Another bang at the WEF: Roche Board member André Hoffmann and Blackrock CEO Larry Fink take over the presidency of the World Economic Forum on an interim basis. The previous interim chairman Peter Brabeck is stepping down.
The WEF also exonerated its founder Klaus Schwab and his wife Hilde in a press release published at the same time: after a “thorough examination of all the facts”, the board concluded that although the organisation “needs to move towards a more institutional model”, there is “no evidence of significant misconduct” on the part of Schwab and his wife.
At the end of April this year, the WEF Foundation Council initiated an external investigation into Schwab for possible irregularities in the conduct of his office. This was triggered by an anonymous whistleblower letter.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the anonymous letter to the Board of Trustees stated that there had been systematic governance misconduct and abuse of power for years. According to the letter, Schwab and his wife allegedly paid for private luxury trips via the WEF and used a property in Geneva purchased by the WEF, in some cases for their exclusive private use.
Schwab immediately rejected the allegations as “malicious”. According to the WEF, a renowned and independent law firm was commissioned with the investigation.
Free support for decades
Klaus and Hilde Schwab have supported the Forum free of charge for over five decades, the WEF announced on Friday evening. And: “Minor irregularities, which are due to the fact that the boundaries between personal contributions and the Forum’s activities are blurred, are evidence of great commitment rather than intentional misconduct”.
It added that it “deeply regrets the public attention that preceded the conclusion of the investigation and the undue pressure that this exerted on Klaus and Hilde Schwab”.
Governance to be strengthened
The Board of Directors has taken measures to address all the problems identified in the course of the investigation. This also included measures to strengthen governance in general (“governance” in the press release).
The Board of Directors had also noted that some Forum employees had “in certain cases expressed the view that they had not been treated to their satisfaction”. The Board of Directors takes these matters very seriously and deeply regrets that these situations have arisen.
Here, too, measures have been taken and implemented to ensure “that the principles of integrity, respect and responsible behaviour are strictly adhered to at all levels of the organisation”.
Schwab took note of the result, his spokesperson told the news agency DPA when asked. He had reached an agreement with the WEF that would normalise relations “and pave the way for fruitful cooperation in the future”.
However, he will no longer fulfil an official function. Schwab will publish an abridged version of his memoirs in September, as well as the first book in a planned series on the impact of artificial intelligence on humans.
Decisive moment for the WEF
This moment marks a decisive transition for the World Economic Forum, the WEF further announced. The Board of Trustees will now focus on institutionalising the Forum as a resilient international organisation for public-private cooperation.
This next chapter is based on the original mission developed by Klaus Schwab for the WEF: to bring governments, companies and civil society together to improve the state of the world.
To this end, the Board is committed to further strengthening the Forum’s leadership, reinforcing its core values as an impartial and trusted platform for global cooperation and accelerating its strategic efforts to increase the impact of global cooperation for a better future.
In a statement published on the WEF website on Friday evening, the two new interim presidents of the WEF expressed their optimism: “The world is more fragmented and complex than ever, but the need for a platform that brings together businesses, governments and civil society has never been greater”.
They believed “that the forum can serve as a unique catalyst for collaboration, fostering trust, identifying common goals and turning dialogue into action”, as Fink and Hoffmann are further quoted.
The forum has the opportunity to drive international co-operation “in a way that not only creates prosperity but also distributes it more widely”. This renewed vision could promote open markets and national priorities side by side, while advancing the interests of workers and stakeholders worldwide.
Source https://www.cash.ch/news/top-news/wef-blackrock-chef-fink-und-roche -vize-hoffmann-sind-neue-interim-chefs-vorwurfe-gegen-schwab-haltlos-852348
