U.S. President Donald Trump’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week came after a frenzy of executive orders, many of them targeting long-standing diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the federal government.

But he also sent a strong signal to the business world, instructing government agencies to identify "up to nine” companies and others in the private sector that should be investigated for their DEI practices.

At Davos at least, corporate leaders were already channeling the message.