The president and CEO of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, announced his resignation on Thursday amid media and institutional pressure related to his past ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This decision follows the widespread release of documents from the U.S. Department of Justice detailing contacts between Brende and Epstein.
Brende, who had headed the Geneva institution since 2017 and who previously served as Norway's foreign minister, explained in a statement that his decision was motivated by the desire to allow the Forum to continue "His important work without distraction", without explicitly referring to Epstein in his resignation letter.
More than 100 text messages and emails with Epstein
The revelations published by the U.S. Department of Justice showed that Borge Brende had attended three business dinners with Jeffrey Epstein and had exchanged emails and text messages with him. According to several reports, these exchanges included more than a hundred text messages and emails.
In response to these revelations, the WEF launched an independent assessment of the relationship between Brende and Epstein in early February, entrusting it to external legal advisors. In a separate statement, the Forum's co-chairs, André Hoffmann and Larry Fink, indicated that this investigation had concluded without uncovering any new information beyond what had already been publicly disclosed.
Following the announcement, the WEF appointed Alois Zwinggi as interim president and executive director, pending the appointment of a permanent successor by the organization's board of directors, which brings together political, economic and diplomatic leaders from around the world each year in Davos.
