My column in the FT this week, as promised, relates to a certain Swiss ski-ing resort:
It’s lonely at the top.
Having journeyed this week up a Swiss mountain valley to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, I find myself in select company. Several members of the global business elite discovered at the last minute that they had pressing business elsewhere.
Where is John Thain, the former chief executive of Merrill Lynch? Back in New York trying to rescue his good name after being pushed out by Bank of America and having details of his $1.2m office refurbishment leaked. And where is Sam DiPiazza, chief executive of PwC? In India, where two PwC auditors have been held by police over their role in the alleged $1bn fraud at Satyam Computers.
This is usually the time of year when Davos Man – the global banker and business leader whose fortunes have risen spectacularly during the past three decades – gets to strut his or her stuff. This January, Davos Man is being humbled instead.
It is tricky to be seen at a talking shop in Switzerland when your house is burning down. Even Bob Diamond, president of Barclays, which managed to persuade investors this week that it is not going bust, decided it would be wiser to stay in London.
But there is more going on than a bunch of chief executives temporarily bowing to public relations realities. The ascendancy of Davos Man is under threat for the first time since Klaus Schwab organised the inaugural meeting in 1971.
You can read the rest of the column here and comment below.
