Borge Brende on Thursday stepped down as president and CEO of World Economic Forum over Epstein ties. The development comes a few โ weeks after โthe โ forum โlaunched an independent investigation โinto his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Notably, Brende, who became president of the WEF in 2017, announced the decision to step down in a statement following disclosures from โthe โUS Justice Department โ that โshowed the โNorwegian โhad three business dinners โ with Epstein and โ had also communicated with him via email and text โmessage.
Here’s what Borge Brende said on resignation
ย “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 said in a statement.
In another statement, Andre Hoffmann โ and Larry Fink, co-chairs of โthe Geneva-based forum that organises the annual Davos โsummit, โstated that the independent review conducted by outside counsel into Brende’s โ ties with Epstein had concluded. The latest findings revealed that there โ were no additional concerns beyond what has been previously disclosed.
Alois Zwinggi to take over as interim president of WEFย
The co-chairs added that Alois Zwinggi will take over as interim president and chief executive with immediate effect. However, the WEF Board of Trustees will supervise the leadership transition and begin the process of identifying a permanent successor.
It should be noted that the World Economic Forum is known for organising its annual Davos summit, which brings together heads of state, corporate leaders and civil society figures from around the world.