Klaus Schwab


Klaus Martin Schwab is a German engineer and economist best known as the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. His wife and first collaborator, Hilde, co-founded the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship with him. He was born in 1938, in Ravensburg, Germany.

Foundations

In 1971, Schwab founded the European Management Forum, which in 1987 became the World Economic Forum, as a not-for-profit foundation committed to improving the state of the world. He founded the WEF in 1971, the same year in which he published Moderne Unternehmensführung im Maschinenbau. In that book, he argued that the management of a modern enterprise must serve not only shareholders but all stakeholders, to achieve long-term growth and prosperity. Schwab has championed the multistakeholder concept since the WEF’s inception. In 2015, the WEF was formally recognised by the Swiss Government as an "international body". Under Schwab's management, the WEF has been keen to promote its image as a driver for reconciliation efforts in different parts of the world, acting as a catalyst of numerous collaborations and international initiatives.
In 1998, Schwab and his wife founded the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, another NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland.
In 2004, Schwab created a new foundation using the US$1 million prize money from the Dan David Prize he received that year from Israel. The Forum of Young Global Leaders aims to create a dynamic global community of exceptional people with the vision, courage and influence to drive positive change in the world.
In 2011, he founded the Global Shapers Community, a global network of local communities, or "hubs", of young people aged 20 to 30 who are exceptional in their potential, achievements and drive to make a contribute to their communities., there are 421 Hubs with 9,731 Shapers.

Education

Schwab holds a doctorate in Economics from the University of Fribourg, a doctorate in Engineering from the ETH Zurich and a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He obtained his "Abitur" or high school diploma from the Humanistisches Gymnasium in Ravensburg, Germany. Before pursuing his doctorates, he graduated as an engineer from the ETH Zurich, and as an economist from the University of Fribourg. Additionally, he has been the recipient of over a dozen honorary doctorates, and is an honorary professor of the Ben-Gurion University of Israel and the China Foreign Affairs University.

Professional life

Schwab was professor of business policy at the University of Geneva from 1972 to 2003, and since then, has been an Honorary Professor there. Since 1979, he has published the Global Competitiveness Report, an annual report assessing the potential for increasing productivity and economic growth of countries around the world, written by a team of economists. The report is based on a methodology developed by Schwab, measuring competitiveness not only in terms of productivity but also based on sustainability criteria.
He is listed as the author of several books, including The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution , both of which were ghost written by WEF employee Nicholas Davis.

Other activities

From 1993-1995, Schwab was a member of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development. From 1996-1998, he was Vice-Chairman of the UN Committee for Development Planning.
He also exercised a number of other functions, such as being a member of the Peres Centre for Peace and a member of the board of the Lucerne Festival. During the earlier years of his career, he was on a number of company boards, such as The Swatch Group, The Daily Mail Group, and Vontobel Holding. He is a former member of the steering committee of the Bilderberg Group.

National distinctions