1. Klaus Schwab acted as the WEF's chairman since founding the organisation from 1971 until 2025.
14 Facts About Klaus Schwab
1. 2.
Klaus Martin Schwab was born on 30 March 1938, to Eugen Wilhelm Schwab and Erika Epprecht in Ravensburg.
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Klaus Schwab's parents had moved from Switzerland to Germany during the Third Reich in order for his father to assume the role of director at Escher Wyss AG, an industrial company and contractor for the Nazi regime.
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Klaus Schwab attended first and second grades at the primary school in the Wadenswil district of Au, Zurich, in Switzerland.
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Klaus Schwab earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Fribourg, and a Master in Public Administration degree from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
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Klaus Schwab was professor of business policy at the University of Geneva from 1972 to 2003, and since then has been an honorary professor there.
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In 1971, Klaus Schwab founded the European Management Forum, which was renamed as the World Economic Forum in 1987.
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In 2003 Klaus Schwab appointed Jose Maria Figueres CEO of the WEF, as his successor.
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Klaus Schwab has drawn ire for mixing the finances of the not-for-profit WEF and other for-profit business ventures.
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Yet shortly after the deal went through, Klaus Schwab took a board seat at the same company, reaping valuable stock options.
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Furthermore, a former employee alleges that she was "pushed out" from her role as leader of an initiative for startups, following a brief trial period, after telling Klaus Schwab she was pregnant.
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Klaus Schwab grew upset that she would not be able to continue working at the same pace, people familiar with the incident said, and told her she was not suited for her new leadership role.
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Klaus Schwab was awarded the Dan David Prize, and was recognized by Queen Elizabeth as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.
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Klaus Schwab has received honorary degrees from various universities, including the National University of Singapore and Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania.