What Colgate's Davos Announcement Means for Healthcare CEOs

At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Colgate-Palmolive announced a multi-year collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Foundation to support the independent organisation's oral health agenda.

The collaboration is structured around three areas of action grounded in WHO’s system-strengthening approach: embedding prevention and education into government health infrastructure, supporting Ministries of Health with evidence-based, cost-effective guidance to integrate oral health into national systems and elevating oral health as a public health priority.

Ram Raghavan President of Enterprise Oral Care at Colgate-Palmolive, says: “At Colgate-Palmolive, we are driven by our purpose to reimagine a healthier future for all – and to make more smiles.

"We’re launching this collaboration with the WHO Foundation given its unique position to support global health challenges, and Colgate’s leadership position in oral health as the brand that’s in more homes than any other."

Leadership at Colgate-Palmolive

As part of Colgate-Palmolive's 2030 growth strategy, the company is emphasising peer leading and building brand advocacy through its sustainable initiatives, such as the use of recyclable packaging. 

The company has also been investing heavily in AI and data-driven marketing to improve its decision making and better understand consumer behaviour. 

This latest WHO partnership builds on Colgate-Palmolive's existing strategic focus, concentrating on standards and integration rather than standalone campaigns.

That orientation enables progress to provide clearer accountability over a multi-year horizon. It also leverages Colgate’s existing assets – brand reach, clinical expertise and distribution –  within a governance framework designed to translate private resources into public health impact.

Rather than treating education and prevention as brand adjacencies, the company is aligning its core oral care capability with a public health platform that can shape standards and influence national adoption.

Route-to-impact is built around the WHO Foundation’s mandate to mobilise private funding in support of WHO priorities, linking Colgate’s resources to evidence-based guidance and ministry counterparts.

For a category leader, that architecture creates a clearer path from corporate initiative to policy-backed implementation.

Discussing the partnership, Anil Soni, CEO of the WHO Foundation, says: “The WHO Foundation supports WHO’s mission by mobilising private funding in support of public health priorities.

“Oral health plays an essential role in overall health and progress depends on long-term investment in prevention, trusted guidance and strong health systems.

“Support like this helps enable WHO’s work to advance oral health and improve health outcomes for communities around the world.”

The initiative extends, rather than replaces, Colgate’s longstanding education footprint. The company reports that its Bright Smiles, Bright Futures programme has reached approximately two billion children and their families since 1991.

Ann Tracy, EVP and Chief Sustainability Officer at Colgate-Palmolive, says on LinkedIn: “By supporting and strengthening health systems, we are not just improving smiles, we are building a healthier, more sustainable future for generations to come.

“I’m so happy to be at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum to help launch Colgate-Palmolive’s partnership with the WHO Foundation, which will help expand oral health education across the globe.”