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Dealmaking, deregulation and threats to global trade are expected to dominate the conversation among executives gathered in Davos this week, as Donald Trump’s return to the White House shifts the focus of business leaders away from social issues. to growth.

Many of the top executives due to travel to the Swiss Alps for the annual meeting of global decision makers at the World Economic Forum will first attend events in Washington to mark Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

The incoming US president, who is scheduled to address the Davos meeting later this week via video link, has promised to sign several executive orders upon taking office, including measures to increase US energy production and cut the red tape.

“It’s all about growth”, said Simon Freakley, chief executive of consultancy AlixPartners. “Every investor worships at the altar of growth, every CEO serves at the altar of growth and thinks about how to drive growth in this environment.”

The prospect of a Trump administration has boosted corporate optimism in the US, where the economy has outperformed most of the rest of the world and its stock markets are near record highs. A survey of 900 experts from academia, business and government conducted by the WEF ahead of this week’s event showed a sharp decline in perceived risks from an economic downturn or increase in inflation compared to this time last year.

However, the potential impact of Trump’s promised trade tariffs has become a major cause for concern. The survey shows that “geoeconomic confrontation” is now considered one of the biggest risks in the next two years.

“I expect the WEF to be dominated by geopolitical uncertainty”, said Christian Klein, chief executive of the German software company SAP. “As we navigate the challenges and opportunities of 2025, adjusting to new regulatory policies will also be a top priority.”

Jim Rowan, chief executive of Volvo Cars, which is majority owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, said the world was becoming “more chaotic and complex”. He acknowledged the disruption caused by trade tensions, as well as the need for decarbonization and delivering on the promise of AI.

Huw van Steenis, vice-chair of management consultancy Oliver Wyman, said that Davos attendees were “rarely divided in their views on investment”.

“Among US financiers, there is a shared narrative of animal spirits and deal momentum,” he said. “Whether the new Trump administration will increase American exceptionalism and diversity from Europe and China is on almost everyone’s mind.”

As the world prepares for Trump’s second term, regular Davos attendees expect to see a change in tone, despite an official program full of sessions on issues from the clean technology to water use to LGBTQI+ rights. Trump’s swearing-in ceremony is set to clash with Davos’ opening event on Monday: a concert to highlight the threat facing Antarctica’s glaciers.

“We expect a rebalancing of the agenda at Davos this year because, in the end, CEOs want to get things done”, said Christoph Schweizer, global chief executive of the Boston Consulting Group. The main priorities, he said, are productivity, generating returns from AI, and preparing for more M&A activity.

For decades the Davos conflab has been a fixture on the corporate calendar and an opportunity to set the tone for the coming year.

The list of nearly 3,000 attendees this week included Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Albert Bourla of Pfizer, Marc Benioff of Salesforce and James Quincey of Coca-Cola. Among the world leaders who will take the stage are European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Argentina’s Javier Milei, who will arrive after he attends Trump’s inauguration.

But the event has faced increasing questioning about its purpose, with critics complaining that it fails to reflect the conversations taking place in the real world.

A Davos regular said he did not attend this year because it was “too expensive given the value proposition” and “not very important”. A Silicon Valley executive who has attended regularly in the past said this year’s gathering was “completely overshadowed” by the inauguration, adding: “What Trump said was more important than anything else there.”