World Economic Forum 2022: Remembering Rahul Bajaj at Davos Annual Meet

It was Rahul Bajaj's insistence 40 years ago that made Indian business leaders attend the World Economic Forum WEF event.

For more than 40 years, Bajaj Group's Chairman emeritus Rahul Bajaj hosted a nightcap gathering at Davos for business leaders and friends of India. This time around, the nightcap was hosted by his son Sanjiv, in honour of his father, who passed away on February 12, 2022 at the age of 83.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting is taking place in Davos, Switzerland, under the theme, 'Working Together, Restoring Trust' from May 22 to 26. It is the first global in-person leadership event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The venue in Belvedere hotel was the same at which Rahul Bajaj would stand at the door to welcome global CEOs, heads of state and Indian delegates. The hall was adorned with photographs of Bajaj, showcasing glimpses of his years in Davos.

The one photo that caught everyone’s attention showed Bajaj sitting in a three-wheeler auto on a snowy road of Davos in 2008. The picture encapsulated his efforts to ensure that Indian business was a prominent presence at the global forum.

It was Bajaj's insistence 40 years ago that made Indian business leaders attend the WEF event. The friendship between Bajaj and Professor Klaus Schwab, founder of WEF, laid the foundation for India to be a regular presence at the world’s most influential gathering of business leaders.

At least 100 Indian CEOs, as well as hundreds of business and political leaders from across the world, have already registered for the WEF 2022 five-day event.

These include Adani Group's Gautam Adani, Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani and his two children Isha and Akash, Bajaj Finserv's Sanjiv Bajaj, Aditya Birla Group's Kumar Mangalam Birla, Tata Sons' N Chandrasekaran, Axis Bank's Amitabh Chaudhry, HCL Tech's Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Infosys's Salil Parekh, Serum Institute's Adar Poonawalla, Wipro's Rishad Premji, Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma, ReNew Power's Sumant Sinha and Tata Steel's T V Narendran.