The 48th World Economic Forum WEF is an annual gathering of the world's business and political elite.
Held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the four-day conference is invite-only and includes world leaders and the top executives of major companies worldwide ranging from big banks to big pharma.
In addition, many of Hollywood's and the music industry's strong voices attend and a few are being honored.
Elton to be honoured with the 2018 Crystal Award for his @ejaf work in the fight against HIV/AIDS. #wef18 https://t.co/o6ZEASXRhU
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) January 17, 2018
Some of the big topics on the agenda are the digital economy, energy and health care.
In addition, women will be the central force, as the Forum is co-chaired by an all-female team, including IBM's (IBM) Ginni Rometty and the International Monetary Fund's Christine Lagarde.
- Check out Anders Keitz column here for how that is still not representative of the broader world though since, according to BoardEx, the relationship mapping service of The Deal and its parent company, The Street Inc., women make up about 23% of S&P 500 boards, which is a slight increase from 22.2% as of June 2017.
Discussions at Davos are insightful and often transformative. For instance, the Northern American Free Trade Agreement was first proposed here.
And for more on things you didn't know about this 4-day event, that happens January 23-26, watch our video now.