Reinventing Davos for a reinventing world

Even as a new global order emerges, World Economic Forum is reorganising itself with a new leadership team.

- PRANJAL SHARMA

Manuj Sharma

In January 2026, the World Economic Forum (WEF) will mark 55 years of being a global platform for leadership dialogue.

The annual meeting in Davos commands unparalleled participation by heads of state and global business leaders. Started as the European Management Symposium by Founder Prof Klaus Schwab in 1971, it was renamed as WEF in 1987.

Since then, WEF has evolved in several phases. From the early years of a European business focus to the next phase of bringing political leadership to dialogue with CEOs. Later WEF created civil society communities that included young leaders, innovators and social entrepreneurs. Then WEF added insights capabilities and publishes several reports on subjects like innovation, risk and gender that trigger global debates. The phrase "fourth industrial revolution" was coined by Prof Schwab with his landmark book. Since then, WEF has created 11 centres that specialize in subjects like financial systems; frontier technologies; and climate change.

A much-debated leadership transition occurred in 2025 with Prof Schwab stepping away from WEF. The Board of Trustees selected André Hoffmann and Larry Fink as the interim Co-Chairs of the World Economic Forum. Fink is Chairman and CEO of Blackrock, the world's largest asset manager with over $13 trillion in assets under management. Hoffman is Vice Chairman and fourth-generation family representative at Roche, one of the largest and oldest healthcare companies in the world.

The Forum is guided by a Board of Trustees, exceptional individuals who act as guardians of its mission and values and oversee the Forum's work in promoting true global citizenship. The renewed Managing Board, chaired by the Forum's President and CEO, Børge Brende, acts as the executive body of the World Economic Forum.