The Essay
The role of business schools in 2026
Reflections from Davos
In the shadows of the World Economic Forum, what role can business schools play in meeting our shared ambitions?
By Francisco Veloso, Dean, INSEAD, France
"The drastic evolution of AI is making job descriptions more fluid and roles less certain."
"We must equip them to navigate uncertainty and change."
"The value of diverse perspectives becomes even more critical."
We’ve seen business change rapidly over the past few years, shaped by the effects of COVID and the widespread integration of AI.
Traditional models of work are becoming outdated. The drastic evolution of AI is making job descriptions more fluid and roles less certain. Hybrid and remote ways of working are now the norm. To remain relevant, then, individuals must learn how to continually adapt.
This was a theme that dominated many of my conversations at Davos this month during the World Economic Forum. Under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue” – meaningful dialogue was very much at the heart of INSEAD’s presence there.
What was clear is that in 2026, whether it’s due to geopolitics or AI, businesses are entering a new phase, and business schools must prepare leaders to navigate this change.
The role of business schools in the age of AI
Looking ahead, I expect we'll see organisations facing a significant challenge: the pressure to adopt AI quickly, and the responsibility to do so without losing people in the process.
It is up to today’s leaders to help their teams to navigate these complex, very human changes while ensuring psychological safety. Leaders must be able to combine AI fluency with human judgment, recognising that technological change is always accompanied by deeply human consequences.
As Dean of INSEAD, I see that the role of our business school is to develop leaders who act with wisdom and values. We want to equip leaders to manage and guide organisations through technological, social, and environmental changes as and when they arise. We’re designing intelligent organisations that balance efficiency with humanity; supporting entrepreneurship that renews systems responsibly; and shaping markets that remain fair, inclusive and sustainable.
We keep sustainability and the climate at the forefront of everything we do, because environmental challenges remain urgent and central, even as AI reshapes the way we work. In 2026, I am looking for leadership that refuses to treat AI and sustainability as competing priorities.
As part of this change, there are important generational elements. At Davos, on the panel “Youth as System Builders”, I spoke about the responsibility institutions have to prepare younger generations to lead amid disruption. We must equip them to navigate uncertainty and change rather than remain tied to legacy systems but also empower them to be drivers of change.
The balancing act
With AI now deeply embedded in business practices, effective leadership requires a delicate balance. Leaders must balance efficiency with meaning, autonomy with accountability, and short-term gains with long-term purpose.
Business leaders who prioritise efficiency alone risk damaging their employees’ well-being and losing the creativity that drives innovation. Yet leaders who instead focus solely on purpose may then struggle to remain competitive in markets where AI is making it easier than ever to move faster and more decisively. The leaders who will stand out in 2026 will be those who can successfully navigate these tensions.
At INSEAD, our goal is to equip people at every stage with the entrepreneurial mindset, digital fluency, and ethical grounding needed to reinvent themselves and their organisations over time.
This is why business education must evolve. Learning cannot be a one-off experience but must become a lifelong partner, enabling people to return, recalibrate and re-engage as the world shifts.
At INSEAD, this is already shaping how we design programmes that combine entrepreneurial thinking, digital fluency and ethical grounding, ensuring leaders can reinvent themselves and their organisations over time. New programmes such as our Master in Finance are being designed to reflect the reality of AI-driven banking and finance, combining technical AI learning with deep technical mastery, interpersonal skills and an international perspective. Our aim is to prepare future leaders for whatever changes they come up against in the future. The same lenses are guiding the evolution of our flagship MBA and all other programmes.
Using AI to connect
AI will also redefine how learning happens. In 2026, I expect to see more immersive, interactive and personalised learning experiences, used as a tool to deepen human exchange, not to replace it.
We are already experimenting with this through immersive learning initiatives that transform written case studies into AI-powered, interactive experiences. Learners engage with AI-generated protagonists, make decisions in real time and receive immediate feedback on their performance.
These approaches point towards a future where learning is more experiential, reflective and connected to real-world complexity. AI driven transformation will be entrepreneurial by nature, opening new pathways for experimentation and innovation.
Our faculty have been building capabilities in AI for decades. They turn research and insights from students and executives into tools with immediate value. Recent examples include Xavier AI, the first AI strategy consultant; Lexarius, a platform that provides tailored “real-play” conversations to help people develop critical skills; and the world’s largest encyclopaedic knowledge portal Botipedia, built under the INSEAD Human and Machine Intelligence Institute (HUMII), which uses human-machine collaboration to enhance decision-making and human agency.
Why diversity will matter even more
In a world where AI adapts to the individual, and we face geopolitical divides, the value of diverse perspectives – whether cultural, professional or generational – becomes even more critical.
At Davos, I found the depth of engagement across the INSEAD community striking. It was our largest delegation at the Forum to date, including Professors Alexandra Roulet, Theodoros Evgeniou, Subramanian Rangan, Ilze Kivleniece and Nobel Laureate Philippe Aghion. A particular highlight for me was coming together with more than 100 alumni at a special event organised by two MBA graduates: Isabel Hoffmann MBA’23D and Alexander Hoffmann MBA’21D.
To become an effective leader, we believe a global classroom, with a rich mix of backgrounds and experiences, is essential. Surrounding yourself with diverse perspectives challenges assumptions, broadens thinking and prepares leaders to navigate complexity in a fragmented world.
In moments when political and institutional channels fall short, INSEAD’s heritage reminds us that business leaders can – and must – help to bridge divides. Since its founding vision of bringing people together from across nations and perspectives, INSEAD has stood for dialogue, understanding and responsible leadership.
Through our teaching and research, and through the global reach of our community, we will continue to equip leaders not only to navigate a more fragmented world but to actively contribute to peace, trust, and cooperation across borders.
We also know how important it is to put theory into practice. That’s why, at INSEAD, we are enhancing our educational offering, advancing research and turning insight into influence by convening thought leaders, policy makers, industry pioneers and alumni to ignite high-impact collaborations to ensure inclusive and responsible progress.
The work flows both ways: we invite insights from partners and markets inform programmes and studies, and offer classroom and research outputs to industry.
Thoughtful progress
Ultimately, what I am looking for in 2026 is progress that is thoughtful rather than rushed, innovative rather than extractive, and ambitious without losing sight of people or planet. It is also a year in which we can progress beyond being constrained by geopolitics. One where political tension neither paralysis decision-making nor escalate into unwarranted commercial or economic conflicts, but are met with dialogue, cooperation and responsible leadership.
If we get this right, business schools can play a defining role in shaping leaders who do not help to steer change in a way that’s responsible, inclusive and purposeful.
In 2026, that is the conversation I intend to keep pushing forward.