The president and CEO of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, announced on Thursday that he was resigning, a few weeks after the forum initiated an independent investigation into his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Brende, who became president of the WEF in 2017, announced his decision in a statement following disclosures from the US Justice Department that showed the Norwegian had three business dinners with Epstein and had also communicated with the disgraced financier via email and text message.
Who is Borge Brende?
Born in 1965, Brende served as the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Minister of Climate and the Environment. He was the Deputy Chairman of the Norwegian Conservative Party as well as an MP and a full-time city counselor in his hometown of Trondheim.
Borge Brende graduated with a BA in economics, law and history, NTNU, Trondheim. He began his career as a political advisor in 1985.
Other key positions held
Brende served as Chairman of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Red Cross, and was a Board Member of Statoil and the Norwegian School of Economics. Additionally, he was the chair of Mesta, Norway’s largest road and highway maintenance contracting group, according to the WEF website.
He previously served as a Director of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance. Currently, he is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Hoffman Center for Global Sustainability and serves on the Advisory Council of the Harvard International Negotiation Program, the website says. He is also a member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) and the Strategic Committee of Sciences Po, and he sits on the Board of the Bilderberg Meetings.
Brende’s resignation
In a statement issued on Thursday, Brende said, “After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as President and CEO of the World Economic Forum. My time here, spanning 8-1/2 years, has been profoundly rewarding.”
He added, “I am grateful for the incredible collaboration with my colleagues, partners, and constituents, and I believe now is the right moment for the Forum to continue its important work without distractions. Brende made no mention of Epstein.
Andre Hoffmann and Larry Fink, co-chairs of the Geneva-based forum that hosts the annual Davos summit, said in a separate statement that an independent review by outside counsel into Brende’s connections with Epstein had been completed.
The findings indicated no concerns beyond what was already disclosed, it added.
The co-chairs announced that Alois Zwinggi from the WEF will serve as interim president and CEO. They also stated that the forum’s Board of Trustees will supervise the leadership transition, which includes developing a plan to find a permanent successor.
