Founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, announced on Thursday that he intends to step down as chair of the board of trustees. The announcement, made through a spokesperson, said that Schwab will "start the process" of leaving the position. 

Schwab said that the WEF must regain its "sense of mission" in a letter to fellow board members, per the Financial Times. The group meets annually in Davos and is often the subject of protests. It was at a meeting of the WEF that the prediction was made that, by 2030, people would own nothing and be happy. 

That prediction, made in 2016, angered many global residents who felt that this would defranchise them from their own lives. Protests at the annual Davos gathering include climate change activists, those concerned about concentrations of global wealth in the hands of a few, and social inequity. 

Klaus should be out by 2027, the WEF told the Financial Times. The board will appoint a successor prior to his departure.

Per Reuters, Schwab said last year, "he would next year give up executive duties to a team led by Borge Brende after 55 years at the forum. Brende was a former foreign minister of Norway and has been the WEF's president since 2017."

"What is essential now after the turmoil of the last months, is to recover our sense of mission," Schwab said. He said that the WEF was also on firm financial footing. Allegations of workplace harassment have plagued the WEF in recent years and the board has been working with a law firm to get that sorted out. That firm has not found any violations thus far.