Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Klaus Schwab, announced that he will be transitioning to a non-executive role.
Schwab has led the WEF since 1971.
The transition is pending approval from the Swiss government.
“Since 2015, the World Economic Forum has been transforming from a convening platform to the leading global institution for public-private cooperation,” the WEF said in a statement. “As part of that transformation, the organization has also been undergoing a planned governance evolution from a founder-managed organization to one where a President and Managing Board assume full executive responsibility.”
“By January 2025, Klaus Schwab will transition from Executive Chairman to Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In addition, the Forum’s prominent Board of Trustees will be organized around four strategic committees to further reinforce the impact of our work. These shifts underscore our institutional continuity in providing an independent and impartial platform to address the complex challenges of an interconnected world.”
While Schwab has not named his successor, he previously stated that “under the leadership of President Borge Brende, has taken full executive responsibility.”
Brende is Norway’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and has been WEF president since 2017.
The WEF, described as a “remarkably business” by Semafor, brought in almost $500 million in the year ending March 2023.
A 2023 article from Politico analyzed potential WEF successors, explaining that WEF partners have stated that Schwab treats the organization like a “family heirloom.”
One attendee of the WEF’s Davos conferences said Schwab “has a god complex, and thinks he’s in the fittest 0.1 percent,” the outlet reported.
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde may be considered a successor, as well as Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff and former International Red Cross chief Peter Maurer.
Other names in the running are former Prime Minister of the U.K Tony Blair, WEF President Brende, and former German Vice Chancellor Philipp Rösler.
