John Denton is the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, which represents about 45 million businesses around the world which employ about 1.2 billion workers.
Mr Denton said his organisation is the voice of business on a global level, adding that it is essential for that voice to be heard at events such as Davos.
He also said it is very important that the priorities of business are understood as well as the reality of what contemporary businesses are interested in.
Dismissing the idea that business can be "a drag" on progress in areas such as climate, sustainability and reforms, Mr Denton said the reality is that the ICC is committed - as a purpose-led institution - to enabling business worldwide to secure peace, prosperity and opportunity for all.
The ICC at Davos will be addressing such issues as action on climate change, how to deliver on sustainability goals, how to ensure the digital economy functions in a way to make trade work for people all over the planet as well as how to stop the global rise in inequality.
John Denton @ICCSecGen is the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce. I spoke to him here at #Davos2020 about what he was trying to achieve here, corporation tax reform, climate change, trade wars and more. pic.twitter.com/OpcSTmxAlp
— Will Goodbody (@willgoodbody) January 23, 2020
Mr Denton said that Davos is a platform - one of many - which forms an important part of the global conversation and the ICC needs to be here.
On climate action, John Denton said that business is away head of governments on the issue, adding that business is not in Davos to talk, but to show what actions it has taken. While there will always be some laggards, he said the totality of the private sector is deeply engaged in the challenges of climate change.
On the issue of reform of the corporate tax system, Mr Denton said a lot of these systems were created at a time when the world did not have the operations of a digital economy, adding that the WTO was founded before the digital economy came into being.
The ICC boss said there is a legitimate issue for society and governments to ensure that national issues and privacy of their citizens are respected and the policy frameworks for the digital economy need to be developed with this in mind.
He stressed that it is really important for businesses to have the trust and respect of local communities, and so business needs to ensure that as the digital economy is being developed it continues to respect people's privacy and security.
