ZURICH: The president and CEO of the World Financial Discussion board, Borge Brende, mentioned on Thursday (Feb 26) he was stepping down, a couple of weeks after the discussion board launched an impartial investigation into his relationship with intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Brende, who grew to become president of the WEF in 2017, introduced his choice in an announcement following disclosures from the US Justice Division that confirmed the Norwegian had three enterprise dinners with Epstein and had additionally communicated with the disgraced financier by way of e mail and textual content message.
“After cautious consideration, I’ve determined to step down as President and CEO of the World Financial Discussion board. My time right here, spanning eight-and-a-half years, has been profoundly rewarding,” he mentioned.
“I’m grateful for the unbelievable collaboration with my colleagues, companions, and constituents, and I imagine now could be the precise second for the Discussion board to proceed its vital work with out distractions,” added Brende, a former Norwegian international minister. Brende made no point out of Epstein.
In a separate assertion, Andre Hoffmann and Larry Fink, co-chairs of the Geneva-based discussion board that organises the annual Davos summit, mentioned the impartial evaluate carried out by outdoors counsel into Brende’s ties with Epstein had concluded.
The findings acknowledged there have been no further issues past what has been beforehand disclosed, it added.
The co-chairs mentioned the WEF’s Alois Zwinggi will function interim president and CEO, and that the discussion board’s Board of Trustees will oversee the management transition, together with a plan to drive a course of to determine a everlasting successor.
