4.2 Education, professional activities and affiliations
The summary below includes key details of the careers and qualifications of each member of the Board of Directors, while their external mandates are disclosed in the Remuneration Report. The Board members are obligated to consult the Chair of the Board of Directors prior to accepting new mandates or upon changes in their professional career. The Chair consults the Vice Chair then informs the Board of Directors about these changes and any potential conflicts of interest. Members of the Board attend an annual internal training session on stock exchange regulations and dealing with affiliations. Details on the regulation of external mandates, in particular how mandates are defined and the number of mandates permitted, are set out in Article 9.3 of the Articles of Incorporation. At present, no member exceeds the limits for external mandates defined by the Articles of Incorporation.
The members of the Board of Directors are required to arrange their personal and business affairs in a way that minimises conflicts of interest, and to take all necessary actions to achieve this. Members must report any conflicts of interest that arise to the Chair and/or Vice Chair immediately, for the attention of the Board of Directors. To safeguard the interests of the company, the Board of Directors responds to conflicting interests among its members with measures commensurate with the severity of the conflict. It considers whether to exclude members subject to conflict of interest from resolutions and/or prior discussion, or whether a double resolution with and without the member in question is sufficient.
Michael Rechsteiner
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, ETH Zurich; Executive MBA, University of St.Gallen (HSG)
Career history
1990–2000 various roles at ABB Kraftwerke AG, most recently General Manager of ABB Power Generation Asia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2000–2002 Head of Power Plants, Vice President Project Execution, Alstom Power; 2003–2007 COO, Sultex; 2007–2015 various roles at Alstom Power, most recently CEO and Senior Vice President Power Services; 2015–2017 General Electric (GE) Officer and Vice President of Global Product Lines at GE Power Services; April 2017–March 2021 managerial responsibility for GE Power Services Europe and CEO of GE Gas Power Europe; April 2021–April 2022 external advisor to General Electric (Switzerland) GmbH; since March 2021 Chair of the Board of Directors of Swisscom Ltd
For information on his external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Roland Abt
PhD in Business Administration, University of St.Gallen (HSG)
Career history
1985–1987 CFO of a group of companies with operations in the areas of IT and real estate; 1987–1996 Eternit Group (later Nueva Group): 1987–1991 Head of Controlling, 1991–1993 CEO, Industrias Plycem, Venezuela, 1993–1996 Division Manager, Fibre Cement Activities; 1996–2016 Georg Fischer Group: 1996–1997 CFO, GF Piping Systems, 1997–2004 CFO, Agie Charmilles Group (currently GF Machining Solutions), 2004–2016 CFO, Georg Fischer AG, and member of the Group Executive Board
For information on his external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Monique Bourquin
Degree in Business Administration (lic. oec.), University of St.Gallen (HSG)
Career history
1990–1994 Strategy and Corporate Finance Consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland; 1994–1997 Marketing and Sales, Unilever AG (formerly Knorr Nährmittel AG); 1997–1999 Head of Key Account Management (Sales), Rivella AG; 1999–2002 Country Manager (Marketing & Sales), Mövenpick Schweiz AG; 2002–2007 Head of Sales, Executive Board Member, Unilever Schweiz GmbH; 2008–2012 CEO, Executive Board Member, Unilever Schweiz GmbH incl. Oswald GmbH; 2012–2016 CFO DACH Region, Executive Board Member, Unilever Deutschland GmbH
For information on her external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Laura Cioli
Degree in Electrical Engineering, University of Bologna, MBA, SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan
Career history
1991–1998 Partner, Bain & Company, Italy; 1999–2006 Executive Director, Vodafone Italia, Milan; 2006–2008 Senior Vice President, ENI Gas & Power, Milan; 2008–2012 Chief Operating Officer, Sky Italia, Milan; 2013–2015 CEO, CartaSi (now Nexi), Milan; 2015–2016 CEO, RCS Media Group, Milan; 2018–2020 CEO, GEDI Gruppo Editoriale, Rome; 2022–January 2025 CEO, Sirti Group, Milan
For information on her external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Guus Dekkers
Master’s in Computer Science, Radboud University Nijmegen; MBA, Rotterdam School of Management (RSM)
Career history
1990–2001 Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, various roles, primarily in the area of business process optimisations; 2002–2005 Head of Information Technology Europe & International and Vice President, Johnson Controls Automotive; 2005–2007 CIO and Vice President, Siemens VDO Automotive AG, Germany; 2008–2016 CIO, Airbus Group, France; since April 2018 CTO and member of the Executive Committee, Tesco PLC, London
For information on his external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Frank Esser
Degree in Business Administration, Doctorate in Economics (Dr. rer. pol.)
Career history
1988–2000 Mannesmann Deutschland, most recently from 1996 member of the Executive Board of Mannesmann Eurokom; 2000–2012 Société française du radiotéléphone (SFR): 2000–2002 COO, 2002–2012 CEO, in this role from 2005–2012 also a member of the Group Executive Board of the Vivendi Group
For information on his external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Sandra Lathion-Zweifel
Degree in Law (lic. iur.), attorney-at-law; Master of Law, University of Zurich; Master of Laws (LL.M., Columbia University, New York; trader’s licence from SIX Swiss Exchange
Career history
2005–2010 Mergers & acquisitions lawyer, Lenz & Staehelin law firm, Zurich; 2010–2014 Head of Legal & Compliance Financial Products, Credit Suisse AG, Zurich; 2014–2018 Head of department in the Asset Management division of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA); 2018–2019 Counsel for Banking & Finance, Lenz & Staehelin law firm, Geneva
For information on her external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Anna Mossberg
Executive MBA for Growing Companies, Stanford Business School, Palo Alto; Executive MBA, IE University, Madrid; Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management, Luleå University of Technology
Career history
1996–2010 Telia: various roles, including Vice President and Head of Business & Product Management, Head of Internet, Consumer Segment, Director Data Services, Product & Services; 2010 CEO, Bahnhof AB, Stockholm; 2012–2014 Senior Vice President Strategy and Portfolio Management, Deutsche Telekom; 2015–2018 member of the Management Team, Google Ltd, Sweden; 2021–2022 Managing Director, Silo AI, Sweden
For information on her external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Daniel Münger
Certified NPO Manager
Career history
1983–1995 Various roles at PTT companies in cable installation and as a telecommunications specialist; 1996–2001 Various roles at the Swiss Metalworkers’ and Watchmakers’ Union (SMUV) and the Union of Construction and Industry (GBI); 2002–2023 syndicom: 2002–2009 Regional Director of the Communications Union (now syndicom); 2010–2014 Central Secretary of the ICT Sector; 2015–2016 Head of the Logistics Sector and member of the Management Board; 2016–2023 Chair
For information on his external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.
Fritz Zurbrügg
Doctorate in Economics (Dr. rer. pol.)
Career history
1992–1994 Economist, International Monetary Fund (IMF); 1994–1998 Head of IMF and International Financing Section, Swiss Federal Finance Administration (FFA); 1998–2006 Senior Advisor and Executive Director of the Swiss Constituency, IMF Washington, DC; 2006–2012 FFA: 2006–2010 Head of the Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Equalisation and Financial Statistics Division, 2010–2012 Director of the FFA; 2012–2022 Swiss National Bank (SNB): 2012–2015 member of the Governing Board, 2015-2022 Vice Chair of the Governing Board
For information on his external mandates, see mandates in the Remuneration Report.