Business | Schumpeter

The reluctant rise of the diplomat CEO

Elon Musk wants to be a statesman. Most bosses would rather not

The corporate jets descended on Riyadh this week, ferrying chief executives to the Future Investment Initiative, a talkfest nicknamed “Davos in the Desert”. A feud between the American and Saudi governments over an oil-production cut by the opec+ cartel, a move which benefits fellow member Russia, was not enough to keep away the bosses of giant American banks like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. Nor was the kingdom’s record of human-rights abuses.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “The diplomat CEO”

Will Iran’s women win?

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