Susan Hockfield, Klaus Kleinfeld, Jack Ma and Jim Hagemann Snabe join the World Economic Forum Foundation Board- The Foundation Board serves as the guardian of the World Economic Forum’s mission and values
Geneva, Switzerland, 21 August 2014 – The Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum met on 20-21 August 2014. On this occasion and in accordance with the Forum’s mandate to be a representative group of key global stakeholders, the Foundation Board elected the following four members:
Susan Hockfield, President Emerita and Professor of Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive, Alcoa Inc., USA
Jack Ma, Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China
Jim Hagemann Snabe, Member of the Board, SAP AG, Siemens AG, Allianz SE, Germany
Susan Hockfield served as an active member of the Forum’s Board during her tenure as President of MIT (2004-2012) and stepped down when she left the presidency. Since then, she has continued in her capacity as Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and also serves as a member of the Board of two Forum Strategic Partner companies, General Electric and Qualcomm Inc.
Klaus Kleinfeld, who also serves as an active member on the Forum USA Board, brings a deep understanding of global business and industry to the Forum’s work, and his vast experience will bring sound expertise to the Foundation Board. As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alcoa Inc., he has overseen an extensive expansion of the company’s value-add businesses and strengthened its innovation leadership, helping to secure and create jobs in advanced manufacturing activities in the United States and around the world.
Jack Ma is one of the most admired Chinese business leaders. His achievements in building Alibaba into one of the largest global internet brands and his commitment to championing small business around the world will bring value to the Forum in its continuous efforts to foster entrepreneurship globally.
Jim Hagemann Snabe, in addition to serving on the Board of three Forum Partner companies – SAP AG, Siemens AG, Allianz SE – becomes a delegate of the Foundation Board to serve as the Chair of the Forum’s Centre for Global Industries. The Centre integrates 500 Industry Partner companies across 20 industry sectors to shape respective industry agendas. Some 200 Forum collaborators work in the Centre for Global Industries in Geneva, New York, Beijing and Tokyo.
“I am honoured that the Forum is governed by a highly engaged Foundation Board, which ensures that our activities respond to our mission statement of improving the state of the world. Currently, we manage over 50 global projects. This would not be possible without the advice and direction of my colleagues on the Foundation Board who bring unique leadership experience from business, politics and academia, demonstrating the Forum’s multistakeholder responsibility,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
As of 21 August, the Members of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum are:
Klaus SCHWAB* Chairman of the Foundation Board
Patrick AEBISCHER President, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, Switzerland
H.M. Queen Rania AL ABDULLAH of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Mukesh AMBANI Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, India
Peter BRABECK-LETMATHE* Chairman of the Board, Nestlé, Switzerland
Mark CARNEY Chairman, Financial Stability Board; Governor of the Bank of England
Victor CHU* Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, First Eastern Investment Group, Hong Kong SAR
Orit GADIESH** Chairman, Bain & Company, USA
Carlos GHOSN** Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault-Nissan Alliance (France and Japan), France
Herman GREF Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Sberbank, Russia
Angel GURRÍA Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris
Susan HOCKFIELD President Emerita and Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
Donald KABERUKA President, African Development Bank, Tunis
Klaus KLEINFELD* Chairman and Chief Executive, Alcoa Inc., USA
Christine LAGARDE Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC
Jack MA Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China
Luis MORENO President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC
Indra NOOYI* Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo, USA
Peter SANDS** Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered, United Kingdom
Joseph SCHOENDORF* Venture Partner, Accel Partners, USA
Jim Hagemann SNABE Member of the Board, SAP AG, Siemens AG, Allianz SE, Germany
Heizo TAKENAKA** Director, Global Security Research Institute, Keio University, Japan; Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy of Japan (2002-2006)
George YEO YONG-BOON Visiting Scholar, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore (2004 – 2011)
Min ZHU Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC
*Member of the Executive Committee
**Member of the Audit Committee
The World Economic Forum is an international institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation in the spirit of global citizenship. It engages with business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is independent, impartial and not tied to any interests. It cooperates closely with all leading international organizations (www.weforum.org).