| First: | 2004 |
| Begins: | October 20, 2020 |
| Ends: | October 21, 2020 |
| Frequency: | Annually |
| Location: | David Geffen Hall, New York City, NY The Javits Center, New York City, NY |
| Participants: | over 5000 top-level business executives |
The World Business Forum which was founded in 1988[1] is an annual global business summit held in New York City. A 2008 Burson-Marsteller survey ranked the forum among the world's top five most influential venues for the C-Suite executives.[2]
The yearly summit brings together an average of over 5,000 attendees, mostly senior executives from over 60 countries. The Forum consists of discussions of top political leaders, business leaders, and intellectuals about the current issues and challenges of the world business environment and global economy.[3] [4]
The World Business Forum in New York City was launched in 2004.[5] Past speakers in the World Business Forum included political figures such as Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, Rudy Giuliani, Tony Blair and Colin Powell. Other speakers have been CEOs Jack Welch, Richard Branson, Herb Kelleher and John Chambers, financial experts Alan Greenspan and Jeremy Siegel, and management experts Tom Peters, Peter Drucker and Michael Porter among others.[6]
Speakers included:
THE FUTURE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
A CONVERSATION ON CREATIVITY, TALENT AND THE SEARCH FOR MEANING
THE ART OF BATTLING GIANTS
MAKING DECISIONS THAT ARE RIGHT FOR YOU
CULTIVATING CREATIVITY
CREATING AN AGE OF ABUNDANCE
START SOMETHING THAT MATTERS
WINNERS AND LOSERS IN A G-ZERO WORLD
WHY LEADERS EAT LAST
IT’S NOT THE HOW OR THE WHAT BUT THE WHO
LEVERAGING YOUR ORGANIZATION’S COLLECTIVE GENIUS
THE END OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
CREATIVITY & OPENING THE DOORS OF THE HUMAN BRAIN
75% of attendees to the World Business Forum are at director level or above, and 30% are C-Suite executives.[8]
The event is organized by WOBI, an executive education and management content firm which has been holding business conferences globally for over 20 years under the names World Business Forum and ExpoManagement. In addition to the World Business Forum in New York, WOBI organizes business forums around the world as well as other forums including the WOBI On Innovation.[4]
This year's World Business Forum will take place from November 20 to November 21 at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City.[9]
In 2023, WOBI’s started a new Green Impact initiative it has put out a call for companies implementing effective environmental initiatives to share their stories with others on the main stage of each of this year’s World Business Forum events around the world.[10]