World Economic Forum announces new Board of Trustees

GENEVA, Switzerland – In accordance with the World Economic Forum’s new status as the international institution for public-private cooperation, as recognized by the Swiss Federal Council in January 2015, the Forum has updated its governing body from a Foundation Board to a Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees met for the first time on 26-27 August 2015, in Geneva. On this occasion, in line with the Forum’s mandate to serve as a representative group of key global stakeholders, the Board of Trustees elected the following three new members:

Katherine Garrett-Cox CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance Trust PLC, United Kingdom

Al Gore, Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management, USA

Martin Senn, Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Insurance Group, Switzerland

Katherine Garrett-Cox CBE, a former Young Global Leader and now a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum’s Forum of Young Global Leaders, is one of the highest-profile women in the City of London. She was cited by the Financial Times as one of the Top 50 Women in World Business, and she is Vice-Chair of The Baring Foundation, a member of the UK Society of Investment Professionals and the CFA Institute.

Al Gore, Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001) and Nobel laureate, is one of the world’s most well-known environmental activists. He has authored five bestselling books, was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and spends the majority of his time as chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a non-profit organization he founded that is focused on solutions for the global climate crisis. With his commitment to solving the climate crisis, Gore will help the Forum expand its engagement in developing public-private partnerships aimed at tackling the global challenge of environment and resource scarcity.

Martin Senn brings more than 35 years of experience in the insurance and finance industry to the Board of Trustees. His organization supports the Forum’s annual Global Risks report, which offers an expert assessment of the top global risks in terms of likelihood and potential impact over the next 10 years. His work with the Forum has helped drive public-private cooperation in identifying, understanding and managing prevalent risks in an increasingly interconnected world.

“The Board of Trustees shall reflect the multistakeholder concept on which the World Economic Forum is built. It is essential that the Board of Trustees takes a very active role and is engaged in setting the strategic framework for the Forum. It acts as trustee of our independence and our impartiality.” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

As of 27 August, the Members of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum are:

Klaus SCHWAB*, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Patrick AEBISCHER, President, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, Switzerland

H.M. Queen Rania AL ABDULLAH, of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Mukesh AMBANI, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, India

Peter BRABECK-LETMATHE*, Chairman of the Board, Nestlé, Switzerland
Mark CARNEY, Chairman, Financial Stability Board; Governor of the Bank of England

Katherine GARRETT-COX, CBE*, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance Trust PLC, United Kingdom

Orit GADIESH**, Chairman, Bain & Company, USA

Al GORE, Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management, USA

Herman GREF, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Sberbank, Russia

Angel GURRÍA, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris

Susan HOCKFIELD, President Emerita and Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

Klaus KLEINFELD**, Chairman and Chief Executive, Alcoa Inc., USA

Christine LAGARDE, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC

Jack MA, Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China

Dr Peter MAURER, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva

Luis MORENO, President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC

Indra NOOYI*, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo, USA

Joseph SCHOENDORF*, Venture Partner, Accel Partners, USA

Martin SENN**, Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Insurance Group, Switzerland

Jim Hagemann SNABE, Member of the Board, SAP AG, Siemens AG, Allianz SE, Germany

Heizo TAKENAKA**, Director, Global Security Research Institute, Keio University, Japan; Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy of Japan (2002-2006)

George YEO YONG-BOON, Visiting Scholar, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore (2004 – 2011)

Min ZHU, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC

*Member of the Governance Board
**Member of the Audit & Risk Committee