Board of Directors

Andrea Zappia is Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer New Markets and Business of Sky Group. He is Chairman of SkyShowtime (a Joint Venture of Sky and Paramount Global). He is a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Nomination and Compensation Committee (NNC) of EssilorLuxottica. Andrea Zappia 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 and moving to the management of Sky Group. Andrea Zappia is an Italian citizen. He was born in Tripoli and grew up in Bologna, where he graduated in Economics.

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.

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.

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 is, among other things, Chairman of  “Schweizerischen Vereinigung für Schiffart” (Swiss Shipping Association) and a member of the Board of Directors of Grande Dixence SA. Christoph Brutschin 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.

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 and the ZfU Business School in Thalwil. 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.

Dr. Dagmar Maria Kamber Borens is a member of the Executive Board of State Street Bank International GmbH and responsible for Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the custodian bank Germany. She has more than twenty years of experience in the banking industry. Among others, she has worked for UBS for over 17 years in various management positions in Zurich, London and Singapore, most recently as Group CFO for the Asia Pacific region. Furthermore, she was COO and a member of the Executive Board of Swiss Universal Bank of Credit Suisse (Switzerland). Dagmar Kamber Borens studied law at the University of Basel and holds a PhD.

Eleni Lionaki is a Managing Director at Liberty Global plc. She previously acted as a partner of Lupa Systems LLC and then a Strategic Advisor from 2019 until 2022. Prior to her time at Lupa, she headed 21st Century Fox’s corporate office in Europe and was in charge of Mergers & Acquisitions activity in the region. Before that, she held senior positions in investment banking at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. She was previously on the boards of Endemol Shine, Moby Group and Tribeca Enterprises and is currently a member on the Board of Directors of All3 Media Group.

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.

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 a 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 and AWA studios.