Klaus Schwab Retires From WEF After 55 Years — Former Nestle Chief Named Interim Successor

synopsis

Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), has stepped down as chairman and member of the Forum’s Board of Trustees, ending a leadership tenure that spanned over half a century.

The 86-year-old announced his decision in a letter to the board this week, writing, “Following my recent announcement, and as I enter my 88th year, I have decided to step down from the position of Chair and as a member of the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect.”

The board convened an extraordinary meeting on April 20 to formally accept Schwab’s resignation. 

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, a longtime vice chair and former Nestlé CEO, was unanimously appointed interim chairman. The Forum also launched a search committee to identify a permanent successor.

Schwab’s exit marks the end of an era for the Swiss-based institution he founded in 1971. 

In a statement, the board recognized Schwab’s “outstanding achievements” and praised his “relentless leadership” in turning the Forum into a central hub for global dialogue. 

The Forum acknowledged that the leadership transition is occurring at a time when “the world is undergoing rapid transformation, and the need for inclusive dialogue to navigate complexity and shape the future has never been more critical.”

U.S. stock futures slipped Monday morning, extending recent weakness across major indexes. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) each dropped over 1%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) fell 0.94% in the pre-market session.

The decline comes after all three benchmarks logged their third weekly loss in four weeks.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee warned in a CBS interview over the weekend that U.S. economic activity could “fall off” by the summer due to the impact of tariffs. 

His comments follow Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks last Wednesday, where he cautioned that President Donald Trump’s new trade levies could make it harder for the central bank to manage inflation and support growth.

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