2026 MBA Summit Closing Remarks
Jessica Wingert, Program Lead for ClimateCAP, based out of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
I would like to extend one additional thank you from the ClimateCAP team to the incredible student, staff, and faculty planning team here at Sloan — you have been extraordinary hosts. Your leadership, energy, and commitment to this Summit has brought our community together in a powerful way.
ClimateCAP is now a global partnership of 54 schools across the world, and we work together to advance climate education so that it becomes a core part of how business is taught—and practiced. And right now, that mission has never felt more urgent.
We are living through a moment of profound uncertainty and destabilization. Markets are shifting, sometimes daily. Alliances are evolving and dissolving. Institutions are constantly being tested. New technologies are exacerbating tensions between short-term pressures and long-term priorities. In times like these, it can be tempting for companies, for governments, and even for individuals to pull back from climate commitments, to delay action, or to wait for clarity.
If anything, this moment calls for a different kind of leadership, one that is steady when the world feels volatile, one that is grounded in creating long-term value, and one that understands that resilience, competitiveness, and responsibility are no longer separate conversations.
That is where all of you come in… not just as future leaders, but as uniquely prepared ones.
In today’s market, MBA graduates across every role and every industry need to understand climate as a defining force shaping the global economy. Those who do will be better equipped to navigate risk, identify opportunities, and lead in a business environment that is being reshaped in real time. Whether you go into finance, consulting, operations, tech, or entrepreneurship—this knowledge will set you apart.
This community exists because a group of educators came together with a simple but powerful idea: to bring future business leaders together to learn, exchange ideas, and build the skills needed to lead amidst our changing climate. And over the past few days, you’ve done exactly that.
Every year, this conference leaves me energized—and hopeful. Not because the challenges are getting easier, but because the people stepping up to face them are resilient, creative, and capable.
At a moment when organizations are trying to make sense of rapid change, just by being here, you are positioning yourselves to lead conversations that others are not yet prepared to have. And the connections you’ve built here—this community—will outlast any political cycle or market shift. That is one of the most enduring things ClimateCAP creates.
So here is my challenge to all of you: Hold onto that sense of purpose that brought you here.
There will be moments—especially in the years ahead—when progress feels slow, when priorities feel misaligned, when the path forward is anything but linear. That is the nature of working on complex, global challenges. But the underlying reality does not change: climate change is the defining business challenge of the 21st century.
And that is exactly why your leadership matters.
As MBA graduates you will shape decisions inside organizations that will influence industries, economies, and communities. You will be in rooms where strategy is set, where capital is allocated, and where the future is decided.
Use that position.
Be the person who asks the harder question.
Who connects climate to business value.
Who keeps the long-term in focus when everything else is pulling short-term.
And just as importantly, stay connected to the community that you’ve built here. Because this work is long-term—and so is the impact you will have.
In the spirit of looking forward, we are already building toward the next Summit, and I’m thrilled to announce where we’re headed. ClimateCAP 2027 will be hosted by Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business. The Responsible Business Center and Gabelli bring a distinctive lens grounded in ethical leadership and systems thinking. In the summit, we’ll dig into how businesses define and measure value-- integrating environmental integrity, social equity, and long-term prosperity. We hope to see many of you on February 5-6th, 2027.
Finally, thank you to all of our attendees. Thank you for showing up, for engaging over the last two days, and for being part of a community that is committed to shaping a better, more resilient future. You are exactly the kind of leaders this moment needs.