Margot Cairnes

Margot Cairnes is a leadership advisor, author, and former global consultant to CEOs and boards navigating high-stakes decisions during periods of disruption and uncertainty. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, power, and practical wisdom, helping senior leaders think clearly when data is incomplete, consequences are personal, and decisions cannot be delegated. She has advised executive teams across finance, energy, resources, and complex global enterprises.

Margot Cairnes is a distinguished member of the CEOWORLD Magazine Executive Council. You may connect with her through LinkedIn or official website.

Executive Opinions

Where Do the Outstanding Leaders Go to Think?

Margot CairnesExecutive Opinions

Leadership theory sounds abstract until it explains the world as we experience it. Robert Kegan’s work on adult development offers a language for why some leaders thrive in complexity while others retreat to control, consensus, or chaos. It also explains why wisdom, courage and imagination remain rare at the very moment they...

Global C-Suite Summit

When the Decisions Cannot Be Outsourced

Margot CairnesGlobal C-Suite Summit

At a certain level of leadership, decision-making changes its character. The issues are no longer technical. The data is no longer complete. And the responsibility can no longer be delegated. This is the point at which many senior leaders quietly struggle—not because they lack intelligence or experience, but because the...

CEO Insider

Leadership in Uncertainty: Thriving in the Age of Tariffs and Turmoil

Margot CairnesCEO Insider

Business leaders are grappling with a new normal: uncertainty. Regardless of political leanings, everyone agrees the ground is shifting—and fast. President Trump’s recent tariffs have amplified unpredictability, sending ripple effects through global supply chains, investment plans, pricing models, and executive decision-making. Here’s how smart leaders are adapting—and how mindset matters...

Executive Roundtable

The Future Belongs to the Visionaries: Perhaps???

Margot CairnesExecutive Roundtable

A business model defines how a company creates, delivers, and captures value. At any point in time a strong business model creates profitability and sustainability. The challenge in changing times is that yesterday’s successful business model may be inappropriate in today’s market. Things like revenue streams, customer segments, cost structures,...

Executive Agenda

Are Conscious Leaders Just “Woke” Wimps?

Margot CairnesExecutive Agenda

At a World Economic Forum event in Washington in 2000, I was wide-eyed listening to emerging tech leaders compare the rise of the internet to the land grab of the Wild West. The analogy made sense due to several factors: Unclaimed Territory & First-Mover Advantage Domain names, user attention (a.k.a....

Executive Profiles

The CEOs Who Thrive in Uncertainty Are Doing These 3 Things Differently

Margot CairnesExecutive Profiles

In today’s fast-changing world, uncertainty is the only constant. Economic shifts, technological disruptions, and geopolitical tensions are forcing CEOs to navigate an unpredictable landscape. While some leaders struggle to adapt, others seem to thrive, making bold moves and positioning their companies for long-term success. What sets these resilient CEOs apart?...

Executive Opinions

If you want to find the way – get lost

Margot CairnesExecutive Opinions

Master myth scholar Joseph Campbell outlined the hero’s journey – the voyage that hero’s take to find new lands and discover themselves in entirely new and richer ways. Myths, according to Campbell, have a lot to teach those who want to create meaning and success in the world. As a...

Global CEO Forum

People are more than meets the eye

Margot CairnesGlobal CEO Forum

Some years ago I stood in front of a leadership team to begin a lecture. While I had been invited and briefed by the managing director I had not met all the other team members. After a glowing introduction by the leader, a team member, a man in his 50’s...

Byron Fay, Executive Director at Climate 200

CEO Spotlight

Communities can change the world

Margot CairnesCEO Spotlight

Australia has become Silicon Valley’s favorite place to test new features, apps, and social media.  Australia has one of the wealthiest populations in the world, and at the same time, as a Pacific Island, the country is largely hidden from world markets due to its small economy and distance. Fortune...

Executive Roundtable

If AI can do it for us, do we need to do it for ourselves?

Margot CairnesExecutive Roundtable

It was at a World Economic Forum event in Washington in 2000 that I first heard about the development of humans as cyborgs. There, young IT entrepreneurs were waxing lyrically about us merging with machines. The word cyborg was coined by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline in 1960. The concept...

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CEOWORLD magazine

Margot Cairnes

Where Do the Outstanding Leaders Go to Think?

When the Decisions Cannot Be Outsourced

Leadership in Uncertainty: Thriving in the Age of Tariffs and Turmoil

The Future Belongs to the Visionaries: Perhaps???

Are Conscious Leaders Just “Woke” Wimps?

The CEOs Who Thrive in Uncertainty Are Doing These 3 Things Differently

If you want to find the way – get lost

People are more than meets the eye

Communities can change the world

If AI can do it for us, do we need to do it for ourselves?

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