Redefining markets in a shifting global order

The leading female voices in business, markets, and economics congregated over the weekend at Bloomberg’s Women, Money & Power event in London. This collection of women in various leadership roles gathered to share their outlook on markets, technology, and the evolving forces shaping the world economy. From artificial intelligence and infrastructure to inflation and private markets, their discussions revealed both optimism and caution as investors navigate a time of extraordinary change.

AI’s transformative power — and its growing pains
 

Artificial intelligence dominated the conversation, described by Google’s EMEA president Debbie Weinstein as nothing short of revolutionary. “We are in such an incredibly exciting moment with AI,” she said. “It is really the most profound technology of our lifetimes.”

Weinstein said AI could unlock as much as €1.2 trillion in productivity growth for Europe, but warned that regulatory fragmentation is holding progress back. “There’s something like 100 different pieces of digital legislation [in Europe]… they conflict with each other,” she said. “We need simplification and harmonization so that we understand how to actually get our best products.”

Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that the AI race now depends on scale and data access. “If you don’t have scale—your ability to train your AI models — you’re going to be left behind,” she said. “And data is very expensive; we know because we buy it from places like Bloomberg.”

Building the right infrastructure
 

As AI drives demand for computing power and connectivity, the next wave of opportunity lies in infrastructure. Pooja Goyal, chief investment officer at The Carlyle Group, called AI “a step function change in the demand for infrastructure assets.”

“What AI infrastructure is leading to is a significant demand pull for certain infrastructure assets,” she said. “We’re talking not just about data centers themselves, but power generation, transmission, water processing, and fiber connectivity — all of which fall within the infrastructure investing mandate.”

Hadley Peer Marshall, CFO of Brookfield Asset Management, agreed, describing the AI buildout as the “backbone” of the new economy. “This is the infrastructure of this era,” she said. “It should have the infrastructure characteristics — and more — to mitigate risk.”

While some analysts have warned of an AI “bubble,” Goyal dismissed the idea, noting projects are financed through long-term contracts. Still, she cautioned, “People have to be discerning when it comes to the quality of those contracts, the credit risk around them, and the tenor.”

Inflation, interest Rates, and a divided outlook
 

The macroeconomic debate centered on inflation and interest rates. Franklin Templeton's Johnson warned that markets may be overly optimistic about rate cuts. “Inflation is probably going to be more difficult … it’s stickier,” she said, pointing to limited immigration and rising wages as sources of sustained price pressure.

Yie-Hsin Hung, president and CEO of State Street Investment Management, however, offered a more dovish outlook. “We do think the inflation hawks have it wrong,” she said. “The services side is showing deflationary pressures, and housing and rentals are coming down.” She forecast inflation easing from 3% last year to 2.6% next year and urged the Federal Reserve to stay the course on easing. “We think it’s critically important that the Fed continue on its path,” she said, calling for another 100 basis points in rate cuts over the next year.

Diversification, the executives said, is key. “It’s all about making sure portfolios are very diversified,” said Hung. “Holding gold, holding cash, holding private markets—being deliberate about all of that is an important way forward.”

Private markets take center stage
 

The rise of private markets — and the steady retreat of public listings — was another defining theme. “There are 40% fewer public companies today than there were 20 years ago,” noted Alisa Wood, partner at KKR. “In the last two years alone, we’ve done 25 public-to-private transactions globally. As a private company, you can focus on the velocity of change and reinvestment in the business without the pressure of quarterly earnings.”

Natalia Tsitoura, partner at Apollo Global Management, reframed “private credit” as simply the next evolution of traditional banking. “Everything that’s on a bank balance sheet is private credit,” she said. “A loan to a corporate, a mortgage, a consumer loan — they all qualify. Banks and private capital can coexist in a way that’s mutually beneficial.”

Elizabeth Dennis, managing director and head of global client coverage at Morgan Stanley, said demand for private opportunities among high-net-worth investors is surging. “We’ve raised $250 billion in alternatives since inception,” she said. “Our clients are increasingly asking us to bring co-investment opportunities.”

For KKR's Wood, the democratization of access is the most exciting development. “Private investing has really been in the hands of the largest institutional investors for the last 50 years,” she said. “Now we’re giving individual investors that same opportunity — probably in a more streamlined, less frictional way.”

A future defined by adaptability
 

Across the panels, one theme tied the conversations together: adaptability. Whether in technology, markets, or social progress, success will belong to those who can evolve. As Weinstein put it, “This technology deserves to be regulated — but it needs to be regulated well.”

In a world of volatility and reinvention, these leaders made one thing clear — power, like markets, is shifting toward those who can think boldly, act decisively, and embrace change.