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Who You Know at Davos: The Power of Professional Networks at the World’s Premier Conference

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January 22, 2018

The world’s top business, economic and political leaders will gather this week in Davos for the 48th annual World Economic Forum (WEF). Each year, these leaders arrive from around the globe to discuss the most pressing issues facing society and what actions may be taken to influence positive change. As a result, those who go to Davos want to be attuned to the potential connections they have to other top leaders in order to know before they go who they may be able to rub elbows with and enhance their own professional networks.

For example, the Forum’s Board of Trustees is composed partially of powerful business men and women such as Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Chairman of the Nestle Board Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of Bain & Company Orit Gadiesh and many more.

As top corporate leaders, there is no doubt that individuals of such status become well-established and connected over the course of their careers. For instance, according to Equilar BoardEdge, Benioff currently serves as Chairman of the Salesforce board and has previously served on the board of Cisco. Benioff has also established 53 connections to C-level executives and board members spanning 46 unique companies. To further examine data on Benioff’s connections, click the image or button below to view his connections profile.

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The Forum’s Board of Trustees also includes several political and economic ambassadors who also serve on public company boards. Former United States Vice President Al Gore is among these individuals. BoardEdge data indicates that Gore has served as Chairman of Generation Investment Management, an investment management firm since 2004, as a partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capital firm since 2007, and has served on the board of Apple since 2013. Throughout his career, Gore has established 24 connections to C-level executives and board members across 20 unique public companies, but his connections beyond the boardroom and the C-suite go much deeper as well. The ability for business executives to share one of these corporate experiences with Gore could potentially open doors to a completely new network through a conversation in a forum like Davos. To further examine data on Gore’s connections, click the image or button below to view his connections profile.

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The conference in Davos and the powerful leaders in attendance will without a doubt set a tone for the business and economic climate for 2018. For those in attendance, the impact of Davos is not only engaging in conversations and philosophies that will drive the world economy, but also building powerful professional networks that help influence the implementation of those ideas.

Reach out to Equilar to learn more about BoardEdge connections or request a download of any of the Forum’s Board of Trustees or any of the business leaders in attendance at Davos 2018, as well as any of the nearly 200,000 executives and board members in the database. Include specific requests for individual downloads in the comment field.

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