I did an interview with Adi Ignatius, the editor of the Harvard Business Review, where I got a chance to spell out my views on the role of business leaders in influencing public policy. It is a complex issue given chief executives’ obligations to their shareholders, desire to be effective, fears of retaliation and much else.

Just before the inauguration I expressed strongly the fear that American business leaders in Davos were legitimising the excessively problematic policy approaches of the new president, Donald Trump.

Events since the inauguration have confirmed my fears. Policy has gone further than I expected in threatening an open global system and provoking key partners. It has undercut Statue of Liberty values and the rule of law more than I anticipated. Especially in foreign policy, words are deeds. It takes decades for a nation to build credibility and trust that can be sacrificed in a matter of hours.