At the beginning of this month, Klaus Schwab announced that he would begin the process of stepping down as the chairman of the board of trustees for the World Economic Forum (“WEF”). He didn’t give a timeline for his departure but said the process should be completed by January 2027.
On Sunday, at an extraordinary meeting of the WEF board, Schwab announced he was stepping down with immediate effect. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe has been appointed the interim chairman; due to his close and longstanding relationship with WEF and Schwab, his appointment could become permanent.
Who is Peter Brabeck-Letmathe?
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (“Brabeck”) is an Austrian businessman and former chairman and CEO of the Nestlé Group.
Writing in The Guardian in 2006, Jane Martinson noted that “Peter Brabeck-Letmathe is an unlikely bogeyman. Yet ask many food campaigners to name their least favourite corporate executive and the silver-haired Austrian at the head of the world’s largest food company, Nestlé, would come high on many lists.”
As well as Nestlé, he has also held positions on the board of directors of Credit Suisse Group, L’Oréal and ExxonMobil.
Additionally, Brabeck has been involved in various influential organisations and events. He is a member of the Attali Commission, the European Round Table of Industrialists and the London Technology Club. He is chairman of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator(“GESDA”) Foundation, which was launched in 2015 by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to find ways to strengthen Geneva’s role in global governance. He is also the founder and chairman of the 2030 Water Resources Group, a public-private partnership that operates within the World Bank.
And last but not least, he has been a longstanding vice-chairman of WEF’s board of trustees. With Klaus Schwab stepping down as head of WEF’s board of trustees on 20 April, Brabeck has been named interim chairman until a new chairman has been found.
WEF has established a “Search Committee” to select a new chairman, a WEF statement said on Monday, without indicating when a new chair might be appointed. According to CEO Today, Brabeck’s close relationship with Schwab and longstanding involvement in WEF make him the clear frontrunner to become Schwab’s permanent successor.
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