Michele Giddens

The European Opportunity | Global Conference 2026

Gillian Tett, Martin Blessing, Hendrik Brandis, Thomas Buberl, Pascal Cagni, Anne-Christine Champion, Michele Giddens

Key European financial and political leaders are driving a comprehensive reform agenda to bridge the US-Europe productivity gap by establishing a €500 billion German defense fund, transitioning Germany toward a funded pension model, and accelerating France's software entrepreneurship through a simplified "28th regime." To unlock trapped savings and scale unicorns, proponents like AXA CEO Thomas Buhl are advocating for a rapid Capital Markets Union and "military-style" project execution to redirect hundreds of billions into growth investments. Simultaneously, the region is pivoting its technological advantage from abstract AI models to physical industrial applications while leveraging sovereign defense initiatives to create new dual-use supply chains independent of US reliance.