Board of Directors
The members of the Board of Directors of MCH Group Ltd. (31.12.2021)
Andrea Zappia
Chairman
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.
- Place of residence: Milano (Italy)
- Date of birth: 24.09.1963
- Nationality: IT
- BD member since 2021
- Elected annually by the AGM
Marco Gadola
Vice Chairman
Marco Gadola is currently, among other things, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DKSH Holding AG and Medartis and a member of the Board of Directors of various Basel-based firms, including Straumann and Tally Weijl, as well as other companies. From 2006 to 2008 he was CFO and EVP Operations and, from 2013 to 2019, CEO of the Straumann Group. Between these posts he was Chief Financial Officer and Regional CEO Asia/Pacific at Panalpina Management AG. Prior to his initial period at Straumann, he held different managerial posts at Hero AG, Hilti, Sandoz International Ltd. and Swiss Bank Corporation. Marco Gadola studied economics in Basel, followed by other courses of study in London and Lausanne.
- Place of residence: Engelberg (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 23.09.1963
- Nationality: CH / FR
- BD member from 2016 to 2019 and since 2021
- Elected annually by the AGM
Markus Breitenmoser
Markus Breitenmoser has been active internationally for more than 30 years as a Board member, investor, manager and consultant in various industries, including the financial industry, where he has worked especially in the field of corporate restructuring and repositioning. He holds an MBA from the University of St. Gallen. He started his career with Ascom Holding AG before moving to Credit Suisse First Boston and Actienbank and was then a partner and director at Arthur D. Little Central Europe and Helbling Business Advisory AG, where he provided consultancy services to numerous corporate customers from different sectors. He subsequently held Board of Directors’ mandates at the stock-exchange-listed and internationally operating companies of Precious Woods Holding AG and Lifewatch AG, and the innovation analytics company Alpora AG, where he was also a founding partner. Today he is a shareholder and partner of consultancy firm Breitenmoser & Partner GmbH and Chairman of the Central American forestry company Novelteak AG and its subsidiaries as well as MCBM Beteiligungen AG.
- Place of residence: Jona (Switzerland)
- Date of birth: 12.01.1963
- Nationality: CH
- BD member since 2019
- Elected annually by the AGM
Christoph Brutschin
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
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 organization Osec (now Switzerland – Global Enterprise). He is a lecturer at the University of Zurich, the ZfU Business School in Thalwil and the University of St. Gallen. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of 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 Alstom (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 country head and CEO of State Street Bank International GmbH, Switzerland, and has more than twenty years’ experience in the banking industry. She worked for more than 17 years for UBS in different management posts in Zurich, London and Singapore, including as CFO for the Asia-Pacific region. Following that, she was COO and on the management of the Swiss Universal Bank of Credit Suisse (Switzerland). Most recently, she was CEO designate and country head of Quintet Private Bank Schweiz AG. Dagmar Kamber Borens studied law at the University of Basel gaining a doctorate.
- 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 – Strategic Advisor to 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: Athens (Greece)
- Date of birth: 17.09.1977
- Nationality: GR / GB
- BD member since 2020 (21.12.)
- Elected annually by the AGM
James R. Murdoch
James Murdoch is an investor and philanthropist. After more than two decades of global leadership in the media and technology industries, James Murdoch founded LUPA Systems as a private holding company. He most recently served as CEO of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019; previously he served as 21st Century Fox Co-COO, Chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia. Prior to his time at 21st Century Fox, he was the CEO and Chairman of Sky, and CEO of STAR TV. James Murdoch is member of the Board of Directors of Tesla and the Dia Art Foundation, Vice-Chairman of the Center for New American Security, and a member of the Council for Foreign Relations. James and his wife, Kathryn Murdoch, are founders of Quadrivium, a foundation that invests in democracy reform, technology and society, scientific awareness, and climate and ocean health issues.
- Place of residence: New York, N.Y. (USA)
- Date of birth: 13.12.1972
- Nationality: US
- BD member since 2020 (21.12.)
- Elected annually by the AGM
Jeffrey Palker
Jeffrey Palker joined Lupa Systems LLC as managing partner and general counsel in April 2019. Previously, he worked at 21st Century Fox, where he served as Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer. Owing to his extensive international experience, he was previously also General Counsel for Europe and Asia at 21st Century Fox. 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, Vice Media and AWA studios.
- Place of residence: Short Hills, N.J. (USA)
- Date of birth: 30.10.1973
- Nationality: US
- BD member since 2020 (21.12.)
- Elected annually by the AGM
Changes
At the Annual General Meeting of 28.04.2021, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Ulrich Vischer, stepped down from his office. He 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. From 2006 to 2021, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors by the Annual General Meeting.
At the Annual General Meeting of 28.04.2021, Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard and Andreas Widmer also stepped down from the Board of Directors. Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard had been a member of the Board of Directors since 2019 and, in that capacity, was a member of the Governance, Nomination and Compensation Committee (GNCC) and Chairman of the Strategy Committee (SC). Andreas Widmer had been a member of the Board of Directors and a member of the SC since 2016.
On 28.04.2021, the Annual General Meeting elected Andrea Zappia as a new member of the Board of Directors and as its Chairman. The General Meeting additionally elected Marco Gadola as a new member of the Board of Directors. He was subsequently appointed Vice Chairman.
Since the Annual General Meeting on 28.04.2021, there have been no changes in the Board of Directors up to the time of publication of this Annual Report at the end of March 2022.
Permitted activities as per §23 of the Articles of Association 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
Shares held by members of the Board of Directors
Board of Directors’ Meetings
In the 2021 business year, the meetings of the Board of Directors were held either in hybrid form (physical presence in the Congress Center Basel and participation via video conference) or solely as video conferences. In the 2021 business year, 14 meetings were held with a total meeting time of 27 hours:
- 8 meetings of more than 2 hours – in February, March, April, May, June, September (2) and November
- 6 meetings of less than 2 hours – in January (2), July, October (2) and November
Governance, Nomination and Compensation Committee (GNCC)
- Christoph Brutschin, Chairman
- Dr. Balz Hösly
- Jeffrey Palker
- Andrea Zappia
In the 2021 business year, the meetings of the GNCC were held either in hybrid form (physical presence in the Congress Center Basel and participation via video conference) or solely as video conferences. In the 2021 business year, 21 meetings were held between January and November, with a total meeting time of 40 hours. Eight meetings lasted more than 2 hours and 13 meetings less than 2 hours.
Audit Committee (AC)
- Dr. Dagmar Maria Kamber Borens, Chairwoman
- Markus Breitenmoser
- Christoph Brutschin
- Marco Gadola
- Eleni Lionaki
In the 2021 business year, the meetings of the AC were held either in hybrid form (physical presence in the Congress Center Basel and participation via video conference) or solely as video conferences. In the 2021 business year, 7 meetings were held in the months of January, March, May, June, July, August and November, with a total meeting time of 16 hours. Two meetings lasted more than 3 hours, 4 meetings lasted between 2 and 3 hours and 1 meeting lasted less than 2 hours.
Strategy Committee (SC)
- James R. Murdoch, Chairman
- Marco Gadola
- Dr. Balz Hösly
- Eleni Lionaki
- Andrea Zappia
In the 2021 business year, the meetings of the SC were held either in hybrid form (physical presence in Basel and participation via video conference) or solely as video conferences. In the 2021 business year, 5 meetings were held in the months of April (2), May, August and October with a total meeting time of 11 hours. Four meetings lasted 2 hours, one meeting lasted 3 hours.
Secretary to the Board of Directors
- Christian Jecker, Corporate Communications