The World Economic Forum is headquartered in Cologny, near the Swiss city of Geneva, in a purpose-built complex completed in 1998. It is from here that 780 of its employees operate, including the organization’s executive chairman, president and the managing board. It is also from these offices that all core functions and several of its centres are based.

It uses the space not just as an office but also to host multiple dialogues and events, including the Annual Meeting on Cybersecurity in November during the reporting period. Additionally, it has dedicated meeting facilities in Villa Mundi, a former house located next door to the main site, which, following renovation and adaptation to make it fit for purpose, was inaugurated in August 2023.

Established in 2006, the Forum’s China office plays a key role as an impartial platform for public-private cooperation and innovation for positive change in China and the world.

The Forum maintains strong relationships with China’s central government and several large municipal governments, many of which were established as far back as 1979.

During the reporting period, the Forum engaged with four Chinese state leaders, 49 ministers and vice-ministers and 29 municipal government leaders on topics ranging from AI to the energy transition, advanced manufacturing and sustainable development.

In June, the 15th Annual Meeting of New Champions in Dalian brought together over 1,600 leaders, including more than 100 public figures and 800 business leaders.

The Forum brought on 17 Chinese companies as new partners. These companies support Chinese enterprises’ engagement with the international community and have joined more than 100 Chinese experts from universities, research institutions, and think tanks, civil society members, young leaders, and innovators who engage with the Forum’s events, initiatives and communities.

With its partners, the Forum’s China office launched or further developed more than 20 high-impact initiatives and projects and published 11 reports and briefing papers.

The Forum’s Japan office continues to strengthen engagement with key Japanese stakeholders through insights and dialogues that fit the Forum’s regional priorities.

The reporting period saw the inaugural meeting of the Chief Sustainability Leaders Community, during which participants identified several key issues and discussed how they could empower chief executive officers to embrace sustainability as a driver of prosperity.

The meeting took place as part of the Japan Nature and Climate: Leading for Sustainability initiative, which involves stakeholders from business, the public sector and academia, as well as global businesses and international organizations with a strong Japanese footprint.

The event included insights from collaboration with the Government of Japan. Together with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Forum convened a First Movers Coalition (FMC) introduction and overview webinar in September. A month later, also with the METI, the Forum introduced the FMC initiative and outlined its progress to date at the global green transformation summit, GGX x TCFD, which the ministry hosted.

This work continued when, at COP28, the Forum collaborated with the Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ) for a session on the Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency Principles (CEREP). These efforts are essential for the Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate to understand how Japan can elevate its leadership efforts, particularly in the areas of climate adaptation, the circular economy and advancing emerging climate technologies.

Separately, during the reporting period, Japan-led initiatives on urban transformation, data and AI, and the space economy were developed. The Forum’s global team and leadership support each initiative with an ambition to eventually extend to the Asia-Pacific and beyond through
the Forum’s global platform.

Established in 2006, the New York office plays a key role in involving US stakeholders in the Forum’s work. It concentrates on advancing global, regional and industry cooperation through dialogue and collaboration across different sectors.

During the reporting period, the office was involved in a number of initiatives and meetings. Among these were the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings, during which the office helped develop discussions.

Further, in September, the Procurement Innovation Dialogues brought together more than 70 senior participants, including chief procurement officers and other C-suite executives, to explore the evolution of procurement and its critical role in the decarbonization journey of corporates. The Metaverse Initiative brought together 70 participants to focus on the Defining and Building the Metaverse Initiative.

In November 2023, the office hosted the second annual Innovator Community Meeting. Over two days, 68 chief executive officers from 22 countries convened to discuss the evolving funding landscape, geopolitics and the societal role of innovators. Other activities included hosting 30 participants for the Digital Trust Community Meeting in February 2023, resulting in the development of three publications on digital trust.

Two months later, the office hosted more than 40 participants from Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States for the New Champions Community. During discussions, they tackled global challenges, explored ideas and engaged in debates on topics like regenerative businesses and the humanization of brands.

Located in the vibrant ecosystem of the San Francisco Bay Area, the office serves as a hub for connecting companies, innovator communities and policy-makers from around the globe. The highlights for the reporting period included convening the AI Governance Summit in November 2023. This brought together more than 200 AI Governance Alliance members from over 30 countries to discuss bridging the AI divide and creating interoperable regulatory frameworks to advance international collaboration. In addition, the US Center for Advanced Manufacturing held its Strategy Series in February 2024, focusing on partnerships between industry and policy-makers on issues ranging from AI to automation and workforce development. Similarly, the Global Technology Retreat saw more than 300 business leaders and policy-makers gather to exchange insights about frontier technologies.