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"NEST OF VIPERS" THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Larry Elliott – Economics editor
Wed 18 Jan 2023 12.15 GMT
Mutiny breaks out among WEF staff over 'Mr Davos' role
Founder and chairman Klaus Schwab has run the forum for 52 years, but is now regarded by some past and present staff as a "law unto himself" .
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 strong criticism of its presidency and lack of strategic succession.
A group of current and former WEF members who contacted the Guardian said the 84-year-old Schwab was a law unto himself (note: accountable to no one) and surrounded by "nobodies" who were unable to run the organization he founded in the early 1970s.
“Klaus has been at the helm of the WEF for 52 years. "When he was born [in 1938] 122 of the 195 states in the world at the moment did not even exist. He is not accountable to anyone inside or outside the organization ," the group said.
“We are a group of current and former WEF employees. We want to play our part in advancing the conversation 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 can make life very difficult for us even after we leave the WEF . "
Speculation about Schwab's future intensified this week after an article in the online edition of Politico said WEF's strategic partners – the companies that fund the $390m (£315m) a year business – were unhappy about the lack of succession strategy.
The group of WEF staff members said they had posted their criticisms on social media platform LinkedIn, but they had been removed at the WEF's request, which the organization denies.
The posts, shared with the Guardian, said: "There is not much future for the WEF beyond Klaus, not only because there is no clear successor, but also because its board is a nest of vipers where the senior leadership they will eat each other the moment the old man shakes them."
A WEF spokesman said: “The board of trustees decides on any future institutional leadership appointments. The Forum has a strong institutional governance structure 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 panel of former and current WEF employees questioned the organization's ability to function without Schwab at the helm.
"In most organizations the next generation of top leadership is dimly visible at the highest levels of management, but at the WEF Klaus has surrounded himself with such a group of nothings at the top that it is hard to see how any of them could be taken seriously by anyone consistent within or outside the organization.
Klaus chooses his leaders using the same criteria Putin uses to choose deputies for the State Duma: loyalty, guile, sex appeal. The quality of people at the top reflects the type of people who work for the rest of the organization."
The head of a British company agreed that there appears to be no successor to Schwab. "My impression is he's going to die with his boots on, " the executive said.
Another longtime Davos attendee expressed surprise that Schwab had allowed speculation about his future to surface. "If I'm honest, I find it a bit disrespectful [given everything he's done], but he should have known it was going to happen and taken steps to prevent it."
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss Foundation and has no shareholders.
Translated by Maria Seferou
https://www.seferou-maria.gr/index.php.
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