My first day at Davos

My first ever day in Davos for the World Economic Forum. As a complete newby, I thought I’d share some observations. 

Trump dominates everything

Trump didn’t turn up in person to Davos (his address was virtual) but he has managed, unsurprisingly, to permeate every single conversation that’s happening here – whether it’s on growth, trade, AI innovation, energy, sustainability and diversity. There was much concern about his ‘drill baby drill’ remarks from low carbon investors and policymakers.  One astute observation came from Greg Jackson (CEO Octopus) at the SEC Newgate session in the Heimatmuseum, who highlighted the frequent discrepancies between what he says and what he does – noting that in his first term. Trump promised to revive coal. In fact, coal production fell by 40% during the course of term. Whether this offers any comfort for the years ahead remains to be seen, but it’s fair to say that the consequences of Trump’s return are not entirely straightforward or clear. 

UK government using Davos to try to change its tone on growth message

I attended an event with Rachel Reeves this morning, where she was being interviewed by the Emma Tucker, Editor-in-Chief of the Wall Street Journal. It was a fairly serious and sober interview, but the Chancellor used the session to send a message to the global business elite that UK is prioritising growth. Her remarks on softening on the non-dom tax changes is what made headlines – and she was clearly stung by recent reports highlighting the exit of millionaires from the UK. She also stressed that she was spending her time in Davos meeting American AI executives. 

One conclusion you can draw from this is that government has quickly realised that its manifesto measures on growth (loosening planning regulations and consolidating pension funds) isn’t anywhere near enough to getting what they need to be re-elected. You are now seeing them try to pull every possible lever – AI, financial deregulation, Heathrow third runway and now softening tax changes on wealthy non-doms -- to kickstart investment and growth in the UK.

Davos is great 

Never having been here before, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. My nearest comparator in my head was probably Labour Party Conference – and it’s a far cry from that. The setting is speculator – the snow, sunshine and mountain air certainly make it unique. The promenade is like a high street, but instead of shops, it has showcases for the world’s most tech companies such as Meta and Palantir. You have fringe events, but instead of them being hosted by think thanks, they are run by, say, Poland. 

The vibe is also great. While there is a fair amount of pessimism and alarm about the state of the world from my conversations (see my first observation), everyone here is genuinely happy and excited to be here. I think it is a function of bringing together highly driven business representatives from all over the world and having them tell their story and try to change things - it makes networking productive and fun. 

I recommend it!