Davos draws to a close after a week of high drama

Talk to anyone who heads to Davos each year and many will tell you they approach the ritual trip to the Swiss mountains with a mixture of anticipation and a certain amount of dread. Yes, there’s the promise of creating new business relationships and meeting genuinely interesting people, but the days often start well before dawn, ending well after midnight - and the Davos sands constantly shift. One CEO said quietly to me this week that his only way of coping here was looking at his schedule just one hour ahead at any one time. 

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 56th annual meeting this week has been one of the biggest rollercoasters to date. As I write at Thursday lunchtime, helicopters continue to whir overhead with the distant sound of protestors shouting about everything from a lack of human rights in Iran to President Trump’s efforts to upend the global world order. 

The mood this week has been more conflicted than ever. There is relief from business leaders around Trump’s tariff U-turn. Global markets have bounced back after the US president retreated from a threat to hit European countries with tariffs. But what has struck me most of all this week is the clear divide at Davos into two distinct camps. On the one hand are the executives I heard audibly gasping as they listened to Trump’s speech on Wednesday. Another texted me from within the Congress Centre: “Is it just me that’s speechless?”. 

But the voices who generally back the more traditional Davos principles around dialogue, engagement, and who think profit should be delivered alongside purpose and societal benefit are at risk of being drowned out. This group is now caught in a bind on how to communicate their message publicly. As my colleague, Andrew Adie, writes - it requires a new form of corporate diplomacy.  

What has been different this week are louder views from a distinctly opposite camp who tell you the new Sheriff is good for the economy and good for business. The crypto crowd - who are once again represented in force in Davos - like his embrace and openness to growth in the industry. Having called the industry a scam in his first term, the Trump administration has appointed crypto-friendly regulators, such as SEC Chair Paul Atkins, and worked to reduce regulation-by-enforcement, including dropping lawsuits against major crypto firms. One Dubai-based crypto executive told me that the more relaxed approach in the US was good for the business worldwide. 

This group, many of whom will have massed at USA House on the Promenade, look at Europe as too strict with rules and regulation. During a panel I chaired on Tuesday for SEC Newgate client Autopay on ‘Capital Markets Rewired’, Camila Clarke from Clarke Capital Advisers told me that more needed to be done to stop growth firms leaving Europe and choosing a US listing over a European one. The lines with this new divided Davos have been drawn this week more clearly. 

Set against this, Davos has been brimming with opportunity with new connections forged, transactions progressed and, in some cases, were completed. Take the major UK investments being touted here by Rachel Reeves. Meeting global investors and CEOs, the Chancellor announced £1.5 billion of private investments into the UK. She was also here to listen and engage. She met with multiple business leaders to gauge perspectives on growth and investment. 

The Davos side events have also been humming. At SEC Newgate, we have advised clients from white badge holders attending sessions in the Congress Centre to creating spaces on the Promenade with curated events, bringing senior leaders together for key bilateral meetings to drive business objectives forward. The great thing about doing business here is its apparent informality. Creating this unique magic helps gets business done here. 

So, as a Davos week like no other concludes, many will leave here with relief that the geopolitical dramas have settled, at least for now. While questions may be asked about the strained capacity of this little Swiss village during WEF, Davos has felt more relevant this week than ever. The stage is well set for its return.