.
"The purpose that I'm driven by right now is really the energy transition... It addresses climate change, it's affordable, and it ticks all the boxes from a humanity perspective.
"We need more people who think of this as being their life's mission and get into it with a sense not just of creating value for themselves, but also because it's the right thing to do."
Overcoming fear of failure - Guo Jingjing
Stepping out of the pool and into the global dialogues of Summer Davos, four-time Olympic diving champion Guo Jingjing found herself inspired by the diverse expertise present in Dalian. Her advice to the next generation mirrors the precise, fearless mindset that brought her Olympic gold: trust the execution and let go of the anxieties surrounding the final score.
"I think young people shouldn't be afraid to try anything. Just go for it. Take that first step. Don't worry about failing, because you'll learn so much from it. And even if you fail, you can always try again... More importantly, don't overthink the outcome. Just enjoy the process and good things will come naturally."
Humanizing the boardroom - Lady Mariéme Jamme
As a technologist and the foundational force behind the iamtheCODE movement, Lady Mariéme Jamme is on a relentless quest to mentor 1 million women and girl coders by 2030. Working directly with marginalized communities in refugee camps, slums, and prisons, she recognizes AI as a massive accelerant for equity - provided human dignity remains at the centre of development.
"Giving young women and girls education... that's what drives me. What excites me about the whole AI conversation is that the girls understand what AI is, they're building AI bots, they understand prompts...
"When we talk about AI, we need to bring humanity into the boardroom. Whatever we're designing, there must be a human component, because otherwise, we're going to leave people behind."
Courageous leadership - Andrew Forrest
Riding through the Dalian venue, Andrew Forrest, Executive Chairman of mining company Fortescue and a fierce green energy advocate, pointed out that the alternatives to fossil fuels are already scalable and highly efficient. For him, the hurdle to saving the planet isn't a lack of technological innovation but a deficit in political willpower.
"What drives me is knowing that we can actually make a difference, that the world is capable of change. We're on an electric cart because it's more efficient than any other mode of fossil fuel transport. These solutions are available to the entire world for everything.
"It's not the technology that's lacking; it's the courage to implement the technology, the courage to implement the policy to make sure it scales across the world... What we need now [from political leaders] is leadership."
Daring to explore - Soichi Noguchi
Having spent a career navigating the bleeding-edge of aerospace engineering, veteran astronaut Soichi Noguchi is driven by the intrinsic urge to look past current civilizational limits. His time spent working outside the Earth's atmosphere has also left him with a deeply grounded understanding of the perils facing modern overachievers.
"What drives me is the dare to explore... [but] as an astronaut, you're like an overachiever. You want to do more things than you can handle, and when you go above your level, you have to sacrifice something - your daily life, your love life, or your health. My two cents to the young audience: don't let ambition become self-sacrifice."
An impatience for the future - Madeline Gannon
Rather than waiting around for the future of automation to arrive, roboticist, researcher and designer Madeline Gannon prefers to construct it. Her experimental work focuses on rewriting our relationship with machines, taking heavy-duty industrial automation tools and reimagining them as interactive, responsive entities.
"I'm so impatient for the future to arrive. I work a lot with robotics and taking these tools for automation and making them curious, kind and alive. I'd rather they behave more like animals than manufacturing equipment... We can choose to do things in different ways just with the technology we have today."
A whole-of-society approach - Quarraisha Abdool Karim
For nearly four decades, world-renowned infectious diseases epidemiologist Dr Quarraisha Abdool Karim has dedicated her life to preventing HIV infections in adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa. While breakthrough medical tools like twice-yearly injectables offer immense hope, she notes that shifting global geopolitics make cross-sector solidarity more fragile than ever.
"As scientists, we've brought hope. We've brought the tools. Now I think it needs an all-of-society approach to make sure that the technologies we have reach the people, so we can actually say we've ended AIDS as a public health threat.
"The thing that gets me out of bed every day, is this challenge that I've had in my life for the past 38 years, which is how to prevent HIV infection in adults and girls and young women, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa."
Making farmers the real food superstars - Asma Khan
As the celebrated chef and restaurateur behind London's Darjeeling Express, Asma Khan believes the global food culture has its priorities entirely inverted. Driven by a desire to leave a legacy of hope, the environmental activist uses her platform to shift the spotlight away from kitchen personalities and back to the soil.
"I don't think we talk enough about farmers. We don't talk enough about the soil, the quality of the soil or the environment... There is a two-tier system where those who can afford high-quality food can pay for it, but we need everybody to eat nutritious food.
"Farmers are at the fringe of our society where restaurants and chefs are the superstars. The farmers should be the superstars. Without the ingredients, we would be nothing."
Practicing 'cognitive empathy' - Kaiser Kuo
Musician, writer and host of the Sinica Podcast Kaiser Kuo has spent decades establishing nuanced intellectual channels between China and the West. A pioneer of the Chinese heavy rock scene turned prominent cultural commentator, he argues that true international dialogue demands looking past the "garden-variety" emotional response.
"What drives me is pretty simple: it's one concept called cognitive empathy. I want people to be able to understand the way that Chinese people think - how they would respond to certain situations, to policy initiatives undertaken by the US or by Europe.
"To get an idea of that, you need more than just garden-variety emotional empathy. You need a deeper sense of the history of the lived experience."
Building dreams in an overly materialized world - Ma Yansong
For visionary architect and founder of MAD Architects Ma Yansong, urban infrastructure should look far beyond mere utility. Growing up in Beijing, he discovered that nature could be dramatic, emotional and spiritual - a quality he feels has been stripped from modern urban environments. Yansong views his craft as a way to construct imaginative spaces that make people feel alive.
"I'm an architect, so I share dreams. I like to hear other people's dreams, and I build those dreams... Function is basic, right? We build a building, of course you live there. But with emotion, we feel beauty. We feel we belong to a place...
"Today's modern cities are too materialized. They're lacking this imaginary space, which is the reason why we are here."
Quotes have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
