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Semafor said Wednesday that more than 200 CEOs have already
committed to attend the event, now in its third year,
representing an explosion of interest it credits in large part
to curiosity about the policies of President Donald Trump.
“It is really turning into what will be the closest thing to
what Davos has accomplished in Switzerland,” said Justin B.
Smith, co-founder and CEO of Semafor. The conference is
scheduled for April 23-25.
The event illustrates the growing importance of special events
for media companies, a focus of Semafor's leaders since the
company started earlier this decade.
A similar Washington conference two years ago brought together
about 50 CEOs, and leadership attendance expanded to about 75 in
2024. While that growth showed interest in monitoring regulatory
efforts in Washington, there's little doubt what has propelled
the interest this year, Smith said.
“Trump's election has added fuel to the project's acceleration
and growth,” Smith said.
Semafor hopes that Trump administration officials also attend,
adding to the news value, but none have been booked yet, with
the president's team still staffing up. Semafor's journalists
will help lead a series of discussions on topics like global
finance, energy, growth and the tech revolution.
With other finance leaders and spectators, Semafor is hoping for
about 5,000 people to attend its conference. Leaders of Netflix,
FedEx, Instacart, Mattel, United Airlines, Whole Foods and
WeWork are among the confirmed attendees, the company said.
The event is co-chaired by David Rubenstein, co-founder of the
Carlyle Group;, Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR; Ken Griffin,
founder and CEO of Citadel; and former U.S. Commerce Secretary
Penny Pritzker.
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