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 Chairman of the Board of Trustees, 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 composed of individuals from all walks of life.
Klaus Schwab
Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Klaus Schwab holds a Doctorate in Engineering and a Doctorate in Economics and Social Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute Zurich and the University of Fribourg and an MPA from Harvard University. Formerly managed the restructuring of a leading Swiss machine building group and was Professor of Business Policy in Geneva until 2003. Author of Modern Management (1970), conceptualizing stakeholder capitalism, and The Fourth Industrial Revolution (2017). 1971, created and became the Chairman of the World Economic Forum, to build a platform where business leaders can meet, interact and collaborate with stakeholders from government and society. Built it from a simple idea into an international organization and a leading global platform for public-private cooperation. Has held multiple board memberships and international advisory positions. Together with his wife Hilde, created the Schwab Foundation in 1998 to promote social entrepreneurship and innovation. Recipient of international awards, national distinctions, honorary professorships and doctorates for thought leadership and for the Forum’s achievements in enhancing global cooperation and several political reconciliation efforts. Has 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Hobbies include 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.
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
Mukesh D. Ambani
Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries
Ajay S. Banga
President, World Bank Group
Marc Benioff
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Thomas Buberl
Chief Executive Officer, AXA
Laurence D. Fink
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock
Chrystia Freeland
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Orit Gadiesh
Chairman, Bain & Company
Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Fabiola Gianotti
Director-General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Al Gore
Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management LLP
Andre Hoffmann
Chairman, Massellaz
Paula Ingabire
Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Information Communication Technology and Innovation of Rwanda
Joe Kaeser
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Siemens Energy
Christine Lagarde
President, European Central Bank
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist,
Patrice Motsepe
Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO)
Lubna S. Olayan
Chair of the Executive Committee, Olayan Financing Company, Olayan Group
David M. Rubenstein
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Carlyle
Klaus Schwab
Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Tharman Shanmugaratnam
President of Singapore, Office of the President of Singapore
Jim Hagemann Snabe
Chairman, Siemens
Julie Sweet
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Accenture
Feike Sybesma
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Royal Philips
Heizo Takenaka
Professor Emeritus, Keio University
Zhu Min
Vice-Chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE)
Børge Brende
President and CEO
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.
Børge Brende
President and CEO, World Economic Forum
Mirek Dušek
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Jeremy Jurgens
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Gim Huay Neo
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Olivier M. Schwab
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Saadia Zahidi
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Alois Zwinggi
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Executive Committee
The Forum’s activities are managed by its executive leadership composed of individuals from all walks of life from over 30 nationalities. This global depth and experience ensures our ability to fully support our global partnership and their engagement on global issues.
Kiva Allgood
Head, Centre for Advanced Manufacturing & Supply Chains, Member, Exec. Committee, World Economic Forum
Nicki Allitt
Head of Strategic Communications & Coordination; Member, Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Marisol Argueta de Barillas
Head of the Regional Agenda, Latin America; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Francisco Betti
Head, Global Industries Team; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Shyam Bishen
Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Matthew Blake
Head, Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems; Member, Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Roberto Bocca
Head, Centre for Energy and Materials; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Francois Bonnici
Director, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Head of Foundations, World Economic Forum
Sebastian Buckup
Head of Network and Partnerships; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Liming Chen
Chair of Greater China; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Sean Doherty
Head, International Trade and Investment; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
John Dutton
Head, Uplink; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Rhiannon Evans
Chief Financial Officer; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Malte Godbersen
Head, Technology and Digital Services; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Pedro Gomez
Head, Climate; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Fernando J. Gómez
Head, Resource Systems and Resilience; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Sriram Gutta
Head, Engagement and Operations; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Chieh Huang
President, Global Collaboration Village, World Economic Forum
Jack Hurd
Executive Director, Tropical Forest Alliance; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Zara Ingilizian
Head, Consumer Industries; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Fujiyo Ishiguro
Chair of Japan and Chief Representative Officer, World Economic Forum
Philippe Isler
Director, Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation; Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum
Ramya Krishnaswamy
Head, Institutional Communities and ESG Initiative; Executive Committee Member, World Economic Forum
Joo-Ok Lee
Head, Regional Agenda, Asia-Pacific; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Cathy Li
Head, AI, Data and Metaverse; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Uxio Malvido
Head of People & Culture, Chief HR Officer, World Economic Forum
Viraj Mehta
Head, Regional Agenda, India and South Asia; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Stephan Mergenthaler
Head of Strategic Intelligence; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Jeff Merritt
Head of Centre for Urban Transformation; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Kelly Ommundsen
Head, Digital Inclusion, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Severin Podolak
Head, Event Management & Operations; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Nicola Christine Port
Chief Legal Officer; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Alexandre Raffoul
Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Mel Rogers
Head of Strategic Affairs; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Nicole Schwab
Co-Head, Nature Positive Pillar; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Paul Smyke
Head of the Regional Agenda, North America; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Roberto Tinnirello
Head, Business Strategy and Partner Services; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Yann Zopf
Head of Media, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum