"I've known about Davos, the World Economic Forum's annual conference that gathers the global elite, for my entire 16-year career as a business journalist. As a young reporter at Bloomberg, I remember watching our TV anchors banter so effortlessly with CEOs, all in their puffy jackets against the backdrop of the snowy Swiss mountains. I wondered if one day I would get to join their ranks."
"I would be expected to take 30 meetings over the course of four days and mingle and write dispatches, and I would need to buy a very warm pair of snow boots. 'It's a lot of work,' she kept saying, but it went right over my head. I was already imagining all the executives I would run into, charming them so thoroughly that they would tell me their secrets for the rest of my career."
"My colleague Dan DeFrancesco, our lead newsletter writer who attended last year, told me about the long, icy walks home. And those walks would take place after back-to-back meetings with executives from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., after which I'd attend a few happy hours, a dinner."
A business journalist receives an unexpected call from her editor-in-chief offering her the opportunity to attend Davos, the World Economic Forum's annual conference in Switzerland. After 16 years covering business, she has long admired colleagues who attended this prestigious event. Initially thrilled at the prospect of meeting CEOs and securing future story sources, she begins preparing by shopping for appropriate attire and luggage. However, as December approaches, the reality of the demanding schedule becomes apparent. She learns from a colleague who attended previously about the grueling nature of the event: back-to-back meetings from early morning through evening, followed by social events, all while navigating icy conditions and exhaustion.
Read at Business Insider
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