The Spark Behind the Centerline Program

Ever since my first project at the World Economic Forum, I’ve been passionate about interdisciplinary learning. One of the first things you learn when working with consultants is the golden rule: “Don’t reinvent the wheel.” Of course, this typically refers to leveraging existing solutions from similar situations. But I discovered something even more powerful—if you apply a bit of imagination, you can transfer approaches and processes not just within industries, but across entirely different disciplines.

I remember it vividly—being on the final call with our steering committee, made up of C-suite executives from major banks and insurance companies. There I was, explaining why streamlining regulations might not always be the best idea, using lessons we had learned… from fisheries.

In one example, a salmon farm in South America had bred only one genetically identical type of salmon. When a disease hit, every single fish succumbed. There was no diversity, and thus no resilience.

I remember thinking: This is wild. I felt like I had to pinch myself—referencing aquaculture on a financial industry call was definitely out of the box. But the point landed.

Since then, I’ve applied this cross-disciplinary lens wherever I can. It’s incredibly exciting to see how concepts, frameworks, and strategies can thrive in unexpected places. It was this way of thinking that sparked the idea behind the "Centerline" program.