Annie Minoff
speaker
239 appearances
11 recordings
1 series
first heard Apr 2025
last heard Jun 2025
Annie Minoff’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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And now, after a fresh round of allegations, a major leadership shakeup is underway.
Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Annie Minoff. It's Wednesday, April 30th. Coming up on the show, the boardroom drama and leadership crisis, rocking Davos. The World Economic Forum, the nonprofit that runs the Davos Conference, has been around for more than half a century.
Today, it has over 800 employees and takes in hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it from partner companies that pay big bucks to attend Davos. But the organization started small.
At the time, Klaus Schwab was a German engineer and economist, broad-shouldered with glasses and a dour expression.
Schwab's time growing up in Europe after the war shaped his views on the power of global cooperation to rebuild economies. And that experience gave him a big idea.
And so the Davos meeting was born. These days, it hosts 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries. And as Davos' importance increased, so too has Schwab's. Schwab is 87 now, and not exactly a household name. But his role at the top of the World Economic Forum has made him one of the best-connected people in the world, with a Rolodex that includes everyone from royals to rock stars.
But as Schwab and his organization worked to shine a light on the world's problems, Shalini started hearing about problems within the forum itself.
One former employee, a Black woman, described an incident in which a boss, brandishing matches, asked if he could set her wig on fire.
The Forum told the Journal last year that they weren't aware of the allegations. The employee eventually chose to leave the organization. And then there was a story an employee told about a strange encounter in 2010 during a flu vaccination drive.
According to a complaint sent to Schwab and forum leaders, the woman only realized she'd been duped when the real doctor walked in. According to the complaint, the manager later brushed it off as a joke.
The Forum told the journal last year that the incident was a misunderstanding. Documents show that the executive was reprimanded and had his bonus reduced. Some current and former employees told Shalini about alleged incidents involving Schwab himself. One woman described a meeting in which Schwab propped his leg up on her desk with his crotch in front of her face.
According to her account, Schwab told her he'd like to see her wearing what he called a Hawaiian costume. The woman said Schwab had told her more than once, quote, Two other employees also confirmed they saw Schwab strike the crotch pose in front of the staffer and other women. For their investigation, Shalini and her colleagues interviewed more than 80 current and former employees.
They also reviewed documents such as HR complaints, internal emails, and text messages. So you publish your article outlining what these ex and current employees have told you they experienced. What happened next?
At the time, the Forum disputed the journal's reporting. A spokesperson told the journal that the article mischaracterized the organization, as well as Schwab. It called the claims vague and false and said Schwab never made sexual advances. Last year, the Forum's board created a special committee and hired a law firm to investigate its workplace culture.
Recently, it said that review had concluded, and it shook up its senior leadership. The final report was never publicly released. Earlier this month, Schwab announced that he would transition out of his role at the forum. But it wouldn't be immediate. He planned to step down by 2027. At this point, after this investigation by the forum, how are things looking for Schwab?
And then, just this month, a bombshell.
What was in that letter? That's after the break.
A few weeks ago, the World Economic Forum's board received a letter In it, current and former employees repeated some of the allegations the journal had reported. But the letter also contained fresh accusations, this time leveled directly at the boss.
We feel compelled, the letter said, to share a comprehensive account of systemic governance failures and abuses of power that have taken place over many years under the unchecked authority of Klaus Schwab. The letter alleged that Schwab and his wife, Hilda Schwab, mixed their personal affairs with World Economic Forum resources without proper oversight.
The whistleblower letter also mentioned a sprawling estate overlooking Lake Geneva called Villa Mundi. The forum bought the modernist building for $30 million and spent another $20 million on renovations.
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