Board of Directors
The members of the Board of Directors of MCH Group Ltd. (March 2021)
Dr. Ulrich Vischer
Chairman
Dr. Ulrich Vischer held various top posts in the BASLER insurance group up until 1992. From 1992 to 2005 he was a member of the cantonal government and Head of the Finance Department of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Since his withdrawal from the cantonal government, he has practised as a partner in a law firm operating in Basel, Zurich and Geneva. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Warteck Invest AG and Chairman of the Sophie and Carl Binding Foundation. From 2005 to 2019, he was Chairman of the Basel University Board.
- Place of residence: Basel (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 09.12.1951
- Nationality: CH
- BD member since 2006 *
- Term of office until 2021
- Elected by the General Meeting
* 1992 to 2005 member of the Board of Directors as a delegate of the Canton of Basel-Stadt
Christoph Brutschin
Vice Chairman
Christoph Brutschin was a member of the cantonal government and Head of the Economic, Social Affairs and Environment Department of the Canton of Basel-Stadt from 2009 until January 2021. He studied business administration in Zurich and also economics and the teaching of economics in Fribourg, before taking up employment with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and maxit AG. Prior to his election onto the executive of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, he worked at Basel Commercial College – as a teacher and lecturer as of 1991 and then as the principal from 1996 onwards.
- Place of residence: Basel (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 21.02.1958
- Nationality: CH
- BD member since 2009
- Delegate of the Canton of Basel-Stadt
Markus Breitenmoser
Markus Breitenmoser has been active internationally for more than 30 years as a Board member, manager and consultant in various industries, including the financial industry, working especially in the field of corporate restructuring and repositioning. He holds an MBA from the University of St. Gallen. Among other things, he is a founder, partner and Board member of consultancy firm Breitenmoser & Partner GmbH in Rapperswil-Jona and innovation analytics company Alpora AG in Zug. He is Chairman of the Board of Central American forestry company Novelteak AG and its subsidiaries and also of MCBM Beteiligungen AG in Zug.
- Place of residence: Jona (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 12.01.1963
- Nationality: CH
- BD member since 2019
- Term of office until 2021
- Elected by the General Meeting
Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard
Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard has more than 30 years' experience in managerial posts in the luxury and consumer goods industry as well as the specialist retail trade. He has worked for various companies – including the LVMH Group – in Asia, and was CEO for Coty Prestige in Paris, Georg Jensen Ltd. in Copenhagen and Timex Group in Connecticut in the USA. From 2011 to 2017 he held the post of CEO at Oettinger Davidoff AG in Basel. Since 2018, he has managed his own consultancy firm and is CEO mentor at Mentore Consulting in London. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Calida Group and the Bonhams auction house with head office in London as well as a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Barclays Bank (Suisse) SA in Geneva. From September 2018 until June 2019 he was interim CEO of MCH Group Ltd.
- Place of residence: Wollerau (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 20.06.1958
- Nationality: DK
- BD member since 2019
- Term of office until 2021
- Elected by the General Meeting
Dr. Balz Hösly
Dr. iur. Balz Hösly is a lawyer and partner at MME Legal | Tax | Compliance in Zurich and Zug. He is an experienced Board of Directors’ practitioner in matters of governance and also in development and change management for private and public companies. Balz Hösly has previously worked in senior positions in different companies, including Winterthur Versicherungen and CS, and also as CEO of the Swiss export promotion organisation Osec (now Switzerland – Global Enterprise). He is a lecturer at the Institute of Financial Services in Zug, the ZfU Business School in Thalwil and the University of St. Gallen. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greater Zurich Area AG and the AG Hallenstadion Zürich as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Showwerk AG in Aegeri and Bombardier Transportation (Schweiz) AG in Zurich.
- Place of residence: Zurich (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 08.03.1958
- Nationality: CH
- BD member since 2018
- Delegate of the Canton and City of Zurich
Dr. Dagmar Maria Kamber Borens
Dr. Dagmar Maria Kamber Borens is a doctor of law and a financial specialist. She worked for almost 18 years in different managerial posts for UBS AG in Zurich, London and Singapore and, from 2012 to 2016, was Group CFO for the Asia-Pacific region in Singapore. Until October 2018, she was Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Swiss Universal Bank and Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd., where she was responsible inter alia for the segments of strategy, digitalisation, IT, operations and bank products as well as for marketing and sponsoring. She was then CEO designate of the Quintet Private Bank (Schweiz) AG in Zurich until March 2020.
- Place of residence: Basel (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 28.09.1972
- Nationality: CH
- BD member since 2019
- Delegate of the Canton of Basel-Stadt
Eleni Lionaki
Eleni Lionaki – partner in Lupa Systems LLC – headed 21st Century Fox’s corporate office in Europe and was in charge of M&A activity in the region, before joining Lupa Systems in 2019. Prior to her time at 21st Century Fox, Eleni Lionaki held senior positions in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Eleni Lionaki is an experienced Board member having previously served on a number of Boards, including Endemol Shine and Moby Group. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Tribeca Enterprises.
- Place of residence: New York, N.Y. (USA)
- Date of birth: 17.09.77
- Nationality: GR / GB
- BD member since 2020 (21.12.)
- Term of office until 2021
- Elected by the General Meeting
James R. Murdoch
James R. Murdoch – founder and CEO of Lupa Systems LLC – James Murdoch is an investor and philanthropist resident in the United States. After more than two decades of global management experience in the media and technology sectors, James R. Murdoch founded Lupa Systems as a private holding company. Most recently, from 2015 to 2019, James R. Murdoch was CEO of 21st Century Fox after having previously been the company’s co-COO as well as Chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia. Prior to his time at 21st Century Fox, James R. Murdoch was CEO and Chairman of Sky and CEO of STAR TV. James R. Murdoch is also a member of the Board of Directors of Tesla and the Dia Art Foundation, and he was formerly on the Board of Directors of Sotheby’s and GlaxoSmithKline. James and his wife Kathryn Murdoch are the founders of Quadrivium, a foundation that invests in democracy, technology and society, scientific understanding, climate change and ocean health.
- Place of residence: New York, N.Y. (USA)
- Date of birth: 13.12.1972
- Nationality: US
- BD member since 2020 (21.12.)
- Term of office until 2021
- Elected by the General Meeting
Jeffrey Palker
Jeffrey Palker – Managing Partner and General Counsel of Lupa Systems LLC – left 21st Century Fox, where he served as Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, to join Lupa Systems in 2019. Owing to his extensive international experience, Jeffrey Palker was previously also General Counsel for Europe and Asia at 21st Century Fox. During his time at the company (including News Corporation) Jeffrey Palker took a leading role in many important corporate transactions, including the offer for Sky plc, the foundation of Endemol Shine and the sale of a large part of the company’s assets to Disney. Jeffrey Palker has extensive experience as member of Boards of Directors; he was previously on the Board of Endemol Shine and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Tribeca Enterprises, AWA studios and Harappa.
- Place of residence: Short Hills, N.J. (USA)
- Date of birth: 30.10.1973
- Nationality: US
- BD member since 2020 (21.12.)
- Term of office until 2021
- Elected by the General Meeting
Andreas Widmer
After studying sociology and marketing at the University of Zurich, Andreas Widmer worked in market research for two years before joining the Wunderman marketing agency in 1993. In 1996, he founded Futurecom interactive AG then, in 2003, took over the management of Wunderman and, in 2007, the management of Advico Young & Rubicam. Together with other business units, he merged these companies to form the Young & Rubicam Group Switzerland in 2008, and was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the group until 30.09.2017. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Vintra AG and a member of the Board at Walde & Partner and Brino Group AG. Since 2018, he has also been co-founder and partner of Westhive AG, one of Switzerland’s biggest providers of coworking space.
- Place of residence: Herrliberg (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 10.10.1968
- Nationality: CH
- BD member since 2016
- Term of office until 2021
- Elected by the General Meeting
Changes
Dr. Eva Herzog, a member of the government of the Canton of Basel-Stadt and Head of its Finance Department until 31.01.2020, stepped down as a member of the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting of 24.04.2020, having been a member since 2005 as a delegate of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. The government of the Canton of Basel-Stadt delegated government member Dr. Tanja Soland, Head of the Finance Department of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, to the Board of Directors as her successor.
Thomas Weber, a member of the government of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, where he is Head of the Economic and Health Department, withdrew from the Board of Directors on 24.04.2020 having been appointed to the Board as delegate of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft in 2013. The government of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft has waived its right to appoint a member of the Board of Directors and delegate a successor to Thomas Weber.
In conjunction with the intended future composition of the Board of Directors, which was approved by the Extraordinary General Meeting of 27.11.2020, three changes have come about in the membership of the Board of Directors following completion of the capital increases:
Due to the number of delegates from the Canton of Basel-Stadt being reduced from three to two, Dr. Tanja Soland, a member of the government of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, stepped down from the Board of Directors on 21.12.2020. She had been delegated to the Board of Directors by the government of the Canton of Basel-Stadt on 24.04.2020.
Due to the reduction in the number of delegates from the Canton and City of Zurich from two members to one member, city councillor André Odermatt stepped down from the Board of Directors on 21.12.2020. He had represented the City of Zurich on the Board of Directors since 2015.
In addition, Dr. Karin Lenzlinger Diedenhofen stepped down from the Board of Directors on 21.12.2020. She had been a member of the Board of Directors and also a member of the Audit Committee (AC) since 2004.
The new members elected by the Extraordinary General Meeting of 27.11.2020, James R. Murdoch, Jeffrey Palker and Eleni Lionaki, took up office on 21.12.2020. Eleni Lionaki took up her seat on the Audit Committee (AC) at this same time.
There will be further changes in the membership of the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on 28.04.2021:
As already announced, Dr. Ulrich Vischer, Chairman of the Board, will be stepping down from his office at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. At the request of the Board of Directors and Lupa Systems, he had stated his willingness to assume the chairmanship until this time and thus ensure continuity during this phase of renewal. Dr. Ulrich Vischer was delegated to the Board of Directors by the Canton of Basel-Stadt from 1992 to 2005 as the then head of its Finance Department. Since 2006, he has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors by the Annual General Meeting.
At the Annual General Meeting on 28.04.2021, Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard and Andreas Widmer will also step down from the Board of Directors. Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2019, where he is also a member of the Governance, Nomination and Compensation Committee (GNCC) and Chairman of the Strategy Committee (SC). Andreas Widmer has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2016 and is also member of the SC.
The Board of Directors will propose to the General Meeting of 28.04.2021 that Andrea Zappia be elected a new member and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Andrea Zappia is Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer New Markets and Business of Sky Group. His responsibilities also include SkyStudios and SkyNews/SkyTG24. He started his career at the multinational Procter&Gamble company, where he held the post of European Group Marketing Manager. From 1996 to 2001, he was Global Sales and Marketing Director for Ferrari and Maserati. In 2003, he joined Sky Italia, where he held various executive positions before holding the post of CEO from 2011 to 2019. Andrea Zappia is 57 years old and an Italian citizen. He was born in Tripoli and grew up in Bologna, where he graduated in Economics.
Andrea Zappia
Marco Gadola
The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting on 28.04.2021 that Marco Gadola be elected as a new member of the Board of Directors and intends to appoint him Vice-Chairman following his election. Marco Gadola, Swiss and French citizen, born in 1963, was previously a member of the Board of Directors of MCH Group and Chairman of the Audit Committee from 2016 to 2019. From 2013 to 2019 he was CEO of the Straumann Group and is currently Chairman of the Board of DKSH Group and a member of the Board of Directors of various Basel-based firms, including Straumann, Medartis and Tally Weijl, as well as other companies.
In accordance with an agreement, the shareholders around Erhard Lee and LLB Swiss Investment AG can submit to the Board of Directors up to three candidates for a seat on the Board of Directors for the attention of the 2021 General Meeting. Based on the proposals received, the Board of Directors will propose Markus Breitenmoser for election as a member of the Board of Directors for a further year at the General Meeting on 28.04.2021.
Governance, Nomination and Compensation Committee (GNCC)
- Dr. Ulrich Vischer, Chairman
- Christoph Brutschin, Member
- Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, Member
- Dr. Balz Hösly, Member
Audit Committee (AC)
- Dr. Dagmar Maria Kamber Borens, Chairwoman
- Christoph Brutschin, Member
- Eleni Lionaki, Member
- Dr. Ulrich Vischer, Observer
Strategy Committee
- Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, Chairman
- Christoph Brutschin, Member
- Dr. Balz Hösly, Member
- Dr. Dagmar Maria Kamber Borens, Member
- Dr. Ulrich Vischer, Member
- Andreas Widmer, Member
Secretary to the Board of Directors
- Christian Jecker, Head of Corporate Communications
Permitted activities as per § 23 of the Statutes of MCH Group Ltd.
- a) In legal entities listed on the stock exchange: 5
- b) In other legal entities listed in the commercial register: 15, minus a)
- c) In legal entities listed in the commercial register with a charitable, public or public-utility purpose: 10
