Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, a former director of Nestlé, is replacing Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum: Schwab has officially announced his resignation with immediate effect. The decision was communicated to the Board of Trustees at an extraordinary meeting and made public through an official note from the WEF. "Following my recent announcement, and as I enter my 88th year of age, I have decided to resign from the position of chairman and board member with immediate effect", Schwab said in an official statement.

At the extraordinary meeting, the Board of Directors took note of Schwab’s resignation and, "In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Forum, states the official note, unanimously appointed Vice-President Peter Brabeck-Letmathe as interim chairman. It also set up a Research Committee to select a future president".

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, former chairman of Nestlé, born in 1944 in Austria, was chairman of Nestlé Health Science SA and chairman of the supervisory board of Nestlé Health Science (Deutschland) GmbH. He is known for his radical positions on the environment, technology and fundamental rights.