Donald Trump may not be stepping into Davos this week, but the head of the World Economic Forum says the new president has sparked renewed interest in the annual gathering of business and political leaders.
“It’s true that everyone here is very interested in understanding what Trump 2.0 is,” WEF President Borge Brende told AFP in an interview.
Trump is casting a long shadow over the Swiss Alpine resort, where corporate and political leaders will debate his policies on conflict, trade, taxes, immigration and climate change.
Participants will try to “connect the dots and understand Trump’s intentions,” Brende said.
While the WEF had to compete for attention with Trump’s inauguration on Monday, it will get to hear from the man himself via video link on Thursday, with the CEO able to ask him questions directly.
“I think (Trump’s inauguration) has increased the interest in Davos because people feel they need to come together to better understand what’s going to happen along the way,” said Norway’s former foreign minister. “
Members of the Trump administration are expected to attend the WEF later in the week, but names have not yet been confirmed.
“We will also have a clear American presence here in Davos,” Brende said.
American business giants are among the many CEOs who come to Davos every year, but the WEF hopes to one day get the chance to visit the world’s richest man – Trump supporter and Tesla chief Elon Musk, who once Made fun of this meeting. boring”.
Brende said, “Elon Musk is welcome this year and next year too. And next year, maybe he can come with Mr. Trump.”
World Economic Forum founder steps back
This year’s meeting also comes at a crossroads for the WEF as its 86-year-old German-born founder Klaus Schwab stepped down from the organization’s executive leadership.
Brende took over executive duties.
“Now we’re like a French company where you have a chairperson who is non-executive and then you have a CEO chairperson who is in charge of the executive part of it,” Brende said.
The WEF also had to grapple with allegations of a “toxic workplace” last year, which were reported by the Wall Street Journal, along with allegations of discrimination against women and black people.
“We didn’t feel like it was reflective of our organization,” Brende said.
“But we are also a very serious organization, so we said no organization is perfect,” he said, and set up an independent panel led by Thomas Buberal, head of French insurer AXA.
Buberl and other practitioners on the committee are working with law firms to “look into the claims that have been made” and will “come up with recommendations that we will follow,” Brende said.
The WEF president said, “We take it seriously, we did not recognize ourselves in that article.”
“For us, our talent, our people on the platform are the core of the organisation. We want to be a world-class organization when it comes to treating our people.”
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