Klaus Schwab is synonymous with the World Economic Forum (“WEF”) which he has managed for over 50 years. He said in an email to staff on Tuesday that he is stepping down from his role as executive chairman.

In the email, shared with Semafor, Schwab said will be stepping down as executive chairman to become non-executive chairman.  He added that the change in his role is pending approval by the Swiss government.

It hasn’t been reported why Schwab requires the approval of the Swiss government.  WEF is a Swiss non-profit foundation, recognised by the Swiss authorities as an international body.  In Switzerland, the government has a role in approving certain changes to non-profit organisations, including those related to leadership and governance. This is to ensure that the organisation remains transparent, accountable, and compliant with Swiss laws and regulations. So perhaps this is the reason.

Yesterday Reuters reported that Schwab will be chairman of the WEF’s board of trustees, whose members include European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde and BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink. Executive responsibilities will rest with a team led by WEF President Børge Brende, the low-key Norwegian who was formerly the Nordic country’s foreign minister.

A spokesperson for WEF said that the organisation is “transforming from a convening platform to the leading global institution for public-private cooperation.” WEF’s governance structure is set to change as a result, the spokesperson said, and Schwab “will transition from Executive Chairman to Chairman of the Board of Trustees” by January 2025.

As Tessa Lena noted: “The change is cosmetic. The ambitions of the aspiring masters are still the same. Our job, in my opinion, is still to remember our souls, pray for clarity and for the healing of ourselves and the world, pray for protection and guidance, choose bravely, and starve the metaphorical vampires of what they like to eat, i.e. pain, anger, dejection, betrayal, etc.”

Read more: The Great Reset for Dummies, Tessa Lena, 28 October 2020

Lena’s opinion is corroborated by a comment made by Barron’s: “The announcement that Schwab will be stepping back from executive leadership after more than 40 years at the top marks the culmination of WEF’s long transformation, since 2015, from a ‘founder-managed organisation to one where a president and managing board assume full executive responsibility’.”

Schwab has not named his successor.

The Forum operates much like a family business, Semafor noted, with Schwab’s children appointed to high-ranking positions and his wife Hilde heading the organisation’s foundation and awards ceremonies in Davos.

For a non-profit, it’s a nice little money earner.  As reported by Semafor, WEF brought in nearly $500 million in revenue in the year ending March 2023 and had a neat 200 million Swiss francs sitting in cash.