Nico Daswani
Managing Director
Nico Daswani is a cultural producer and arts executive with a 20-year track-record of fostering intercultural dialogue and learning. He has lived and worked in France, the UK, the US and Switzerland. He has conceived and produced a vast array of successful and impactful public programs, performances, festivals, exhibitions, artist residencies and award-winning films.
At ABA, he serves as Executive Director, Business Development. Previously, Nico served for nine years as Head of Arts and Culture at the World Economic Forum where he built a global community of artists and cultural institutions who leveraged the WEF platform to create cross-industry coalitions, launch global campaigns and shape new narratives. He was also a senior member of the team responsible for the official programme of Davos. He previously worked as a cultural manager and producer in several arts organizations in London, Los Angeles and New York for 12 years.
Nico is a two-time Emmy Award winning executive producer of Lynette Wallworth’s VR films on the lives of indigenous leaders, "Collisions," (2016) which he invited to premiere at Davos, and "Awavena" (2018). He co-conceived with Marin Alsop and executive produced the multi award-winning pandemic era short film, "See Me: A Global Concert" (2021). He co-initiated and executive-produced the first international tour of the Afghan Women's Orchestra, with launched in Davos and became a global media phenomenon (2017).
He has learned from luminaries and mentors including Judy Mitoma, Klaus and Hilde Schwab, the late Martin Roth, and Yo-Yo Ma. He is the author of the Amazon best-selling eco-adventure children's novel, "Markine et la Porte Secrète", which he wrote in French and is now translating into English. For the past three years Nico has been working on developing the concept of a cultural centre, the Imaginarium, as a multi-generational destination to develop new visions for a purposeful life and to generate breakthrough ideas for a sustainable future. He is a member of the board of Living Arts International and a Responsible Leader of the BMW Foundation. He holds a BA in European Management from the University of Westminster and CESEM Marseille, and an MA in Cultural Heritage from New York University.