Masayoshi Son and Tidjane Thiam Alone in the Desert?

Written by Jeffrey Vögeli

Top executives have queued up to cancel their participation at the «Davos in the desert» conference. Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank, isn’t among them and neither is Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam.

The disappearance of journalist Jamal Kashoggi in Turkey has put the Saudi regime of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the spot. Having not so long ago been feted as a modernizer and supporter of women’s rights, the prince is now being fingered as the man behind an unsavioury assassination plot coldly executed in the Saudi embassy right on the doorsteps of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The damage to Saudi Arabia’s reputation has been massive as it is and is now affecting the Future Investment Initiative. The conference for top managers was dubbed «Davos in the desert» for its success in luring executives to the event due to be held in Riyadh at the end of the month.

Delicate Alliance

The cancellations are now stacking up. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi won’t go, and J.P. Morgan Jamie Dimon won’t either. Tidjane Thiam, the CEO of Credit Suisse, however is still listed as a participant. The bank didn’t comment on his participation when asked by finews.asia. Credit Suisse finds itself in a more complex situation than others because the Swiss finance powerhouse is a main sponsor of the conference and Thiam a member of its advisory board.

Masayoshi Son, the prominent CEO of Softbank and director of Alibaba, is also a member of the conference advisory board. He is also still listed as a participant. Others share their delicate position: Mastercard, Siemens and HSBC from the West, plus a string of Saudi firms are the strategic partners of Future Investment Initiative (see picture below).

Further Developments Pending

Lawrence Fink, the chairman of Blackrock, and Steven Schwarzman, the CEO of Blackstone, also pulled out on Monday. The two executives, together with Dimon, had urged the organizers to postpone the meeting, according to the «New York Times». Siemens is also monitoring events but so far has made no alteration to the plans of its CEO, Joe Kaeser.

Credit Suisse Woes

Thiam’s problem is further complicated by the fact that the bank has selected Saudi Arabia as a major stepping stone for its Middle Eastern strategy. Thiam in the summer told journalists that he was working hard to get a full banking license in the kingdom. Whether or not the focus on the oil-rich country would pay off in the long term remains to be seen.

Following executives so far have cancelled their trip to Riyadh, according to «Bloomberg»: