World Economic Forum: founder Klaus Schwab goes

The founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Klaus Schwab, resigns from his office as chairman of the WEF curatorium. « After my recent announcement and at the beginning of my 88th year of life, I decided to withdraw from the position of the chairman and as a member of the board of trustees with immediate effect, » the WEF quoted him in a message.

Brabeck-Letmathe takes over interim

The committee had intended Vice Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe with the tasks of Schwab. The 80-year-old Austrian Brabeck-Lemathe worked in leading positions in the top of the group near Nestlé from 1997 to 2017, most recently he was president of the board of directors. Brabeck-Letmathe became aware of a general public through his demand to privatize drinking water.

The withdrawal of the German economist Schwab comes at the time of a rather dwindling public perception of the annual meeting of the international political and economic elite in the Swiss Nobel Skiort. The WEF had recently increasingly got into the shadow of the Munich security conference.

WEF wants to « improve the state of the world »

The Board of Trustees expressed its thanks for 55 years of « tireless leadership » of the WEF. During a time of rapid change, dialogue is more important than ever, it said with a view to the coming years. The WEF claims to « improve the state of the world ».

The World Economic Forum is a foundation that Schwab founded by Schwab in 1971. The forum became one of the most important meetings for top politicians, top managers, scientists and representatives of civil society from all over the world. The WEF is based in Geneva. It employs 600 people worldwide in Geneva, New York, Beijing and Tokyo.