A new report released by the UN Youth Office, the St. Gallen Symposium and The Club of Rome is calling on businesses to embrace intergenerational leadership as a driver of innovation, sustainability, and long-term success.
Titled How Intergenerational Leadership Unlocks Innovation and Sustainability in Business, the report outlines how the widening age gap in corporate leadership—where the average CEO is 56.8 years old while the global workforce median age is 39.6—risks holding back progress. It argues that involving younger generations meaningfully in decision-making is not just a moral imperative but a competitive advantage.
“As we look to build a more just, sustainable, and prosperous future, the inclusion of younger generations in decision-making is not just a matter of fairness—it’s a strategic imperative,” said Felipe Paullier, Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, United Nations. “From my vantage point within the UN, I’ve seen how intergenerational leadership can strengthen institutions’ ability to navigate complexity and drive meaningful change. Businesses that explore similar approaches may find new pathways to resilience and long-term advantage.”
The report identifies five key benefits of intergenerational leadership: greater empathy with employees and customers, longer-term strategic thinking, disruption of outdated practices, creative problem-solving through generational diversity, and enhanced governance and accountability.
To help organisations take action, the report outlines three practical approaches:
- Consultation – through mechanisms such as reverse mentoring and youth advisory boards;
- Co-leadership – integrating younger voices directly into decision-making structures; and
- Embedding – building intergenerational collaboration into culture, systems and strategy.
Drawing on research and real-world examples, the report shows that businesses that embrace intergenerational leadership can better navigate complexity, drive innovation, and deliver on sustainability goals—unlocking value for people, planet and profit.
“This report challenges the outdated notion that leadership must come with age,” said Nolita Thina Mvunelo, Programme Manager at The Club of Rome and a co-author of the report. “True resilience in business will come from the courage to reimagine decision-making as a space where wisdom and fresh insight meet.” Felix Rüdiger, Head Content & Research of the St. Gallen Symposium, added: “Intergenerational leadership isn’t just a better way forward—it’s essential for shaping a future that works for everyone.”
For more information, a copy of the full report under embargo and interview requests contact:
Philippa Baumgartner
Head of Communications
Tel: +43 664 414 4456
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Publication
This publication emerged from research conducted in the context of the joint initiative of The Club of Rome and the St. Gallen Symposium for “A New Generational Contract”. It is also part of a part of a broader initiative – The Fifth Element, a program of The Club of Rome.
Suggested citation
Rüdiger, F., Köchli, K., Hunter, M. & Mvunelo, N. (2025) How Intergenerational Leadership Unlocks Innovation and Sustainability in Business. United Nations Youth Office, St. Gallen Symposium & The Club of Rome.
The Club of Rome is a platform of diverse thought leaders who identify holistic solutions to complex global issues and promote policy initiatives and action to enable humanity to emerge from multiple planetary emergencies. The organisation has prioritised five key areas of impact: Emerging New Civilisations; Planetary Emergency; Reframing Economics; Rethinking Finance; and Youth Leadership and Intergenerational Dialogues.
As the first dedicated entity for youth affairs within the United Nations Secretariat, the UN Youth Office champions the rights, perspectives, contributions and potential of young people everywhere. We lead efforts to enhance collaboration, coordination and accountability on youth affairs, ensuring that the United Nations works effectively and inclusively with young people in all their diversity. By fostering meaningful, inclusive and impactful participation of youth in decision-making processes, our work focuses on empowering young people as agents of transformative change in addressing global challenges in the areas of sustainable development, peace and security, human rights and humanitarian action.
The St. Gallen Symposium is one of the world’s leading initiatives for cross-generational dialogue. Our goal is to promote more responsible, long-term leadership, by fostering meaningful and critical engagement between generations. Founded in 1969, the initiative is driven by a team of about 25 students, the International Students’ Committee, and a team of professionals, the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies. Our annual main symposium brings together around 700 senior executives from business and policy with 200 young change-makers from around the world at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. We actively promote sustainability and long-term thinking through intergenerational leadership.