From Geneva to the world

Every January, around 50 heads of state and government leaders, 70-some corporate directors from the Fortune 100 list, and other leaders of all persuasions come together in Davos for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. The event is world famous, but few people know the history of the WEF or what kind of work the organization does.

Created in 1971 in Geneva by Professor Klaus Schwab — originally as a way to introduce European firms to American management practices — this one-of-a-kind organization has only continued to grow, and today it hosts one of the world’s greatest forums for discussions about economic, social, and political issues. Its official goal? “To improve the state of the world.” A broad agenda that is fraught with challenges and has seen its fields of activity expand significantly under the leadership of its founder (and still Executive Chairman to this day) Klaus Schwab. It’s within this context that
helvet recently interviewed his son, Olivier Schwab, a WEF Managing Director since 2019. A graduate from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (1997) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1999), he joined the Forum in 2010, after a career in various roles, notably at Schindler Group.

Why did the WEF choose Geneva as their place of founding in 1971? It was a natural choice at the time because our founder, Professor Schwab, was teaching at the University of Geneva. It’s actually quite spot on to refer to the WEF as a former Genevan start-up because in the beginning, our only members were him and his wife! Geneva additionally offered the benefit of having a liberal approach towards entrepreneurship and it was home to an abundance of international organizations.

Swiss neutrality is sometimes criticised, but can it still be considered an asset? The importance of Swiss neutrality is still very much intact, and we think of it as a guiding principle for all of our activities, especially as our world becomes increasingly polarized.

What’s your relationship like with the Genevan authorities? We’ve always had a very positive relationship. In the beginning, the Forum was even supported by the State Bank of Geneva (BCGE). Genevan authorities are consistently present each year at our annual meetings in Davos. For example, in January 2023, we welcomed Nathalie Fontanet (State Councillor) and Marie Barbey-Chappuis (Mayor of Geneva). In fact, the Forum was actually just awarded a Special Prize by the jury of the Grands Prix de l’économie genevoise.

The WEF’s main events take place outside Geneva, notably the event in Davos. Has this lakeside city never been a candidate for one your Annual Meetings? We’ve always wanted to host our annual reunions in a small, secluded village, so Davos has always been a natural fit. By choosing a place deep in the Grison Alps, participants are encouraged to focus on the forums themselves, instead of exploring the many activities a metropolitan city offers. That’s what we mean when we refer to the “spirit of Davos.”

Over the years, the WEF has set up several global offices… Yes, at present we have representative offices in New York, San Francisco, Beijing, and Tokyo, and we also support and collaborate with a series of other external offices.

Our foundation employs around a thousand people, including 350 employees who are seconded to the Forum on behalf of their organizations. Given our size and the global nature of our activities, it makes sense for us to have a diverse presence across the globe. That being said, 80% of our employees
are based in Geneva, where we have our headquarters.

Which Geneva-based international organizations do you primarily work with and how do they benefit from working with you? We collaborate closely with a multitude of international organizations, notably the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). We are also very involved in the preparations for the United Nations Climate Change conference (COP). It’s natural for these types of organizations to collaborate with government partners; the Forum offers these organizations a multiparty perspective by also implicating the private sector, civil society, and the academic world.

The WEF is financed by members from the private sector; are Swiss companies well represented among your membership? We have over a dozen Swiss conglomerates within our 100 Strategic Partners, who are all global companies that are heavily involved in our primary fields of activity and who each contribute up to 600,000 CHF every year. There are 800 companies total who finance the Forum’s activities; a third of which are based in Europe, a third in North America, and a third in the rest of the world. It’s worth noting that we are actively trying to grow our membership amongst that last third.

In 2018, the WEF was officially recognized as a “public-private international organization” by the Swiss Confederation. What have been the benefits of this designation? This new status strengthened our recognition amongst our partner states, even if our reputation was already well established beforehand. It wasn’t easy to obtain this status because support from numerous countries was a sine qua non condition. Currently, only the Forum and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have obtained this designation.

In the same vein, we also signed a partnership agreement with the United Nations in 2019, which outlines ways we can work together to speed up implementation of Agenda 2030’s goals for sustainable development.

The official goal of the WEF is to “improve the state of the world.” How do you measure your success? One critical measure is the general and financial engagement of our private sector members. Another is the amount of trust our other partners place in us, notably our government, academic, and civil society representatives. It is essential for the Forum that all of our key stakeholders actively participate in our projects and activities. Among other factors, we also take into consideration how many initiatives are launched under the banner of our meetings or developed internally within our organization.

What are some examples of initiatives that have been launched in Davos? There are many examples, but one that comes to mind is the “Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders,” which is a community of 120 CEOs who are determined to speed up our transition towards a net zero economy. Another is the “First Movers Coalition,” which regroups 65 large companies — many of whom are on the Fortune 100 list — that are committed to significantly increasing the sustainability of their supply chains.

The WEF has evolved a lot over the years; what have been the main milestones in your development? Initially we started out as an organizer of international conferences. Then we grew to also offer the cocreation of content, community management, comanagement of pilot projects, and the development of new initiatives like the ones we just discussed.

With all the international travel you’ve done, do you feel you have a strong personal connection to Geneva? Of course! I was born and raised in Geneva, and I consider this canton my home. Despite its medium size, Geneva has so much to offer its inhabitants, notably in terms of the dining, which never ceases to improve. I should mention that one of my absolute favourite things to do is to take part in the l’Escalade festivities with my children.

Your founder, Professor Klaus Schwab, has directed the WEF for over 50 years. The day he decides to retire, what fundamental changes do you expect for the organization? The Forum has a robust, professional, and stable management system in place. In addition to the Board of Trustees, which is chaired by Klaus Schwab, we also have a Managing Board that’s chaired by Børge Brende, that has done some amazing work for our organization. Over the last decade, the Board of Trustees has become increasingly dynamic and has set up sub committees that are actively involved in defining our strategy as we move forward.

Professor Klaus Schwab’s succession is certainly not inconsequential… Indeed. Nevertheless, I am convinced that when the time comes, the Board of Trustees will be perfectly capable of managing the succession. In all cases, we can certainly anticipate that there will be no radical directional changes or abandonment of any of our key initiatives.

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