More than skiing: Why business leaders attend Davos

By Rod Cant, CNN.com Europe business writer

Davos 2000 participants enjoy "the spirit of Davos" at the Schatzalp Lunch, which featured snow buffets and Alpine scenery

LONDON, England (CNN) -- This is a key time for top business leaders, with the books about to be closed on another financial year. What is it then that drags hundreds of them at this time of year to Davos, a remote Alpine village?

The answer is their unique opportunity to hobnob with other corporate bigwigs, picking each other's brains and maybe doing a deal or two, mainly outside the glare of the global media spotlight.

Davos is all about exchanging information, be it in question-and-answer sessions in front of a packed auditorium, in private dinners and lunches at the hotels dotting the slopes of the Swiss Alps, or in whispered gatherings on the fringes of the conference itself.

The organizers, the World Economic Forum, often boast of "The spirit of Davos," and there may well be some truth to the idea that this annual event holds a special place in the hearts of top CEOs. And it's not just the skiing, fine though that is.

Regular attendees include Microsoft boss Bill Gates, legendary investor George Soros and European corporate bigwigs such as Rolf Breuer of Deutsche Bank.

What they really get out of the whole thing depends on who you talk to.

Some undoubtedly see Davos as the opportunity to promote personal goals or ideals. An example is Soros, the billionaire financier and philanthropist who broke the Bank of England and made £1 billion in a single day back in the early 1990s.

His opposition to the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund is well documented, but the annual forum gives him the opportunity to publicly berate the senior officers of these organizations for what he sees as their bungled meddling in international affairs.

For Gates and others, including John Chambers -- CEO of Cisco Systems -- Davos offers the platform to espouse visions of future technology, as well as close-up contact with political movers and shakers.

In the past two years, the event was graced by luminaries including U.S. President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This year, the inauguration of the new Bush administration just a week before has taken its toll on the number of U.S. politicians attending; the heaviest political figure is South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Industry figures, too, like to get together for informal chats at Davos, away from the round of formal receptions and parties. Usually relatively unencumbered by guard dogs from their press offices, executives can meet for ad hoc discussions that affect their industries.

Examples include natural resource company bosses meeting to mull over plummeting commodity prices. The extreme volatility of the price of crude oil is bound to be a major topic of conversation. Attending this year's event are OPEC Secretary-General Ali Rodriguez-Araque and several bosses from the major oil companies. They will undoubtedly have plenty to say to each other in private.

In short, attendees can make what they want of Davos. A brief visit for a presentation and a bit of glad-handing is possible, but the remote location makes that difficult. So most executives use the trip as a way of brushing up their business contacts. Oh, and maybe a bit of skiing in one of the world's most exclusive resorts.