Manchin & Sinema attend Davos lunch with CEOs

DAVOS, Switzerland – US lawmakers quietly took part in a lavish private lunch atop the World Economic Forum on Monday with the participation of dozens of influential business leaders, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Lawmakers in attendance included members of the US congressional delegation to the annual gathering for the elite and rich in Davos, including Sens. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., Chris Coons, D-Del., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. and some members of the House of Representatives, these people explained. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp also attended the event, one of the people said.

Coons, Manchin, Sinema and Kemp are among the US-based officials scheduled to participate in this year’s conference panel sessions. These private events on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum often serve as meet-and-greets between CEOs, billionaires, and government officials.

Coons and Manchin separately addressed the crowd of corporate leaders at lunch, said an attendee, who declined to be identified speaking of a private meeting.

Coons discussed US aid being given to Ukraine after the Russian invasion, while Manchin, who is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called for US energy independence, this person noted. Congress approved $40 billion in additional aid for Ukraine last year.

The private lunch was held at the Hotel Schatzalp, which is accessible mainly by funicular or tram, to the property, those with knowledge of the meeting explained. An attendee said the meeting took place at the hotel’s Belle Epoque restaurant, and participants were served salmon and a beef dish.

The business leaders came from a wide variety of backgrounds, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri, Klaus Schwab, the CEO of the World Economic Forum and the heads of a variety of non-governmental organizations, among others, this aide said. . .

Coons told CNBC on the sidelines before lunch that members of the congressional delegation were heading to lunch “with about 50 CEOs.” He did not say which executives were scheduled to attend.

A Hewlett Packard Enterprise representative confirmed Neri’s attendance. Representatives for the lawmakers mentioned in this story did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Hotel Schatzalp first opened as a luxury sanitarium for wealthy clients in 1900 by Dutch businessman Willem Jan Holsboer, according to the property’s website.

The modern Art Nouveau structure, located above the highest city in Europe at 1,900 meters above sea level, was converted into a hotel in 1953.