Who is Saadia Zahidi? Pakistani-born economist driving WEF’s economic agenda

Saadia Zahidi (Image: Reuters)

• Saadia Zahidi leads WEF's Centre for the New Economy and Society
• She warns geoeconomic tensions pose major risks to global business growth
• Companies now factor geopolitical risk into investment and workforce planning

Did our AI summary help?

Saadia Zahidi is a Pakistani-born economist and one of the most influential voices shaping global economic and labour market discussions at the World Economic Forum (WEF). She currently serves as Managing Director at the WEF and is a member of its Managing Board, where she leads the Centre for the New Economy and Society.

In her role, Zahidi oversees the Forum’s work on the future of jobs, growth, gender parity and economic transformation. She is also responsible for WEF’s engagement with universities, think tanks and academic institutions worldwide, in addition to guiding its network of Global Future Councils.

Over the years, Zahidi has held several key leadership positions within the Forum. She has previously headed the Global Communications Group, the Global Programming Group, and led the Forum’s engagement with civil society and international organisations.

She is also the founder and co-author of several flagship WEF reports, including the Future of Jobs Reports, Future of Growth Reports, Global Gender Gap Reports and the Chief Economist Outlooks.

Zahidi’s work has earned her global recognition. She has been named among the BBC’s 100 Women and has served on several high-level international bodies, including the European Space Agency’s High-Level Advisory Group, the UN Secretary General’s panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, and the Global Leadership Council of Generation Unlimited.

She is also the author of the book Fifty Million Rising, which examines the growing participation of women in the workforce across the Muslim world.

Zahidi holds a BA in Economics from Smith College, an MPhil in International Economics from The Graduate Institute in Geneva, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos 2026, Zahidi warned that rising geoeconomic tensions were emerging as one of the biggest risks facing businesses globally. She pointed to trade disruptions, tariff wars, geopolitical uncertainty and supply chain fragmentation as factors likely to weigh on global growth in the year ahead.

Zahidi noted that companies are increasingly factoring geopolitical risk into investment decisions, workforce planning and long-term strategy, a shift that has become more pronounced amid conflicts, trade barriers and policy uncertainty across major economies.