Money talks no more
Davos farewell dinner leaves ’em speechless
FOR those not attending the inauguration, Activate consultant Michael J. Wolf threw a final-night dinner in Davos, Switzerland, for 80 at the famed Post Hotel.
After a week of panels about how wealth is distributed around the globe, guests were lured with the promise that there wouldn’t be any speeches.
Matt Damon and Willi. i.am, were slated to eat traditional Swiss food alongside global circuit-goers Eric Schmidt, Martin Sorrell and Arianna Huffington.
Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer and satellite TV entrepreneur Charlie Ergen were invited, along with journalists WSJ Editor-In-Chief Gerard Baker, Yahoo Finance boss Andy Serwer and Fortune’s Alan Murray.
Our tipsters say Topic A at Davos this year was China’s stunning new role as a global champion of free trade, and the business community’s renewed sense of optimism.
“There was talk about AT&T and Time Warner, Facebook’s role in the election, European Union regulations on technology companies and who President Trump will pick to run the FTC,” said our insider in the Swiss mountains.
Dolan’s air band
James Dolan is a big fan of the sharing economy.
According to SEC documents filed last week, MSG will loan its executive chairman its Gulfstream G550. In return, Dolan will lease his older G450 back to the company. Dolan does, after all, hopscotch the country, playing gigs with his band.
An MSG spokesman explained: “There are two jets, and when Jim’s plane is taking the Knicks boss Phil Jackson somewhere and he needs it, then there are two. It makes sense.”
Save the date
Is Yahoo/Verizon a done deal? Deal-watchers could find out this week. Ver- izon has been hemming andd hawing about whether it will follow through on its $4.83 billion deal to acquire the portal after Yahoo got hit withith news of two hacks.
The two companies’ earnings cal-calendars might provide a clue. Yahoo reports its fourth-quarter report on Jan. 23, after the bell. Then Verizon reports its latest numbers ers on the morning of Jan. 24.
Coincidence? If the two had news, it might be a good idea to sync it before the markets open.
Last year, Yahoo’s earnings were re-leased Feb. 2,, and Verizon’s were out on Jan. 21. Our Street sources believe the dates portend something good, and suggest the two parties have been spending a lot of time negotiating the extent to which Yahoo retains legal liabilities.
No male room om
Fashion and beauty p.r. queen Alison Brod (pictured) has nothingothing against men — at all.
She just doesn’t usually employ them. It’s been a year since Alison Brod Mar-Marketing & Communications, aa boutique firm in Murray Hill, had a man on staff.
“Any man can apply,” Brod told our Lisa Fickenscher. “But most of the résumés we get are from women.”
That might have something to do with the clients she attracts and the employee perks she provides at her firm.
Among her clients are nail polish com-company OPI, Drew Barrymore ore’s Flower Beauty makeup line and Ralph Lauren Fragrances. “Some people view [us] as a giant sorority,” Brod told On the Money, adding that the company has taken on some male-oriented clients recently, like Dollar Shave Club, Burger King and JackThreads. But most of the employee perks at the company are aimed at women. OPI sends a manicurist ttwice a month; Brod also offers complimentary haircuts, blow outs and spray tanning, all conducted in the fully equipped office salon. The 65 women who work at the firm also have access to an endless supply of free beauty products that makmake the office look like an aisle at Sephora. Some of the swag is also offered to visitors and clients, Brod confessed.
HemsworthH it
Hollywood actor and Australia’s global tourism ambassador, Chris Hemsworth,Hemswo is back in New York, inviting Americans Down Under. Hemsworth signed on as Australia’s ambassador in January of last year, launching the country’s popular coastal and aquatic campaign. Now she’s baback for a private “virtual tour” ofof Australia at an event Monday night, ahead ofof Australia Day on Thursday. The event’s invited guests include VIPs Naomi Watts, Deborra-Lee Furness and RebeccaRebec Breeds, along with Aussie tourism minister Steve Ciobo. Australia is seeing record visits by Americans. Arrivals from the US have crossed the 70700,000 mark, reaching 705,000 in the past 12 months, up 18.3 percent.