WPP has acquired a 30 percent stake in Richard Attias & Assocs., event producer which put the Davos Forum annual Switzerland gabfest of movers & shakers on the map.

CEO Martin Sorrell is a fixture at Davos, which Morocco-born Richard Attias handled from 1995 to 2008. He’s fluent in French, Arabic and English.

Before setting up shop in New York in 2008, Attias was special advisor to Dubai, devising a strategy to attract world-class sporting events and conferences.

He also ran the 600-strong PublicisLive worldwide events network, which is part of Maurice Levy’s Publicis Groupe.

Attias has handled events such as the OPEC CEO Summit, Arab Strategy Forum, launch of Europe’s Euro currency, Clinton Global Initiative and most recently the New York Times Dealbook Conference.

Sorrell, according to a report in the U.K.’s Telegraph, said he plans to team with Attias to create a “world champion in the field of strategic communication, international conferences and global action oriented events.”

RA&A has annual revenues of about $45M and a 50-member staff.