Lagarde Vows to Serve WEF Amid Succession Speculation

Christine Lagarde, the chief of the European Central Bank (ECB), has expressed her willingness to take on the presidency of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2027. This comes after a board meeting near Geneva where she was described as a 'putative candidate' for the role.

The WEF's current co-chairs are Roche vice-chairman André Hoffmann and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who will navigate the leadership transition after founder Klaus Schwab stepped down last year. Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam emphasized that the succession should be resolved internally, as suitable candidates were available.

Lagarde has been a member of the WEF's board for several terms and thanked its members for their confidence in her. However, no exact timeline was set for her potential takeover, with only agreement on Fink and Hoffmann chairing the annual Davos meeting in January 2027.