Klaus Martin Schwab is a German engineer and economist, best known as the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation, and went on to build it into the foremost international institutions for public-private cooperation. Schwab studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, University of Fribourg and Harvard University; degrees include doctorates in Mechanical Engineering and Economics (summa cum laude). Schwab was professor of business policy at the University of Geneva from 1972 to 2002. In 1998, he and his wife Hilde created the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, which supports social innovation around the world. In 2004 Professor Schwab founded the Forum of Young Global Leaders (targeted at leaders between 30 and 40). In 2011 he created the Global Shapers Community (focusing on potential leaders between 20 and 30). He is the recipient of numerous awards and holds honorary professorships and doctorates from universities around the world, and the recipient of a number of international honours for initiatives undertaken in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest and for peace and reconciliation efforts in several regions of the world.