The future of Klaus Schwab – Mr Davos for more than half a century – has become a talking point at this year’s meeting after World Economic Forum officials voiced sharp criticism of their chairman and his lack of a succession strategy.
A group of current and former WEF staff who contacted the Guardian said Schwab, 82, is a law unto himself and has surrounded himself with “nobodies” who are incapable of running the organization he founded in the first place in the 70s.
“Klaus has been at the helm of the WEF for 52 years. When he was born [in 1938] 122 of the 195 countries in the world currently did not even exist. He is completely unaccountable to anyone inside and outside the organization,” the group said.
“We are a group of current and former WEF staff. We want to play our part in promoting debate about the role this organization plays in the world.”
The group said it wished to remain anonymous. “We are hesitant to come forward as Klaus is very well connected and could make our lives very difficult even after we leave the WEF.”
Speculation about Schwab’s future intensified this week after a report in the online publication Politico said WEF’s strategic partners – the firms that fund the $390m (£315m)-a-year business – were unhappy about the lack of a succession strategy.
The WEF staff group said they had posted their criticisms on the social media platform LinkedIn, but they were removed at the WEF’s request, something the organization denies.
The posts, shared with the Guardian, said: “There isn’t much future for the WEF outside Klaus, not only because there is no clear successor, but also because his board is such a viper’s nest that senior management will be at each other’s throats right now. into which the old man sprang.
A WEF spokesperson said: “The Governing Council decides on all future institutional leadership appointments. The Forum has a strong institutional governance structure in place to ensure its continued ability to fully support its mission.”
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is one of the leading international figures to be linked with the role.
The group of former and current WEF officials questioned the organization’s ability to function without Schwab at the helm.
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“In most organisations, the next generation of senior management is barely visible at the upper levels of management, but at WEF Klaus has surrounded himself with such a group of nobodies at the top that it’s hard to see how any of them can be taken seriously by any important person inside or outside the organization.
“Klaus chooses his leaders using the same criteria that Putin uses to choose deputies to the State Duma: loyalty, treachery, sex appeal. The quality of the people at the top reflects the type of people who work for the rest of the organization.”
The head of one British company agreed that there does not seem to be a successor to Schwab lined up. “My impression is that he will die with his boots on,” the executive said.
Another longtime Davos visitor expressed surprise that Schwab had allowed speculation about his future to arise. “To be honest, I find it a bit disrespectful [given everything he has done] but he should have known it would happen and taken steps to prevent it.
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss foundation and has no shareholders.
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