Leadership and Governance
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
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.
Our Leadership
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 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.
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.
The Managing Board has a collective executive responsibility for the Forum and reports to the Board of Trustees.
Klaus Schwab Founder and Executive Chairman
Studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, University of Fribourg and Harvard University; degrees include doctorates in Mechanical Engineering and Economics (summa cum laude). 1972-2003, Professor of Business Policy, University of Geneva. 1971, founded the World Economic Forum as a not-for-profit foundation and built it into the foremost international institution for public-private cooperation; 1998, Co-Founder, with wife Hilde, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, supporting social innovation around the world; 2004, Founder, Forum of Young Global Leaders; 2011, Founder, Global Shapers Community. Numerous honorary doctorates. Several honorary professorships. Recipient of international and highest national honours for initiatives undertaken in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest and for peace and reconciliation efforts in several regions of the world.
Board of Trustees
Mukesh D. Ambani
Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries
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
Mark Carney
United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, United Nations
Laurence D. Fink
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock
Chrystia Freeland
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, 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
Herman Gref
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Sberbank
Angel Gurría
OECD Secretary-General (2006-2021),
André Hoffmann
Vice-Chairman, Roche
Paula Ingabire
Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Information Communication Technology and Innovation of Rwanda
Christine Lagarde
President, European Central Bank
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist,
Peter Maurer
President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Luis Alberto Moreno
Member of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Patrice Motsepe
Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals
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
L. Rafael Reif
President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
David M. Rubenstein
Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, The Carlyle Group
Mark Schneider
Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé
Klaus Schwab
Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum
Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Senior Minister, Government of Singapore
Jim Hagemann Snabe
Chairman, Siemens
Julie Sweet
Chief Executive Officer, Accenture
Feike Sybesma
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Royal Philips
Heizo Takenaka
Professor Emeritus, Keio University
Zhu Min
Chairman, National Institute of Financial Research
Børge Brende President
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 Sustainable Development Commission; 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; Managing Director, World Economic Forum. Political Adviser to Conservative Party Chairman; Chairman, Young Conservatives; CFO, KB-entrepreneur. Since 2017, President, World Economic Forum. Member: Board, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, World Health Org.; Board, Statoil; UN High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child; Municipal Executive Board, Trondheim; Core Advisory Council, Harvard International Negotiation Program; Steering Committee, Bilderberg Meetings; Board of Directors, Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030; Board of Directors, Technology for Ocean Foundation, C4IR Ocean. 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
Børge Brende
President, World Economic Forum
Julien Gattoni
Managing Director, CFO and Head of Technology and Operations, World Economic Forum
Jeremy Jurgens
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Adrian Monck
Managing Director, World Economic Forum
Sarita Nayyar
Managing Director; Chief Operating Officer, USA, 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. 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.
Marisol Argueta de Barillas
Head of the Regional Agenda, Latin America; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Emma Benameur
Head of Impact Innovation and Engagement; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Francisco Betti
Head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Production; ExCom Memb, World Economic Forum
Matthew Blake
Head of Shaping the Future of Financial and Monetary Systems, World Economic Forum
Sebastian Buckup
Head of Affiliate Centers, C4IR, World Economic Forum
Sean de Cleene
Head, Food Systems Initiative; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Sean Doherty
Head, International Trade and Investment; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Mirek Dusek
Deputy Head, Centre for Geopolitical and Regional Affairs; ExCom Member, World Economic Forum
John Dutton
Head, Uplink; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Makiko Eda
Chief Representative Officer, Japan, World Economic Forum Tokyo
Kay Firth-Butterfield
Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Antonia Gawel
Head, Climate Action; Deputy Head, Platform for Public Goods, World Economic Forum
Malte Godbersen
Head, Technology and Digital Services; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Pedro Gomez
Head of Shaping the Future of Mobility, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Kristin Hughes
Director, Global Plastic Action Partnership; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Zara Ingilizian
Head of Shaping the Future of Consumption; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Philippe Isler
Director, Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation; ExCom Member, World Economic Forum
Ramya Krishnaswamy
Head, Institutional Communities; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Joo-Ok Lee
Head, Regional Agenda – Asia-Pacific; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Viraj Mehta
Head of Regional Agenda – India and South Asia, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum Geneva
Stephan Mergenthaler
Head of Strategic Intelligence; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Jeff Merritt
Head of IOT and Urban Transformation; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Derek O’Halloran
Head of Shaping the Future of Digital Economy and New Value Creation; ExCom Memb, World Economic Forum
Nicola Port
Chief Legal Officer, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Jim Riordan
Head of Direct Funding and Governance, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Mel Rogers
Head of Strategic Affairs; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Stephan Ruiz
Head of Group Controlling and Finance and Operations, USA, World Economic Forum
Georg Schmitt
Head of Digital and Marketing; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Nicole Schwab
Co-Head, Nature-Based Solutions; 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 of Business Strategy and Services, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Sheila Warren
Deputy Head of the C4IR; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Yann Zopf
Head of Media, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
Executive Fellows
Justin Adams
Executive Director, Tropical Forest Alliance, World Economic Forum Geneva
Anthony Robert Hobley
Co-Executive Director, Mission Possible Partnership and an Executive Fellow, WEF, World Economic Forum
Kristian Teleki
Director, Sustainable Ocean Initiative, World Resources Institute