• The Infiniti QX80 is a full-size luxury SUV that competes with the Lexus LX and Cadillac Escalade.
• I recently drove a 2025 QX80 in the lower-mid-tier Luxe trim.
• I was impressed by the SUV's eye-catching looks, luxurious high-tech cabin, and quiet ride.

The third-generation Infiniti QX80 got some much-needed updates in 2024 to help it remain competitive against industry heavyweights like the Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, and Lexus LX.

I recently reviewed a four-wheel-drive QX80 SUV with an as-tested price of $99,195. I was impressed by the QX's eye-catching looks, luxurious, high-tech cabin, and smooth ride.

The base rear-wheel-drive QX80 starts at $82,450, while the top-spec 4WD variant starts at $110,595. My lower-mid-tier four-wheel-drive Luxe trim test car starts at $92,650.

Here are 18 features that show why the QX80 is a stylish Japanese alternative to the Escalade.

Luxurious cabin

The QX80's cabin is luxurious, roomy, and loaded with tech. The new interior is a big step forward compared to the outgoing model.

I was impressed by Infiniti's excellent mix of materials in the cabin and the quality of the fit and finish. The dual 14.3-inch screen atop the front dash looked great. Unfortunately, the 9-inch touch control screen is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, it's a tidy way to organize a maze of controls, but it's far less intuitive to use than physical buttons would be.

Apart from that, interior ergonomics are solid, there's plenty of storage, and the 64-color configurable ambient lighting looks great.

Eye-catching looks

The design of the new QX80 is bold enough to hold your attention but doesn't veer into the garish. It features the latest interpretation of Infiniti's Artistry in Motion design language, highlighted by a large double-arch front grille inspired by bamboo forests.

Twin-turbo power

Under the hood is a 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 that produces 450 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. It replaces the previous generation's naturally aspirated V8. The VR series V6 is velvety smooth and feels eager to deliver its power.

My QX80 Luxe test car boasts EPA fuel economy ratings of 16 mpg city, 19 mpg highway, and 17 mpg combined.

Air suspension

My test car came with an electronic air suspension system. The suspension can be lowered by 1.2 inches to improve aerodynamics while driving and 2.8 inches for easier ingress and egress. In off-road mode, it can be raised 2.1 inches over its normal ride height to help clear obstacles.

Digital driver's cockpit

In front of the driver is a 14.3 digital instrument display and a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel. The high-quality configurable gauge display is augmented by an optional head-up display.

New infotainment system

The QX80's 14.3-inch touchscreen is equipped with Nissan/Infiniti's latest InTouch infotainment system, which is elegantly designed and easy to navigate. The system features built-in Google Maps, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard.

Comfortable driver's seat

The Infiniti's tan leather-upholstered seats were soft, supportive, and offered great adjustability. However, the heated and ventilated driver's seat in my test car did not have the optional massage function, although the passenger seat did.

Luxurious second row

QX80s also come standard with the second-row captain's chairs. The QX80's second-row seats are heated, power-operated, and come with a solid 39-inch legroom.

Second-row passengers also have access to their own climate controls and a handful of USB sockets. The top tier Autograph trim comes with massaging seats.

Spacious third row

Third-row passengers have a generous 32.9-inch legroom, roughly the same amount of space you get in coach on a plane. The 60/40 split third-row bench comfortably accommodates two adults, but things get tight if you try to squeeze three people back there.

Panoramic Moonroof

All QX80s come with a panoramic glass moonroof.

Expansive cargo room.

Open the liftgate, and you'll find a stout 22.3 cubic feet of cargo space. With the third row folded, cargo space expands to 59 cubic feet. Fold down the second row, and you'll get a cavernous 101 cubic feet of room.

There's a small underfloor storage area behind the third row.

Remote start

All QX80s come with remote engine start, which is activated by pressing the "curved arrow" on its key fob.

Klipsch premium audio

My QX80 Luxe test car came with a sweet-sounding, 14-speaker, 600-watt Klipsch audio system. Higher-tier Sensory and Autograph models get an even more powerful, 1,200-watt, 24-speaker Klipsch premium audio system. Autograph models even get stylish metal-trimmed speakers built into their front headrests.

Invisible hood view

The QX80's camera system includes a new invisible hood view that allows the driver to see what is immediately in front of and underneath the front of the vehicle. This feature is great for squeezing into tight parking spots or even when off-roading.

Around view monitor

The QX80 comes standard with a 3D Around View Monitor system, which is handy for maneuvering in tight spaces. It also has a new three-dimensional spin feature that lets you see the vehicle's surroundings from eight pre-selected angles.

Towing

The QX80 is rated to tow up to an impressive 8,500 lbs with an integrated class IV tow-hitch and seven-pin wiring harness.

The SUV also comes with a special drive mode geared for towing, while its rearview camera and blind spot warning are designed to assist with hitching up a trailer and ensure safe driving while trailering.

Easy cargo loading

Infiniti's flagship SUV comes standard with its smart handsfree liftgate that activates by kicking your leg under the rear bump. Once the liftgate is open, you can lower the height of the vehicle by 2.8 inches to make loading cargo easier.

Safety tech

The QX80 comes standard with adaptive cruise control and lane-centering technology. You can upgrade to ProPilot Assist 2.1, which allows drivers to take their hands off the steering in certain highway driving conditions.

• A global job crisis is brewing, Singapore's president warned in a World Economic Forum panel.
• About 1.2 billion new workers will be competing for 400 million jobs over the next decade, he said.
• Tharman Shanmugaratnam called for an overhaul of education and labor force training to help workers.

Singapore's president says a global job crisis is looming, and tackling it will require governments around the world to reimagine how they educate, train, and care for their workers.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam sounded the alarm during a Wednesday panel titled "Closing the Jobs Gap" at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He delivered a wide-ranging monologue in the session moderated by Business Insider's editor in chief, Jamie Heller.

Shanmugaratnam — an economist with degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics — said that roughly 1.2 billion people from developing and emerging nations are set to enter the global workforce over the next decade, but only 400 million new jobs are projected to be created in that period.

If another 800 million people wind up underemployed or fully unemployed, it won't just be an economic, social, and political nightmare — it will represent a "crisis of social compact" and a "crisis of hope, of self-belief and dignity, and a crisis of solidarity," he said.

Narrowing the jobs gap will require "shaping human potential through life," from the crucial first three years of a child's life to what they learn in school and at work, Shanmugaratnam said.

He flagged the mismatch between the overly academic and insufficiently technical education provided by many universities, and the skills that employers demand, which has left many graduates jobless and could leave a "whole generation feeling the system has failed them."

He also underscored the need to equip workers with the breadth of abilities and soft skills necessary to excel in their careers.

AI and informal work

Shanmugaratnam has held top-level government positions focused on human resources, education, finance, and economic and social policies during his career.

At Davos, he discussed the rise of artificial intelligence and the prospect that the technology could lead to mass displacement of workers.

He called for governments and employers to continually invest in workers to increase the chances that AI complements their skills instead of rendering them obsolete. He also urged authorities to take care of workers replaced by the tech.

Shanmugaratnam also flagged that the vast majority of workers in the developing world are in the informal sector, so they lack job security, have no opportunity to develop their skills, and are underemployed.

He called for other countries to follow Singapore's example and give gig workers benefits such as workplace injury compensation and social security, and ensure employers build up their workforce's skills over time.

• Alessandro Palombo has lived in Dubai and he's launched two businesses in Singapore.
• He said people in Dubai often display their wealth, while Singapore has billionaires in flip-flops.
• The lifestyle in Dubai can be transient, meanwhile, Singapore can feel small, he said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Alessandro Palombo, 36, an entrepreneur based in Lisbon, about doing business in Dubai and Singapore. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I lived in Dubai for around four years, and I have two businesses in Singapore.

I started my career in the legal field but pivoted into startups. I currently live in Lisbon and focus on running a fund advisor for a Golden Visa fund helping non-Europeans gain residency and citizenship in Portugal.

I first moved to Dubai in 2019. I used the city as my headquarters and often traveled from there for work and my startups. I had team members in Asia, so there was good connectivity from Dubai to them. I also frequently visited Singapore for business trips.

I launched two businesses, including a fund advisor, in Singapore in 2024. I travel frequently to manage both companies and plan to spend at least a quarter of my time there moving forward.

Having experienced life in both Dubai and Singapore, here is a comparison of what I think of both locations. Overall, I think they are both great places for doing business. Dubai is better suited for doing business with Europe or the US, and Singapore is a great place if you're doing business in Asia.

Displays of luxury are more understated in Singapore than in Dubai

People in Dubai often display their wealth, while in Singapore, there were billionaires in flip-flops — it's more understated.

In Dubai, you can get lost among hundreds of luxury shops at the Dubai Mall. It shows you the best of every luxury brand in one place.

While luxury is embedded into a holiday experience in Dubai, it isn't at the center of your experience when you live there. When visiting for a week, you're typically taken to high-end attractions and restaurants, but living in Dubai reveals its more grounded side. You can dine in more authentic Lebanese restaurants for 25 euros, around the same in dollars a head.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, I've personally met more wealthy and powerful people than I did in Dubai. This could be due to coincidences around my network, but I have a feeling it attracts more people who have already made it as opposed to people who are trying to make it. I've met several wealthy people who were dressed in ordinary clothes but had significant assets, including luxury cars.

In Dubai, business meetings often happen in lavish offices, but in Singapore, I've seen more personal touches, like a CEO's private room with an extraordinary cigar collection and premium liquor — items that reflect wealth but aren't immediately visible.

Consider where your clients are based when deciding which city is best for your business

I think both locations are great for digital nomads and entrepreneurs.

In Dubai, the killer value proposition is 0% personal income tax. It's one of the very rare places in the world where your earnings, capital gains, and dividends are not taxed. It's a major advantage for people who have wealth to preserve and for digital nomads. However, there is a 5% VAT.

If you're doing business with Europe or the US, Dubai would be a better fit because of the time zone.

Meanwhile, Singapore offers an unmatched ease of doing business in Asia without the language barriers present in countries like China, where Mandarin is essential. However, if you have clients in Europe, the time difference can make things difficult.

In Singapore, personal income tax is reasonable, and there are thoughtful tax exemptions for startups. Plus, there is no capital gains tax or foreign-source income tax. Singapore is such an efficient city. Compared to Dubai, it's faster to open a bank account. The tax guidelines are clear, and they enable you to do business easily.

That said, there are challenges around entrepreneurship in both locations. In Dubai, pathways for securing a visa can involve establishing a company or obtaining a freelance license. While feasible, it's more complex than it appears, and it's often useful to have assistance from trusted local partners. In Singapore, incorporation is straightforward, but obtaining the required Employment Pass involves additional steps.

There are some potential downsides to life in both cities.

In Dubai, I think the lifestyle can be quite transient. There's a large expat population, and since many people see their time there as temporary, it can limit deep connections.

I'd avoid the hottest summer months in Dubai. If you open your door in July, it's like a huge hairdryer blowing hot air on you. Meanwhile, in Singapore, it's hot and humid all year round. In both places, expect to be spending a lot of time in buildings with air conditioning.

Both cities can be expensive, but I think Singapore is more expensive, particularly the cost of cars and real estate.

Singapore is also a very small city. In Lisbon, where I live now, I can drive to many beautiful places in my car like beaches and hiking spaces, but in Singapore, you don't have to drive for long before you've left Singapore and are entering Malaysia. In the medium to long term, you may feel the smallness of the space. I haven't lived in Singapore, but when I visit, I often end up in the same four or five streets.

Overall, Singapore and Dubai are great examples of international hubs, and I really like both cities.

Do you want to share a review of cities you've lived in for work and business purposes? Email [email protected]

• CATL's co-chairman said EVs in China have gotten a new label: EIV.
• The term stands for "electric intelligent vehicles," Pan Jian said at a Davos panel on Tuesday.
• China's EV industry has seen an influx of affordable vehicles like the Xiaomi SU7 which are packed with AI technology.

There's a new buzzword in China's electric vehicle industry.

Pan Jian, the co-chairman of battery manufacturer and key Tesla supplier CATL, told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday that China's automakers were shunning traditional EVs for "EIVs," or Electric Intelligent Vehicles.

"We actually no longer call it EV. We call it EIV. 'I' stands for intelligent," Pan said at a session moderated by Business Insider editor in chief Jamie Heller. Other speakers included Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm and South African science minister Bonginkosi Emmanuel "Blade" Nzimande.

Pan said the reason China's EV market is booming is because there's a "perfect marriage between E and I."

"E enables I, so that offers a whole suite of new features to consumers, which cannot be offered with traditional combustion engine cars," he said.

A spokesperson for CATL said that the term "EIV" was not yet widespread in China, but was growing in popularity.

China's booming EV market has seen an influx of affordable models that are packed with high-tech extras in recent years.

Smartphone maker Xiaomi rolled out its $30,000 SU7 sedan, which comes with advanced autonomous driving features and voice recognition that allows drivers to control household appliances from their car, in March, while EV startup Xpeng described its $26,000 P7+ electric car, which released in November, as the world's first "AI-defined" vehicle.

Not to be outdone, other automakers have invested heavily in intelligent technology, with Tesla rival BYD announcing last January it would spend $14 billion on AI and self-driving technology for its vehicles.

Zoe Zhang, an analyst at energy consultancy Rho Motion, told BI the term "EIV" had become broadly common in China, as automakers battle to stay relevant in the country's brutally competitive EV market by offering more advanced cockpit systems and software.

"I think more and more, the car manufacturers are going to be really competing over the user experience," said Zhang.

She said that Chinese automakers are investing heavily in making their EVs more intelligent and building their own hardware, such as chips.

"It's easier to incorporate those intelligent functions on EVs than traditional combustion engine vehicles because of the chips," Zhang said, adding that this was one of the reasons Chinese consumer electronics companies like Xiaomi and Huawei have pivoted into EVs.

Speaking at Davos, CATL co-chairman Pan also hailed China's talent pool of software engineers, nurtured by homegrown companies like Xiaomi, Alibaba, and Tencent, saying it has given China's EV industry an edge.

His comments come as EV sales in China are set to rise 20% this year to more than 12 million, outpacing conventional car sales for the first time.

• Dexter Zhuang hit Coast FIRE, meaning he doesn't have to contribute any more money to his nest egg.
• He still has to earn income to cover his daily living expenses and expects to work into his 60s.
• Coast FIRE, which he hit with a simple strategy, has provided peace of mind and career flexibility.

Dexter Zhuang has achieved what's known as "Coast FIRE," an offshoot of the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement.

It's defined as having enough in your retirement accounts that you don't have to contribute any more money — the current amount will grow and compound enough over time, allowing you to "coast" into retirement.

Zhuang calculated his Coast FIRE number using an online calculator that allows you to input assumptions such as your current age, expected retirement age, annual spending in retirement, and invested assets. BI verified that he hit his six-figure number, which he prefers not to share, by looking at investment account screenshots and statements.

He still has to earn enough to cover his day-to-day expenses, but he doesn't mind working — and expects to do so well into his 60s.

"I don't see myself as someone who wants to retire early and stop working. The retirement age that I put into the Coast FIRE calculator is 67," said Zhuang, whose career has included a high-paying Silicon Valley job and working at growth-stage startups. He said his average cash compensation, including base salary and bonuses, was $133,000 between 2013 and 2022.

In 2023, he walked away from his 9-to-5 career to grow his newsletter, Money Abroad, and do freelance consulting for startup CEOs.

For Zhuang, the appeal of Coast FIRE was the peace of mind and career flexibility that it provided. Knowing he didn't have to worry about retirement allowed him to "pursue a different type of work, career path, and to experiment with something different," he said.

The 33-year-old has lived in San Francisco and Singapore throughout his career and currently resides in Mexico City with his wife. He shared the investment strategy that's allowing him to coast into retirement.

Investing early and diversifying over time

Zhuang started putting his money to work in his early 20s after landing his first full-time job as a product manager. He kept things simple, he said: "When I started investing after college, I was mainly buying boring index funds through my 401(k) retirement account and my taxable brokerage account."

Over time, he diversified his portfolio and, as of January 2025, has his money spread across various asset classes.

His portfolio is, roughly, "15% cash, 65% public equities, 15% real estate and REITs, and 5% more high-risk assets," he said. "My current strategy isn't anything fancy. It's long-term orientation, so investing based on a 10 plus year time horizon. I consider myself moderately aggressive on the risk spectrum."

Cash

Zhuang keeps about 15% of his money in four-week Treasury bills or a high-yield savings account. This is emergency fund money and also, "a fund that my wife and I have saved for starting a family in the future," he said.

Stocks

Public equities make up the majority, 65%, of Zhuang's portfolio.

"My distribution is around 75% US stocks and 25% non-US stocks," he said. "On the US stock side, my portfolio's gotten a bit messier over the years, so it includes a number of different US stock indexes, like VTSAX, which is the total stock market index. I also have some VOO, which is the S&P 500, and VXF, which is the mid- and small-cap. So, what I try to do is diversify a mix of the large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap within US. Within non-US, I have funds like VTIAX, which is the international stock index, and the VXUS, which is similar; it's all the non-US international markets."

He prefers index fund investing over stock picking for a few reasons.

One, he'll probably get better returns than he would if he attempted to pick individual stocks, he said: "I don't think I'm going to succeed where professional, active investors have failed in terms of stock picking."

Two, he prefers the passive, hands-off approach that index fund investing allows.

Even if he could beat the market picking stocks, "I wouldn't want to spend the time really diving into individual stocks," he said. "I see money as a tool so that I don't have to spend a whole lot of time in the spreadsheet. I value the balance of building wealth for the future versus enjoying my current lifestyle."

Real estate

Zhuang doesn't want to own and operate properties but recognizes the benefit of having real estate make up a portion of his portfolio.

He owns REITs — real estate investment trusts — which are companies that own real estate. Like stock, investors can purchase shares in REITs.

"My preference is to not have to own the actual, physical property, so I don't have to manage it," Zhuang said. "That's why I prefer to go with the REITs approach, for diversification purposes."

High-risk investments

A small percentage of his portfolio is invested in startups and crypto. Zhuang calls this his "fun money bucket," and keeps it at about 5% of his portfolio.

"In 2021, during the crypto boom, I did allocate a bit more toward crypto," he said. "But since then I've reduced my holdings to this small portion of my portfolio because I realized this is an incredibly volatile asset and, ultimately, I was just speculating."

• I loved living in Portland, Oregon, in college and my early 20s — I thought I'd stay there forever.
• However, a temporary move to Baker City, a small town in rural Oregon, shifted my mindset.
• I moved there once I'd had enough of Portland's noise, big-city vibes, and cost of living.

I grew up in a small town in Oregon and couldn't wait to pack my bags and head to Portland for college.

The city seemed to have everything I could need: bustling streets, museums, art, culture, and an abundance of good food.

And for years, Portland was the perfect lively place for a young adult like me. I enjoyed living there while attending Portland State University, a campus in the heart of downtown surrounded by both trees and skyscrapers.

I spent most mornings jogging along the Willamette River and across the city's many bridges. On weekends, I could tour the local farmers market, visit a botanical garden, eat at tons of different food trucks, or even head to popular spots like Powell's City of Books or chains like Voodoo Doughnut.

I swore I'd never leave my beloved city, but I later realized doing so was the best option for me.

At first, I thought I just needed a temporary break from Portland

The summer after I graduated from college, I needed some time to regroup without feeling rushed to decide my next step.

The go-getter in me was feeling burned out, I missed my family, and I knew I couldn't slow down and just breathe while living in Portland.

The city felt so busy, and the high cost of living was tough to manage as a single person living on my own. I'd have to work full-time — and maybe even take on another job — just to make ends meet.

So, I packed my bags and headed five hours east to Baker City, a small town in rural Oregon where members of my family lived.

Affordable, quaint, and quiet, Baker City was just the break I needed. Soon enough, though, I missed the buzz of Portland and the convenience of having a wide variety of shops and restaurants at my fingertips.

After a few months, I returned to Portland to start graduate school.

However, my mental health took a turn when I returned to Portland

Although I was surrounded by people in the city, I felt incredibly lonely. My anxiety and depression were worsening by the day, and I was battling panic attacks, paranoia, and suicidal ideations.

Therapy wasn't helping, and neither were the antidepressants. Most days, I struggled to get dressed and leave my apartment.

I craved community, less noise, and more peace. Soon, I realized I only experienced those things when I was visiting family in Baker City.

Unlike before, the small town's slow pace seemed appealing to me. Plus, the lower cost of living could help alleviate some of my stress.

I knew I had to make a change to improve my well-being, so I left Portland for good and moved to Baker City.

My small town allows me to live the life of simplicity I desire

I now live in Baker City with my partner and pet Husky and work as a full-time yoga teacher and writer.

As I've gotten older, I realized I no longer want to be around crowds — and having too many choices for restaurants, shops, and events feels more overwhelming than desirable.

There are more small businesses than there are chains here, but I love it. Most of the local business owners know me by name and often ask how I'm doing.

Restaurant options are limited, but I still eat well. We have several ranches and farms we can locally source food from. Plus, I've started gardening and enjoy growing my own food.

Although Baker City's population of about 10,000 is a far cry from the over half a million people in Portland, my smaller community feels much tighter.

I can't remember the last time I felt lonely. Of all the years I lived in Portland, I never had as easy of a time making friends as I have here.

We have a large art and music community, many outdoor activities, and annual events. Baker City also gets lots of sunshine and less rain than Portland, which has also been beneficial to my mental health.

Portland will forever have a piece of my heart, but not like Baker City does. I love the simple yet beautiful life I've cultivated here over the past three years and wouldn't trade it for the world.

• My family moved from the US to Barcelona six years ago.
• I went from being a helicopter parent to letting my child explore the world independently.
• I went from asking where my kid was to does my kid know where I am?

When I lived in the United States, I was a helicopter mom. At the park, I followed my preschooler like a linebacker, ready to catch him if he fell. If I lost sight of him, I'd panic.

That changed six years ago when my family moved to Barcelona. During our first spring here, we attended a Catalan calçotada, a community gathering where you barbecue green onions.

My son's friends were climbing a tree. Naturally, my then-5-year-old joined in. Once he reached the top, the local parents started clapping. But they weren't clapping for my kid. They were clapping for me. For once, I hadn't intervened. I let my kid be a kid.

This hands-off parenting has endured. Today, my 11-year-old son picks up groceries, plays in the park, and commutes 30 minutes from school — all without adult supervision. But this shift didn't happen overnight. Spain's social climate and infrastructure provided us the opportunities to grow.

Independence is fostered from an early age

Restaurants here often have playgrounds or open squares nearby, with outdoor seating so parents can socialize while their kids play. When an American friend asked who watches the kids, I joked, "They run feral."

In Spain, I don't ask: "Where's my kid?" Instead, I ask: "Does my kid know where I am?" The restaurant table is the hub. If my son gets hurt, another child will run and find me. Otherwise, the kids sort issues out by themselves while we sip wine.

Schools here encourage independence early with annual multi-day rural trips for students starting at ages 5 or 6. When my son first went, I was nervous — who would remind him to pee or comfort him at night? I over-prepared, packing labeled outfits, only to find he wore the same clothes for three days. Did he reek? Yes. Did he survive? Also yes.

To be sure, this independence hasn't turned my son into an angel. He still complains when we ask him to set the table and would happily choose his iPad over park time, but independent actions give him a sense of agency.

Me being overprotective wasn't helping my kid

Since age 10, he has taken the city train home from school by himself. My American sisters (also moms) are shocked. "How brave," they told me. But here, it's normal thanks to supportive infrastructure like the FGC transportation system, which dedicates specific public train carriages to school children during rush hour. After a few months of practice in this train cocoon, he now takes the train alone whenever and wherever he needs it.

"One of the reasons it's easier in Spain is because the social norm is, obviously, to put your kid on the train," Lenore Skenazy, president of Let Grow, the nonprofit promoting childhood independence, told Business Insider.

The contrast with the US is striking. Half of the parents of kids ages 9 to 11 won't even let their children go to another aisle in a supermarket alone, according to a poll by the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, and only 33% allow them to walk or bike to a friend's house alone.

This overprotectiveness leads to learned helplessness. Previously, my son would zone out during our train journeys together. Since he started commuting on his own, he's become more vigilant. Now, when we travel together, he's the one making sure we don't miss our stop.

In the US, there has been an alarming increase in anxiety and depression in children. To combat this, psychologists urge parents to give kids the freedom to roam, explore, and make choices without parental oversight.

"The only thing I've seen that changes parents here in America is not statistics," Skenazy said. "It's simply seeing their kid has done something without them."

Skenazy suggests coordinating with schools to adopt the Let Grow Project, a homework assignment that asks kids to do one thing by themselves (from frying an egg to biking solo to school). The children document this on a leaf-shaped paper, which is displayed publicly.

My son's journey toward independence began with a tree. Collect enough leaves, and soon, your children could have a tree of their own.

• This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Good morning. Hallam Bullock here, writing to you from London. President Donald Trump has ordered staff members overseeing DEI efforts to be placed on leave by 5 p.m. ET today while he dismantles their departments.

The new administration has had a busy start. In today's big story, we're looking at DOGE officially being established, but it doesn't look like the same department that was promised.

What's on deck

Markets: The SEC is rolling out the very first crypto task force.

Tech: Trump announced an up to $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank.

Business: It's about to get a lot harder to buy knock-off Ozempic.

But first, whose DOGE is this?

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

A different kind of DOGE

Trump wasted no time establishing the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE).

Announced after his win in November, DOGE promised to "provide advice and guidance from outside of government" to help roll back bad regulations and slash government spending. It would also be helmed by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The pair had big plans.

But the DOGE that was signed into life via executive order on Monday is markedly different, BI's Jack Newsham, Alice Tecotzky, and Brent Griffiths write. It's now officially part of the White House, rather than operating as an outside advisory committee.

The executive order also didn't create a new department, but rather renamed another — DOGE will replace the Obama-era US Digital Service (USDS), a unit that primarily works on improving government websites and tech. The USDS's unit had grown to more than 200 people, while Musk's new team is reported to consist of 20 staff.

Oh, and Ramaswamy is no longer a co-leader. Instead of running the group with Musk, he's expected to run for governor of Ohio, according to various media reports.

So, why all the changes?

Experts said bringing DOGE inside the federal government could avoid legal headaches (minutes after Trump became president, DOGE was hit with three lawsuits). But it also raises new issues. DOGE is now subject to new transparency and ethical rules, particularly around public information laws.

Being part of the government also means Musk can't use his private fortune to fund DOGE's operations — though one expert told BI that there would likely be easy ways for Musk to get around those limits.

DOGE's mission, per the executive order, is now to "implement the President's DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."

Meanwhile, Trump's Office of Personnel Management is making moves reminiscent of DOGE's initial goals: asking federal agencies to put together lists of workers they could easily fire.

Dan in Davos

Grüezi! With the US presidential inauguration behind us, things are definitely in full swing here in Davos, Switzerland. (Although Washington continues to turn heads back west thanks to the latest announcement about investing in AI infrastructure.)

The streets are filling up and some high-profile guests are arriving, either to conduct business, make appearances, or do a little bit of both.

My colleague Spriha Srivastava met David Beckham, who was in town to receive an award for his philanthropic work. Meanwhile, I had the chance to moderate a roundtable hosted by Mastercard that included McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.

Fresh off winning the 2024 Constructors' Cup Championship, McLaren's first since 1998, Brown talked about the work done to bring the team back to the top of the podium.

Naturally, we had to touch on AI. (This is Davos, after all.) And while McLaren continues to look at ways to use the tech, Brown made clear the human touch remains key for critical, split-second decisions. In short, you won't see Norris subbed out for an autonomous car anytime soon.

It hasn't all been about AI. I also had an interesting chat with Lisa Stevens, Aon's chief administrative officer, who is passionate about the benefits of companies making GLP-1's more accessible to their workers.

Stevens' hypothesis is employee access to GLP-1s would reduce absenteeism and increase productivity and engagement. (She'll get a first-hand view this year as Aon offers GLP-1s and a complimentary program to its North American employees at a reduced rate.)

Many companies find the cost of the drug deterring, but Stevens believes that the other benefits will actually reduce those expenses over time.

"Because now you're not dealing with all sorts of other health issues that will come into play," Stevens told me. "So that's what we're trying to demonstrate and prove."

Here's the rest of our roundup from Day 2 at Davos.

News brief

Top headlines

• Trump gave Beijing a one-day break before saying he could hit China with tariffs starting in February.
• Union leaders say Trump requiring federal employees to return to the office is a bad idea.
• Trump said new tariffs on Canada and Mexico could arrive within days. Here's what Americans should know about his trade plans.
• Trailblazing US Coast Guard leader becomes first top military officer fired after Trump takes office.
• Trump's mass deportation plan could drain over $20 billion annually from Social Security.
• Google's investment chief sees a 'tremendous amount of opportunity' to work with Trump 2.0.
• Meta executives try to reassure advertisers after CEO Mark Zuckerberg's free speech makeover.
• Elon Musk had a pre-inauguration meeting with China, lining him up as a Trump-Beijing intermediary.
• Tulsi Gabbard went MAGA. Now she's raking in cash.

3 things in markets

1. The SEC launches a crypto task force. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced it's rolling out a crypto task force, which will help "draw clear regulatory lines" in the space. It'll be led by Hester Peirce, the SEC Commissioner Trump appointed in his first term. Digital assets saw a nice bump on Tuesday afternoon as the market responded to the news.

2. A famed bubble-spotter predicts the year in real estate. Last year was the toughest for first-time home buyers since the 1980s, but analyst Ivy Zelman thinks there are a few reasons to be hopeful in 2025. (Just don't get too excited about mortgage rates — they're unlikely to come down anytime soon.)

3. Trump's meme coin is no joke — sort of. The launch of $Trump could cause problems for crypto, with some industry leaders worried the high-profile meme coin could hurt the industry's credibility. Also, while Trump is now a crypto billionaire on paper, the president will have a hard time if he ever decides to cash out.

3 things in tech

1. Big Tech's TikTok turmoil. TikTok is back — but not for all US app stores, despite Trump's executive order delaying the sell-or-ban law. He's promised tech giants like Apple and Google that he won't enforce it, seemingly making them choose between trusting the president or following the law. Meanwhile, legal analysts say Trump's order might not be enough to return TikTok to app stores.

2. Trump goes big on AI. The president announced on Tuesday an up to $500 billion AI infrastructure investment involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. The trio will work together to create a venture named Stargate, which Trump called: "the largest AI infrastructure project in history." But he'll need chips, talent, and fuel to make it work.

3. Layoffs most fowl. Payments platform Stripe laid off 300 employees, or about 3.5% of its staff, according to a leaked internal memo obtained by BI. Some of those axed got a "quack" surprise in their layoff emails thanks to an unfortunate admin flub.

3 things in business

1. Netflix knocks it out of the park. The streamer added 19 million paid subscribers in Q4, the most in its history, and exceeded earnings expectations. Netflix's shares rose as much as 15% in after-hours trading as investors celebrated. It's not all rainbows and sunshine for subscribers, though — the streaming service also announced it's raising prices immediately.

2. Wall Street shake-ups. Goldman Sachs announced a series of leadership changes, including expanding the size of its management committee and elevating several executives to its top ranks. Similarly, Citigroup also recently announced changes to its technology and "crown jewel" service divisions, as two key executives are set to leave the bank.

3. So long, faux-zempic. Americans who have relied on cheap weight-loss drugs are about to face a harsh reality. The FDA is taking those drugs off its shortage list, which means it's about to get a lot harder to get off-brand Ozempic or Zepbound.settling for lower-paying jobs to pay the bills.

What's happening now

• Samsung's "Galaxy Unpacked" product launch event showcases new Galaxy devices.
• Discover, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble report earnings.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.

• President Donald Trump granted Ross Ulbricht a full and unconditional pardon on Tuesday.
• Ulbricht was the founder of Silk Road, the online drug marketplace.
• He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015.

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of online drug marketplace Silk Road, received a full and unconditional pardon on Tuesday from President Donald Trump, who announced the move in a Truth Social post.

Ulbricht has been held at the US Penitentiary in Tucson since the FBI arrested him in 2013.

The FBI described Silk Road as a "digital bazaar" for illegal goods and services that buyers and sellers accessed through Tor — a network designed to conceal its users' identity and location.

The FBI said it generated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales, as well as more than $13 million in commissions.

In 2015, a judge sentenced Ulbricht, now 40, to life in prison for drug trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering without the possibility of parole, ruling that Silk Road was "destructive to our social fabric."

Libertarian cause célèbre

Ulbricht has become a cause célèbre for the libertarian movement.

The Libertarian Party, which has long supported criminal justice reform and drug legalization, has continuously pushed for his release, viewing his life sentence as an example of government overreach.

In a speech at the Libertarian National Convention in May 2024, Trump pledged to commute Ulbricht's sentence on the first day of his administration if he was reelected president.

Trump said in his post on Tuesday that he granted Ulbricht's pardon in honor of Ulbricht's mother "and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly."

According to a 2015 Wired report, Ulbricht developed an interest in libertarian economic theory while at university and embraced the political philosophy of Ludwig von Mises, a staunch opponent of interventionism and advocate for the moral purpose of free-market capitalism.

In a letter he wrote to the trial judge in 2015, he said he created Silk Road not to seek financial gain but because he "believed at the time that people should have the right to buy and sell whatever they wanted so long as they weren't hurting anyone else."

"Silk Road was supposed to be about giving people the freedom to make their own choices, to pursue their own happiness," he added.

Ulbricht also said, "While I still don't think people should be denied this right, I never sought to create a site that would provide another avenue for people to feed their addictions."

However, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the "vast" majority of goods sold on Silk Road were illegal drugs.

Preet Bharara, the then-US Attorney for Manhattan, said at the time that: "Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who exploited people's addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people."

Ulbricht was convicted of seven offenses after a four-week jury trial and sentenced to life in prison. He was also ordered to forfeit $183,961,921.

Trump's pardoning power

In his Truth Social post, Trump called Ulbricht's sentences "ridiculous."

In a statement on Tuesday, Angela McArdle, the Libertarian National Committee Chair, thanked Trump for following through on his promise.

"I'm proud to say that saving his life has been one of our top priorities, and that has finally paid off," she said.

"This is an incredible moment in Libertarian history," McArdle added.

On Monday, Trump also issued sweeping pardons for roughly 1,500 people related to the January 6 Capitol riot, fulfilling a campaign promise to wipe clean the records of most people connected with the riot.

• The cost of a permit to climb Mount Everest will soon jump by 36%.
• A permit for the spring season will cost $15,000, up from $11,000.
• A veteran mountaineer says new prices will have little impact on people's desire to climb Everest.

Conquering Mount Everest is no easy feat for the body, mind — and the bank account.

Nepal plans to increase the price of Everest climbing permits by about 36% in the first rise for almost a decade.

Narayan Prasad Regmi, the director-general of Nepal's tourism department, told Reuters the fees "had not been reviewed for a long time. We have updated them now."

From September 1, foreigners must pay $15,000 for a climbing permit for the spring season, up from $11,00.

Permits for the less popular autumn and winter seasons will rise from $5,500 to $7,500 and $2,750 to $3,750 respectively.

The increases may be aimed at boosting Nepal's revenues, but if the intention is also to reduce the number of climbers on Everest, veteran mountaineers like Jake Meyer say it will have little impact.

Business Insider previously reported on the growing discontent in Nepal about the volume of climbers on Everest and all the trash they leave behind.

In 2024, officials began requiring climbers to carry poop bags while scaling the mountain.

"Chances are that the price increases are extremely unlikely to reduce numbers on the mountain," Meyer, who has climbed Everest twice, told Business Insider via email. "There remains an ever-increasing interest by 'climbers' from across the globe to attempt to summit the highest mountain in the world."

Meyer, who compares the costs of climbing Everest to "buying a new car," also said the price hikes may seem significant but only represent "an equivalent average increase of 3.5% a year over the last 10 years."

As the full cost of Everest expeditions can range from $40,000 to $150,000, he said new permit prices might only raise the total price of the cheapest expeditions by 10%.

Meyer added: "What is still very clear is that the 'cheaper' your ticket to climb, the higher the likelihood of death." That's a reference to the number of deaths over the past two years involving climbers or guides on relatively cheaper expeditions.

"The sad reality is that it's often the most inexperienced climbers who sign up for lowest-cost services, which are the ones which essentially require the most self-sufficiency."

• Sweden uses nighttime satellite photos to gauge Russia's economic health, said its economic minister.
• Elisabeth Svantesson said the inflation figures from Russia's central bank are an understatement.
• Images of Moscow before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine are noticeably brighter, she said.

The declining health of Russia's economy is as clear as day — or night, a finance minister said Wednesday.

Elisabeth Svantesson, the finance minister of Sweden, said she and her officials are skeptical of how Russia's official figures describe its economy.

One measure they use instead, she said at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, was comparing photos of Moscow by night.

The lights there, she said, were darker in 2023 than in 2021, showing a capital and a nation in trouble.

Business Insider found some public photos showing the Moscow skyline in the years Svantesson mentioned. Here is one from March 2021:

And another from November 2023:

It's hard to make a precise comparison — the time of day and cloud cover are different.

But in the 2023 image, the pools of light showing Moscow's suburbs so appear larger and more frequent in the pre-invasion image.

"It's very clear that the Russian economy is definitely not as strong as Putin wants us to believe," Svantesson said.

She said that Moscow's inflation is "much higher than the public figure says." Russia's most recent figure puts it at 9.5%, which Svantesson said was out of kilter with its main interest rate of 21%.

She also said levels of capital leaving Russia suggested a struggling economy, as do the space photos of Moscow.

"There is over Moscow, for example, a much darker picture," she said.

"They're not using as much electricity," said the panel moderator, Ravi Agrawal, the editor in chief of Foreign Policy.

"No, no, no. It's much darker," Svantesson said.

Western countries imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in the wake of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, mostly designed to cut off the oil and gas exports crucial to its economy.

The Kremlin claims it has withstood the worst potential effects of the sanctions. Per Svantesson, that vision of a strong economy is a tactic, to convince Ukraine and its allies that sanctions don't work.

"We don't know," the true state of Russia's economy, she concluded. "But what we know is that his narrative and his truth is not true."

• I had dinner at Gordon Ramsay Steak, located inside the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.
• The wagyu filet was cooked perfectly, and the mac and cheese was full of flavor.
• I'd definitely recommend dining at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant for great food and an upscale vibe.

As someone who has been living in Las Vegas for almost 20 years, I'm always asked about the best places to eat.

Recently though, I decided to take a chance on a restaurant I'd never been to — Gordon Ramsay Steak at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

The steakhouse chain, which now has six locations in cities like Baltimore, Vancouver, and Kansas City, first opened in Las Vegas in 2012. Here's what our experience at the celebrity-chef-owned restaurant was like.

I visited the restaurant on a Thursday evening.

After making a reservation on the restaurant's website, I visited Gordon Ramsay Steak for dinner on a Thursday.

Once I arrived, I was seated almost immediately. As I walked through the red, neon tunnel into the restaurant, the hostess explained that the entrance was meant to be an artistic representation of the Channel Tunnel connecting England to France.

The restaurant's interior was trendy and elegant.

The steakhouse is laid out in a two-story tiered design. My table was on the second floor and had an amazing view of the rest of the restaurant, including the iconic Union Jack flag painted on the ceiling and a neon-red chandelier.

I later learned the red lighting fixture was designed to represent Chef Ramsay's hands as he cooks.

I started with the warm breads and spreads.

Although all the starters sounded incredible, I decided to try the warm breads and spreads ($17). The dish came with a baguette, a triangle of crunchy lavash bread, and a fluffy roll that was half honey whole wheat and half French onion.

It also came with chimichurri oil, English butter, and another butter made with beef fat and red wine. Both butters were topped with Hawaiian lava salts.

I loved the variety of breads and tried them all with each spread. The baguette, however, was my favorite.

For my entrée, I ordered the wagyu filet, which was cooked perfectly.

Everything on the menu sounded delicious, but there was no way I was going to a steakhouse and ordering anything but a steak. So, I opted for the wagyu filet.

The presentation was beautiful, with a swirl of red-wine reduction and a pyramid of mustard seeds on the plate.

The filet was seared perfectly on the outside and was cooked to a buttery-soft rare temperature on the inside. In my opinion, the 8-ounce filet was well worth the hefty $105 price tag.

The mac and cheese made a delicious side.

Along with my steak, I ordered the mac and cheese, which the waitress said was the most popular side.

The description on the menu sounded delicious, and it also felt like the most robust choice, since all the sides were $19 each.

The amount of flavor in the dish blew me away. Mac and cheese is usually on the heavier side, but it was surprisingly light despite having bacon, smoked jalapeño cream, onion jam, smoked Gouda, and white cheddar packed in with the noodles.

The bacon added texture to the dish, and the jalapeño cream and onion jam added bursts of flavor. The breadcrumbs on top gave it just the right amount of crunch, making the dish immensely satisfying.

I would highly recommend dining at Gordon Ramsay Steak.

From start to finish, my experience at Gordon Ramsay Steak was top-notch. The staff was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the menu and the restaurant.

I would definitely go again, if for no other reason than to make sure I save room for the delicious-looking sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

In my opinion, Gordon Ramsay Steak is the perfect choice if you're looking for an upscale restaurant with a trendy edge.

• Before having kids I was an editor at "Parenting" magazine and shared parenting advice.
• I thought I was ready to be a mom and used the techniques experts shared in our magazine.
• My kids did not respond to them, and that's OK because all kids are different.

Before I had kids, I was an editor at "Parenting" magazine, where I gave expert-backed advice on sleep training, potty training, and using training wheels on bikes. So, when I had my first child in 2014, I thought I was well-trained.

A couple of years later, I became the editor in chief of "Working Mother" magazine — and a mom of two. Now that my boys are ages 6 and 10, I can safely say that the advice I printed on those pages has done little to help me successfully parent my sons.

Parenting is not so simple

For instance, we gave an oft-repeated tip in "Parenting." "If your child is having trouble picking what they want, or you need them to do something they're refusing to do, give your kid two choices you can live with. They'll happily pick one because they'll feel like they're in control without being overwhelmed." So I felt like a genius when I whipped out this old trick on my then-preschooler who wouldn't choose a meal at a restaurant.

"OK, you get to decide," I told my 3-year-old, ensuring he felt like he was in the driver's seat. "Do you want chicken nuggets or mac and cheese?" I envisioned being met with a wide smile and sheer elation to have a mother so well-versed in child psychology, followed by a definitive choice and contented peace.

The reality was far different. And louder.

"None of these!" my son shouted. Wails and flails followed. We had to cool off with a walk outside.

I tried this trick many more times on both kids. After all, I promised others it'd work. "Do you want to bring a pretend ice cube or an Indiana state magnet for I day for show and tell?" "Do you want to wear your green or black jacket?" "Do you want to hop into day care or tiptoe in?"

"None of these!" "None of these!" "None of these! (I had to stifle the urge to squeeze in a grammar lesson: "You mean neither of these.")

My kids did the opposite of what I thought they'd do

As the kids got older, I imparted wisdom ripped from the magazines, like telling them, "We don't talk about other people's bodies." Surely, my oldest would wind up being one of the good guys, given how often we discussed this.

On the last day of summer camp, a director called to say my 10-year-old was part of a group of boys who told a girl she'd break the trampoline because she was so big. Cue my shock and horror. My former fat self couldn't look at my son that night — probably not the most successful parenting strategy either.

We've given our kids chores, as I'd always written parents should do. The idea is to foster responsibility and instill confidence. Instead, there are weekly screaming matches about bringing out the trash. The tantrums over child labor subside more quickly when I up my firstborn's allowance. We've gone from a dollar for garbage schlepping to $5. I'm sure an expert I've quoted in articles would tell me I'm teaching my kids to throw a fit when they don't get their way. I'm also sure they've never seen the depths of destruction my 5'1 tween is capable of when he doesn't want to do something without pay.

Kids can suck sometimes

Now that I'm a decade into parenting, and not just a parenting editor, I know at least some of this is to be expected — and at least some of this isn't my fault. Every kid sucks a little. And some kids (like mine) can suck a lot.

But my kids aren't me, nor are they always a reflection of my parenting. They sometimes can't control their stupid impulses. Not everything I teach them sinks in. Besides, not every tip in parenting magazines applies to every kid anyway. Plus, parenting advice is more likely to work in a vacuum, not a desperate moment when a parent needs to do whatever it takes to calm their child.

So, I'm focusing on little wins. We recently had excellent parent-teacher conferences. My kids are usually kind to their classmates and try to be helpful. If our children are progressing toward being useful more than they're hurtful, then we parents are all doing something right. Even if we don't feel like the paragons of success magazine editors like me led us to believe we could become.

• Todd Fox founded Close Protection Corps and provides protective services, assessments, and training.
• The Marine veteran started the business in the 1990s doing ad hoc bodyguard trips to Mexico.
• Fox shares what it takes to protect C-suite execs and reflects on the UnitedHealthcare shooting.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Todd Fox, the 50-year-old CEO of Close Protection Corps about his work as a bodyguard for high-profile clients. He has no affiliation or direct involvement with UnitedHealthcare's security operation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

In the late '90s, I came out of active duty in the Marine Corps to start my own private security business, Close Protection Corps, specializing in working with celebrities, dignitaries, and C-suite executives.

I did the bulk of my "on-ground" close protection of C-suite individuals from 1999 up until the COVID-19 pandemic while also managing my company. Now, I primarily spend my time consulting and training.

I've followed the news about the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting. Since the event, representatives from corporations have contacted us to assess their security programs. It's been a wake-up call for companies.

I started my own company after doing stints as a bodyguard

I joined the Marine Corps in 1992. I was based in California and trained in combat, riflery, and fitness, as well as general orders relative to security, like learning to protect a convoy or individual and plan for advanced military operations.

While a Marine, I was also a professional MMA fighter in LA. I would meet actors, producers, and directors in the gym or while working on sets as an advisor.

These people in the industry knew about my fighting skills, military background and that I could speak Spanish. They would sometimes ask me to work as their bodyguard and accompany them to Mexico on their vacations or work trips.

In 1999, Guy Ritchie was training at my gym in LA. He was dating Madonna at the time and asked if I'd join her security team so he could keep training with me while she was on tour. It was around this time that I started my company, Close Protection Corps. We provide protective services, assessments, and training.

Protecting a C-suite executive looks different from protecting a celebrity

When I start working with a close protection client, I initially collected information about the principal, or client: what is important to them, what sways them to make decisions, and what might make them vulnerable.

I then built a plan or structure of protection. It would cover their home, office, and vehicles, especially considering spaces that are exposed — such as the walk from the car to the office. I'd think about where their weaknesses were and try to "harden the target" by limiting exposure to risks.

On the job, I would be constantly aware of what is not normal compared to what is normal.

If I noticed something out of the ordinary — an anomaly — I'd evaluate whether it was benign or critical. If it was critical, then I'd make a choice. Maybe we'd change or modify our initial plan or behavior, cancel operations, or evacuate.

I'd wake up before the principal and meet them at the start of their day with a driver. In most cases, there'd be a second man, the advance guy, who'd go before us to check the environment we were heading into. I'd spend the rest of my day going wherever the principal went.

When the principal went to bed, I'd plan for the next day. I typically only got between four and six hours of sleep and worked 16 to 18 hours each day. It was very busy, and you see a lot of burnout.

C-suite individuals are extremely wealthy and will ultimately do what they want to do. They may not stick to the plan I set, so I'd put measures in place if things didn't go as planned.

When I was protecting a C-suite individual, my life became their life. I saw what they saw and heard what they heard. It's why NDAs and discretion are so important with bodyguards — we have access to things we shouldn't have access to, but there's no way around it.

C-suite individuals tend to be on the go, on private jets, in hotels and restaurants, and at speaking engagements. There's a lot of movement, and we move with them.

Protecting a celebrity requires even more fluidity. They don't have the same structured world that a business leader does and change plans on a whim. It can be challenging to create order. As a broad stroke, it's easier to find the baseline and anomalies for C-suite executives than it is for celebrities.

The UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting should be a wake-up call

When Brian Thompson arrived at that building, which was an expected plan, there appeared to be no one to advance the site he'd be arriving at, to receive him, or to look out for people who were acting weird or doing odd things that would have been concerning indicators.

Since the shooting, we've had large corporations' executive assistants and operations managers contact us to assess their existing in-house security programs.

I think the shooting was a wake-up call for companies. They need to protect their chief assets — their people — and if there's any known or documented threat or risk, it's overwhelmingly worth it to have security in place. The knowledge someone like a CEO has is worth the cost of a security protection team.

Editor's note: In response to a request for comment from Business Insider, a UnitedHealth Group spokesperson shared the following:

"We appreciate the media's interest in the real security threat that sensationalist media coverage can pose, but publishing an interview with a security expert lacking actual knowledge of the facts is simply another example of just that."

• A Swiss International Air Lines pilot started feeling unwell mid-journey.
• The flight from Zurich to Miami then turned around over the Atlantic.
• A return flight from Florida to Switzerland was also canceled because the aircraft was diverted.

Swiss International Air Lines passengers endured a four-hour flight to nowhere after a pilot fell ill.

Two hours after flight LX66 left Zurich for Miami on Monday, it U-turned over the Atlantic Ocean about 300 miles off the French coast, according to Flightradar24 data.

"One of the pilots did not feel fully fit after starting the flight," an airline spokesperson told Business Insider. "As a precautionary measure, the cockpit crew decided not to continue the flight and instead returned to Zurich Airport."

There were 123 passengers on board the flight, which landed back in Zurich at 2:24 p.m. local time — some four hours after departure.

The Swiss spokesperson added that the fire department was standing by, which was standard procedure given that the Airbus A330 was landing at a higher-than-normal weight.

The aircraft had enough fuel for a 10-hour flight, but lacked a fuel-dump system.

A diverted flight is not only frustrating for the passengers on board, but can also have knock-on effects on other journeys. People scheduled to fly on the same A330 from Miami to Zurich later on Monday had their flight canceled.

"We have rebooked the affected passengers onto alternative connections and would like to sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused," the airline spokesperson said.

They added that Swiss would cover expenses for passengers' hotel accommodations, taxi rides, meals, and phone calls until the next possible departure, rebook free of charge, or cancel the trip with a full refund.

• Airlines are facing a growing headache over rocket launches after Starship's fiery lift-off last week.
• Elon Musk's mega-rocket exploded over the Turks and Caicos islands, sparking airspace closures and widespread chaos.
• Experts told BI it's a sign of things to come, with the new commercial space race threatening more disruption for airlines.

Elon Musk celebrated Starship's explosive launch last week, writing on X that "entertainment is guaranteed." For some pilots and passengers, it was anything but entertaining.

Dramatic videos and images posted on social media showed fiery trails of debris streaking across the sky near the Turks and Caicos islands, minutes after the upper stage of SpaceX's mammoth Starship rocket exploded shortly after launching for the seventh time on Thursday.

The rocket's "rapid unscheduled disassembly" sparked chaos as some airspace throughout the Caribbean was closed for an hour and a half.

The Federal Aviation Administration activated a Debris Response Area, which it said is only used if a space vehicle's debris falls outside identified hazard areas.

Numerous flights entered holding patterns, circling around as they waited for the debris to pass.

Four Delta Air Lines flights diverted for refueling purposes due to the closed airspace, an airline spokesperson told Business Insider. Flights from JetBlue and Amazon Air were also among those forced to unexpectedly change course, as the FAA warned there was a risk of being hit by chunks of Elon Musk's rocket as it fell to Earth.

"SpaceX had a rocket launch and, uh, it didn't go so well," relayed one air traffic controller, per an audio recording archived by LiveATC.net. One pilot reported seeing "a major streak (of debris) going from at least 60 miles, with all these different colors."

As the chaos set in, pilots complained to air traffic control and expressed concerns about fuel levels. One pilot from Spanish airline Iberia appeared to run out of patience, declaring mayday so he could pass through the debris response area and land in Puerto Rico.

Those not already heading to Puerto Rico couldn't divert there, as one controller explained there was no parking space due to congestion, per LiveATC.net.

"It's been a rough day today," he added.

Rockets and planes face off

The incident — which saw the FAA launch an investigation and temporarily ground future Starship launches — is the latest disruption airlines have faced as a result of space launch activities.

Earlier this month, the Australian flag carrier Qantas spoke out about the disruption it has faced due to SpaceX.

It said it had to delay several flights between Johannesburg and Sydney due to the re-entry of SpaceX rockets over "an extensive area" of the southern Indian Ocean.

While the booster, or first stage, of a Falcon 9 is reusable, the upper stage is disposed of in the ocean. Qantas is asking SpaceX to be more precise with the areas and timings for such events.

Disruption has also occurred in both directions.

SpaceX was preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday morning but called off the launch with just 11 seconds to go. The incident was put down to an aircraft possibly encroaching on the launch zone, though it remains unclear which aircraft, if any, was to blame.

Space race puts airlines under pressure

Airlines and rocket companies will likely find themselves sharing the sky even more in the coming years as the commercial space race heats up.

Hours before Starship's fiery demise, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin successfully launched its giant New Glenn rocket for the first time.

The Amazon cofounder's rocket company joins a handful of rivals, including SpaceX and startup Rocket Lab, in successfully reaching orbit. All three companies are planning to dramatically increase the number of launches in the coming years, with SpaceX potentially planning as many as 25 Starship launches and 180 Falcon 9 launches in 2025.

"The problem is there because we have also not only an increase in the number of launches, but also an increase in the number of entities with launch capabilities," Luciano Anselmo, an aerospace engineer at the Space Flight Dynamics Laboratory in Pisa, Italy, told BI.

"Just coordinating all these different actors is quite demanding. The system as it is up to now is under a little bit of stress," he said.

Anselmo added that the increased cadence of launches and the inherent riskiness of the space industry mean further incidents like the Starship explosion are unavoidable.

Ewan Wright, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of British Columbia who studies space debris, told Business Insider that unplanned disruption from rocket explosions and controlled re-entries of upper-stage rockets, such as the Falcon 9, can have a significant economic impact on airlines, with delays and diversions in the air more costly than those on the ground.

Out of control

The bigger concern for Wright and Anselmo, however, is uncontrolled entries — large satellites or rockets that are left abandoned in orbit to plunge down to Earth at random.

Unlike controlled re-entries or debris falling from rockets that explode mid-flight, it is hard to predict where these objects might fall.

"The uncertainties are massive," said Wright, adding that forecasts are often so vague that they are "totally useless from an aviation perspective."

One such incident happened in 2022, when part of China's Long March 5B rocket made an uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere. In response, Spain briefly closed 100km of its airspace, although Italy and Portugal, which were also in the rocket's path, did not. Long March 5B eventually splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

Although the individual chances of an aircraft being hit by a piece of debris from an uncontrolled re-entry are low, Anselmo said the risk of such an incident happening was starting to grow.

With the number of controlled and uncontrolled re-entries rising, Anselmo said regulators, launches, and airlines will eventually have to discuss who pays for the growing risk of disruption to commercial flights.

According to the Outer Space Treaty and Liability Convention, widely ratified agreements that form the basis of international space law, the "launching State" has absolute liability for any damage caused by falling space objects to the surface or to any aircraft. It is unclear whether that applies to travel disruption caused by such debris.

"If you do start closing airspace more and more frequently, then that is going to cost airlines money," said Wright.

"I think this is a sign of things to come. These things have a price and they will happen more frequently," he added.

• Some athletes who took podium spots at the Paris Olympics say their medals are deteriorating.
• Chaumet, a fine jewelry brand owned by LVMH, designed the medals.
• The International Olympic Committee said it will replace all "defective" medals.

All that glitters is not gold — and, as some athletes who competed in the Paris Olympics are finding out, even gold can lose its luster.

Since the 2024 Olympic Games last August, some Olympians who took home bronze, silver, and gold have taken to social media to complain that their medals are already showing signs of wear and tear.

They include French swimmers Clément Secchi and Yohann Ndoye Brouard, who posted photos on X of their gold medals in less-than-ideal shape in December.

"Paris 1924," Brouard wrote alongside crying face emojis in a post with images of his deteriorating gold medal.

The complaints mirror those of Team USA skateboarder Nyjah Huston. Shortly after the Games, he took to social media to show that his medal was already "looking rough."

"Olympic medals, we've got to step up the quality a little bit," Huston said in an Instagram story.

The medals were produced by the Monnaie de Paris, the French Mint, in partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Last week, the IOC said in a statement to France 24 that it was reviewing complaints and replacing "defective" medals.

In a statement to Business Insider, the Monnaie de Paris said it first received medal complaints in August, after which it "modified the varnish" used and "optimized its manufacturing process" to make them "more resistant to certain uses by athletes."

It also said it would replace and identically engrave "all damaged medals."

While the French Mint did not reveal the number of medals replaced, The New York Times reported on Tuesday that more than 100 athletes have issued complaints since the games.

Questions have also arisen for LVMH, the luxury conglomerate that partnered with the Olympics in 2024.

Ahead of the games, LVMH said that its fine jewelry brand Chaumet would design each medal — a task that the Maison embarked on with "creativity and passion," according to the LVMH website.

The Olympics marked one of the few highlights of 2024 for LVMH, a year in which its brands reported disappointing sales amid a widespread downturn in the luxury industry.

At the time, the Olympic partnership was a major marketing boost for LVMH, which — in light of the unfortunate medal situation — may no longer be the case.

This year is shaping up to be more promising for the French company. Its stock has risen sharply and and CEO Bernard Arnault's net worth is up almost $18 billion since January 1 to $194 billion, putting him in fifth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

LVMH and the IOC did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

• An AI startup in China just showed how it's closing the gap with America's top AI labs.
• The Chinese startup DeepSeek released a new AI model on Monday that appears to rival OpenAI's o1.
• Its reasoning capabilities have stunned top American AI researchers.

Donald Trump started his new presidency by declaring America must lead the world. He just got a warning shot from an AI crack team in China that's ready to show that US technological supremacy is not a given.

Meet DeepSeek, a Chinese startup spun off from a decade-old hedge fund that calculates shrewd trades with AI and algorithms. Its latest release, which came on Trump's inauguration day, has left much of America's top industry researchers stunned.

In a paper released Monday, DeepSeek unveiled a new flagship AI model called R1 that shows off a new level of "reasoning." Why it has left such a huge impression on AI experts in the US matters.

Some of Silicon Valley's most well-resourced AI labs have increasingly turned to "reasoning" as a frontier of research that can evolve their technology from a student-like level of intelligence to something that eclipses human intelligence entirely.

To accomplish this, OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and others have focused on ensuring models spend more time thinking before responding to a user query. It's an expensive, intensive process that demands a lot from the computing power buzzing underneath.

As a reminder, OpenAI fully released o1 — "models designed to spend more time thinking before they respond" — to a glowing reception in December after an initial release in September. DeepSeek's R1 shows just how quickly it can close the gap.

DeepSeek narrows the gap

What exactly does R1 do? For one, DeepSeek says R1 achieves "performance comparable to OpenAI o1 across math, code, and reasoning tasks."

Its research paper says this is possible thanks to "pure reinforcement learning," a technique that Jim Fan, a senior research manager at Nvidia, said was reminiscent of the secret behind making Google DeepMind's AlphaZero a master at games such as go and chess from scratch, "without imitating human grandmaster moves first." He wrote on X that this was "the most significant takeaway from the paper."

DeepSeek, which launched in 2023, said in its paper that it did this because its goal was to explore the potential of AI to "develop reasoning capabilities without any supervised data." This is a common technique used by AI researchers. The company also said that an earlier version of R1 called R1-Zero gave them an "aha moment" in which the AI "learns to allocate more thinking time to a problem by reevaluating its initial approach."

The end result offers what the Wharton professor Ethan Mollick described as responses from R1 that read "like a human thinking out loud."

Notably, this level of transparency into the development of AI has been hard to come by in the notes published by companies such as OpenAI when releasing models of a similar aptitude.

Nathan Lambert, a research scientist at the Allen Institute for AI, said on Substack that R1's paper "is a major transition point in the uncertainty in reasoning model research" as "until now, reasoning models have been a major area of industrial research without a clear seminal paper."

Staying true to the open spirit, DeepSeek's R1 model, critically, has been fully open-sourced, having obtained an MIT license — the industry standard for software licensing.

Together, these elements of R1 provide complications to US players caught up in an AI arms race with China — Trump's main geopolitical rival — for a few reasons.

First, it shows that China can rival some of the top AI models in the industry and keep pace with cutting-edge developments coming out of Silicon Valley.

Second, open-sourcing highly advanced AI could also challenge companies that are seeking to make huge profits by selling their technology.

OpenAI, for instance, introduced a ChatGPT Pro plan in December that costs $200 a month. Its selling point was that it included "unlimited access" to its smartest model at the time, o1. If an open-source model offers similar capabilities for free, the incentive to buy a costly paid subscription could, in theory, diminish.

Nvidia's Fan described the situation like this on X: "We are living in a timeline where a non-US company is keeping the original mission of OpenAI alive — truly open, frontier research that empowers all."

DeepSeek has shown off reasoning know-how before. In November, the company released an "R1-lite-preview" that showed its "transparent thought process in real time." In December, it released a model called V3 to serve as a new, bigger foundation for future reasoning in models.

It's a big reason American researchers see a meaningful improvement in the latest model, R1.

Theo Browne, a software developer behind a popular YouTube channel for the tech community, said that "the new DeepSeek R1 model is incredible." Tanay Jaipuria, a partner investing in AI at Silicon Valley's Wing VC, also described it as "incredible."

Awni Hannun, a machine-learning researcher at Apple, said a key advantage of R1 was that it was less intensive, showing that the industry was "getting close to open-source o1, at home, on consumer hardware," referring to OpenAI's reasoning model introduced last year.

The model can be "distilled," meaning smaller but also powerful versions can run on hardware that's far less intensive than the computing power loaded into servers in data centers many tech companies depend on to run their AI models.

Hannun demonstrated this by sharing a clip on X of a 671 billion-parameter version of R1 running on two Apple M2 Ultra chips, responding with reason to a prompt asking whether a straight or a flush is better in a game of Texas Hold'em. Hannun said its response came "faster than reading speed."

AI censorship

R1 does appear to have one key problem. The former OpenAI board member Helen Toner pointed out on X that there were demos of R1 "shutting itself down when asked about topics the CCP doesn't like."

Toner did suggest, however, that "the censorship is obviously being done by a layer on top, not the model itself." DeepSeek didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is worth noting, of course, that OpenAI has introduced a new model called o3 that's meant to be a successor to the o1 model DeepSeek is rivaling. Lambert said in his blog post that OpenAI was "likely technically ahead," but he added the key caveat that the o3 model was "not generally available," nor would basic information such as its "weights" be available anytime soon.

Given DeepSeek's track record so far, don't be surprised if its next model shows parity to o3. America's tech leaders may have met their match in China.

• Natascha Turner, 47, started a marketing agency and employs her own husband.
• There are perks — the couple have been able to move to Spain as remote workers.
• But she says it's "no walk in the park" and they've had to set some boundaries.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Natascha Turner, 47, who runs her own marketing agency. It has been edited for length and clarity.

It's funny how things work out — I never really wanted to start my own business.

The security of a regular paycheck was always the most important thing for me. It was instilled in me by my mom, who was a single parent, so financial security was always the top priority.

I was moving up the corporate ladder in the world of marketing and advertising, and after getting a few promotions, I realized I could probably actually do this working for myself. So in 2016, I started my own marketing agency.

My husband's career was going in the opposite direction; he'd joined a startup business that turned out to be on the brink of failure. Everyone he worked with was dodgy. He was chronically stressed because he wasn't making any money.

After two years of him working at the startup business, I put my foot down and said: that's it, no more of that. I've had enough of you going through this and not getting money in return for your skills. You're coming over to work with me. So, a year ago, that's what he did. I now employ four people, one of whom is my husband.

Our dynamic at work is different from our regular dynamic

At work, I'm more alpha, and he's more passive, which is a reversal of how we typically are in our relationship. We've been together for 16 years and married for 11. Back then, nobody would've believed we'd ever work together. We're just so different. He's quiet, data-driven, and will go down into rabbit holes. I have to put my foot down and say, "This multi-layered spreadsheet isn't what the client needs. Stop wasting time, focus on their needs."

The hardest part is balancing my role as a leader with my role as a wife. Women don't often talk about how hard it is to lead with strength without feeling like we're losing a piece of our femininity.

But it's my job to make the big calls. He appreciates it because, he admits, it's not his strong point. If graphics came in and weren't right, he'd dance around it rather than just say, "This isn't right; you need to go back and fix it."

It's hard to keep the work conversations from coming home with us

Working with your partner is no walk in the park. Sure, there's this glossy idea of "building a dream together," but the truth is, it's juggling spreadsheets with side-eye and trying not to kill each other over emails.

Those tough decisions can hit differently once we get home. Work conversations don't just end at the office; they follow us to the dinner table, the sofa, and even into the shower.

After a long day of meetings and calls, instead of decompressing, the same work chat sometimes bubbles up. "Why'd you veto that idea earlier?" or "You seemed sharp in that meeting — are you upset?"

The lines blur, the feelings flare, and suddenly it's not just a conversation — it's a thing. The number of times I've had to say, "Can we just not right now?" or "Do you want to keep talking about this or move on?" It's like being a referee, a therapist, and a CEO all rolled into one.

Focusing on boundaries has been helpful

In June last year, we relocated from Perth, Australia, to Valencia, Spain, so we now schedule time together to make space for being a couple: holding hands, switching off, and exploring this new city. Here in Valencia, they have these big public baths full of jacuzzis so we'll go there twice a week, and they've become a space where we've agreed not to discuss work.

It's important to remember to just be silly as well — I do that by dancing to music around the house with him so things feel less serious, and we laugh together.

I still get it wrong sometimes. Last week, I snapped and shouted, "You've got to do it this way!" After a stressful moment like that, I make sure we sit down and discuss it, and I'll apologize for being dismissive. I think that's key, too — being self-aware enough to admit you're wrong. He gets it. He'll accept my apology, and we'll move on.

It's recognizing your flaws, too. I'm pretty quick to temper when it comes to deadlines; a bit of a control freak. That's what makes me really good at some things but I know when I've pushed too hard and need to back off. It took a lot of working on myself to get to this point, though.

I see things getting better and better now that we have systems and processes as a couple, not just as colleagues. It's taught us the art of boundaries, the value of switching off, and the importance of saying, " No more business talk tonight, OK?"

• The rich and powerful are in Davos, Switzerland, for day three of the World Economic Forum.
• BI is talking to people on topics from AI infrastructure to the economy under Trump.
• This is what we're hearing on the ground.

The World Economic Forum has brought the rich and powerful together to discuss topics ranging from Donald Trump's impact on the economy to AI's impact on their industries.

This is what Business Insider is hearing and seeing on the ground.

Trump is the main character here

It seems a conversation at Davos can't go three minutes without Trump's name coming up. In an interview at Bloomberg House on Tuesday, Google's chief investment officer Ruth Porat said she saw a "tremendous opportunity" to work with Trump 2.0.

"I think the president and his team have been clear that they see technology as an asset for the country," she said. — Hugh Langley

It feels like Europe is missing in action

The need for Europe to step up has been the recurring theme in my conversations with business and government leaders. Geopolitical and economic uncertainty is at the forefront of everyone's mind.

While business leaders are excited about the new US president and Asia boasts some of the world's fastest-growing economies, Europe seems to be missing from the action. Walking along the promenade in Davos, the presence of American, Asian, and Middle Eastern delegations is unmistakable. But where is Europe? And where is the UK?

One CEO I spoke with Tuesday night stressed that Europe's regulatory landscape had to change to make it easier for businesses to operate there. "What Asia is gaining, Europe is losing," he said.

Another executive observed that Europe was a major topic of discussion in Davos, but its presence feels muted. Srini Pallia, the global CEO of Wipro, said that growth and regulatory challenges in Europe are key concerns this year. "I was in a session just before this, where the European president was present, and she was asked how the EU could reduce regulatory barriers that are hindering growth. I think that's one of the big conversations happening here." — Spriha Srivastava

Meta is trying to reassure advertisers about its moderation changes

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta makeover has had some advertisers concerned about how its changes to content moderation would affect what people start to see across Facebook and Instagram.

In a Davos roundtable discussion with BI, Nicola Mendelsohn, the head of Meta's global business group, said the company had been speaking with advertisers in recent days and trying to reassure them that nothing will change. Mendelsohn said advertisers would still be able to stop ads appearing next to political content if they wish.

"What they've shared back actually is the reassurance that all the commitments that we have to brand safety, brand suitability on the platform, none of that changes," she said. — Hugh Langley

We need a new institution to ensure humanlike AI doesn't harm humanity, Google DeepMind's CEO said

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis had a busy Tuesday here with two nearly back-to-back interviews at Google Haus. If there was one big takeaway, it was Hassabis' contention that we're not thinking enough about the AI bigger picture. "I think there's way too much hype in the short term," he said. "Actually it's underrated still, underappreciated, the amount of transformation that's going to happen in the medium to long term, so the five to 10 years."

In response to a question from BI, Hassabis said he believed there were big questions around capitalism and society that need to be pondered. "One of the big things economists should be thinking about is what does that do to money, the capitalist system, even the notion of companies. I think all of that changes."

Hassbis said we need an institution that can "meet the moment" — a governing body that can ensure artificial general intelligence, or AGI, is managed in a way that benefits humankind.

"That would be where you put a wise council, an international council of very diverse and smart people from different backgrounds. Not just technologists. I'm talking about philosophers, social scientists, writers, et cetera. But who is building that institute, is what I would ask. And I think we really need that."

He also discussed his work with AlphaFold on protein folding, which recently earned him a Nobel Prize. And who better to discuss the science than Bill Nye, "the science guy," who took the mic for the second interview. — Hugh Langley

AI infrastructure is getting a boost — but what if it's too big a boost?

If you're still doubting AI's future impacts and benefits, there are now 500 billion reasons to put that to rest.

Anne Hoecker, the global head of Bain & Company's tech practice, told me that Tuesday's announcement of up to $500 billion of private investment in AI infrastructure shows "how much people believe in the promise of AI."

"This is real. We are really going to have great ROI," she said.

One thing to watch is the balance between supply and demand. While the project aims to meet the rising need for infrastructure, it's a balance. As bad as a shortage is, the opposite isn't ideal either.

"You can argue both sides of that. The use cases are picking up. People will start to see ROIs and will use up all the data center capacity as we build it," Hoecker said.

She said that if people didn't see the ROI they were expecting, the question would be, "Do we have excess capacity built up, and then we grow into it just like any technology innovation cycle?"

Waiting for the industry's needs to catch up to the existing supply isn't straightforward. Beyond the cost of having infrastructure you're not using, there's also the risk of the tech being outdated.

"Each generation of chips is going to be more powerful, more energy-efficient. So, if you have too much capacity in an older generation, does that hamper your ability to move to the next generation? How do you use up that old generation's capacity? So ideally you're not building too much in front of demand," Hoecker added. — Dan DeFrancesco

Consulting firms are ready for a big year

Consulting firms are ready for what is expected to be a big year for their business thanks to a flurry of potential changes on the horizon.

"There are several macro factors that have been in play for a while: AI certainly, but also strong economic indicators in the US, as well as the current pro-growth sentiment in the market as a result of the incoming administration. So, there might be an uptick in business activity," Sharon Marcil, BCG's North America chair and a managing director and senior partner, told me.

A massive ramp-up comes with issues, though, as was evident in 2021 when the surge in M&A activity led to employee burnout across financial services.

A complete repeat of 2021's record year seems unlikely, but there are still staffing considerations. It's a tricky balance. You need enough workers so resources aren't stretched too thin while avoiding a surplus where there is not enough work to go around.

An immediate fix also isn't easy, as bringing on new talent requires a necessary training period. And good luck telling clients to hold off on deals, especially after so many have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the market to open up.

"For us, periods of increased activity force us to predict staffing. And that can sometimes be hard. There is a sweet spot between being understaffed and overstaffed. If we find we haven't gone far enough, we try other approaches like off-cycle hiring. It's definitely a balancing act," Marcil said. — Dan DeFrancesco

Proper snow boots are the way to go here

We're three days in, and we've yet to touch one of the most interesting debates I've found at Davos: footwear. Being that we're in the mountains, the abundance of snow and ice means opting for typical business shoes or heels isn't necessarily your best bet.

Boots of varying degrees of heftiness and fashionability are a popular choice. (They don't call it "suits and boots" for nothing.) Others wear spikes that can be taken on and off.

Personally, I've gone all in, opting for proper snow boots. Wearing them with my suit every day is a bit … jarring. However, my daughter thinks I look like Kristoff from "Frozen," so that's a win.

Of course, some people throw caution to the wind and still opt for their dress shoes. Davos is a lot about status, and the luxury of wearing normal shoes since you're being chauffeured around speaks to that. — Dan DeFrancesco