Changes on the Board of Directors of Georg Fischer Ltd

10-Oct-2011 - Switzerland

At its meeting on 29 September 2011, the Board of Directors of Georg Fischer Ltd took the following decisions:

Changes at the top of the Board of Directors

Following the Annual General Meeting of March 21, 2012, Andreas Koopmann will become Chairman of the Board of Directors of Georg Fischer Ltd, replacing Martin Huber, who will retire at the official retirement age.

The Chairman-designate, Andreas Koopmann (born 1951) holds an engineering degree (Dipl. Masch.-Ing. ETH) and worked for the Bobst Group SA, Lausanne, from 1982 to 2009. From 1982 to 1989 he was a member of management of the US subsidiary of this Swiss manufacturer of machines for the packaging industry and as of 1995 headed the Bobst Group as its CEO. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Nestlé since 2003 and is currently its First Vice Chairman; he has been a member of the Board of Credit Suisse since 2009. Andreas Koopmann joined the Board of Georg Fischer Ltd in 2010 and is a member of its Compensation Committee. As Vice President and member of the Executive Committee of Swissmem, the association of the Swiss mechanical and electrical engineering industries, he is committed to fostering manufacturing in Switzerland. Andreas Koopmann is Chairman of the Board and Country President of Alstom Switzerland.

At the same time, lic. oec. publ. Gerold Bührer (born 1948) will become Vice Chairman of the Board, replacing Bruno Hug, who will retire on reaching the statutory retirement age. Gerold Bührer grew up in the Canton of Schaffhausen. From 1991 to 2000 he was a member of the Executive Committee of Georg Fischer and joined its Board in 2001, where he is a member of the Audit Committee. Gerold Bührer was a member of the Swiss Parliament from 1991 to 2007 and since November 2006 has been President of economiesuisse, the umbrella organization representing the Swiss economy. He became a member of the Board of Swiss Life in 2000 and has been its First Vice President since 2003. In 2008 he was elected as a member of the Swiss National Bank's Bank Council.

Two new members of the Board

To replace Martin Huber and Bruno Hug, the Board will recommend to the next Annual General Meeting the election of two new members of the Board.

Isabelle Welton (born 1963) is a Swiss citizen and studied law at the University of Zurich. Since 2010 she has been CEO and Country General Manager of IBM Switzerland. She began her professional career at Citibank in the US and Japan. Later, she was responsible for external communications at Zurich Financial Services and joined IBM Switzerland in 2003. At IBM she was a member of Management, responsible for Corporate Communications and Marketing in Switzerland. She subsequently took on managerial responsibility in European management and was instrumental in building up the marketing and communication function in central and eastern Europe. Isabelle Welton has been a member of the Board of economiesuisse and a member of the regional economic advisory council of the Swiss National Bank since 2010. With her international experience, extensive know-how in IT and communications, and proven competence in project management, Isabelle Welton is an ideal addition to the Board of Directors.

Roger Michaelis (born 1959) was born and grew up in Brazil and is a dual citizen of Brazil and Germany. He has worked for the Osram Group in various functions since 1988. He is currently CEO of Osram do Brasil and at the same time Head of Human Resources for Latin America. He was previously CFO of the local Osram companies in India and Brazil. Roger Michaelis studied economics at the University of São Paulo and took a post-graduate degree in management and strategy in Germany. By proposing Roger Michaelis for election to the Board of Directors, Georg Fischer is reinforcing its international experience and know-how in the increasingly important Latin American markets.

"With the election of Isabelle Welton and Roger Michaelis, we are strengthening the Board's competencies and specific know-how in the areas of communications and IT and in the market of the future, Latin America," stressed Board Chairman Martin Huber. "At the same time, this is a step towards our goal of rejuvenating the Board."

The election of Isabelle Welton and Roger Michaelis is planned for the Annual General Meeting of 21 March 2012. Ruedi Huber (born 1955), whose period of office ends in 2012, will stand for re-election. If the AGM agrees to the proposed candidates, the ten-person Board will be complete.

New auditor

As part of its good corporate governance, Georg Fischer this year invited tenders for the auditing mandate. After a carefully conducted review, the Board decided to follow the Audit Committee's suggestion and propose a change to the 2012 Annual General Meeting. Instead of KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers is to be appointed to audit the statements of the Corporation and of Georg Fischer Ltd as of 2012.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/134712/changes-on-the-board-of-directors-of-georg-fischer-ltd.html