By Shalini Ramachandran
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab told the staff and the board of trustees that he will step down as chairman, in the wake of a board investigation into the Davos organizer's workplace culture.
Schwab, who created the Davos gathering and led the Forum for five decades, told trustees this week that he will start the process of stepping down. Last May, Klaus stepped aside as the Forum's executive chairman, but stayed as nonexecutive chair.
Klaus didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the decision, which was earlier reported by the Financial Times.
In recent weeks, the Forum has been shaking up its leadership after the board received the findings of an investigation into the organization's workplace culture. The investigation was prompted by a Wall Street Journal article last year that revealed allegations by employees of discrimination against women and Black people at the Forum, which is based in Geneva.
The Forum disputed the Journal's reporting, and Schwab denied the allegations against him. In a recent memo, Børge Brende, the Forum's CEO, said the Forum would take steps to address leadership issues identified by the probe and that the investigation didn't substantiate the allegations against its founder.
Write to Shalini Ramachandran at Shalini.Ramachandran@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 03, 2025 16:22 ET (20:22 GMT)
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