The World Economic Forum founder, Klaus Schwab, will “start the process” of stepping down as chair of its board of trustees, according to reports.
Schwab said the forum, which organises yearly meetings in the Swiss resort of Davos, must recover its “sense of mission” after a period of trouble, the Financial Times first reported, citing a letter to board members and confirmation by two people who know about the situation.
He did not give a timeline for when he would leave the organization, but the WEF said in a statement to the FT that the process should be finished by January 2027.
Schwab will stay in this role until a new person is chosen, the WEF spokesperson told Reuters, without giving a timeline.
Last year, Schwab said he would give up executive duties next year to a team led by Borge Brende after 55 years at the forum. Brende was a former foreign minister of Norway and has been the WEF’s president since 2017.
“It is also financially very well equipped thanks to successful financial management since its beginning,” Schwab said of the forum to the FT.
“What is essential now after the turmoil of the last months, is to recover our sense of mission,” he said, without saying if the trouble he mentioned was related to Donald Trump’s second presidential term or an investigation of the WEF, the report added.
The Wall Street Journal last year reported the WEF’s board was working with a law firm to look into its workplace culture, after the newspaper reported claims of harassment and discrimination at the organization.
Last month, the WEF said outside lawyers hired to investigate the claims did not find it had broken any laws and did not confirm allegations of misconduct against Schwab, the FT reported.
