European CEOs react to the new American leader

On Trump’s inauguration: “I think it’s also a wake-up call for Europe. I think Europe also really needs to focus on the economy and on growth.”

“We need to become more competitive. We need greater labor productivity. We need to invest more in AI, we need to invest in the Capital Markets Union to, let’s say, improve the flow of capital in Europe So I think “A lot of things he (Trump) says apply, to some extent, also to Europe, and Europe should focus on the competitiveness of this region, which will also help society. as a whole,” he added.

“We’re still digesting it. It’s a fair assessment. I think it will take us some time to understand, but we’re listening carefully. But as always with Mr. Trump, there are some things that are said and others that are made, and we have to distinguish between the two,” he said.

On the risk of Europe falling further behind: “Yes, that risk absolutely exists… but we shouldn’t point the finger at Mr. Trump. We should look outside our own house, pick up the sweeper and start to working on what, through regulations, is… the starting point, tons of things to do.”

“I think President Trump’s return to the White House means more uncertainty in terms of policy. It also means more volatility for the markets, and that’s something we’re going to see in the weeks and months to come. coming, so we need To be ready for that as well, I think the market is trying to understand what the real scope of the tariffs that the United States is imposing on other countries may be,” he said. declared.

“Yesterday, I think we talked about Canada and Mexico, but there are other very important countries that may or may not be subject to tariffs, depending on how things develop. So I think that “That political uncertainty will be there, and I think that’s going to be a big driver for the markets in the near term.”

“On a purely financial level, for a lot of American companies, it’s going to be very positive… as a financial investor, it’s generally very exciting… when we talk to CEOs, and we talk to a lot of ‘between them, we really see this animal spirit I come back.’

“We must admit that the Paris Agreement has failed to achieve the expected plans, ambitions and goals. It is also true that we are looking for other ways to achieve the temperature reduction that is absolutely necessary .I mean technology has to help. So no, (I) don’t think it’s a big event,” he said.

“It’s very early to absorb everything. The first thing I would say, like Trump version 1.0, he does what he says he’s going to do, and so I don’t think there’s a lot of uncertainty about the priorities that he has set out It will always depend on how these measures are implemented and how they will impact the world Listen, our base case for this year is quite simple, we think it is. will be good for US growth, it will probably slow down international growth,” he said.

Regarding Trump’s choice of health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Narasimhan said: “We’re facing a challenge right now because, on the one hand, we have a head of the HHS department. of Health and Social Services) who outwardly declared: some fairly anti-scientific statements. And yet, we must work constructively with this administration to achieve policy changes that are important to our industry while defending vaccines, defending science.

“Our conversations with the administration have been very positive. There are obviously some areas of disagreement, but I think overall it’s going to be a better environment for us than the last four years,” he said. added.

CNBC reached out to RFK Jr’s campaign group for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.