Xavier Sala i Martin

Is artificial intelligence the dawn of unprecedented prosperity or a threat to the economic order we have built? Xavier Sala i Martín cuts through the hype and the fear with the tools of a world-class economist. Drawing on his book Between Paradise and Apocalypse: The Economics of Artificial Intelligence and its predecessor From the Savanna to Mars, he argues that AI is a genuine general-purpose technology — as transformative as electricity was in its time — but that its full economic impact will unfold over decades, not quarters. He shows where AI is already reshaping competitive advantage, where its current limits lie, what it will actually do to jobs and productivity, and which strategic decisions leaders must make today to be on the right side of the transition. His central message: in a world where algorithms grow more capable by the month, human creativity, judgment, and values are not liabilities — they are the scarcest and most decisive competitive assets of all.

Drawing on decades of advising the World Economic Forum, the IMF, and the World Bank, Xavier Sala i Martín offers audiences a panoramic yet precise reading of where the global economy stands and where it is heading. He maps the interplay of growth, inflation, interest rates, trade policy, and geopolitical realignment with the technological forces — above all AI — that are rewriting the rules of competitiveness. Audiences learn not just what is happening now, but which structural shifts are durable and which are noise, and what strategic decisions organizations need to be making today to remain competitive tomorrow. This keynote is regularly updated for each event and consistently customized for the sector and geography of the audience — whether the focus is Latin America, Europe, or the global picture.

What truly drives human progress — and what can history's longest arc teach us about the opportunities ahead? In this keynote based on his bestselling book From the Savanna to Mars, Sala i Martín traces the entire story of human prosperity through the lens of ideas: scientific ideas that reveal how the world works, technological ideas that translate knowledge into capability, and social ideas that allow billions of people to cooperate at scale. He shows that innovation is not a random miracle but a cumulative process with identifiable conditions — and that the greatest lever available to any organization or society is the ability to create environments where good ideas can emerge, combine, and spread. Far from a history lesson, this is a forward-looking framework for leaders who want to understand what makes human intelligence genuinely irreplaceable — and how to build the institutional conditions for the next great wave of innovation.

Between 2003 and 2010, FC Barcelona underwent one of the most remarkable organizational transformations in the history of sport — going from financial distress and competitive mediocrity to winning every major title available, including football's first-ever sextuple in 2009. Xavier Sala i Martín was there, serving as Treasurer and Chair of the Economic Commission throughout that entire period. In this keynote, he uses the Barça case as a masterclass in strategic leadership: the courage to make transformational decisions while still succeeding, the discipline to build a culture where shared purpose overrides individual ego, the importance of a clear strategic identity, and the role of constant innovation in methods, data, and preparation. The lessons translate directly to the boardroom — how to avoid complacency at the top, how to align strategy and culture, how to manage exceptional talent without losing team cohesion, and how to make the bold, often unpopular decisions that separate good organizations from great ones.