Leadership and Governance
The Forum strives to model world-class corporate governance, where values are as important as rules. Legitimacy, accountability, transparency and concerted action are the guiding principles of the Forum.
The Forum is chaired by Founder and Executive Chairman Professor Klaus Schwab. It's guided by a Board of Trustees, exceptional individuals who act as guardians of its mission and values, and oversee the Forum’s work in promoting true global citizenship.
The Managing Board, chaired by the Forum's President, Børge Brende, acts as the executive body of the World Economic Forum. It ensures that activities fulfill the mission of the Forum and acts as its representative to outside parties. It has a collective executive responsibility for the Forum and reports to the Board of Trustees.
The Forum’s activities are managed by its executive leadership..
Klaus Schwab
Founder, Executive Chairman
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Klaus Schwab was born in Ravensburg, Germany, and received his academic education at the Swiss Federal Institute Zurich, the University of Fribourg, and Harvard University, graduating with a Doctorate in Engineering, a Doctorate in Economics and Social Sciences, and a Master in Public Administration.
After having successfully managed the restructuring of a leading Swiss machine building group, he became a Professor in Business Policy in Geneva, and in 1970, he wrote the book Modern Management, conceptualizing stakeholder capitalism. He subsequently created and became the Chairman of the not-for-profit foundation now called the World Economic Forum, with the purpose of building a platform where business leaders could meet, interact, and collaborate with stakeholders from government and society.
He served as a Professor at the University of Geneva until 2003, while also holding multiple board memberships and international advisory positions. Afterward, he dedicated his full efforts to further developing the Forum, which he built from the original, simple idea into a recognized International Organization, becoming the leading global platform for public-private cooperation. Together with his wife Hilde, he created the Schwab Foundation in 1998 to promote social entrepreneurship and innovation. He wrote several books. His bestseller, The Fourth Industrial Revolution, was published in over 30 languages.
He has received international awards, highest national distinctions, numerous honorary professorships and doctorates for his thought leadership, and for the Forum’s achievements in enhancing global cooperation and several political reconciliation efforts.
Married since 1971, he has 2 children and 2 grandchildren. His hobbies are sports and culture.
More about Klaus Schwab
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees comprises outstanding leaders from business, politics, academia and civil society. In their work on the Board, members do not represent any personal or professional interests. To reflect the Board's multistakeholder status, its membership is divided equally between representatives of the business community and leaders from international organizations and civil society.
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H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Queen of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Office of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah
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Mukesh D. Ambani
Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries
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Ajay S. Banga
President, World Bank Group
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Marc Benioff
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce
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Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
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Thomas Buberl
Chief Executive Officer, AXA
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Laurence D. Fink
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock
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Chrystia Freeland
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
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Orit Gadiesh
Chairman, Bain & Company
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Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
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Fabiola Gianotti
Director-General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
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Al Gore
Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management LLP
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Andre Hoffmann
Vice-Chairman, Roche
Paula Ingabire
Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Information Communication Technology and Innovation of Rwanda
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Joe Kaeser
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Siemens Energy
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Christine Lagarde
President, European Central Bank
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Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist,
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Patrice Motsepe
Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals
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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO)
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Lubna S. Olayan
Chair of the Executive Committee, Olayan Financing Company, Olayan Group
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David M. Rubenstein
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Carlyle
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Mark Schneider
Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé
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Klaus Schwab
Founder, Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum
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Tharman Shanmugaratnam
President of Singapore, Office of the President of Singapore
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Jim Hagemann Snabe
Chairman, Siemens
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Julie Sweet
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Accenture
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Feike Sybesma
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Royal Philips
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Heizo Takenaka
Professor Emeritus, Keio University
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Zhu Min
Vice-Chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE)
Børge Brende
President
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Former: Minister, Norwegian Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry, Environment; Deputy Chairman, Norwegian Conservative Party; Member, Norwegian Parliament; Member, Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs and Deputy Chairman, Standing Committee on Energy and Environment; Chairman, UN Commission on Sustainable Development; Secretary-General, Norwegian Red Cross; International Vice-Chairman, China Council for Int'l Cooperation on Environment and Development; Board Chairman, Mesta; Board Member, Norwegian School of Economics and Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, WHO; Board Director, Technology for Ocean Foundation, Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Ocean; Managing Director, World Economic Forum. Political Adviser to Conservative Party Chairman; Chairman, Young Conservatives; CFO, KB Entreprenør. Since 2017, President, World Economic Forum. Director, Philanthropy Asia Alliance. Member: Board, Statoil; Board, China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development Phase VII; Strategic Committee, Paris School of Int’l Affairs, Sciences Po; UN High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child; Municipal Executive Board, Trondheim; Core Advisory Council, Harvard Int’l Negotiation Program; Steering Committee, Bilderberg Meetings; Board of Directors, Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030. BA, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Tech. Recipient, awards, honours: Harish Mahindra Memorial Global Award for Outstanding Contributions to Economic Welfare and Sustainable Growth; Order of the Aztec Eagle, Mexico; Grand Cross, Order of San Carlos, Colombia; Commander, Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav; Cavaliere Di Gran Croce, Italy; Grand Cross, Order of the Phoenix, Greece.
Managing Board
The Managing Board has a collective executive responsibility for the Forum and reports to the Board of Trustees.
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Børge Brende
President, World Economic Forum
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Mirek Dušek
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
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Jeremy Jurgens
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
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Gim Huay Neo
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
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Olivier M. Schwab
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
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Saadia Zahidi
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
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Alois Zwinggi
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Executive Committee
The Forum’s activities are managed by its executive leadership. Led by Founder and Executive Chairman Professor Klaus Schwab, the leadership and staff of the Forum comprise exceptional individuals from all walks of life and over 60 nationalities. This global depth and experience ensures our ability to fully support our global membership and their engagement on global issues.
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Kiva Allgood
Head, Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains, World Economic Forum
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Nicki Allitt
Head of Communication Strategy and Coordination, Global Communications Group, World Economic Forum
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Marisol Argueta de Barillas
Head of the Regional Agenda, Latin America; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Francisco Betti
Head, Global Industries Team; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Shyam Bishen
Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Matthew Blake
Head of Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems; Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum
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Roberto Bocca
Head, Centre for Energy and Materials; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Francois Bonnici
Director, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Head of Foundations, World Economic Forum
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Sebastian Buckup
Head of Network and Partnerships; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Liming Chen
Chair of Greater China; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Sean Doherty
Head, International Trade and Investment; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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John Dutton
Head, Uplink; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Rhiannon Evans
Chief Financial Officer, World Economic Forum
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Malte Godbersen
Head, Technology and Digital Services; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Pedro Gomez
Head, Climate; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Fernando J. Gómez
Head, Resource Systems and Resilience; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Chieh Huang
President, Global Collaboration Village, World Economic Forum
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Jack Hurd
Executive Director, Tropical Forest Alliance; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Zara Ingilizian
Head, Consumer Industries; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Philippe Isler
Director, Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation; Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum
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Ramya Krishnaswamy
Head, Institutional Communities and ESG Initiative; Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum
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Joo-Ok Lee
Head, Regional Agenda, Asia-Pacific; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Cathy Li
Head, AI, Data and Metaverse; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Uxio Malvido
Head of People & Culture, Chief HR Officer, World Economic Forum
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Viraj Mehta
Head, Regional Agenda, India and South Asia; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Stephan Mergenthaler
Head of Strategic Intelligence; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Jeff Merritt
Head of Centre for Urban Transformation; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Derek O'Halloran
Head of Product Portfolio and Growth; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Kelly Ommundsen
Head, Digital Inclusion, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Severin Podolak
Head, Event Management & Operations; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Nicola Christine Port
Chief Legal Officer; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Alexandre Raffoul
Head, Global Partner Dev. & Regional Business Strategy; Member, Exec. Committee, World Economic Forum
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Mel Rogers
Head of Strategic Affairs; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Stephan Ruiz
Head, Group Controlling, Finance and Operations, USA; Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum
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Nicole Schwab
Co-Head, Nature Positive Pillar; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Paul Smyke
Head of the Regional Agenda, North America; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Roberto Tinnirello
Head, Business Strategy and Partner Services; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
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Yann Zopf
Head of Media, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum