Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons and Rhode Island School of Design President John Maeda were among the leaders who attended the annual World Economic Forum last week in Davos, Switzerland.

More than 2,500 political, business and financial leaders from across the globe gather each year at the World Economic Forum. This year’s attendees included Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers...

...Another local person in attendance was Jonathan M. Nelson, chief executive of Providence Equity Partners, the media and telecommunications buyout firm he founded in 1989. Nelson argued against the new push for shrinking large financial institutions, according to The Times.