Larry Fink ponders moving World Economic Forum from Davos
The interim co-chief, and BlackRock CEO says the ‘mountain must come down to earth’ proposing a rotation to hubs like Detroit, Dublin and Jakarta
Larry Fink, the interim co-chief of the World Economic Forum (WEF), is openly musing about a venue change for the flagship event that would take the annual January meeting outside Switzerland.
“You should also see WEF start doing something new: showing up – and listening – in the places where the modern world is actually built,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Davos, yes. But also places like Detroit and Dublin – and cities like Jakarta and Buenos Aires.”
The Blackrock chief executive officer acknowledged in the post on Monday that the forum is likely to stay “synonymous with Davos” for a while. Still, “the mountain will come down to earth,” he said in reference to Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain.
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Fink has privately discussed options to move the flagship gathering of the forum to other locations on a rotational basis, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter.
A WEF spokesperson responded to say the forum “is pleased to be in Davos this year and looks forward to this continued collaboration and partnership at all levels with the Swiss”.
Fink is rethinking the forum’s design and wants access to be extended beyond political and business leaders. Co-chair Andre Hoffmann, who is vice-chairman of pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG’s board of directors, agrees.