Top Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani on Friday joined the foundation board of World Economic Forum (WEF), an independent international grouping of business leaders from across the world.
Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, India's top private sector business entity, would join the Foundation Board of WEF, the Switzerland-based organisation said in a statement.
Others joining the Foundation Board alongside Ambani include French telecom major Alcatel-Lucent CEO J Verwaayen and Zhu Min, International Monetary Fund (IMF) special adviser and a former deputy governor at People's Bank of China.
Commenting on Ambani's inclusion, WEF's founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab said, "Mukesh Ambani will bring an extraordinary level of business acumen and his commitment to the ideals of the Forum.
"He has played a key role, especially related to the integration of India into all our activities. Ben Verwaayen has been a committed Member of the Forum for many years. His insightfulness and energy will be invaluable to the board."
The Foundation Board is composed of leaders from business, politics, academia and civil society. WEF says that it works towards a "mission to improve the state of the world and who make a valuable contribution to this mission through their involvement".
WEF also announced that Peter Freire would join the Forum as managing director, heading the Forum’s new Global Agenda Partnership. Lord Malloch-Brown will be leaving the Forum after a successful year as vice-chairman and senior adviser of the Forum's Global Redesign Initiative.
Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is a not-for-profit organisation and holds its annual WEF conclave every year in scenic Alps resorts of Davos.
The Davos event is known for attendance by virtually all who's who of the world of business. Besides, it also arranges various other meetings of world leaders in other parts of the world.