World Economic Forum

World Economic Forum Appoints Two New Members to Board of Trustees

· Kristalina Georgieva and Patrice Motsepe join the World Economic Forum Board of Trustees

· The Board of Trustees serves as the guardian of the World Economic Forum’s mission and values

· For more information on the World Economic Forum, see www.weforum.org

 Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), will join the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum. Both have a track record of thought leadership and long-term success in their field, which will contribute to strengthening the Forum’s platform for public-private cooperation.

“The World Economic Forum, as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, is delighted to welcome Kristalina Georgieva and Patrice Motsepe to its Board of Trustees. We look forward to working together to deliver positive, transformative solutions to our most critical global, regional and industry challenges,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Kristalina Georgieva has been Managing Director at the IMF since October 2019. Previously, she served as Chief Executive Officer at the World Bank, and as Interim President of the World Bank Group. She also served as European Commission Vice-President for Budget and Human Resources, overseeing its budget of €161 billion and 33,000 staff. Previously, she was Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

She held positions at the World Bank for more than 17 years, including Vice-President and Corporate Secretary, Director for Sustainable Development, Director for the Russian Federation, Director for Environment, and Director for Environment and Social Development for East Asia and the Pacific. She serves on numerous panels and commissions, including the Global Commission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing. She has authored more than 100 publications. She holds a PhD in Economic Science and an MA in Political Economy and Sociology from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, where she was an Associate Professor (1977-1993). In 2010, she was named European of the Year and Commissioner of the Year by European Voice for her leadership in the EU’s humanitarian response to crises.

Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals a global diversified mining company, South Africa; Former Partner, Attorneys Bowmans, South Africa; Visiting Attorney, McGuireWoods, Virginia, US. Founder, ARMgold. Non-Executive Chairman, Harmony Gold Mining Company. Deputy Chairman, Sanlam. Founding President, BUSA (Business Unity South Africa). Chairman, BRICS Business Council 2013. Former member, JP Morgan International Council. Member, International Business Council and Global Leader for Tomorrow, World Economic Forum. Member, Harvard Global Advisory Council. Awards: South Africa’s Business Leader of the Year, voted by CEOs of South Africa’s top 100 companies (2002); South Africa’s Best Entrepreneur of the Year, Ernst & Young (2002).

In 2017 Forbes Magazine commemorated its 100th Anniversary and honoured Patrice as one of the “100 Greatest Living Business Minds” in the world alongside other prominent global business leaders.

In January 2013 Patrice and his wife, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe joined the Giving Pledge which was started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. Patrice committed to give half of the wealth owned by his family to the poor during his lifetime and that of his wife. Patrice has received three honorary doctorates in commerce and one in law.

As of 24 January 2020, the Members of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum are:

Marc BENIOFF, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce, USA
Peter BRABECK-LETMATHE*, Vice-Chairman, Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Mark CARNEY, Governor of the Bank of England
Laurence D. FINK, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock, Inc.
Chrystia FREELAND, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Orit GADIESH**, Chairman, Bain & Company, USA
Kristalina GEORGIEVA, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC
Fabiola GIANOTTI, Director-General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva
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, Russian Federation
Angel GURRÍA, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris
André HOFFMANN, Non-Executive Vice-Chairman, Roche Holding Ltd, Switzerland
Christine LAGARDE, President, European Central Bank, Frankfurt
Jack MA, Alibaba Board of Directors, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China
Yo-Yo MA, Cellist
Peter MAURER, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Switzerland
Luis MORENO**, President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC
Patrice MOTSEPE, Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa
H.M. Queen Rania AL ABDULLAH, of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
L. Rafael REIF, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
David M. RUBENSTEIN, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, Carlyle Group, USA
Mark SCHNEIDER, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé SA, Switzerland
Klaus SCHWAB*, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Tharman SHANMUGARATNAM, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies of Singapore
Jim Hagemann SNABE, Chairman, Supervisory Board, Siemens AG, Germany; Chairman, A.P. Møller-Maersk, Denmark
Feike SYBESMA, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board, Royal DSM, Netherlands
Heizo TAKENAKA**, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy of Japan (2002-2006)
Min ZHU*, President, National Institute of Financial Research, People’s Republic of China; Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC (2011-2016)

About the Annual Meeting 2020:
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 will take place on 21-24 January 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The meeting brings together more than 3,000 global leaders from politics, government, civil society, academia, the arts and culture as well as the media. Convening under the theme, Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World, participants will focus on defining new models for building sustainable and inclusive societies in a plurilateral world. For further information, please click here.