World Economic Forum founder and chairman Klaus Schwab is to step down, a spokesperson for the Forum said on Thursday.
Schwab has said the Forum, which meets annually at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, needs to rediscover its “sense of mission,” in a letter to trustee board members.
In a statement to the Financial Times, the WEF said Schwab would complete the process of stepping down by January 2027.
Schwab indicated his intention to step down last year, saying he would hand over executive duties to a team led by Borge Brende, a former foreign minister of Norway who has been the Forum’s president since 2017. Schwab has spent 54 years at the Forum, since its foundation in 1971.
Controversy has dogged Schwab in recent months. Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported the Forum’s board was working with a law firm to investigate its workplace culture, after allegations of a “culture of harassment” and discrimination at the organization.
In March, the Forum said external lawyers who investigated the claims found it had not committed any legal violations and allegations of misconduct against Schwab himself were not true.
The World Economic Forum and its founder became a lightning rod for popular anger during the pandemic after it declared a “Great Reset” that would transform every aspect of life in every country on the planet.
“The pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future,” Schwab said in 2020.
World leaders, royalty, celebrities, captains of industry, academics and the media joined Schwab’s call for a “Great Reset.”
“Conspiracy theories” about the Forum and its role in the pandemic were furiously “debunked” by the mainstream media.