Today’s (1/25/11) New York Times includes one of the most insightful pieces I have read over the years about Davos. Andrew Ross Sorkin captures the little discussed elephant in the room – the cost to play. I was part of the NYSE’s mission to Davos on three occasions .. but our execs, led by Dick Grasso, used every minute to see listed company execs, prospects, member firms and finance ministers who were leading privatizations. It made sense for the Exchange to be there (we would see 50-100 clients in three days), as it did for bank execs who worked the crowd the same way. But I always wondered how non-service companies justified the expense. Tough to put an ROI on shaking hands with Angelina Jolie. Here’s the link if you haven’t seen the story: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/a-hefty-price-for-entry-to-davos/
Posted by Bob Zito at 1/21/2011 3:18 PM