Geneva: The founder of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab has stepped down from the organization's board of directors after more than 50 years at the helm.
He will be succeeded on an interim basis by the WEF's vice chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the former CEO and chairman of Nestle SA, according to a statement by the forum.
"I have decided to step down from the position of Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect," Schwab said in the statement. The forum has begun a search process for a future chair.
WEF started in 1971
The WEF, hosted once a year in the Swiss ski-town of Davos, is one of the world's most-exclusive gatherings of head of states, top politicians, executives and business leaders. Schwab started what became the WEF in 1971 as a management symposium.
The 87-year-old had announced last year he was stepping away from an active leadership role at the organisation.
Today, the board of trustees is comprised of more than two dozen world leaders and includes Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, World Bank president Ajay Banga, WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink, former US Vice President Al Gore, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde and her successor at the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva.
Issue with elitism
While Schwab has consistently emphasised the need for better global cooperation, his organisation has been confronted with charges of elitism.
Schwab, born in Germany, to parents of Swiss origin, chose the Alpine town of Davos in a bid to make guests feel relaxed and speak freely, according to the Geneva-based nonprofit's website. With a slogan of "committed to improving the state of the world," the forum attracts global attention and criticism, as well as a helping of conspiracy theories.
He will be succeeded on an interim basis by the WEF's vice chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the former CEO and chairman of Nestle SA, according to a statement by the forum.
"I have decided to step down from the position of Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect," Schwab said in the statement. The forum has begun a search process for a future chair.
WEF started in 1971
The WEF, hosted once a year in the Swiss ski-town of Davos, is one of the world's most-exclusive gatherings of head of states, top politicians, executives and business leaders. Schwab started what became the WEF in 1971 as a management symposium.
The 87-year-old had announced last year he was stepping away from an active leadership role at the organisation.
Today, the board of trustees is comprised of more than two dozen world leaders and includes Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, World Bank president Ajay Banga, WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink, former US Vice President Al Gore, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde and her successor at the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva.
Issue with elitism
While Schwab has consistently emphasised the need for better global cooperation, his organisation has been confronted with charges of elitism.
Schwab, born in Germany, to parents of Swiss origin, chose the Alpine town of Davos in a bid to make guests feel relaxed and speak freely, according to the Geneva-based nonprofit's website. With a slogan of "committed to improving the state of the world," the forum attracts global attention and criticism, as well as a helping of conspiracy theories.
