FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear has accepted an invitation to speak at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this month, a global event that brings together business, government and academic leaders to improve the state of the world.
With the commonwealth at a historic economic peak, the governor and a delegation from Team Kentucky will travel for the event and also visit with business leaders in Spain to promote the New Kentucky Home initiative and encourage future investment and job-creation in the commonwealth.
The annual Davos Forum is an exclusive prestigious gathering of the world’s top private sector leaders and public policy maker’s. Attendance, by invitation only, costs more than $20,000 just for admission.
The forum will convene with the theme Collaboration for the Intelligent Age, with five primary categories of focus: Rebuilding Trust; Reimagining Growth; Investing in People; Safeguarding the Planet; and Industries in the Intelligent Age.
In 2024, nearly 3,000 government, business and civic leaders participated in the forum, representing more than 125 countries. The annual invitation-only event, established in 1973, has grown to become a major international networking opportunity and one of the world’s largest assemblies of global decision-makers including approximately 1,000 corporate members.
Beshear was invited to attend and speak at the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Annual Meeting, which will be held Jan. 20-24 in Davos, Switzerland, the Governor’s Office said in a news release. This international summit will provide an opportunity for the governor to introduce the New Kentucky Home initiative to the world, highlighting Kentucky’s record economic momentum, its place as a national leader in the manufacturing, automotive, electric vehicle and battery sectors, and how the commonwealth is positioned for even more economic success in the future.
“Over the past five years, we’ve worked hard to secure historic economic wins for our families and our state, and we will keep that momentum going by building new, strong partnerships through opportunities like the World Economic Forum,” Beshear said. “This trip will provide a chance to connect with growing companies that already operate in Kentucky, as well as those that we want to see invest in our state in the future. I am excited to participate in next month’s summit and show the world that our New Kentucky Home is the best place to live, work and thrive.”
The Governor and Team Kentucky’s participation provides an opportunity to build on Kentucky’s extensive international presence, which currently includes nearly 540 foreign-owned facilities that employ 116,000 Kentuckians. The commonwealth ranks fourth nationally for Foreign Direct Investment employment as a percentage of total private employment.
Beshear also will visit with leadership from Acerinox in Spain, the parent company of North American Stainless, which employs more than 1,600 people at a facility in Carroll County. In 2023, the company announced its 13th expansion since 1990 with a $244 million investment that will create 70 full-time jobs.
The Governor’s visit to Europe will build on the best five-year period for economic growth in state history.
The trip follows the announcement that Beshear secured the fourth best year for economic investment in the state’s history. In 2024, Kentucky saw an additional $6.9 billion in new private-sector investment announced, which is creating 9,425 full-time jobs for Kentuckians. Since the start of the administration, new-location and expansion projects have totaled over $35 billion in new investments and more than 59,800 full-time jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth’s history by more than $14 billion.
The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. Since 2022, the average incentivized hourly wage has topped $26 in three consecutive years for the first time.
Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On’s transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County; AESC’s $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota’s $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing’s $712 million investment, creating 1,572 jobs in Shelby County; and INFAC North America’s $53 million investment in Taylor County, among others.
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