WEF - What Everyone Fears
The Swiss Insider 30.01.2020 #insidersdoitsmarter
Dear Insider,
Last week probably saw more business done than in Switzerland than in any other place at any other time. Not possible, you say?
Yes, it is - it’s WEF week.
Some criticize the World Economic Forum in Davos as a smoozefest for the rich and famous with little to no action or even regard for the issues of ordinary people - a place where Phillip Morris lavishly splashes out the cash for an “Unsmoke Your Mind” lounge with free food and drinks all day long.
The fact is…there is some truth in this…
But the reverse is also true. Business is done face to face - and like it or not, a lot of business is done by the billionaires that trek high up into Kanton Graubunden every year for WEF. Their decisions and deals (as self-serving as they may be) mean jobs, taxes and entire national economies for most, if not all, of the world.
This year brought climate change into focus again. And despite the “business-as-usual” feeling of the many all-night parties along the Promenade, it was clear that burning fires in Australia, combined with a certain young Swedish girl were enough to bring out a tinge of fear in the big bankers and even move them to somewhat stiff attempts at public relations stunts.
Tidjane Thiam may look the part, but Davos did not treat him nicely…
It’s an uncomfortable truth, actually. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is driven just as much by fear as by any lust for money or drive to do a deal. For one thing, the world elite are driven by the basic fear of missing out. At a certain tipping point, the crowd instinct takes over and the knowledge that your competition may be on-site talking to your clients - or merely that fear of missing the famous PwC nightcap on Wednesday evening - urges the masses to make the annual trek to Davos.
(The PwC Lounge pictured above looks vastly different after 10PM…)
But there is also a fear of losing connection. Not only do C-levels love Davos for the amount of valuable facetime they can get with their peers (an event manager from IHS Markit told me that her management team was bound by list of some 600 one-on-one meetings over the course of the week) they also value being “part of the world conversation.” For them, globalisation is the name of the game and if you’re not in the right place at the right time, you’ll get cut off in some provincial place like Houston, Texas - shut off from the big, wide world of wealth and opportunity.
At the end of the day, it’s a primordial, deeply-ingrained need to stay relevant that draws the Davos crowd. Connection and relevance - two so very human needs.
Maybe Davos is human after all…
Ian
The (WEF) Numbers Game
In which we serve up some of the more interesting numbers in Swiss business*…
*This time all about WEF
10 000 & 6 000
The Davos bakery Weber is the official provider of bread for the hotel where President Trump stayed during his time in Davos this week. That meant 10 000 bread rolls and 6 000 croissants delivered each day…
53
Known far and wide for bringing together world leaders, the 50th edition of WEF did not disappoint. A full 53 heads of state or heads of governments attended in 2020. In total, 130 persons of note (read: worthy of government protection) turned up.
2281
The total number of official participants of the WEF Annual Meeting exceeds 2000 this year. Of course, the number would definitely be bigger if it weren’t for the membership fees which can exceed $550 000 per year.
400/300
Police are everywhere in Davos - and naturally, with good reason. This year, approximately 400 Kanton Police and 300 City Police from Zurich were on hand.
The Bits
There were many interesting and unusual bits to consider in Davos this year - below are a few samples…
Apparently, manifestos and position papers are second-rate compared to good, old-fashioned networking…
Anyone who doubted the power of social media (and the growing savviness of big corporates to leverage it) obviously didn’t see Bank of America’s Twitter campaign during #WEF20. The entire hashtag feed was full - literally.
Whether you like it or not, Davos inspires a lot of people. Okay, maybe there is a bit of hype as well… Henri Arslanian from PwC embodies the flavor of it all.