World Economic Forum

Annual Report 2006/2007

World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 

This report is available online at www.weforum.org

World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 

Contents
Executive Chairman’s statement 02
Our major successes and achievements 06
New strategic endeavours 08
Shaping the global agenda 10
Shaping the regional agenda 14
Shaping the industry agenda 20
Building public–private partnerships 24
Creating knowledge networks 28
Engaging our communities and constituencies 32
Working with our members and partners 35
Our organization 38
The Forum community 40
World Economic Forum USA 42
Our financial results 44
Our mission and values 45

The World Economic Forum

is an independent international
organization committed to
improving the state of the world
by engaging leaders in
partnerships to shape global,
regional and industry agendas.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 

Professor Klaus Schwab,

Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 
Executive Once again the World Economic Forum has
shown itself to be an innovative, dynamic
Chairman’s and insightful organization. Acting as a
statement catalyst for global change, we have delivered
concrete results that reinforce our mission to
Professor Klaus Schwab improve the state of the world. We achieved
this at a time when we continue to expand
and evolve to meet the changing needs of
our partners and members worldwide.
2006/2007 saw a number of key strategic
challenges and opportunities – many of which
we share with our members. We have continued
to work closely with our members and partners
as well as with other key stakeholders from
government and civil society in our mission to
shape the global agenda in a positive way. As
part of this mission we have all had to address
the increasing prominence of Asia in the global
economy and polity. In addition we have a range
of emerging global companies that will take their
place in the global economy in the near future.
We have also addressed the growing
importance of online communities both in the
way we do business, how the Forum itself
works, and the way we conduct our lives.
And we have continued to give prominence to
identifying and understanding a new generation
of global leaders.
The Forum shares with all its members and
partners a responsibility and an obligation to
reduce its impact on the environment and search
for sustainable solutions. As part of this focus,
this year the Forum is sending all members a
condensed print version of this annual report,
while offering the full version on our website at
www.weforum.org/annualreport. We hope that
you understand and welcome this move. The
annual report is also available in Arabic, Chinese,
French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
Shaping the global agenda:
a new global alliance
For many years, the Forum was a relatively
lone voice in its passionate advocacy of a
multistakeholder approach to global issues.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom I was
delighted to welcome as a member of our
Foundation Board in June, captured this
truth particularly eloquently at this year’s
Annual Meeting.
Mr Blair said: “Nations, even the most great,
are realizing that they cannot pursue their narrow
national interests without invoking broader global
values. They are obliged to recognize that
interdependence is the defining characteristic
of the early twenty-first century. The shifting
power equation is, in part, obviously about
emerging new powers; but it is equally about the
fact that power over global issues can only be
effectively wielded today by global alliances, in
turn based on global values.”
The key role of business in this ‘global alliance’
is becoming increasingly apparent. In 2006/2007,
the Forum acted to ensure that our business
expertise and influence were as assured, and
invaluable to members, as those of our regional
and global perspectives.
In this context, I’m pleased that the concept of
Corporate Global Citizenship is evolving from a
poorly understood slogan to a key principle and
strategic cornerstone of responsible businesses.
Corporations have not only a licence to operate
in a global space, but also a ‘civic duty’ to
contribute to the sustainable health of this global
space in cooperation with governments and civil
society. It is for this reason that Corporate Global
Citizenship remains at the very heart of the
Forum’s activities.
The increased engagement of members
demonstrates the value they place in the Forum
and its continuing evolution. In 2006/2007, I am
very pleased to report, our number of Strategic
Partners increased by 18%, as further member
companies signalled their closer commitment
to the Forum by joining the programme.
One-third of our staff, in 14 sector teams, are
now dedicated industry experts and, in 2007, our
North American office, World Economic Forum
USA, became firmly established as the global
headquarters for our Centre for Global Industries
and for our Industry Partners programme, thus
developing unbeatable strategic perspectives
and a platform to support the concerted action
of our diverse stakeholders. Our Industry
Partnership community continues to grow. We
increased the number of active members working
in a number of tight-knit communities on a range
of industry and cross-industry projects by 95%.
The Forum’s international expansion with an
established office in Beijing and now new
premises for our New York headquarters, and the
Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions,
this year in Dalian in China, has extended our
footprint but has not diminished the Forum’s
cohesion and unity of purpose. We remain one
organization, with a common mission and culture.
Asia and the rise of the New Champions
It has become an established fact that the rising
economies of Asia are poised to equal those of
the West, revolutionizing the traditional economic
order. Building relationships and understanding
between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ economies and
business leaders is essential for the future
prosperity and stability of both.
The Forum has a long and successful history
of engagement in Asia, and in China and India
in particular, where we have had a major impact
in integrating those countries into the global
system. We are therefore perfectly placed to
be a powerful platform for interaction and
cooperation between the emerging and
established economies. This is something the
Forum has sought to do for many years but it’s
clear that this must become a central strategic
goal for the Forum as it must be for many of our
member companies. The Inaugural Annual
Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 
Executive (6–8 September 2007) brings together emerging
global companies – we call them the ‘New
Chairman’s Champions’ – with today’s leaders to shape
statement tomorrow’s business landscape. This inaugural
meeting creates a powerful platform for
Professor Klaus Schwab interaction and collaboration between traditional
and new actors, between East and West, by
continued bringing together far beyond 1,000 top
participants. Our close and long-term relationship
with the Chinese Government, particularly
represented by the NDRC, the National
Development and Reform Commission, was key
to the establishment of the Dalian meeting and
future meetings of the New Champions, as well
as the operational success of our office in Beijing.
Online communities and the
WELCOM project
As part of this emerging new world, the virtual
communities that the Web has enabled are
becoming an increasingly important global
resource – and a vital complement to the
understanding and relationships forged by face-
to-face interaction. They are changing the way
we do business and the way we interact as
individuals. They have also changed the way
we at the Forum work.
In partnership with a number of major global
companies, we made great progress in developing
WELCOM – the World Electronic Community of
the World Economic Forum. Developed on a Web
2.0 basis and incorporating videoconferencing
capability, WELCOM aims to become the world’s
most comprehensive platform and online tool for
global CEOs and political leaders. It will enable
business leaders, both from established and
developing economies, to build their knowledge,
understanding and relationships and allow
them to stay abreast of the rapidly changing
commercial environment.
Perhaps more importantly, WELCOM will allow
a completely new approach to tackling global
challenges by providing an integrated platform.
And we have already decided that the first big
global issue we will address will be water
shortage and water management.
The Forum has always led the field in utilizing
new technology. WELCOM continues this trend
and, after it is rolled out at the Annual Meeting
in 2008, we are confident that this exciting tool
will prove invaluable to members.
Working with tomorrow’s leaders
The baby boom generation that shaped the
second half of the twentieth century is retiring.
The future belongs to a new generation, inspired
by different influences, values and goals.
The Forum is intent on understanding and
harnessing the strengths, talent and vision of this
generation. Our sister organization, the Forum of
Young Global Leaders, is a key avenue to this
group. The group now includes over 660 of the
world’s most dynamic and capable under-40 year
olds, drawn from 90 countries and representing
business, government, civil society, academia
and the arts.
I am also delighted to report that our emphasis
on discovering and developing new young
leaders is reflected in the participants at Davos
– demonstrating the Forum’s success in
connecting with – and our continuing relevance
to – rising generations of leaders.
We are also proud of our efforts to improve the
representation of women leaders both at our
meetings and in the wider business community.
I’m particularly happy that we have doubled
the representation of women leaders at the
Annual Meeting in the last five years.
Providing a platform for dialogue
and action
Once again our Annual Meeting in Davos, our
regional events, and our year-round activities
and programmes supported and complemented
each other. The Annual Meeting, held under
the apposite theme ‘Shaping the Global
Agenda: The Shifting Power Equation’, brought
together 2,400 global decision-makers to
examine the implications of moves in economic
and political power, climate change and
changing community models, particularly virtual
ones. And our regional meetings were also
a key driver of regional integrations. In the
Middle East, despite all the setbacks and
negative developments, the Forum endeavours
to maintain a spirit of hope and reconciliation.
We’ve also introduced in the past year a new
feature which has been welcomed by all those
who took part: exclusive in-depth dialogue with
top leaders – such as the recent roundtable we
organized with Chancellor Merkel and her
cabinet and in Russia in June with President
Putin and his two first deputy prime ministers.
Annual and Regional Meetings
The significant outcomes of the Annual
Meeting included:
The announcement of a new international
partnership to establish an accepted framework
for climate risk-related corporate reporting
The establishment of an alliance of leading
companies to bring power to villages in sub-
Saharan Africa
An agreement by several global development
banks to support our Partnering Against
Corruption Initiative.
Our regional events, which attracted increasing
numbers of members from all stakeholder groups,
also delivered tangible results. These included:
The announcement, at the World Economic
Forum on the Middle East, in Jordan, of a
US$ 10 billion initiative to promote youth
education and a knowledge-based society
in the region
An insightful meeting between 80 international
business leader members and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, as part of a series
of informal meetings in Europe, to complement
our regional meeting in Turkey
The launch of the Alliance for a Green
Revolution in Africa, to tackle the challenges
faced by millions of farmers in the region, at the
World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 
Here are the regional meetings organized by the
World Economic Forum this year:
10 –11 September 2006 China Business
Summit, Beijing, China
15 –16 November 2006 Germany Meeting,
Berlin, Germany
23 –24 November 2006 World Economic
Forum in Turkey, malaria. In one initiative, the Beyond Big Business
Istanbul
26–28 November 2006 India Economic
Summit, New Delhi
9 –10 April 2007 Arab World
Competitiveness
Roundtable, Doha,
Qatar
25 –26 April 2007 World Economic Forum
on Latin America,
Santiago de Chile
18 –20 May 2007 World Economic Forum
on the Middle East,
Dead Sea, Jordan
9 –10 June 2007 World Economic Forum
Russia CEO
Roundtable,
St Petersburg
13 –15 June 2007 World Economic Forum
on Africa, Cape Town,
South Africa
24 –25 June 2007 World Economic Forum
on East Asia, Singapore
Risks, Competitiveness and Scenarios
All through the year, our activities give business
leaders the tools to do a better job. For example,
our ability to act as a ‘hub’ for the best minds –
from academia to business and from government
to media – enables us to provide invaluable
strategic insights.
Our Global Risk Network continued to lead the
agenda in risk identification and analysis, amid
rising concern over such international issues as
climate change and the security of energy supply.
In 2007, following a series of workshops, the
Network identified 23 core global risks, outlining
their conclusions in the Global Risks 2007 report.
The Forum’s Global Competitiveness Network
continued to assist policy-makers in creating
drivers for growth by examining how nations and
regions as well as industries can achieve sustained
prosperity. In September 2006, we launched the
27th Global Competitiveness Report, covering a
record 125 economies providing critical insights
on over 100 competitiveness variables. We also
launched our first ever Travel & Tourism
Competitiveness Report.
Our highly respected Scenario Planning team
presented three major scenarios at the Annual
Meeting 2007, examining: how the Gulf
Cooperation Council countries could develop;
the potential impact of the convergence of IT,
telecoms, media and entertainment; and
how technology, innovation and regulation
could transform access to, and delivery of,
financial services.
Public–Private Partnerships
Our members, meanwhile, continued to show the
benefits of public–private partnerships in numerous
Forum-backed programmes around the world.
Our Global Health Initiative, for example,
harnessed the influence and expertise of major
companies in the fight against AIDS, TB and
Partnership, firms such as Eskom, Heineken,
Standard Chartered Bank, Unilever and
Volkswagen joined forces with their suppliers to
provide HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and
treatment programmes. Our Global Education
Initiative, meanwhile, built on its 2006 launch of
Partnerships for Education (PfE), which engages
leading educationalists in promoting the role of
public–private partnerships, by signing a formal
partnership with UNESCO to implement PfE.
We strongly believe that businesses must be good
global corporate citizens and make a positive
contribution to society. As well as encouraging
multinational companies to act this way, via our
partnership with the Schwab Foundation for Social
Entrepreneurship we also back enterprises that
have a more overt social focus. This year, the
foundation ran 30 national competitions for the
‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year’ award, screening
2,500 candidates and conducting 150 site visits.
The winners joined the growing community of
Schwab Foundation entrepreneurs.
I am pleased to report that our members’
continued commitment and ever closer
engagement with the Forum contributed to a good
financial year while still allowing for significant
investment in the strategic priorities of the new
WELCOM platform and the inaugural meeting of
the New Champions. We also now have plans in
hand for the extension of our headquarters to bring
all our staff in Geneva back under one roof. The
construction should begin early 2009.
Looking ahead, the future will be characterized
both by great business opportunities and by
significant political and economic risks. The
Forum will continue to bring strategic insights
of both the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ to members’
attention: wise, effective leadership requires a
true understanding of the bigger picture. And in
this respect I am pleased that we have added to
the range of talents and capabilities of our staff
with our Global Leadership Fellows programme,
which allows us to do so many complex things
to the satisfaction of the most demanding
international public.
The dedication and engagement of our members
and of our staff were what made 2006/07 another
successful year for the Forum. I would like to thank
you very much for your continued commitment.
Professor Klaus Schwab
Founder and Executive Chairman
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 

Our
major
successes
and
achievements

123
companies representing more than US$ 500 billion in annual
turnover have signed up to Partnering Against Corruption –
Principles for Countering Bribery, from the World Economic
Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI).
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 
The World Economic Forum is committed
to improving the state of the world by
engaging leaders from the public and private
sectors and from wider civil society in
partnerships to shape the global, regional
and industry agendas. Here are some of
the year’s highlights.
Global Agenda
The World Economic Forum’s Global Education
Initiative has expanded from country initiatives in
Jordan, India and Egypt – which are reaching over
2,550,000 students – to the global scale. Along
with UNESCO, the Global Education Initiative
launched the ‘Partnerships for Education’ with the
purpose of helping developing countries find
multinational and local corporate partners with
capabilities relevant to their efforts to provide all
children with a basic education.
The Forum’s Global Health Initiative is the
largest public–private sector network in health.
Results from 2006/2007 include:
– India Business Alliance to Stop TB – 4,000,000
people were reached through workplace and
community programmes delivered by Reliance,
Aditya Birla, Jubilant Organosys, Eli Lilly, the World
Health Organization, the Global Partnership to
Stop TB and the Ministry of Health of India.
– China Health Alliance – 5,000,000 people,
who are employees of partner companies, are
expected to receive education, testing and
treatment. Partner firms are Adidas, Standard
Chartered Bank, Swire Beverages, Pfizer,
the UN and the Chinese Government.
– Beyond Big Business Partnership – Around
50,000 people received lifesaving HIV/AIDS
awareness, prevention and treatment-intervention
programmes delivered by Eskom, Heineken,
Standard Chartered Bank, Unilever and
Volkswagen who worked with a selection of
their suppliers and the GHI.
Over 30 companies and other partners including
NGOs and the Government of Kenya have joined
together to fight hunger in Siaya, the poorest district
in Kenya. It is the first project of the World
Economic Forum’s Business Alliance Against
Chronic Hunger to develop a model for business
partnership to reduce hunger which can be scaled
up and adapted to other regions.
World Economic Forum Industry Partners from
many sectors began a collaboration with the G8
Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean
Energy and Sustainable Development to develop
recommendations for governments regarding
ways to construct a long-term climate policy
framework to transform energy systems as well as
opportunities in the near term to increase market
financing and consumer demand for low carbon
products through better public–private cooperation.
Regional Agenda
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister
of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai,
launched the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum Foundation to promote human
development with a US$ 10 billion endowment at
the World Economic Forum on the Middle East.
The World Economic Forum launched the
Israeli-Palestinian Business Council, a key
group of Palestinian and Israeli CEOs who are
committed to advancing the relationship between
the two business communities and, ultimately,
assist the region to move towards durable peace
and coexistence.
An initial 70,000 people in Lesotho and the
Democratic Republic of Congo are due to receive
electricity as part of the World Economic Forum’s
Energy Poverty Alliance. This is a private sector
initiative of Forum member companies that
delivers business expertise and best practices
to reduce energy poverty. The three initiating
partners are British Columbia Hydro and Power
Authority (Canada), Eskom (South Africa) and
Vattenfall (Sweden).
The World Economic Forum launched the
first index specifically analysing the investment
environment for infrastructure. Covering 12
economies in Latin America and the Caribbean,
the study, Benchmarking National
Attractiveness for Private Investment in Latin
American Infrastructure, assesses the main
drivers of private investment in infrastructure
projects for ports, airports, roads and electricity.
Industry Agenda
123 companies representing more than
US$ 500 billion in annual turnover have signed
up to Partnering Against Corruption –
Principles for Countering Bribery (PACI
Principles). Over the past year, PACI significantly
deepened its credibility: the heads of the
multilateral development banks, the International
Finance Corporation and the Inter-American
Investment Corporation agreed to work with
PACI on individual pilot programmes to advance
anti-corruption efforts. The heads of the Big
Four Accounting firms (Deloitte, Ernst & Young,
KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers) agreed
to work with the PACI and together will explore
the development of a framework for companies
to benefit from independent reviews of their
anti-bribery programmes.
The World Economic Forum launched the
first-ever Travel & Tourism Competitiveness
Report, measuring the factors that make
it attractive to develop the industry for 124
countries. The report is a joint effort led by
the Industry Partners of the Aviation, Travel
and Tourism Industry Partnership Programme
and the Global Competitiveness Network.
The World Economic Forum’s Working Towards
Wellness Initiative aims to stimulate greater
business engagement in the global fight against
chronic disease through employee wellness.
The Women Leaders Programme increased
the participation of women in the Annual Meeting
from 8% in 2002 to 17% in 2007.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 

New
strategic
endeavours

Our inspiration to be a member of the

Community of Global Growth Companies is
to mesh with like-minded companies such
as ours – companies that firmly believe
in providing innovative business models
and operating model discontinuity to
change the world and to create competitive
advantage for themselves and for their
clients. Participating in the Inaugural Annual
Meeting of the New Champions gives us
the opportunity to be among a network of
such companies that can work in closer
consonance and partnership.

Phaneesh Murthy
CEO and MD, igate Global Solutions, India
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 
The Forum remains an effective catalyst
for global change. To support our mission
we have launched a number of significant
projects that support our strategic vision,
and ensure that we continue to engage
our members and partners. In the past year
the Forum has focused on two primary
strategic endeavours: the identification
and development of a new generation
of global leaders, the ‘New Champions’,
and the launch of WELCOM, an advanced
electronic communication system, which
will serve as an invaluable tool for members
and partners to help shape agendas.
The New Champions
‘The Shifting Power Equation’ was the framework
for discussions in Davos, but it is also the
strategic imperative behind the creation of
the Community of Global Growth Companies.
Power shifts occur only when ‘New Champions’
succeed in both challenging the status quo and
forcing change. Therefore early engagement of
such leaders and innovators is critical if the World
Economic Forum is to retain its leadership in
shaping global, regional and industry agendas.
The new Community of Global Growth
Companies comprises the ‘New Champions’
from industry that will in fact be shaping the
future. Its members will interact with current
foundation members to understand, and to
leverage, the forces transforming the business
world, reordering societies worldwide and
creating fast-growth economies.
The designation of the city of Dalian, China,
as the host of the Inaugural Annual Meeting of
the New Champions symbolizes the growing
economic influence of Asia globally. In addition
to the top 500 emerging companies, the
meeting in Dalian includes leaders from the
world’s most competitive cities and fastest
growing regions. The future will also be
represented as the Community of Young Global
Leaders will gather for their annual meeting.
With a strong international media presence,
coupled with innovators from the Web 2.0
world, the rise of these New Champions will
be explored across all its dimensions.
WELCOM
The World Economic Forum firmly believes in
the power of collaborative wisdom and action
generated by combining face-to-face and virtual
interaction. WELCOM – the World Electronic
Community of the World Economic Forum –
creates a unique online community which
functions as an advanced collaborative platform
for 10,000 of the world’s top leaders. It is based
on the latest videoconferencing capabilities
and will provide a unique global governance
tool to address the challenges of our globally
interconnected, fast-paced world.
It offers business, government and intellectual
leaders a powerful resource to shape global,
regional and industrial agendas through a state-
of-the-art technology platform. Developed on
a Web 2.0 basis, in partnership with the world’s
leading technology companies, the platform
will provide an unprecedented opportunity
for both established companies and the New
Champions to learn from each other and
establish ties of cooperation and partnership.
The initiative is the latest milestone in the
Forum’s history of embracing technological
innovation to improve its offering to members.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 10
The World Economic Forum operates on
Shaping many levels, addressing global, regional
the global and industry agendas, although much of
our activity is on a worldwide scale. Working
agenda in concert with our members and partners
and other key stakeholders, our initiatives
have a positive impact on the global
community. At the World Economic Forum’s
Annual Meeting in Davos each year, we sit
down with our partners to frame the global
agenda, highlight the challenges of the
coming year and work on solutions to some
of the world’s complex problems. In this
sense, the Annual Meeting is the focus of
the work that the Forum does throughout
the year.
Tzipi Livni, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas,
President of the Palestinian National Authority, at the 2007 Annual Meeting in Davos
Annual Meeting
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
2007 again demonstrated the Forum’s vital
role in bringing together global leaders from
different regions and sectors to address key
international issues.
Change was a dominant theme of this year’s
Meeting, which was held under the banner:
‘Shaping the Global Agenda: The Shifting Power
Equation’. It proved a powerful theme, striking
a chord with the 2,400 participants, and
reflecting a potent mix of concern and optimism.
The continued moves in economic and
geopolitical power to emerging economies
and resource-rich nations; the recognition
of the pressing need to address climate change;
and the implications of new community models,
often virtual in nature, gave leaders much
to discuss and digest.
Optimism over the state of the global economy
and the growth opportunities ahead was
matched by concern over the need to adjust to
a new, as-yet undefined, geopolitical landscape.
Whether on the G8 agenda, or that of the
global business community, there was general
agreement on both priorities and the shape
that responses will need to take.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 11
The Forum has always believed that global
issues can only be resolved if diverse groups
work together. It was encouraging to hear from
participant after participant that this idea, once
considered novel, is now seen as the logical
route to deliver effective and lasting solutions.
It was climate change, though, that dominated
the Annual Meeting 2007. Through a series of
17 sessions related to global warming, the
world’s top academics, business leaders, NGO
representatives, UN agency chiefs, politicians
and many others joined together in advancing
the discussion and exploring practical
opportunities to make progress through
partnership.
To underscore the deepening commitment of
the business sector to engage other groups in
addressing this issue, a new international
partnership was announced. Called the Climate
Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), it is made
up of seven organizations which will work
together to establish a generally accepted
framework for climate risk-related reporting by
corporations. Founding members include the
California Climate Action Registry, Carbon
Disclosure Project, Ceres, the Climate Group,
the International Emissions Trading Association,
the World Economic Forum Global Greenhouse
Gas Register and the World Resources Institute.
CDSB member organizations have agreed to
align their core requests for information from
companies to ensure that they report climate
change-related information in a standardized
way. It is expected that this will make for easier
comparative analysis by investors, managers
and the public.
A number of other significant projects emerged
from the meeting, including the establishment of
an alliance of leading companies to bring power
to villages in sub-Saharan Africa. The first
project will focus on Lesotho.
In the ongoing fight against global corruption,
the presidents of the World Bank, the African
Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development and the executive director of the
International Finance Corporation agreed to lend
their support for the Partnering Against Corruption
Initiative (PACI). Acting on their recognition of the
role the private sector can play in guiding policy
and assisting governments, they agreed to pilot a
country-specific anti-corruption implementation
The Forum offers a unique opportunity for
global leaders to listen, learn and lead. It
provides insights into shared challenges
through constructive dialogue, as well as the
tools and networks needed to act on those
learnings. It helped us to act more quickly
on micro-insurance and deepened our
understanding of our role in the climate change
debate. The Forum’s engaged collaborative
spirit is what allows it to have such an impact,
and makes it a vital development tool for global
leaders. I know I have benefited from the
opportunity to participate in Forum activities.
James J. Schiro
Group CEO, Zurich Financial Services, Switzerland
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 12

Shaping
the global
agenda
continued

We recognize the responsibilities we share

with governments, community groups
and NGOs for the provision of the basic
building blocks of community development:
clean water, jobs, nutrition and a healthy
environment. Because there are no simple,
unilateral solutions for these issues, the
World Economic Forum’s power to convene
those of us who can ensure the sustainability
of all our communities is critical for building
understanding, respect, trust and partnership.

E. Neville Isdell
Chairman and CEO,
The Coca-Cola Company, USA
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 13
programme, and a sector-specific structural
reform initiative that will promote fair competition
and transparency. Additionally, the world’s four
largest accounting firms agreed to lend their
support through the development of a framework
for companies to benefit from independent
reviews of their anti-bribery programmes.
There was a notable consensus that the Forum
and its partners in both business and civil
society have a responsibility to promote open
discussion on globalization. Greater
understanding is needed of its advantages
and how its negative effects can be reduced.
As President and Chief Executive Officer of
Renault, France, and President and Chief
Executive Officer of Nissan, Japan, Carlos
Ghosn, said: “Most people who are hurt or who
think they are hurt by globalization know it. Most
who benefit do not know it”. This is something
we are keen to pursue in the coming year.
The activity at this year’s Annual Meeting
reached a far wider audience thanks to the
latest technological innovations. These included
real-time webcasts of our key sessions, regular
podcasts, commentaries written and sent out
by bloggers and even discussions among
participants on SecondLife, the popular Web-
based virtual community. This was particularly
appropriate to this year’s Meeting, given that
social networking and the implications of the
rise of the virtual world were at the forefront
of many of the discussions. The Forum is keen
to continue developing its knowledge of
community building and recognizes that new
trends in technology will influence the style
2,400
participants, from 90 countries, including 25 heads of state
were at the Annual Meeting 2007.
of future Annual Meetings. With this in mind,
the Forum is currently researching how the
latest communications technologies can
be utilized for the benefit of its participants
and the wider global audience.
Open Forum Davos 2007
For the fifth consecutive year, we opened
our doors to the general public, via the Open
Forum. Co-organized with the Federation of
Swiss Protestant Churches, the Open Forum
is a series of sessions held in conjunction with
the Annual Meeting.
More than 2,400 people took part in seven
sessions. Participants came from all walks of
life, including business, civil society and the local
Davos population. This year they included a
group of students from Geneva’s international
school, one of whom served as a panellist in
an Open Forum session.
The debates and discussions provided
participants with insights on globalization
and the impact of some of its consequences.
Individual sessions addressed issues such as
CEO salaries, development aid and its results,
sustainable energy consumption, managing
access to oil, multiculturalism, the role of
religions in society and the impact of brands.
Discussions between the public and panellists
allowed for in-depth conversations.
Panellists of this year’s Open Forum included
the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz;
Group Chief Executive of global advertising
giant WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell; and the
Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 14
Shaping Over the past 12 months, the World
Economic Forum initiated a succession
the of high-level regional gatherings aimed
regional at mobilizing key business, government,
academic and social groups. Major events
agenda in China, India, Singapore, Jordan, Turkey,
South Africa and Chile focused on putting
programmes into action that would deliver
tangible results at the regional level.
HM King Abdullah Il Ibn Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, gave the opening address at the
World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Jordan
In some cases we introduced smaller and less
formal gatherings, to facilitate dialogue between
key leaders. In others, we organized larger
roundtable meetings to achieve broader
discussions between greater representations of
regional groups. Overall, the aim was to achieve
greater knowledge, understanding and action
plans for the key challenges affecting the regions.
Asia
Asia continues to reorder economic, political and
social relationships, underscoring its emergence
as one of the key areas of ‘The Shifting Power
Equation’, which was reflected in the strong
presence of top Asian leaders at the Annual
Meeting in Davos.
The World Economic Forum recognized the
40th anniversary of ASEAN (Association of
South-East Asian Nations) in welcoming three
heads of state from ASEAN nations to the
Annual Meeting in Davos. Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo, President of the Philippines, and the
Chair of ASEAN at that time, spoke of the bold
steps forward made by ASEAN at its recent
annual meeting.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 15
For the first time in the Forum’s history, the
Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dung,
participated in the Annual Meeting, following his
country’s entry as the newest member of the
World Trade Organization. He spoke about the
factors which have driven Vietnam to become the
second fastest growing economy in the world.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi, made a special address on establishing
greater understanding in a multicultural world.
In September 2006, the 26th China Business
Summit in Beijing was held. The theme of the
meeting, ‘Sustainable Growth through Innovation:
China’s Creative Imperative’ clearly spelled out the
top priority for China, as it aims to achieve a
new level of economic development. The Summit
attracted over 600 participants, representing
business executives, senior government officials
as well as top experts and media leaders from
China and around the world.
During the meeting, the full report on ‘China
and the World: Scenarios to 2025’ was released,
with contributions from more than 100 leading
70,000
people have been provided with electricity in Africa
through the Forum’s Energy Poverty Alliance.
authorities. Three possible scenarios were
projected for China for the next 20 years, varying
from sluggish development to robust economic
growth. The aim of the report was to provide an
analysis of how China’s future development may
affect global growth, geopolitics, resources
allocation and trade and investment.
The 22nd India Economic Summit took place in
November 2006 in Delhi. Taking as its theme
‘Meeting New Expectations’, the meeting in Delhi
was an effective platform in shaping India’s growth
agenda on various topics across vertical and
horizontal axes of the economy. Discussions were
organized under four key pillars: Infrastructure,
Managing Growth, Risk Management, and State
and National Competitiveness.
For the first time, Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson
of the United Progressive Alliance and President
of the Indian National Congress, attended the
meeting. She presented the 2006 India Social
Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Vikram Akula
of SKS Microfinance, who improved the lives of
millions in rural India, through the use of microcredit.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 16

Shaping
the
regional
agenda
continued

The World Economic Forum is a crucial platform

that allows people like me to meet with other
business leaders to share knowledge and
understanding. The Forum’s meetings address
the right issues in an extremely comprehensive
manner. Moreover the Forum provides the
opportunity to meet the public and private
sectors simultaneously. Public-private
partnerships are essential and both sectors
understand that we cannot move forward unless
we unite in addressing the issues that affect us
all. Putting our minds and hands together to find
common solutions is the only way forward.

Fadi Ghandour
Founder and CEO, Aramex International, Jordan
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 17
Linking the leadership imperatives to Asia’s
spectacular growth was the main focus of this
year’s World Economic Forum on East Asia in
Singapore. Under the banner ‘The Leadership
Imperative for an Asian Century’, the meeting
brought together 300 top decision-makers from
26 countries to examine how the region views
its leadership roles and to analyse the priorities
for its industry and regional agendas. On the
eve of the Philippines’ handover of the ASEAN
Chair to Singapore, the meeting’s participants
included Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President
of the Philippines; Lee Hsien-Loong, Prime
Minister of Singapore; Yi Gang, Assistant
Governor of the Bank of China; and Masatoshi
Wakabayashi, Minister of Environment of Japan.
During the year, the opposition Democratic
Party of Japan established a Davos Caucus
with 34 Diet members, which follows the Davos
Caucus established last year in the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party. Additionally, in light of Japan’s
2008 G8 Presidency, Klaus Schwab met with
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and five senior cabinet
ministers during an official visit to Tokyo.
The World Economic Forum’s recognition of Asia’s
dynamic impact in shaping the global, regional
and industry agendas is further reflected by the
fact that the Forum chose Dalian, China, as the
location for its Inaugural Annual Meeting of the
New Champions, in September 2007.
Middle East
2007 was another troubled year for much of
the Middle East but despite the precarious
geopolitical environment many economies have
grown faster than in the previous three decades.
The Forum strove to maintain an adequate
balance that addresses an extremely sensitive
political environment and places the appropriate
emphasis also on sustaining the growth
momentum in the Arab world.
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in
Davos provided further opportunities to restart
negotiations to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
by bringing together some of the region’s leading
policy-makers, including Israeli Foreign Minister,
Tzipi Livni, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,
former Israeli Prime Minister and new President,
Shimon Peres, and King Abdullah of Jordan.
An important focus of the Annual Meeting was
the launch of the ‘Gulf Cooperation Council
Scenarios to 2025’. This exercise explored three
possible evolutions of the GCC in terms of its
geopolitical stability and leadership capacity to
implement effective governance and reforms.
Together with key regional partners, the Forum
developed in-depth scenarios for Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In several
high-profile sessions on the future of the region,
participants explored how to bridge the road-
block for Arab Israeli peace, the emergence of
a financial hub in the Gulf and the development
of new urban models.
The Forum launched the third Arab World
Competitiveness Report during the Arab World
Competitiveness Roundtable held in Doha, Qatar
in April. The meeting provided a platform for
advancing the reform agenda across the Arab
world and analysed three emerging sectors of
Arab economies: travel and tourism, healthcare
and insurance services.
The Arab Business Council (ABC), recognized
as the voice of the Arab business community
and an initiative of the Forum, continued to build
the capacity of National Competitiveness
Councils throughout the Arab world. The ABC
supported the Egypt Education Initiative, which
aims to improve the delivery of education through
public–private partnerships, and The Arab World
Competitiveness Report. It also initiated and
financed a trade study looking at US–Middle East
trade agreements and how they can be
optimized for the region as a whole.
The May 2007 World Economic Forum on
the Middle East was held in Jordan under the
patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II. Under
the banner ‘Putting Diversity to Work’, the
programme for the Jordan meeting was structured
around three sub-themes: Industries of the Future;
Peace, Stability and International Relations; and
Society and Change. Participants explored how
to leverage the region’s diversity in pursuit of
development and how to manage the tensions
arising from difference in order to promote peace.
The Israeli-Palestinian Business Council (IPBC) was
established by a key group of Palestinian and Israeli
chief executives, to advance the relationship
between the two business communities and assist
the region in moving towards lasting peace and
coexistence. We also saw significant engagement
of senior Iranian leaders, which created further
opportunities to address tensions in the region.
The meeting was a successful platform for dialogue
between key participants from Iraq, Iran and the
United States.
At the meeting Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister
of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai,
established the ‘Mohammed Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum Foundation’ for human development
with an endowment of US$ 10 billion. The goal of
this institution is to contribute to a brighter future
in the Middle East by promoting youth education
and a knowledge-based society. It goes to the
heart of what the World Economic Forum aims to
promote in the region, and we expect to work
closely with the Foundation in the coming years.
Europe
More than 400 participants from 45 nations
gathered in Istanbul for the World Economic
Forum in Turkey.
Under the banner ‘Connecting Regions – Creating
New Opportunities’, discussions included Turkey’s
current EU negotiation process, and an assessment
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 18

Shaping
the
regional
agenda
continued

More than any individual project alone,

we feel that working with the Forum
matters because it enables collaboration
and dialogue among a variety of different
actors. No one entity has the answers to
the dilemmas of our world, but multiple
organizations working together from multiple
angles have a much better chance at
addressing them.

Tarek Sultan Al-Essa

Chairman and Managing Director, Agility, Kuwait
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 19
of its competitive advantages and emerging
business opportunities. The country’s role in
bridging civilizations and its geopolitical
importance in mitigating Europe’s risks both
helped towards defining Turkey’s strategic role
for Europe and the wider region.
Our European activities aim to complement the
Annual Meeting with smaller targeted meetings
in the region. These events serve two main
objectives, the first of which is to create larger
roundtables, such as the Istanbul meeting, to
shape the regional agenda of “Emerging Europe”.
The second is to provide small, informal get-
togethers with the leaders of newly elected
governments. For example, on 15 November, over
80 international business leaders met German
Chancellor Angela Merkel. Discussions included
Germany’s domestic reform programme, the EU
presidency and the priorities that would define its
G8 presidency. The Forum plans similar follow-up
meetings with the new governments of other
major European countries.
In what proved to be a hugely valuable interaction,
Forum members had the opportunity to follow
up specific discussions with the German Vice-
Chancellor, Franz Müntefering, as well as with the
Minister of Health, Ulla Schmidt, and the Minister
of Economics and Technology, Michael Glos.
The Annual Meeting 2007 was again characterized
by a strong European participation, with Chancellor
Merkel opening the meeting and UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair heading the closing plenary. Among the
many other regional delegations this year, there was
strong participation from Russia, headed by the
First Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev.
Africa
The theme of this year’s World Economic Forum
on Africa meeting in Cape Town, ‘Raising the Bar’,
underscored the need for the continent’s leaders to
remain focused on long-term sustainable growth.
In recent years, Africa has seen a shift of focus
from risk, crisis and poverty to a more structured
emphasis on how to sustain growth, enhance
investment opportunities and integrate the
continent into the global economy. In a year
when the continent’s GDP is forecast to reach
7%, the June meeting emphasized the need for
Africa to build on this positive momentum.
The meeting saw the launch of a number of
high-profile initiatives, including the Forum’s
Africa Competitiveness Report 2007, which
recommended building capacity and filling
the widening skills gap to underpin continued
growth. Other launches included:
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa,
chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, to tackle the challenges holding back
hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers
The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, inaugurated
by Baroness Amos, Leader of the UK House of
Lords, which aims to unlock Africa’s potential by
providing match-funding for business innovations.
One year after it was launched at our last Africa
meeting, the Investment Climate Facility reported
how, with US$ 200 million in funding and a fully
operational secretariat in Dar es Salaam, it is about
to take its first steps in removing obstacles to
domestic and foreign investments across Africa.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa,
meanwhile, agreed to join the Forum’s Energy
Poverty Alliance, as part of a drive to provide basic
electricity to African citizens, and committed to
hosting the Energy Poverty Action Management
Unit at its offices in Midrand, South Africa.
Latin America
In April 2007, more than 400 people from 30
countries gathered in Santiago de Chile for the
second World Economic Forum on Latin America.
Taking as its theme ‘The Power of a Positive
Regional Agenda’, participants included Chilean
President Michelle Bachelet and Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
A key outcome of the meeting was ‘The Santiago
Consensus’, a list of clear priorities and objectives
aimed at helping to shape a clear and positive
regional agenda to boost economic growth and
more equitable income distribution. The initiative
focuses on education, environmental responsibility,
investment in innovation, the creation of efficient tax
systems, and infrastructure development.
The Forum also released two landmark studies
on the region. The first, Benchmarking National
Attractiveness for Private Investment in Latin
American Infrastructure, mapped out the quality
of the infrastructure of 12 Latin American nations
and the factors that determine which countries are
more attractive for private infrastructure investment.
The second study, Latin America@Risk, analysed
the main risks that the region faces.
Additionally, we published a book of technical
essays on Brazil: Priorities for Action: Economic
Growth and Income Distribution. This was a
response to the ‘10 Priorities for Action’ established
in 2006.
North America
North American participants continue to influence
and contribute to the development of the global
agenda. Over a dozen prominent US Senators
and Congressmen as well as delegations from
the United States and Canada attended the
Annual Meeting in Davos and various other
regional events.
The Annual Meeting remains the centrepiece
for reviewing the North American agenda.
In 2007 US Senator John McCain discussed
the challenges of US leadership; US Trade
Representative Susan Schwab participated in
a number of discussions on Trade; US Secretary
of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff discussed
global risks including disaster risk reduction and
mitigation; and Premier of Quebec Jean Charest
spoke about climate change.
Canada and the United States also played key roles
in shaping the global agenda at our regional
meetings; discussions included important issues
such as developing India–US relations, trade with
Asia, the US war in Iraq and the role of North
America in promoting prosperity in neighbouring
Latin America.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 20
Shaping The strong engagement of our members
and partners is integral to what we do. In
the industry 2006/2007, by working closely with both
agenda new and existing corporate champions we
continued to make real progress towards
our mission.
Vinton Cerf, one of the inventors of the Internet with Dan Elron of Accenture and Ben Verwaayen of British Telecom,
at the IT and Telecommunications Governors Meeting
Industry partners programme
An initiative of the Centre for Global Industries,
our Industry Partnership Programme exists
to engage the global companies in the Forum’s
activities at the industry level. It operates in
conjunction with the World Economic Forum
USA, whose New York offices serve as the
worldwide headquarters for the Centre for
Global Industries.
Industry Partners are select member companies
of the World Economic Forum who strongly
support our commitment to improving the state
of the world. The unparalleled convening power
of the Forum brings these companies together
to contribute to an evolving portfolio of task forces
and to actively participate in several modules.
By July 2007, 184 companies had joined the
Industry Partnership Programme across 17
industry sectors. Four such areas – energy,
financial services, IT and the investors sector –
have already achieved the critical mass of 20
or more companies needed to broadly represent
the global industry. We remain confident of
reaching our goal of 300 commitments across
all sectors by the end of 2008.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 21
In addition to joining a highly successful series of
Governors Meetings during the Annual Meeting
in Davos, our Industry Partners have been active
in a number of other key areas. For example,
Industry Partners of the financial services, IT and
telecoms industries commissioned the Forum
to launch a scenario analysis, aimed at exploring
how technology will transform financial services
up to 2020. The scenarios draw on the views
of over 150 practitioners and experts from IT,
telecoms and financial services. They examine
issues such as the development of emerging
technologies, trust in cyber security, the role
of specialized new players and broadening
access to financial services.
We also published our first-ever Travel & Tourism
Competitiveness Index (TTCI), based on work
mandated by our aviation, travel and tourism (T&T)
Industry Partners. Covering 124 countries, the
report provides unique data on many relevant
qualitative institutional and business environment
issues. The TTCI uses a combination of data from
publicly available sources, international T&T
institutions and experts. It also draws on the
results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a
comprehensive annual survey conducted by the
Forum, together with its network of Partner
Institutes in the countries covered by the report.
Energy security and climate change are a top
priority for our Energy Industry Partners. According
to the International Energy Authority (IEA), society
is not investing enough to renew and expand its
energy infrastructure. To address this, our Energy
Security Roundtable seeks to create dialogue
between relevant groups. For example, a meeting
was held between sector leaders and the Russian
Government earlier this year.
In the context of the Gleneagles Dialogue,
we provided business input to the G8, with
recommendations on the future climate
framework. Specific recommendations included
a focus on linking mayors with energy companies
to improve energy efficiency in cities; splitting the
wheat from the chaff in the context of biofuels;
and developing Energy Poverty Alliances to
electrify off-grid villages in sub-Saharan Africa.
I’m fortunate to be heavily involved
with the Information Technologies and
Telecommunications Governors, who are
focused on helping to bring technology to
high-growth markets around the world. On
a regional basis, I’m happy to say that the
IT Governors have played roles in a variety
of pilot programmes and technology trials
in Brazil, Africa, India, the Middle East and
other regions.
Hector Ruiz
Chairman and CEO, AMD, USA
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 22

Shaping
the industry
agenda
continued

ABB is involved with the World Economic

Forum in a number of ways where we feel our
experience can make a real difference. We
are participating, for example, in the Forum’s
Engineering and Construction Industry
Partnership to identify critical issues facing our
industry and to develop responses together
with other like-minded companies. ABB has
made ‘zero tolerance’ of breaches of its ethical
guidelines a hallmark of the way it operates
around the world and we are supporting that
commitment by participating in the Forum’s
Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI).

Fred Kindle
President and CEO, ABB, Switzerland
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 23
Community of Global Growth
Companies (GGC)
Our Community of Global Growth Companies –
or New Champions – is a cross-industry group
of businesses with the clear potential to become
leaders in the global economy.
Such companies have demonstrated leadership
in a particular industry and have the aspiration
and ability to become leading international players.
They are expanding outside their traditional
boundaries, have demonstrated leadership in
a particular industry and are experiencing strong
growth rates, have outstanding executive
leadership and typically have revenues between
US$ 100 million and US$ 5 billion depending on
the industry and region.
The Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New
Champions in Dalian, China, is the community’s
flagship event. It brings together the CEOs of
GGCs, World Economic Forum members and
partners, international government leaders and
the heads of the world’s most competitive cities
and fastest-growing regions. It also includes
Web 2.0 experts, members of the Forum’s
Community of Young Global Leaders and
international media representatives.
Throughout the year a portfolio of tailor-made
events based on “Experience Exchange and
Conversation” with a leading global CEO brings
the community together with world leaders.
Often held in conjunction with the Forum’s
regional meetings, these occasions allow
today’s global industry leaders to share insights
and experiences with rising corporate powers
on key business issues such as branding, talent
management and leadership.
International Business Council (IBC)
The International Business Council (IBC) is
a well-established community of 100 highly
respected and influential chief executives from
all industries and regions. They come together
twice a year for informal, private exchanges
on key global issues.
The business case for engaging in public–private
partnerships was the main theme of the
summer meeting in August 2006, providing
IBC members with the opportunity to share
their experiences in this critical area.
At the winter meeting, in January 2007, there
was an in-depth discussion on the implications
and economics of climate change. It was
followed by two individual dialogues with Dmitry
Medvedev, First Deputy Prime Minister of the
Russian Federation, and Gordon Brown, then
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, now British
Prime Minister.
On the first day of its winter meeting, the IBC
unanimously endorsed the Doha development
round. They said the move underlines the
responsibility of all decision-makers and political
leaders for relevant, constructive and timely
action to deliver a successful Doha round.
In November 2006, IBC members were
given the opportunity to meet with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and in June 2007 they
met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the
Forum’s CEO Roundtable in St Petersburg.
Technology Pioneers
‘The Shifting Power Equation’, the main theme
from the Annual Meeting 2007, continues to
drive our Technology Pioneers programme,
with a significant change in innovation models.
We moved away from a vertically integrated
model in favour of a more open and flexible
approach, where organizations with different
skill sets can participate in innovation networks
to co-develop new products and services.
As the Technology Pioneers ‘class of 2007’
showed, this new model is enabling innovation
to become more geographically dispersed.
We witnessed a huge increase in nominations,
especially from India, China and ASEAN nations.
Our final group included 13 nations, resulting
in perhaps the strongest-ever group of
Technology Pioneers.
In 2006, we welcomed two new partners –
Accel Partners and BT – to the Technology
Pioneers programme. Together with fellow
partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the three
companies were instrumental in increasing
global awareness of the programme.
Partnering against corruption
Now in its third year, the Forum’s Partnering
Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) continues
to win corporate support towards its goal
of ending global corruption and bribery.
PACI now has the backing of more than 120
signatory companies. In 2007, the heads of the
multilateral development banks, the International
Finance Corporation and the Inter-American
Investment Corporation agreed to work with
PACI on individual pilot programmes to advance
our global anti-corruption efforts.
Together with its signatories, the initiative has
made substantial progress in achieving
corporate commitment to the PACI Principles.
It has developed a set of tools to support the
execution and evaluation of anti-corruption
programmes by companies and strengthened
its members’ platform for sharing their
experience of the implementation process.
PACI plans to launch another mechanism to
highlight those signatories that have advanced
their programmes and monitoring mechanisms
since becoming involved.
The initiative showcased its work in high-level
sessions at the Forum’s Annual Meeting in
Davos. It also presented to the OECD Working
Group on Bribery, the International Chamber
of Commerce Commission on Anti-Corruption,
and the State Parties Meeting of the United
Nations Convention Against Corruption.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 24
Building The Forum’s Centre for Public–Private
Partnership continued to see strong
public- engagement from industry across a number
private of critical global issues. In particular we saw
the start of a major collaboration on climate
partnerships change. This involved many of the Forum’s
Industry Partners working with the G8
Gleneagles ‘Dialogue on Climate Change,
Clean Energy and Sustainable Development’.
Partners of the Rajasthan Education Initiative at a school in Jaipur, Rajasthan. They interact with teachers and students
at schools with newly installed computers and other IT infrastructure.
Progress was made in the ongoing battle against
the spread of HIV/AIDS. Companies involved in our
Global Health Initiative (GHI) launched a new effort
in partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Health.
This brought together a group of multinational and
Chinese companies, with a combined workforce of
5 million. They also devised ground-breaking new
models for corporate engagement in strengthening
public health systems in Africa and extending
HIV/AIDS and TB best practice to supply chains.
With sustainability high on the global agenda,
companies in our Food and Beverage Industry
Partners programme began a new partnership
to create sustainable agricultural value chains in
Africa through a pilot project in Kenya.
We also saw major developments in our
Information Technology and Telecommunications
Industry Partners programme. The Forum’s
International Monetary Convention Project,
meanwhile, issued its final report following two
years of public–private roundtable meetings on
the future of the international monetary system.
Gleneagles Dialogue
Over the past year the Forum has significantly
increased the engagement of the business
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 25
community in initiatives to combat climate change.
The centerpiece activity for our industry partner
members is their engagement in the G8 +5
governments’ Gleneagles Action Plan. This is
an informal government–business dialogue on
climate change, clean energy and sustainable
development, designed to develop long-term
policies to manage climate change. The Forum
invited the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development to also collaborate on this
engagement process.
As part of this dialogue, a number of high-level
public–private work streams are now under way,
working on policy ideas, north-to-south finance,
and practical steps towards reducing carbon
emissions in the short run. Outcomes from these
working groups will be announced at the G8
leaders meeting in Hokkaido, Japan, in July 2008.
There have been some significant developments
already. For example:
At the Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, January
2007, over 40 CEOs, international NGO heads,
political leaders and other climate change experts
were convened within a workshop environment,
to help develop the project focus and activities.
In March 2007, the Forum co-hosted a major
4m
In 2006 the India Business Alliance to Stop TB reached
a total of 4 million people with a combination of
workplace and community programmes.
meeting on financing clean energy with the
multilateral development banks and the G8
governments. More than 35 of the Forum’s
Industry Partners took part in the event, which
included a keynote speech delivered by Gordon
Brown, now the UK Prime Minister. The workshop
has catalysed a series of public–private working
groups on clean energy finance which will report
their ideas back to the World Bank–IMF Annual
Meeting in October 2007.
In May 2007, more than 80 of the Forum’s Industry
Partners gathered for the first in a series of broad
climate change policy discussions with a range
of environmental policy experts, including Yvo De
Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.
Global Health Initiative
It was a strong year for the Global Health Initiative
(GHI). Our efforts to encourage the business
community to play a critical role in finding solutions
to the problems of AIDS, TB and malaria have
delivered impressive results.
One initiative, the Beyond Big Business Partnership,
saw participation from large global companies such
as Eskom, Heineken, Standard Chartered Bank,
Unilever and Volkswagen. With support from the
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 26

Building GHI, each company joined forces with some of its

suppliers in Africa to reach approximately 50,000
public- people with lifesaving HIV/AIDS awareness,
private prevention and treatment-intervention programmes.

partnerships In India, Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla, Jubilant

Organosys and Eli Lilly joined the India Business
continued Alliance to Stop TB (IBA). In a classic example
of public–private partnership in action, these
companies worked with the World Health
Organization, the Global Partnership to Stop TB
and India’s Ministry of Health to help the IBA reach
a total of 4 million people with a combination of
workplace and community programmes.

The China Health Alliance (CHA) saw Adidas,

Standard Chartered Bank, Swire Beverages
and Pfizer work with the UN and the Chinese
Government on tackling HIV/AIDS and
tuberculosis. Launched in September 2006,
the CHA commits to providing advocacy and
education on these diseases and access to
testing and treatment to employees of engaged
companies and a select number of their suppliers,
with a special emphasis on migrant workers.
Up to 5 million people could be reached at full
scale-up if all engaged companies and their
suppliers reach all of their employees, including
their families and dependants.

The World Economic Forum’s meetings play

an influential role as one of the world’s most
effective sensing systems for future trends and
developments. The World Economic Forum
also has a proven record for enabling and
facilitating the dialogue between the West and
the Islamic world across countries, religions
and ideologies. I am deeply concerned
about the potential business implications of
the conflicts in the Middle East. Globalized
conflicts may disrupt global capitalism. But in
the long run, I hope that capitalism will prove
to be the more convincing choice.

Hans-Paul Bürkner
President and CEO, The Boston Consulting
Group, Germany
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 27
June 2006 brought the launch of a GHI white paper
called From Funding to Action: Strengthening
Healthcare Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, the first
of its kind to highlight the potential role of business
in this area. The GHI is currently working in
partnership with Merck & Co., Becton Dickinson,
Sudler & Hennessey, Accenture, AMREF and
UNAIDS to develop a project that will demonstrate
the report’s findings in practice.
Global Education Initiative
Education is vital to the continued development
and improvement of global communities. The
only way to achieve this successfully is to bring
business, government and social groups together
through multistakeholder partnerships to help
deliver education initiatives and reforms.
The number of strategic partners supporting
the Forum’s Global Education Initiative (GEI)
has doubled over the past year and now includes
globally recognized names such as AMD, Cisco,
Goldman Sachs, HP, Intel and Microsoft.
In 2006 we launched the Partnerships for
Education (PfE), which focuses on engaging
key education leaders around the world in
understanding, sharing and promoting the role of
Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) in education on
a global scale. In this regard, a formal partnership
with UNESCO was signed in January 2007 and
related work is ongoing with the international
development and bilateral donor community.
Our country-specific activities continued to make
progress in Jordan, India and Egypt. Significantly, in
November 2006, we handed over formal
management of the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI)
– which supports students and trains teachers in
the public education system – to the country’s
government, three years after its launch, as
scheduled. We now expect the JEI to continue its
success in developing PPP education models,
under the leadership of HM Queen Rania of Jordan.
Water Initiative
The Forum will publish the outcomes of its Water
Initiative by the end of this year. This will be the
culmination of a three-year effort which has focused
on developing public–private partnerships in India
and South Africa.
During this time, high-level multistakeholder
networks for water have been set up in partnership
with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD) Business Foundation in South Africa and
with the Confederation of Indian Industry in India.
A series of innovative projects have been designed
as a result, with very favourable reactions from
water experts in the public, private and
development sector communities.
A new, high-level water project, with a focus on
the economics and politics of reforming water
policy for agriculture, has also begun this year.
This has been championed by Nestlé and the
Coca-Cola Company, together with expert water
and agriculture partners, such as the Food and
Agriculture Organization, the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), Global Water Partnership and the
International Water Management Institute.
Other environmental Initiatives
Other related environmental initiatives are also
under way, with the explicit aim of ensuring
the Forum’s green activities are not focused
on climate change alone. These include work
on biofuels, sustainable cities, tourism, and
joint industry-specific efforts with the aviation,
IT and finance sectors.
Disaster Resource Network
With thankfully few major catastrophes affecting
the world in 2006, our Disaster Resource Network
(DRN) was able to focus on building local capacity
and the civil infrastructure dimensions of disaster
response operations.
In one such partnership, DRN-Mexico, together
with leaders from the country’s engineering and
construction sectors, are currently working to
increase Mexico’s emergency response capabilities.
DRN-Mexico has assembled a team of 60
volunteers from organizations such as Empresas
ICA SAB de CV (ICA), Marhnos, Siemens-Mexico
and Cámara Mexicana de la Industria de la
Construcción. ICA, which is a consortium of
Mexican construction companies, will act as the
corporate lead sponsor of the initiative. The team
will form the core of a pool of engineering and
construction experts who, in the emergency
phase of a disaster, will conduct rapid-response
infrastructure damage assessments.
The volunteer members of Mexico’s Emergency
Engineering-Construction Team are expected
to complete their training and field exercises
in preparation for the launch of operations in
early 2008.
www.drnglobal.org
Council of 100 Leaders:
West-Islamic World Dialogue (C-100)
The Forum’s C-100 community focused its efforts
on two key subjects. The first was ‘Discourse’,
which aims to create deeper dialogue between
the West and the Islamic world. The second was
the development of the ‘Annual Report on West-
Islamic Dialogue’, which provides a reference point
for faith, government, business, civil and academic
leaders in identifying pressing issues.
During the year, the Forum’s Religious Leaders
community was integrated into the C-100
in meetings in Turkey, Davos and Jordan.
Moreover, a C-100 session was organized at
the Annual Meeting 2007 on ‘Rules for a Global
Neighbourhood in a Multicultural World’, in
which leaders from religion, education and
government agreed that politics was failing
to find solutions for the compelling issues
confronting peace and democracy.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 28
Creating It has never been more important for
governments, business and civil groups
knowledge to work together. In an increasingly complex,
networks integrated and networked world, situations
change quickly, and the ability to make
the right decisions regarding the future
can only come from regular dialogue and
communication with all key stakeholders.
John Thain, CEO, NYSE Euronext, USA, speaking at the Finance Governors Meeting, at the 2007 Annual Meeting in Davos
Driving forward collaboration between business,
government and civil groups is one of the primary
goals of the World Economic Forum. Our Strategic
Insight teams work throughout the year to ensure
cross-party participation around the major issues of
global competitiveness, risk and scenario planning.
Global Competitiveness Network
Our expertise on international benchmarking
continued to grow as we carried out a number
of wide-ranging projects aimed at furthering
the process of economic development.
The Global Competitiveness Network (GCN)
acts as a platform for discussion and debate
for the business community, government,
academia, international organizations and
civil society. It provides invaluable insights
into the policies, institutions and factors
affecting national competitiveness.
Our primary role is to examine how national
economies might achieve sustained economic
growth and long-term prosperity, thereby
stimulating the necessary strategies to attain these
objectives. In September 2006, the 27th edition
of the annual flagship publication, The Global
Competitiveness Report, was released. The report
has long been the top international reference guide
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 29
for measures of competitiveness, providing critical
insights to the business community and policy-
makers. This year’s report covers a record 125
economies, up from 117 last year, and presents
comprehensive data on over 100 variables on
competitiveness.
The GCN also carries out a number of
competitiveness studies at regional and industry
levels, such as the Lisbon Review 2006, published
in November. This is the third in a biennial series
assessing the progress made by European Union
member countries in the far-reaching goals of the
EU’s Lisbon Strategy of economic and structural
reforms. The study highlights the extent of the
progress still needed to transform the EU into “the
most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based
economy in the world” by 2010.
The first-ever Travel & Tourism Competitiveness
Report was launched in March 2007. This project
assesses the industry’s competitiveness within the
context of the Forum’s Aviation, Travel and Tourism
Industry Partnership programme. One of the world’s
largest economic activities, Travel & Tourism (T&T) is
the main industry in many countries, as well as the
fastest-growing economic sector in terms of foreign
exchange earnings. The report measures and
analyses the drivers of T&T competitiveness around
125
The Global Competitiveness Report 2006–2007 included
a record 125 economies worldwide covering all regions
and accounting for over 98% of world GDP.
the world and provides the most updated data,
rankings and analysis of industry competitiveness
in 124 industrialized and emerging economies.
It also features the latest thinking and research
from the industry’s most prominent figures.
We anticipate the T&T report to act as a powerful
tool for industry members to enter into informed
dialogue with policy-makers, and to identify areas
for potential reform. A number of workshops are
now being carried out in developing countries,
with the aim of improving prospects for the sector.
In March 2007, the GCN launched the sixth annual
Global Information Technology Report, which
assesses the economic impact of information and
communication technology (ICT). Being an active
force in the digital revolution and leveraging the
latest technological advances for development,
it is now widely recognized as a key driver of a
nation’s competitiveness. The report remains the
most comprehensive and respected international
assessment of the preparedness of countries
to capture the benefits of participating in the
networked economy.
The third Arab World Competitiveness Report
2007 aims to identify tangible solutions to the
constraints that limit faster growth in the region.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 30

Creating The competitive performance of Arab world

countries is compared with international peers,
knowledge highlighting the great diversity of economies
networks in the region. The report includes proposed
strategies for enhancing the competitiveness
continued of selected sectors that have been identified
as potential engines of growth. These include
healthcare, travel and tourism, information and
communication technologies, insurance and
transport and logistics. The report provided the
basis for public–private dialogue at the Forum’s
Arab World Competitiveness Roundtable in
Doha in April 2007.

We issued the fourth edition of The Africa

Competitiveness Report 2007 (ACR) at the
World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town
in June. The publication marks a new level of
cooperation in Africa. It is the first report on the
region’s business environment to leverage the
combined knowledge and expertise within the
African Development Bank, the World Bank and
the World Economic Forum. As such, it presents
a unified vision and a mapping of the policy
challenges which countries on the continent may
address as a foundation for sustainable growth
and prosperity.

Merrill Lynch has worked closely with the

Forum on a number of initiatives. As a
participant in the Finance Governors
programme, we explored the interplay among
financial markets and the forces impacting
global markets. As part of the Global Risks
Network, we discussed how best to address
the structural risks embedded in the financial
system. These discussions allow us to hear a
variety of perspectives on important issues
and that’s valuable to the Forum, to Merrill
Lynch and to the industry as a whole.

Gregory Fleming
Executive Vice-President and President,
Global Markets and Investment Banking,
Merrill Lynch, USA
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 31
The GCN continues to collaborate with over 140
partner institutes around the world. The network
of Partner Institutes consists typically of research
or academic institutes located in each country
covered by the competitiveness report series. We
also work closely with key Forum members and
partners, which this year included FedEx, Gallup
International, Microsoft and Cisco.
Global Risk Network
Now in its third year, the Forum’s Global Risk
Network (GRN) continues to grow in stature amid
mounting concern over climate change, energy
insecurity, geopolitical instability and potential
economic upheaval.
We organized a series of workshops in London
and New York to identify and discuss how to
reduce the impact of these key risks. With input
from groups of business, academic and policy-
making experts on economics, the environment,
societal change and geopolitics, we identified
a list of 23 ‘core’ global risks. We also analysed
the associated trends, likelihood and potential
severity of impact of these risks, and attempted
to characterize the correlation between them and
the complex scenarios in which they could
emerge. Most of these issues are likely to increase
over the next decade, while the institutional
capacity to manage them is lagging behind.
The findings of the workshops were published
in the Global Risks 2007 report, which received
extensive global media coverage. The report’s
recommendations included institutional innovations
such as the development of flexible, fast-moving
coalitions of companies and countries and the
creation of a country risk officer to allow the public
sector to manage a risk in a more balanced and
less politicized fashion.
The GRN also helped the Forum’s industry
communities deepen their insight into the mitigation
of global risks. Two specialist sessions – one in
London on avian influenza and one in New York on
natural catastrophes – each brought together more
than 100 strategy officers from the Forum’s Industry
Partner companies. The latter has since grown into
a multistakeholder dialogue on Disaster Risk
Reduction, in partnership with the World Bank, the
United Nations and the United States Department
of Homeland Security. Additional work produced
projects on water risks with the food and beverage
industry and information-sharing with the aviation,
travel and tourism sectors.
During the year, the GRN also launched the
Region@Risk series, exploring the regional contexts
in which global risks emerge. Europe@Risk
analysed the potential role of Turkey in reducing
European exposure to global issues, while
India@Risk highlighted six key dangers to
continued human and economic development
on the sub-continent.
Scenario planning
The World Economic Forum’s Scenario Planning
team presented three major scenarios at the Annual
Meeting in Davos.
‘The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries
and the World: Scenarios to 2025’ examined
how the region could develop over the next 18
years. It raised key questions over the ability of
GCC countries to implement necessary reforms,
and how they could maintain order and stability
in the face of regional uncertainty.
Following workshops involving over 150 experts
and participants, three scenarios for the GCC
region were developed: ‘Oasis’, ‘Sandstorm’ and
‘The Fertile Gulf’. Four themes emerged as being
crucial to the future of GCC countries: education,
innovation, leadership and governance.
‘The Digital Ecosystem – Convergence between
IT, Telecoms, Media and Entertainment: Scenarios
to 2015’, the second scenario publication,
examined the shape and size of the space
emerging from the convergence of the Information
Technology, Telecommunications, and Media and
Entertainment industries. User empowerment,
market structure, regulation and intellectual property
rights were among the major factors shaping
this evolution.
Three scenarios, ‘Safe Havens’, ‘Middle
Kingdoms’ and ‘Youniverse’ were developed
in cooperation with the Industry Partners as well
as over 100 academic, social, government and
business leaders.
‘Technology and Innovation in Financial
Services: Scenarios to 2020’ was a product of
cross-industry cooperation with financial services,
IT and telecoms industries. The focus was on
how technology, innovation and regulation may
transform access to and delivery of financial
services by the year 2020.
Through the scenario workshops and interviews
comprising over 150 practitioners, three scenarios,
‘Global Ivy League’, ‘Next Frontier’ and ‘Innovation
Islands’, were created.
These three scenario projects, together with our
previous work on China, India and Russia, provide
an excellent basis for ongoing dialogue within
the Industry Partnership programme, the Annual
Meeting and the Forum’s regional meetings.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 32

Engaging our Our communities of members and partner
companies are vital in driving forward the
communities activities of the Forum. Their participation
and and interaction, with both the Forum and
each other, are fundamental to our mission
constituencies of improving the state of the world.
The Forum of Young Global Leaders
Our Young Global Leaders (YGL) continue to
make a significant contribution to the Forum’s
communities, programmes and initiatives. With
the new class of 2007 joining in January, the
community now has over 660 members from 90
different countries. They are drawn from the fields
of business, government, civil society, academia
and the arts, and are all under the age of 40.

The YGL community has developed several exciting

new dimensions, particularly in the areas of
leadership, policy insight and regional development.
For example, in partnership with Harvard’s John F.
Kennedy School of Government, it is launching
‘Global Leadership for the 21st Century’. The
initiative aims to help YGLs better understand
issues of global concern, create a vision for a better
future and put forward innovative solutions to
translate their vision into immediate action.
Supported by David Rubenstein, Managing Director
of the Carlyle Group, and William George, author of
Authentic Leadership and member of the board
of the World Economic Forum USA, the partnership
will create one of the world’s foremost executive
education leadership programmes.

Over 100 YGLs met in Washington DC in April

2007 for the US Policy Roundtable, hosted by

HM Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with Young Global Leaders in a school
during a visit to celebrate Dignity Day
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 33
Dina Habib Powell, Assistant US Secretary
of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs,
and former Jordanian Ambassador to the US,
Karim Kawar, President of the Kawar Group
of Companies. Key topics included climate
change as a priority for the US Government,
the increasing importance of public–private
partnerships to support foreign diplomacy, and
the need for reform of international organizations.
The Young Global Leaders also played active roles
at the Forum’s regional meetings. YGL Linda
Rottenberg, Co-Founder and Chief Executive
Officer of Endeavor Global, USA, co-chaired the
World Economic Forum on the Middle East 2007;
and YGL Malvinder M. Singh, Chief Executive
Officer and Managing Director of Ranbaxy
Laboratories, India, co-chaired the Forum’s Africa
meeting in Cape Town in June 2007.
Moreover, at the meeting in Santiago de Chile,
YGLs worked side by side with beneficiaries
and other volunteers to construct two homes
in one of Santiago’s poorest areas. And at the
World Economic Forum on the Middle East in
Jordan, YGLs accompanied HM Queen Rania
of Jordan on a ‘Dignity Day’ visit to Al-Jubaiha
Secondary School for Girls in Amman.
As well as the above, throughout the year, the
Young Global Leaders continued to build the
momentum behind task forces in the fields of
health, education, global governance and
security, and the environment.
The Schwab Foundation for Social
Entrepreneurship
The Forum works closely with the Schwab
Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship to
showcase successful social innovators who
have combined business principles with a public
purpose. Together we have created a unique
platform upon which these visionary pragmatists
can come together with business, public, media
and cultural leaders. The aim is to establish
concrete initiatives that transform social and
environmental challenges and create sustainable
livelihoods for the poor and excluded.
Both social entrepreneurs and Forum members
have seen significant benefits from this close
working relationship. Entrepreneurs have been
able to mobilize millions of dollars of investment
for their operations, and companies have gained
market intelligence, enhanced their brand
value and increased their ability to attract
and retain talent.
The World Economic Forum has the ability
to convene the very best leaders and share
the best ideas to overcome the hurdles
that currently restrict the impact that
entrepreneurs have on their communities.
Linda Rottenberg
Co-Founder and CEO, Endeavor Global, USA
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 34
Engaging our The Foundation searches and selects members
of its community in collaboration with media
communities and business partners all over the world. As well
and as identifying candidates at a global level, the
Foundation runs 30 national competitions for the
constituencies ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year’ award. In 2006
the Foundation screened 2,500 candidates and
continued conducted in-depth due diligence site visits on
approximately 150 individuals. The winners were
selected by national juries drawn from the
country’s business and thought leaders and went
on to join the growing community of Schwab
Foundation social entrepreneurs.
Women Leaders Programme
Our Women Leaders Programme (WLP) is
committed to promoting women’s leadership
and the issues affecting their lives globally.
This was demonstrated during the year by,
for example, specific WLP activities at our
regional meetings in Turkey, the Middle East and
Latin America. More generally, female leaders
actively participated in all our regional meetings,
while the ratio of women at our Annual Meeting
in Davos increased to 17%.
In 2006, the WLP also launched its second
Global Gender Gap Report, a benchmarking
tool which ranks 115 countries according to the
size of the gap between the sexes. This covered
critical areas such as political empowerment,
health, education and economic participation.
Utilizing the full potential of women in society
is vital in enhancing a country’s human
resources pool and boosting competitiveness.
To this end, the report functions as a tool for
identifying existing strengths and weaknesses
of countries. It also acts as a catalyst for
creating opportunities to learn from countries
which have been successful in promoting the
role of women.
Additionally, the Women Leaders Programme
continues to reach out to the appropriate policy-
makers to ensure effective dissemination of,
and action around, the information revealed
by the study.
International Media Council (IMC)
With the objective to offer an informal, neutral
2,000
families in India and Pakistan were able to move from makeshift tents and
crowded camps to specially designed transitional shelters provided by the World
Economic Forum’s Disaster Resource Network and its partners.
platform for peer exchanges among the opinion
shapers in media, the World Economic Forum
created the International Media Council. This
newly created community met for its inaugural
gathering on the occasion of the Annual
Meeting 2007 in Davos; prominent digital
media shapers from all over the world
led an interactive debate with their peers
from traditional media on the challenges
and opportunities posed by the new wave
of citizen journalism (participatory media).
Stakeholders and NGOs
Civil society organizations continue to
occupy a central position within the Forum’s
multistakeholder platform. The unique expertise
and far-reaching influence of these groups,
which include NGOs, labour unions, religious
communities and philanthropic foundations,
make them valuable collaborators in many
of our initiatives and programmes.
At both the Annual Meeting and our regional
meetings, leaders of major civil society
organizations played significant roles in helping
to define the global and regional agendas.
NGOs remain particularly active in Forum
work-streams and multistakeholder partnership
projects. They bring their specialist knowledge
and experience to bear on a number of key
topics, including education, the environment
and humanitarian relief.
Forum faculties
The Faculty is one of our richest sources of
intellectual capital. Its members include many of
the world’s most distinguished thinkers, experts,
scientists, commentators and cultural leaders.
Faculty members contribute to the identification
of issues and development of content for
regional events and the Annual Meeting;
participate in discussions at our events; and
assist in workshops, Governors Meetings
and Industry Partners activities.
The activities of the Global Competitiveness
Network, the Global Risk Network and Business
Insight/Strategic Planning also benefit greatly
from the support of the Forum Faculty.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 35
Working with The Forum recognizes that working with our
members and partners is essential to helping
our members us find truly sustainable solutions to improve
and partners the state of the world. They also provide an
endless source of hope and positive energy
which helps to keep our vision alive.
Business leaders trying to construct a company model, at a WorkSpace session of the Annual Meeting 2007 in Davos
Members
Our 1,000 member companies are at the heart
of all our activities and provide invaluable
support to our mission.
Achieving balance in membership from all major
industries and regions is crucial to our continuing
success. In 2006/2007, we increased the
number of our major multinational members by
more than 15%. Conversely, one-third of our
members continue to come from emerging
economies, which provides the Forum with a
truly global business perspective and allows
business leaders from these economies to
participate in the international business arena.
We experienced record participation by
members in all Forum activities, including
the Annual Meeting. Overall, more than 60%
of member companies engaged in an event
or initiative led by the World Economic Forum
other than the Davos Annual Meeting,
reinforcing our commitment of being a
member-driven organization.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 36

Working with Over the past year, we selected the following

new members to join the Forum community:
our members
and partners 3i Group, Actis Capital, Adani Group,
Adobe Systems, Adolf Würth, Aflac Japan,
continued Africa Israel Investments, Alibaba.com,
All Nippon Airways (ANA), Alpha
Technologies, Amdocs, Amec, Arup Group,
Ashok Leyland, Aviva, Best Buy Co.,
Braskem, China Construction Bank,
Chinese Petroleum Corporation,
Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Cleveland
Clinic, CNP Assurances, Confederation of
British Industry (CBI), Daiwa Securities
Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors, EGL
(Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft Laufenburg),
Elcoteq, Etihad Etisalat, Eurocash, Federation
of German Industries (BDI), FIBA (International
Basketball Federation), Fiba Holding, Franz
Haniel & Cie, Government Savings Bank,
Grupo Nueva, HCL Technologies, Index
Ventures, Industrial Union of Donbass (IUD),
International Road Transport Union (IRU),
Japan Post Corporation, Johnson & Johnson,
Kaiser Permanente, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield
& Byers (KPCB), Kohlberg Kravis Roberts,
MBK Partners, Medtronic, Mitsubishi
Chemical Corporation, Mitsui & Co.,

Beyond meeting the smartest and most

influential people in business and society, as
Strategic Partners, WPP develops important
insights into the latest global trends and issues
affecting our clients’ businesses and our own.
We then provide feedback to our companies
and their people so all benefit. Our partnership
with the Forum has grown from attending
the Annual Meeting to becoming a Strategic
Partner in 2005. We are now actively involved
in steering the debates and support the Forum
where we can add the most value – especially
where there are programmes that can make a
difference in today’s and tomorrow’s world.

Sir Martin Sorrell

Group Chief Executive, WPP, United Kingdom
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 37
NBC Universal, News Corporation, Norske
Skogindustrier, Novo Nordisk, Novatek,
OC Oerlikon Management, Odebrecht,
Paltel Group, Perella Weinberg Partners,
Permira Advisers, Providence Equity Partners,
Sabanci Holding, Sanyo Electric Co.,
Saudi Oger, Silversea Cruises Group,
Sojitz Corporation, SONATEL (Société
Nationale des Télécommunications du
Sénégal), SPARX Group, Suzlon Energy,
System Capital Management, Takeda
Pharmaceutical Company, Teck Cominco,
TiVo, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO),
Tokyo Electron, Travelport, Tullett Prebon,
Türk Telekom, Uralkali, UTStarcom,
VinaCapital Group, Ziff Brothers Investment.
Strategic Partners
Our Strategic Partners comprise some of
the world’s leading corporate citizens and
provide essential leadership in support of
the Forum’s mission.
In 2006/2007, the number of Strategic Partners
increased to 71, as further member companies
signalled their commitment to the Forum by
joining the programme. This year saw particularly
significant involvement from emerging markets,
such as Russia (VimpelCom), Malaysia (Petronas)
and South Korea (SK Group).
The Strategic Partners are a key force in our
activities and communities, at global, regional
and industry levels. They help shape our
initiatives, projects and task forces and give
intellectual guidance through the participation
of their most senior executives on steering
boards and advisory groups.
Their considerable financial support and in-kind
services – including the provision of dedicated
staff to assist with our operations – allows the
Forum to deliver its programmes and advance
worldwide economic and social progress.
As part of their role, the Strategic Partners
provide significant insights to the Annual Meeting
in Davos. They are also active participants at
our regional meetings and are closely involved
in governing the communities and corporate
global citizenship initiatives of the Forum.
On 30 June 2007 our Strategic Partners included:
ABB, ABN AMRO Bank, Accel Partners,
Accenture, Alcan, Alcoa, AMD, American
International Group Inc. (AIG), Apax
Partners, Audi, Avaya, Bahrain Economic
Development Board, Bain & Company,
Barclays, Bombardier, Booz Allen Hamilton,
The Boston Consulting Group, BP, BT, CA,
Cisco, Citigroup, The Coca-Cola Company,
Credit Suisse, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank,
Deutsche Post World Net, Dubai Holding,
DuPont, E*TRADE, Ernst & Young, Fluor
Corporation, Goldman Sachs, Google, HP,
Infosys Technologies, Intel Corporation,
JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Kudelski Group,
Lehman Brothers, Manpower, Marsh &
McLennan Companies (MMC), McKinsey &
Company, Merck & Co., Merrill Lynch,
METRO Group, Microsoft Corporation,
Morgan Stanley, NASDAQ, Nestlé, Nike,
NYSE Group, PepsiCo, Petronas, Pfizer,
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Reliance
Industries, Reuters, Roland Berger Strategy
Consultants, Saudi Basic Industries
Corporation (SABIC), Siemens, SK Group,
Swiss Re, UBS, Unilever, VimpelCom,
Volkswagen, WPP, Xenel Group, Zurich
Financial Services.
Industry partners
Now in its second successful year, our
Industry Partners programme continues
to gather momentum and new members.
There are now 197 partnerships, representing
184 companies, some of whom have joined
multiple industry programmes. These Industry
Partners have joined the programme from
a broad range of business sectors including
construction, aviation, technology, tourism,
food and beverage, engineering and
financial services.
Industry Partners play an active role in a
number of our projects, meeting and engaging
with key decision-makers on the most pressing
global issues. They have also commissioned
us to produce insights and reports across a
range of key industries including travel and
tourism, financial services, information
technologies, telecommunications and energy.
Global Growth Companies
The Forum’s Community of Global Growth
Companies are drawn from those with the
potential to become leaders in the global
economy within the next five years. These
‘New Champions’ have the aspiration and
ability to become true global champions
and are experiencing growth rates exceeding
15% year-on-year with revenues of between
US$ 100 million and US$ 5 billion.
The Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New
Champions in Dalian, China, is the Community’s
flagship event, bringing together growing
global names such as Chinese IT firm,
Neusoft Group; life sciences specialist,
Qiagen of Germany; US biopharmaceutical
firm, Cephelon; green fuels company,
Praj Industries; YES Bank, from India; and
Lebanese technology firm, MDS Holdings.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 38

Our The Managing Board

The Managing Board acts as the executive body
organization of the Foundation. It ensures that activities fulfil
the mission of the World Economic Forum and
acts as its representative to outside parties. In
2006/2007, the Managing Board consisted of:
Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman (1)
Jean-Pierre Rosso, Chairman, World Economic
Forum USA (2)
André Schneider (3)
Richard Samans (4)
Peter Torreele (5)
Michael Obermayer (until 10 February 2007)

For more information about the Managing Board,

visit www.weforum.org/leadershipteam

The Foundation Board

The Foundation Board is responsible for maintaining
business and public confidence by ensuring an
exemplary standard of governance throughout
the Forum. It acts as the Board of Trustees and
guardian of the Forum’s mission, values and brand.

Board members are individuals with unique

leadership experience from business, politics,
academia and civil society. They do not represent
any personal or professional interests, but solely

1 3

5 2 4
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 39
those of the Foundation. Membership criteria
include integrity, global vision, leadership experience
and engagement in world affairs.
The Board’s role encompasses supervising the
activities of the Foundation and its bodies;
managing the statutory dispositions of the Forum;
appointing new members; approving the strategic
direction of the Forum; defining the roles of the
Managing Board and committees; and approving
the annual report, the annual accounts and the
Foundation’s budget.
The committees of the Foundation Board
At its January meeting, the Foundation Board
revised its statutes and restructured its committees:
The Audit Committee ensures compliance with
all financial, accounting and control processes
in accordance with global best practice and
the principles of good corporate governance
The Strategy Committee acts as a sounding
board to the Managing Board in elaborating
the Forum’s plans. In particular it reviews the
strategies related to partnerships and
memberships of the Forum
The Programme Committee monitors the mission
orientation of all the Forum’s activities.
The chairmen of each of the above committees
(together with the executive chairman and the
secretary of the Foundation Board) make up the
Executive Committee of the Foundation Board.
Their task is to prepare and execute the decisions
of the Foundation Board and oversee the activities
of the Foundation and its bodies.
To engage Foundation Board members even
more into the governance process, the rule was
introduced that each member of the Board has
to serve on at least one committee.
In its January 2007 meeting, Ivan Pictet, Managing
Partner of Pictet & Cie Private Bankers, and Heizo
Takenaka, Director, Global Security Research
Institute, Keio University, and a former member
of the Japanese Government, were unanimously
elected new members of the Board.
During the same Board meeting, Heinrich von
Pierer and Nobuyuki Idei, whose three terms of
three years each had come to an end, did not seek
re-election. The Board expressed its great
appreciation for their engagement and friendship.
On 28 June 2007, the World Economic Forum
announced that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
has joined the Foundation Board.
On 1 July 2007, the Foundation Board consisted
of the following members:
Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman
Josef Ackermann, Vice-Chairman
Kurt Alig, Secretary
Tony Blair
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
Lord Carey of Clifton
Victor L.L. Chu
Flavio Cotti
Michael S. Dell
Niall FitzGerald
Orit Gadiesh
Carlos Ghosn
Rajat Gupta
Maurice Lévy
Nandan Nilekani
Ivan Pictet
HM Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom
of Jordan
Peter Sutherland
Heizo Takenaka
Ernesto Zedillo
For more information about the Foundation Board,
visit www.weforum.org/foundationboard
Structure
The Forum’s structure consists of six core
departments: the Centre for Global Industries,
Regional Agenda Teams, the Centre for
Public–Private Partnerships, Strategic Insight
Teams, Communications, and Events and
Resources Management.
Centre for Global Industries
Our Centre for Global Industries is based in
New York and is responsible for managing
relations with the global communities of business
leaders drawn from around 15 industry sectors.
It is committed to fostering engagement between
Forum members through the Industry
Partnerships programme.
Regional Agenda Teams
The Regional Agenda teams deliver value to
members and potential members via a series
of regional and national meetings. The department
has six teams who focus on key regional and global
trends to develop an understanding of how they
affect an increasingly interconnected world.
Centre for Public–Private Partnerships
The Centre for Public–Private Partnerships was
created by the World Economic Forum to broaden
the application of public–private partnerships to
some of the world’s most pressing problems.
The Centre consolidates all of our task forces
and initiatives and is a comprehensive resource
for companies seeking to engage with the public
sector to tackle global issues.
Strategic Insight Teams
The Strategic Insight teams work with the Forum’s
network of communities, such as business
leaders, NGOs and policy-makers to create
relevant strategic insight. The department has
four core teams, focusing on the global agenda,
scenarios, economics and competitiveness,
and global challenges.
Communications
The Communications department consists of three
teams, focusing on the World Economic Forum’s
website, publications and media relations. The three
teams work together to publicize the Forum’s work
and to explain to both members and non-members
how it delivers on its mission.
Events and Resources Management
Each year we bring together thousands of decision-
makers at World Economic Forum meetings
and regional meetings to address the most crucial
issues facing mankind. To maintain quality and
effectiveness, we have a team with unique
knowledge and experience in developing such
high-calibre events.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 40

The Our people

The skills, knowledge and dedication of our
Forum people are essential to the success of the
community Forum. In 2006/2007, to meet the growing
needs of our mission and strategy, we recruited
a number of new employees. Our headcount
today stands at 277, compared with 229 for
the previous year.

Our Global Leadership Fellows programme

continued to develop. We saw the first group of
47 Fellows successfully enter their second-year
programme, while a second group, composed
of 32 people, joined us in autumn 2006 to start
their first year.

We also continued to attract extremely skilled,

motivated and internationally trained people
to the Forum and its activities, thus reflecting
our diverse, multistakeholder focus. Currently,
our staff represents 51 nationalities, of whom
57% are women and 82% are graduates, with
7% holding a PhD. The average age of our
team is now 36.

Global Leadership Fellows

Now in its third year, our Master’s Programme
in Global Leadership continues to draw highly
skilled young professionals. To date, we have
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 41

almost 90 Fellows working throughout the Nationality

various Forum departments. They are utilizing American 28
their skills and experience to engage with Argentinian 2
leaders to shape the global agenda.
Australian 4
Belgian 3
Under the guidance of a new dean, Professor
Gilbert Probst, the programme structure Brazilian 1
now consists of two years of academic British 24
courses with a third year dedicated to project Canadian 7
work, leadership workshops, coaching Chinese 5
and mentorship. Croatian 1
Danish 2
Over the past year, Fellows have attended
Dutch 10
courses in a broad range of subjects,
including decision-making, strategy, philosophy, Egyptian 1
international relations, coaching and executive Ethiopian 2
communication. These classes were taught Finnish 1
by leading lecturers and tutors drawn French 20
from our Academic Partners, which are German 22
INSEAD, Columbia University and London
Greek 1
Business School.
Guatemalan 1
We are confident that the experience these Hungarian 2
Fellows have gained from the Forum’s Indian 6
programme will position them to become Irish 4
successful and responsible global leaders Italian 11
in the future. Japanese 4
Kenyan 2
World Economic Forum, China
Latvian 1
China’s emerging global leadership and
influence are becoming increasingly important Lebanese 2
to the business world, not least to Forum Malagasy 1
members and partners. In return, in 2006/2007, Malaysian 1
the Chinese Government showed its recognition Mexican 3
of the importance of the World Economic Forum Moroccan 3
to global and national affairs by making it the Nepalese 1
first-ever international foundation to be legally
New Zealander 1
recognized and registered in China.
Nigerian 1
Through our Beijing Representative Office, we Norwegian 1
are developing and deepening our relationships Pakistani 2
with the National Development and Reform Polish 3
Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Portuguese 1
the Ministry of Commerce, State Council Romanian 3
Information Office and other key Chinese
Russian 2
Government ministries. In addition to the
national government, the Forum has established Singaporean 2
or strengthened relationships with other key Slovak 1
bodies including key provincial and municipal South African 4
governments, the China Council for Promotion South Korean 1
of International Trade and national academic Spanish 10
and media organizations. Sri Lankan 1
Swedish 7
With a full-time staff of five, our Beijing office
has seamlessly integrated with the Forum’s Swiss 52
operations in Geneva and New York. The Beijing Thai 1
team supports outreach to Chinese Forum Tunisian 2
members, potential members and Global Ukrainian 1
Growth Companies. This has resulted in an Venezuelan 1
additional 10 companies (including Global
Growth Companies) joining the World Economic
Average age 36
Forum’s communities and activities since
September 2006.

The China-based team has created a solid

foundation for the Inaugural Annual Meeting
of the New Champions, the first of which is
held in Dalian, China. We will continue to
expand our activities in China with the
development of the Centre for Global Growth
Companies and the increased engagement of
Global Growth Companies on a global basis.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 42
World The World Economic Forum USA has seen
a period of exceptional growth since starting
Economic operations in 2006. Over this fiscal year, it
Forum USA has moved into its own fully operational
offices in mid-Manhattan, has seen the
number of employees grow from four to
over 25 and has almost doubled the number
of industry partnerships across the Centre
for Global Industries to 197.
Klaus Schwab, staff and friends of the World Economic Forum USA ring the New York Stock Exchange Closing Bell
The World Economic Forum USA (‘Forum USA’)
is the North American affiliate of the World
Economic Forum, which was founded in December
2005 and serves as the global headquarters for
the Centre for Global Industries. The initial drive
to establish a presence in North America stemmed
from the desire to better serve our key members
and partners, coupled with the objective of better
integrating industry and other expertise into our
growing organization. On both of these fronts,
our ambitious expectations have been surpassed.
At the beginning of this fiscal year in July 2006,
Forum USA was still in its infancy, with four
employees using borrowed office space from
Partner companies. Just one year later, we are
proud to relay that we are occupying our new office
space in mid-town Manhattan with 25 full-time staff.
As expected, the expanding team in New York
includes new full-time colleagues with considerable
industry experience as well as temporary
employees from Partner companies on
secondment. These new team members are
complemented by several experienced World
Economic Forum employees who have crossed
the Atlantic to help establish operations in the USA.
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 43
Our team today truly mirrors the involvement
of the corporate world into our activities. Our
flagship Industry Partnership programme, under
which we serve companies from both our New
York and Geneva offices, boasts 197
partnerships as of July 2007 – an increase of
over 80% from the previous year. These
partners span 17 industries, including five
industry groups which were based out of North
America during 2006–07: Banking & Capital
Markets; Healthcare; Insurance & Asset
Management; Investors; and Media &
Entertainment. As of July, global responsibility
for an additional five industries has been
transitioned to NY as well: Automotive; Aviation,
Travel & Tourism; Transportation Services; Food
and Beverage; and Retail & Consumer Goods.
Over the past year, the Centre for Global
Industries has convened dozens of sessions in
New York and globally, ranging from structured
meetings of multiple stakeholders to smaller,
informal CEO dinners. Working groups on
subjects varying from Partnering Against
Corruption to addressing the ramifications of
the Globalization of Alternative Investments have
led to publications, public commitments from
participating companies, and practical solutions
to pressing societal imperatives such as our
Working Towards Wellness effort.
Jean-Pierre Rosso
Chairman, Centre for Global Industries
The World Economic Forum USA is an
independent non-profit organization committed
to improving the state of the world by engaging
industry leaders in partnerships to shape global,
regional and industry agendas.
Incorporated in December 2005 as a non-profit
business league based in New York, the World
Economic Forum USA is impartial and not-for-
profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national
interests. The Forum USA is an affiliate of the
World Economic Forum, and its relationship is
governed by an affiliation agreement, which is a
contractual agreement under which the Forum
USA coordinates with the World Economic
Forum when conducting its activities. The Forum
USA’s application for recognition of exemption
from income taxes under §501(c)6 of the US
Internal Revenue Service code is currently
pending approval.
The World Economic Forum USA’s New York
offices serve as the global headquarters for the
Centre for Global Industries. The Centre for
Global Industries’ primary focus is the Industry
Partnership programme, which is aimed at
engaging global companies in the Forum’s
activities at the industry level. This programme
enables participating corporations to contribute
to an evolving portfolio of task forces and
engage in specific meetings for designated
senior executives. To date, 197 industry
partnerships have been signed representing
184 companies which have formally joined the
programme, including some which have
subscribed to multiple partnerships.
For more information, please refer to:
www.weforum.org/forumusa
The Board of Directors of the World Economic
Forum USA oversees the overall business and
affairs of the organization. It currently comprises:
Jean-Pierre Rosso (Chairman)
Alfred Berkeley
William George
Rajat Gupta
Joe Schoendorf
Kevin Steinberg (Corporate Secretary).
Day-to-day operations for the Forum USA are
led by a Management Committee comprised of
its officers, which serves as its executive body.
These officers are:
John Moavenzadeh
Sarita Nayyar
Jean-Pierre Rosso
Kevin Steinberg.
In addition to the above officers, as of 1 July
the World Economic Forum USA employed
25 full-time staff.
For more information about the Board, officers
or staff, please go to www.weforum.org/usa/
leadershipteam
Financial results
The Forum USA’s financial results for the 2006–
2007 year have been consistent with its budget,
resulting in a net loss of US$ 776,043 off from
US$ 7,253,854 in revenues, despite significant
startup expenses and investments. All Forum
USA financials are reported in US dollars,
consistent with US GAAP.
The Forum USA’s primary source of financial
support is membership/partnership dues paid
by the Forum’s Industry Partners and Industry
Associates. In addition, the Forum USA received
an initial loan of working capital from the World
Economic Forum, which it expects to repay in
June 2008.
The Forum USA’s financial results are audited by
PricewaterhouseCoopers who examine both the
balance sheet and accounts. The 2006–2007
figures follow:
Year 2006/2007
Total income* 7,253,854
out of which
members’ fees 0
participation fees 0
partnership 6,109,192
other income 1,144,662
Total expenditure 8,029,897
out of which
personnel costs 3,229,731
office costs 500,504
activity related costs 4,299,662
Surplus (776,043)
*all key figures in US$
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 44

Our Our financial results
In 2006/2007, we achieved strong financial
financial results as income from all our initiatives and
results activities continued to grow. We did not touch
our reserve funds during the year, despite
investing a significant sum in the launch of our
Global Growth Companies. The most notable
revenue drivers continued to be the growing
number of Forum members choosing to become
partners and participating in our activities. In total,
this trend added Sfr. 2,769,846 to our reserves.
This figure was also due to important cost
reductions and efficiencies we achieved during
the year. In finance, as throughout our
organization, we aim for excellence and most
efficient use of the funds received.
Financial policy
The World Economic Forum’s financial policy
states that membership fees in principle should
cover operational costs, that events are funded
through cost contributions and that projects are
supported by income from partnership contracts.
The Forum may accept grants, donations,
legacies and other contributions or subsidies that
are consistent with its purpose of ‘integrating
leaders from business, politics and society at large
into a community for global action committed to
improving the state of the world and the well-being
and prosperity of human society’. The World
Economic Forum makes no payments to political
personalities, parties or other organizations and
avoids involvement in national politics.
Auditors
The World Economic Forum’s financial results
are audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers,
who examine the balance sheet and accounts.
The annual report, as well as all institutional
documents, are submitted to the Swiss
Federal Government, which in law acts
as the supervisory body for the Foundation.

Year 2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007

Total income* 66,454,727 74,058,911 83,336,839 104,766,543 114,574,874

out of which
members’ fees 25,530,325 25,137,257 26,546,382 26,410,294 27,763,874
participation fees 21,465,398 20,543,108 20,824,213 27,063,138 30,160,303
partnership 17,390,452 24,552,385 31,035,927 44,668,943 50,881,934

Total expenditure 66,454,522 72,307,790 82,083,503 102,735,578 111,805,027

out of which
personnel costs 26,584,768 29,620,236 35,723,308 40,035,452 47,887,856
office costs 8,360,352 9,044,738 9,253,213 12,537,175 11,884,632
activity-related costs 31,509,401 33,642,815 37,106,982 42,732,347 52,032,539

Surplus to be added to the

Foundation capital 205 1,751,121 1,253,336 2,030,965 2,769,846

Foundation capital 12,114,958 13,866,079 15,119,415 17,150,380 19,920,227

Total staff
full time 130 134 162 204 247
out of which seconded by Forum members 4 5 5 7 8
part time 28 28 31 25 30
*all key figures in Swiss francs
World Economic Forum Annual Report 2006/2007 45
Our The World Economic Forum is an
independent international organization
mission committed to improving the state of the
and world by engaging leaders in partnerships to
shape global, regional and industry agendas.
values
Incorporated by Professor Klaus Schwab as a
foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva,
Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial
and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan
or national interests.
Our culture combines the best elements of
entrepreneurship with those of public service.
Thus, our motto is ‘entrepreneurship in the global
public interest’.
We cultivate public trust by never compromising
our institutional integrity. We constantly strive to win
the respect of our members and constituents by
ensuring everything we undertake is ‘first in class’.
We can serve our communities best by making
ourselves a role model for a highly interactive, open
and fast learning community.
Our mission is best realized through activities
which promote economic and social
development. We believe that economic progress
without social development is not sustainable,
while social development without economic
progress is not feasible.
In addition to convening world leaders, the Forum
aims to involve them in living communities of
common interest and purpose. The Forum
Schwab Social Entrepreneur Bunker Roy, Founder and Director of the Barefoot College, builds the capacity and confidence
of illiterate and semi-literate unemployed rural youth to be “barefoot” professionals. Reaching over 500,000 poor rural
families, Barefoot College solar engineers have installed solar photovoltaic home lighting systems and fabricated solar
lanterns across 10 Indian states.
ensures substance in the form of strategic insights
and, where relevant, platforms for joint action. To
carry out its mission, the World Economic Forum
has developed an integrated value chain by
involving world leaders in communities, inspiring
them with strategic insights and enabling them
through initiatives.
Our vision for the World Economic Forum is
threefold. To be:
The foremost organization which builds and
energizes leading global communities
The creative force shaping global, regional and
industry strategies for its communities
The catalyst of choice for its communities when
undertaking global initiatives to improve the state
of the world.
The World Economic Forum enjoys unique global
positioning by recognizing and responding to
two developments:
The world’s key challenges cannot be met by
governments, business or civil society alone
In a world characterized by complexity, fragility
and ever-greater synchronicity, strategic insights
cannot be passively acquired. They are best
developed through continuous interaction with
peers and with the most knowledgeable people
in the field (learning communities).
For more information see www. weforum.org
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Photos by R. Kalvar (Magnum); Swiss Image

World Economic Forum

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E-mail: contact@weforum.org
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The annual report is available electronically at

www.weforum.org/annualreport – also in Arabic,
Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish versions.