About Fergus
Fergus McCormick is a chief economist and former head of sovereign ratings with more than three decades of experience advising executives, investors, policymakers and international institutions. He has built economic intelligence functions, led global analytical teams and worked extensively with senior government and business leaders.
Fergus moderates the AI Leadership Roundtable with an economist’s attention to incentives, constraints, capital allocation, productivity, and institutional behavior. The role is not to sell a solution, but to create a disciplined forum where senior leaders can compare what is working, what is blocked, and what remains uncertain.
Moderation principles
Each discussion is structured to surface tradeoffs: where AI creates measurable value, where organizational friction slows deployment, and where executives need better peer evidence before committing resources.
• Practical implementation
• Confidential comparison across organizations
• Clear separation between hype, evidence, and operating reality
What Fergus brings to the room
Economics
A lens on incentives
How organizations actually allocate attention, capital, accountability, and risk when adopting AI.
Operations
A focus on constraints
The bottlenecks that decide whether AI moves from promising experiment to durable operating capability.
Dialogue
A disciplined room
Conversation designed for senior peer learning rather than panels, pitches, or vendor-led narratives.