Disclaimer: World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab held first event in 1971
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab is stepping down after more than five decades at the helm of the organization that organizes the annual gathering of global power brokers in Davos.
Schwab, 86, held the first event at the Swiss ski resort in 1971. This year’s meeting was attended by nearly 3,000 delegates, including more than 50 world leaders.
The forum said Schwab would move from his role as CEO to chairman of the board in 2025.
He will be replaced by Borge Brende, a WEF executive and former Norwegian foreign minister.
“The organization has been undergoing a planned governance evolution from an organization run by its founders to one in which a president and board of directors assume full executive responsibility,” the forum said in a statement last night.