Gilbert Achermann is the Chairperson of Straumann, the global leader in implant dentistry, and a Board member of Julius Bär, the private bank, Ypsomed, a selfcare solutions company, and Vifor, a pharma company. In addition he is a jury member of Venture Kick and member of the Board of the Swiss MedTech association.

Prior to becoming Chairperson, Gilbert served as CFO and CEO at Straumann. His previous positions include Chairperson and Co-CEO of the Vitra Group, a family-owned furniture and shopfitting company. Prior to that he held positions as the Chairperson of Siegfried, a listed pharma service company, and Vice Chairperson of the Moser Group, a privately owned luxury watch company. He began his career at UBS in investment banking.

Gilbert holds an EMBA from IMD and joined IMD in July 2016 as Executive-in-Residence.

Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko became the President of Marimekko Corporation, the leading Finnish design house renowned for its bold prints and colors, in April 2015. A year later she also became the company’s CEO.

Prior to her current role at Marimekko, Tiina acted as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) from August 2014. From 2011, Tiina also led the company’s Marketing Communications and Public Relations until her current role. Her career in this fast internationalizing creative company began some 10 years ago in international PR.

Tiina has a Master’s of Science in economics from the Helsinki School of Economics, a CEMS Master’s in International Management from Groupe HEC Paris and Helsinki School of Economics, and she has done further studies at Harvard and IMD Business Schools. She frequents as a guest lecturer and is a member of Aalto University Student Union’s (AYY) Honorary Council and Alumni Advisory Board of Aalto University School of Business.

Tiina was elected as the Young Leader of the Year 2015 by the Junior Chamber International Finland and was the patron of the competition in 2018.

As the only female Group CEO of a major UAE-headquartered bank and publicly listed corporation within the UAE, Hana is recognized for being a change leader and for her forward-thinking vision with a focus on embedding a culture of innovation and diversity and inclusion in her leadership.

A seasoned C-suite executive with more than 20 years of experience in banking and financial services, Hana previously served as Deputy Group CEO and Head of Personal Banking at FAB, responsible for leading the transformation of FAB’s consumer bank, instilling a customer and digital-first mindset.

A graduate of George Washington University in the US, Hana is currently Chair of the Global Council on the Sustainable Development Goals, with a key interest in Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. She is also a member of MasterCard Advisory and has served as an independent director in Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Company (Du) and Vice Chairperson of the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Services.

Her most recent accolade includes her nomination in Forbes Middle East, being ranked third as featured in the Middle East’s Power Business’ Women 2021 list.

Vinita Bali is a global business leader with extensive experience in leading large companies in both India and overseas. She has worked with eminent multinationals like the Coca-Cola Company and Cadbury Schweppes PLC in a variety of marketing, general management and chief executive roles in the UK, Nigeria, South Africa, Latin America, and the US, in addition to Britannia Industries Ltd in India.

Effective from April 2014, Vinita moved from a full-time operational role as MD and CEO of Britannia to pursue her wide-ranging interests in the corporate and development sectors. She is a Non-Executive Director on the Global Boards of Smith & Nephew plc and Bunge Limited; and Chairman of GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition), a Swiss foundation based in Geneva. She also served on the Global Board of Syngenta International AG from April 2012 to June 2017. In India, Vinita serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of CRISIL Ltd and Syngene International Limited; is a member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management – Bangalore; and an Advisory Board Member of PwC. She brings a global and pragmatic perspective to strategy, marketing, innovation, and operations, having worked across countries and continents with responsibility for global and regional roles.

Vinita was among 27 global leaders appointed by the UN in 2012 to help improve maternal and child health as part of its SUN (Scaling up Nutrition) initiative and completed her term in 2016. She has been recognized in forums nationally and internationally and won several awards for her various contributions to business and society.

Vinita has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Delhi and a Masters in Management from the University of Bombay. She also pursued post-graduate studies in International Business from Michigan State University.

Joan Beets, a Dutch national, currently based in Zurich, is a Partner at Kennedy Fitch, a boutique HR executive search & consulting firm, specializing in HR consulting and coaching, Switzerland. She focuses on helping organizations create HR functions that are strategic, agile, data-driven, and value-adding.

With more than 15 years of HR experience within leading organizations in global and regional roles focused on HR strategy, organizational development, change management and transformation, she has been previously Director of HR Strategic Planning and PMO and Director of Talent Mobility & Diversity at the Adecco Group.

She is an active IMD Alumni:

- Since 2012 she manages the continuation of the Welsh Women’s Award for best all‐round female in the MBA class.

- Since 2018 she is a member of the IMD Alumni Advisory Committee.

- Since 2019 she is a volunteer coach for the MBA Alumni Career Services.

Joan holds an MBA from IMD.

Martijn Brenninkmeijer is Chairman of the Board of COFRA Holding AG, a position he has held since 2018. Martijn has previously held the positions of CEO of COFRA Holding AG, CEO of C&A Europe and CEO of Anthos.

Martijn holds a BA in economics and philosophy from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and an MBA (with Honors) from IMD Business School in Lausanne, where he also received the 1999 MBA Class Award.

Thomas Buberl holds a Master of Economics degree from WHU Koblenz (Germany), an MBA from Lancaster University (UK) and a PhD in economics from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). In 2008 he was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

From 2000 to 2005, Thomas worked at the Boston Consulting Group as a consultant for the banking and insurance sector in Germany and abroad. From 2005 to 2008, he had worked for the Winterthur Group as member of the Management Board of Winterthur in Switzerland, first as Chief Operating Officer and then as Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer. Then he joined Zurich Financial Services, where he had been Chief Executive Officer for Switzerland.

From 2012 to April 2016, he was Chief Executive Officer of AXA Konzern AG (Germany). In 2012, he was a member of the AXA Executive Committee. In March 2015, he became Chief Executive Officer of the global business line for the Health business and joined the AXA Management Committee. In January 2016, Thomas was also appointed Chief Executive Officer of the global business line Life & Savings.

From 21 March 2016 to 31 August 2016, Thomas was Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Directeur Général Adjoint) of AXA. Since 1 September 2016, he has been the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Director.

Richard Carey is a Managing Member of Redwood Technology Ventures, an investment and advisory firm focused on opportunities in supply chain automation, which he co-founded in 2019.

Prior to Redwood, Richard was a partner at Permira, starting the firm’s business in the US in 2002. He was at times a member of the firm’s portfolio review committee and co-head of investments in the industrial and services sector. Richard joined Permira’s London office in 2000 and left the firm in 2018.

Richard started his career with Arthur Andersen (1986–1997) based in both Australia and the UK. From 1998 to 2000 he worked closely with a number of venture-backed companies in Europe, most notably AU System based in Sweden.

Richard has a graduate degree in economics and commerce from the University of Melbourne (1986) and a MBA (Honors) from IMD (1996). He is based in New York.

Ronan Cassidy became Chief Human Resources and Corporate Officer on 1 January 2016. He is also a member of the Executive Committee. He also holds regional responsibility for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding Nigeria) human resources, aircraft, external relations, health, real estate, and security.

After graduating from Worcester College, Oxford University (UK) with a BA in modern history, Ronan joined Shell in Aberdeen in 1988 in HR.

He has held a variety of HR positions across upstream and downstream businesses in the UK, China and the Netherlands. He was VP HR for the Global Retail business (2004–2008), Executive Vice President Strategy & Regional Coordination (2008), then Executive Vice President HR Downstream (2009–2013) before taking on the role of Executive Vice President Upstream International from 1 September 2013.

Boris Collardi started his career as an intern at Credit Suisse in Geneva in 1993. For 12 years he held various positions, including CFO of the Private Banking division and COO Europe, Middle East and North Africa. In 2006 he joined Bank Julius Baer as its COO and later became CEO of the Investment Solutions division. He was named CEO of Julius Baer Group and Bank in 2009. Boris has spent most of his career abroad, including five years in Asia, after working in London and a number of European countries. He was managing partner of the Pictet Group between June 2018 and September 2021.

Boris holds the following external mandates:

Member of the Board and the Committee of the Governing Board of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Bankers Association;

Member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne;

Member of the Advisory Board of the Wealth Management Institute of the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore;

Honorary Member of the Board of the INTERPOL Foundation for a Safer World.

Jo Deblaere is Accenture’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for leading the company’s business operations globally, executing business strategy and ensuring operational excellence company-wide. Jo is also Chief Executive – Europe with overall leadership responsibility for Accenture’s business in Europe, covering the company’s presence in more than 20 countries. In addition, Jo leads enterprise risk management, working across the company to identify, assess, and actively manage enterprise risks. He is a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee and chairs Accenture’s Capital Committee.

Prior to becoming COO in September 2009, Jo was Chief Operating Officer of Accenture’s outsourcing business globally, a position he held since 2006. In this role he was instrumental in driving operational excellence across its $9 billion outsourcing business and in leading the outsourcing industrialization agenda.

From 2005 to 2006, Jo led Accenture’s global network of business process outsourcing delivery centers. From 2000 to 2005, he had overall responsibility for Accenture’s work with public-sector clients in Western Europe. Earlier in his career, he worked with numerous clients in a variety of industries including automotive, metals, energy, chemicals, media and entertainment, and public service.

Jo represents the company as part of the BUSINESSEUROPE Corporate Advisory and Support Group. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement – Young Enterprise Europe and a member of the Board of Governors of Junior Achievement Worldwide.

Jo joined Accenture in 1985 and became a partner in 1996. He holds a degree in business administration and information management from KU Leuven in Belgium. He is based in Brussels.

Alain Dehaze is former CEO of the Adecco Group, the world’s leading workforce solutions partner. Through its international brands Adecco, Modis, Badenoch & Clark, Spring Professional, Lee Hecht Harrison, Pontoon, Adia, and YOSS, the Adecco Group is making the future work for everyone.

As a Fortune Global 500 Company, the Adecco Group connects 700,000 job-seekers with rewarding employment every day, helps 350,000 people yearly to transition to work, and supports more than 100,000 organizations with the talent, advice, and cutting-edge technology they need to succeed in an ever-changing and highly competitive global economy. With 33,000 full-time team members in 60 countries, the Adecco Group ranked 11th on the 2019 World’s Best Workplaces list, the only workforce solutions company in the top 25.

The 54-year-old Belgian national graduated as a commercial engineer at the ICHEC Brussels Management School before rising through the ranks at Henkel and ISS. He joined the workforce solutions sector in 2000, when he was appointed Managing Director of Creyf’s Interim in Belgium. His path took him to the CEO position at Solvus, COO of USG People – when the latter took over Solvus – and CEO of the Dutch staffing services company Humares between 2007 and 2009. Alain joined the Adecco Group in 2009 as member of the Executive Committee, responsible first for Northern Europe, then for the Group’s largest market France before taking on the CEO position in September 2015. He held the position until June 2022.

Alain plays an active role shaping the labor markets of tomorrow as member of the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work, board member of the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN) and as Steward of the World Economic Forum Center for the New Economy and Society. Before becoming CEO of the Adecco Group, he also held board positions at sector level with the World Employment Confederation, including the Vice-Presidency of the World Employment Confederation Europe (formerly EUROCIETT).

Henrik Ehrnrooth has been Chief Executive Officer and President of KONE Corporation since 2014. From 2009 he served as the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to KONE, Henrik held several positions in the banking industry, last serving as Managing Director of Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs. He began his career in the early 1990s at UBS Ltd in London.

Henrik holds a M.Sc. (Econ) degree with a major in finance from the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki.

Annika Falkengren has been a Managing Partner of the Lombard Odier Group since August 2017.

Annika holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration and economics from the University of Stockholm.

She was formerly President and CEO of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), one of the major financial groups in Scandinavia, where she spent her career from 1987 to 2017. She held several positions of responsibility, including Head of Global Trading & Capital Markets, Head of Merchant Banking, and Deputy Group Chief Executive, before being appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 2005.

Annika manages the Group’s Finance & Corporate Tax, Risk Management, Logistics, Marketing, and Communication Units. She is responsible for the One Roof Project, which will see Lombard Odier move to its new headquarters in Geneva in 2023, as well as the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.

Annika was a member of the Board of Directors and then Chairman of the Swedish Bankers’ Association from 2010 to 2017. She has also been a member of the Boards of Directors of several large international companies.

She is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) and a member of the Foundation Board of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

Harsh Goenka has served as Chairman of RPG Enterprises, which was founded by his father in 1979, since 1988.

Harsh graduated in economics from St. Xavier’s College (India) and holds an MBA from IMD. He began his career as Managing Director of CEAT Ltd before taking up his current position.

Harsh is also a Special Invitee of the Indian Merchants Chamber, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and a board member of India’s National Gallery of Modern Art. He serves on the Governing Board of India’s National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) and as a trustee of the Breach Candy Hospital Trust, and promotes the CEAT cricket ratings for international and domestic cricket.

Harsh holds an MBA from IMD.

Ralph Hamers has been Group Chief Executive Officer of UBS Group AG and President of the Executive Board of UBS AG since 1 November 2020. He became a member of the Group Executive Board of UBS Group AG in September 2020.

Before joining UBS, Ralph served as CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of ING Group from 2013 to June 2020. Within his 29-year career at ING, he held a number of leadership positions, such as CEO of ING Belgium and Luxembourg from 2011 to 2013, Head of Network Management for Retail Banking Direct & International from 2010 to 2011, and Global Head of the Commercial Banking Network from 2007 to 2010. Prior to that, Ralph was CEO of ING Bank Netherlands from 2005 to 2007, General Manager of ING Bank’s branch network from 2002 to 2005, and General Manager of ING Romania from 1999 to 2002.

Ralph holds a Master’s degree in business econometrics and operations research from Tilburg University, the Netherlands.

Other activities and functions

• Member of the Board of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce
• Member of the Institut International d’Etudes Bancaires
• Member of the McKinsey Advisory Council
• Member of the World Economic Forum International Business Council
• Governor of the World Economic Forum (Financial Services)

Michael Hengartner, a Swiss-Canadian citizen, was born in St. Gallen, Switzerland in 1966 and grew up in Québec City, Canada. He studied biochemistry at the Université Laval in Québec City. After earning his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Nobel laureate H. Robert Horvitz, he was head of a research group at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the US from 1994 to 2001.

In 2001, Michael was appointed Professor for Molecular Biology at the newly created Ernst Hadorn Chair at the Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zürich. From 2009 to 2014, he acted as Dean of the Faculty of Science and from 2014 to 2020 as Rector of the University of Zürich. From 2016 to 2020, he also served as president of swissuniversities.

Michael holds an Executive MBA from IMD Lausanne and is the recipient of several awards for his groundbreaking research on the molecular basis of apoptosis, among them the Swiss National Latsis Prize. In 2010 he was awarded the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching at UZH and in 2016 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne University in recognition of his research in molecular biology and his services to society.

After training as a civil engineer at the University of Liège in Belgium and the University of Bristol in the UK, Frédéric Herman moved to Canberra to do a PhD at the Australian National University. During his PhD, he started working on the interactions between climate, erosion, and tectonics.

After a postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology, where he worked mainly on tectonic and erosional processes in central Nepal, Frédéric joined the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 2007. As a lecturer, he had the opportunity to work with several Masters, Ph.D., and postdoctoral students over a period of five years and to develop a research program on the interactions between climate and earth surface processes.

At the end of 2012, Frédéric moved to the University of Lausanne to set up a research group at the Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, first as a professor funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and then as an associate professor. He was promoted to full professor in 2019 and held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment from 2018 to 2021, year when he became Rector of the University of Lausanne.

Karen Huebscher is Chairwoman of the Audit Committee, Tecan Group Ltd, Non-Executive Director of BBI Solutions (a Novo Holdings company, responsible for managing the operating and financial assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation) and former CEO of Solvias Group. She is also Founder and Managing Director of FibulaMedical AG. She is an accomplished Board‐level executive with a strong record in the life sciences industries.

A Swiss/British citizen, Karen served as CEO of Solvias from 2014 to the end of 2021. Solvias is a service provider to pharmaceutical, biotech, generics, medtech and cosmetics businesses. As CEO she managed the turnaround and transformation of the privately held company, enabling an exit for its shareholders through a sale to Private Equity in 2020. Karen remains a significant shareholder in the company.

Karen spent 15-plus years at Novartis where she held global top 400 positions in the Group such as Global Head of Investor Relations, member of the Divisional Executive Committee and of the Innovation Board for Vaccines and Diagnostics.

In addition to her executive track record, Karen is a committed champion of Swiss excellence in life sciences and technology/engineering.

As IMD EMBA alumni, Karen also holds a Master’s degree in animal sciences and a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences, both from the ETH Zürich.

Dr Ilham Kadri is CEO and President of the Executive Committee of Solvay, a materials, chemicals and solutions company, which through its science, innovations, and purpose contributes to protecting the climate, preserving resources, and fostering a better life.

Under her mandate to unleash Solvay’s potential and her purpose‐driven leadership, the group launched its strategy G.R.O.W. to drive growth, cash, and returns through distinct business mandates, a unifying operating model, and a forceful customer culture; its holistic and bold Solvay One Planet sustainability objectives to drive superior long‐term value creation; as well as Solvay’s Purpose and Compass: We bond People, Ideas and Elements to Reinvent Progress with the vision to create sustainable shared value for all.

Ilham is a world citizen who has worked across four continents with leading chemical and packaging multinationals like Dow and Sealed Air, and in markets ranging from automotive and aerospace to water desalination, hygiene and healthcare. Before Solvay, she was CEO and President of US‐based hygiene and cleaning solutions provider Diversey, having led its purposeful turnaround and growth, subsequent spin-off and divestiture.

Ilham is an independent board member at A.O. Smith and L’Oréal. She is an Executive Committee member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, steering committee member of the European Round Table of Industrialists, and a permanent member of the International Business Council, part of the World Economic Forum.

The common themes in Ilham personal and professional life are education, inclusion, and diversity as well as sustainability, topics she strongly advocates to help create more equal opportunities, prosperity, and a healthier planet for future generations. She is committed to promoting women in STEM. She is the founder of the ISSA Hygieia™ Network, a US‐based foundation championing women in the hygiene industry. In 2020, soon after the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic, she created the Solvay Solidarity Fund, building followership with employees and shareholders to support Solvay colleagues and their families in need. In a matter of weeks, the Fund collected €12m and the initiative inspired other companies to follow suit.

In 2019, she entered Fortune’s list of Most Powerful Women in International Business, ranking 21st out of 50.

Ilham holds a degree in chemical engineering from L’École des Hauts Polymères in Strasbourg and a PhD in macromolecular physico‐chemistry from Strasbourg’s Louis Pasteur University.

Jouko Karvinen is Chairperson of the Supervisory Board for Finnair PLC, and a member of the international advisory board of Komatsu Corporation. He is also a member of the Audit Committee (AFRC).

Prior to becoming Chairperson, Jouko was Vice Chairperson of Finnair from 2016 to 2017. Previously, he was a member of the Supervisory Board of Valmet from 2016 to 2018, serving on the compensation committee. Prior to that, he was at Nokia, where he served as Vice Chairperson of the Supervisory Board from 2013 to 2016, Chairperson of the Audit Committee from 2012 to 2016, Chairperson of the Nomination and Governance Committee from 2013 to 2014, and a board member from 2011 to 2016.

In addition, Jouko was a member of the Supervisory Board of SKF from 2010 to 2016. He was CEO of Stora Enso Oyj from 2007 to 2014, and CEO of Philips Medical Systems Division from 2002 to 2006. He was a member of the Board of Management of Royal Philips Electronics in 2006 and Group Management Committee from 2002 to 2006. Earlier in his career, Jouko held executive and managerial positions at ABB Group Limited, including Executive Vice President, Head of Automation Technology Products Division, and member of the Group Executive Committee.

Jouko holds a Master’s of Science from Tampere University of Technology.

Norwegian Liselott Kilaas has over 20 years of international top management experience, resulting in a proven track record in strategic and operational performance development across a broad spectrum of businesses. During the last 10 years she worked in the healthcare sector and was the CEO of Aleris 2013–2017.

Liselott has extensive Non‐Executive Board and Committee experience from 2004, ranging from central banking, investment funds, telecom, technology, branded consumer goods, healthcare, medical technology, aluminum, media to shipping. Her first two board assignments were with the Central Bank of Norway (also responsible for the Norwegian Sovereign Fund), a position she held for 12 years, and Telenor, a position she held for 10 years.

Liselott is currently working with companies that are listed, private equity owned, and governmental owned. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Norsk Hydro ASA, Orkla ASA, Ambea AB, Peab AB, Nobina AB, Norwegian Sovereign Fund, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Coala Life, Implantica AG, Avonova AB.

Education

1983 M.Sc. Mathematical Statistics, University of Oslo, Norway

1987 Master’s of Business Administration, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland

Jørgen Vig Knudstorp was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the LEGO Group from 2004 to 2017. In 2017 he was appointed Executive Chairman of LEGO Brand Group.

Jørgen has a Ph.D. in business economics and is a board member of LEGO A/S, Merlin Entertainments Group, IMD School of Management, and Starbucks.

Prior to joining the LEGO Group in 2001 Jørgen spent three years with McKinsey & Company as a consultant.

Jill Lee is the Group Chief Financial Officer of Sulzer, a Swiss‐listed global fluid engineering company. Prior to her taking the Group CFO role in April 2018, Jill served as a member of the Non‐Executive Board of Directors of Sulzer for seven years and had been the Chairwoman of the Audit Committee. Since 2020, she is a Non‐Executive Director on the Board of Schneider Electric. From 2017 to 2020, she was a member of the Supervisory Board of Signify (formerly known as Philips Lighting) and Chairwoman of the Audit Committee.

Beginning her executive career in Singapore in 1986, Jill went on to build an international career whereby she spent several years heading CFO functions in China, followed by global strategic positions in Germany and Switzerland.

From 2015 to 2018, Jill was the Group Senior Vice President and Head of Next Level Program Management of ABB where she led several transformation initiatives. During 2012 to 2014, she was Senior Vice President and CFO for ABB China and North Asia Region. Prior to this, she served as Senior Vice President, Finance Strategy and Investments for Neptune Orient Lines in Singapore (2010–2011). She has also held a number of positions with Siemens, including Group Chief Diversity Officer (2008–2010), CFO and Senior Executive Vice President of Siemens in China (2004–2008), CFO and Senior Vice President of Siemens in Singapore (2000–2004) and General Manager for Siemens Electromechanical Components business unit in Singapore (1997–2000). In the early years of her career, she held finance roles in AT&T and Tyco Electronics in Singapore.

Jill holds a Bachelor of business administration from the National University of Singapore and an MBA from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She is a member of the advisory board of Nanyang Business School in Singapore.

Michel Liès has 40 years’ experience in global insurance and reinsurance, life insurance, and property and casualty insurance. He has held a number of positions in the industry, including Group CEO of Swiss Re. He began his career at the reinsurer in 1978, working first in the life market in Latin America before moving to Europe in 1983, where he held a number of senior positions within Swiss Re’s life businesses.

In 1994 he moved into Swiss Re’s non-life sector, with responsibility for southern Europe and Latin America. From 1998 he served as Swiss Re’s Head of Latin America Division until 2000, when he was appointed Head of the Europe Division of its Property & Casualty Business Group. In 2005 he became Swiss Re’s Head Client Markets with responsibility for client relationships worldwide, and was also appointed as a member of the reinsurer’s Group Executive Committee.

From 2011 to 2012 Michel served as Swiss Re’s Chairman of Global Partnerships, which works with governments, international development bodies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to mitigate and address global risks and increase resilience. He was appointed Swiss Re’s Group CEO in February 2012 and served in that role until his retirement from Swiss Re in 2016. He became Chairman of the Board of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd in April 2018.

Committee membership

Governance, Nominations and Sustainability Committee (Chairman), Remuneration Committee

Other directorships within the Group

Zurich Insurance Company Ltd

External appointments

Michel is Chairman of Avenir Suisse, a member of the Board of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), and a Trustees Board member of the Swiss Institute of International Studies. He is also a member of the European Financial Services Round Table and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lucerne Festival and a member of the steering committee of the Insurance Development Forum.

Educational background

Michel holds a Master’s degree in mathematics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH).

After a degree in economics from the University of Geneva, Thierry Lombard, representing the sixth generation, joined Lombard Odier in 1972 where he had a career of 42 years. He became managing partner in 1982, held the position of Senior Partner from 1995 to 2008, and retired in 2014.

During his career, Thierry was involved in institutional and private banking activities, human resources, and pension funds. More specifically he was interested in the thematic of investment strategy.

Thierry was the instigator and co-author of several books addressing the issues of succession, wealth, philanthropy, and investment. He also has been close to domains linked with innovation, entrepreneurship, including a long-term relationship with the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale of Lausanne.

As a strong supporter of family business, Thierry chairs the board of a worldwide association, the Family Business Network International, which gathers more than 8,000 family business members, including the young generation.

He is an honorary member of the Assembly of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and was very active in various medical and humanitarian foundations.

He was a founding member of the Fondation Lombard Odier and Fondation Philanthropia. Thierry and his wife co-chair the Foundation du Domaine de Villette.

Christoph Loos assumed CEO responsibilities in January 2014. He has been a member of the Executive Board since 2007. During the first four years of this tenure he was responsible for Finance, Human Resources, IT and Group Strategy. From 2011 to 2013 he was in charge of the Emerging Markets and the global Energy & Industry units.

After finishing his business administration studies at the University of St. Gallen and earning his doctorate he worked for an international management consultancy in Germany and China. Upon joining Hilti in 2001 he first led the Corporate Development team and then established the Strategic Marketing unit. At the end of 2003 he moved to Germany, first as a Regional Sales Director and then, starting in 2005, as General Manager of Hilti Germany.

Christoph is a member of the Board of Trustees of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies.

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus has been Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of Louis Dreyfus Holding B.V. since March 2011 and has served on this board since September 2007. She has also been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Louis Dreyfus Commodities Holdings B.V. since April 2011 and was appointed Deputy Chairperson of this company in 2013. She is also founder and President of the Paris-based Louis Dreyfus Foundation, founder of the MOVEO Foundation and a member of the Weidenfeld Scholarships Advisory Board at Oxford University.

Margarita was married to Robert Louis-Dreyfus from 1992 to 2009, when he passed away. She is the mother of three children. She has held a number of positions in accountancy, sales and marketing and graduated with a diploma in accounting from St Petersburg School of Commerce in 1981.

Margarita comes from St. Petersburg, Russia, where she spent her childhood and went to school. She currently lives in Switzerland.

Jean-François Manzoni is the President of IMD, where he also serves as the Nestlé Professor and as a member of the Audit Committee (AFRC).

His research, teaching, and consulting activities are focused on leadership, the development of high-performance organizations, and corporate governance.

At an organizational level, Manzoni studies the content of change (including the use of levers such as strategy, structure, and systems), the management of the change process, and the role of leaders therein. His work in this area has appeared in several books, articles and over 30 cases, four of which received Case of the Year Awards from the European Foundation for Management Development and the European Case Clearing House. He also acted as content expert in the development of a groundbreaking computer-based change management simulation, The Change Pro Simulation®.

On an individual level, he studies how leaders can create a high-performance work environment and what they can do to modify their leadership style in that direction. This stream of research has led to a number of articles and a book titled The Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail (with Jean-Louis Barsoux). This book, which built on Manzoni’s and Barsoux’s initial Harvard Business Review article introducing the term ‘set-up-to-fail syndrome’, received two Book of the Year awards and is being discussed in undergraduate, MBA, and executive development programs worldwide.

For corporate governance, Manzoni focuses on interpersonal dynamics within the boardroom, and between management and boards. His research examining the impact of interpersonal dynamics on increasingly diverse boards received the Research Award on Leadership & Corporate Governance from the Association of Executive Search Consultants. A Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors, Professor Manzoni is currently serving on the Board of Keppel Corp., an international diversified group listed on the Singapore stock exchange, and has previously served on the boards of Singapore’s Civil Service College and of AACSB International, the world’s largest business education alliance.

A citizen of Canada and France, Manzoni received his Doctorate from Harvard Business School. He had earlier graduated from École des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montréal, and worked with EY in Montreal before receiving an MBA from McGill University.

Prior to rejoining IMD in 2016, he had served on the IMD faculty between 2004 and 2010. He also previously served on the faculty of INSEAD in Singapore and Fontainebleau. While at INSEAD, he founded and directed the PwC Research Initiative on High Performance Organizations for four years. He later directed the Global Leadership Centre supporting the school’s leadership-related coaching, teaching, and research activities throughout the world.

The recipient of several awards for excellence in teaching, Manzoni is a frequent keynote speaker. He has also carried out consulting, top management team support, and leadership development work for several international organizations, which has led him to work in more than 30 countries over the years.

He currently serves or has served on several international advisory panels including Digital Switzerland, Singapore’s Public Service Division and the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).

Geraldine Matchett (1972, British; French; Swiss) is Co‐Chief Executive Officer & Chief Financial Officer and member of the Managing Board of Royal DSM. She was appointed as Co‐CEO on 15 February 2020. Geraldine joined DSM’s Managing Board in August 2014 and became Chief Financial Officer on 1 December 2014.

Before joining DSM, Geraldine worked with the SGS Group from 2004 where she held various positions including Corporate Finance Manager and Senior Vice President Group Financial Controller, before being appointed Global Chief Financial Officer in March 2010. In this role, she was voted CFO of the year in Switzerland for large companies in 2014.

Before joining SGS she worked for Deloitte in Switzerland and for KPMG in the UK, obtaining her Chartered Accountant qualification while working in London. Geraldine holds a Bachelor’s degree in physical and human geography from Reading University (UK) and a Master’s degree in sustainable development from Cambridge University.

Other current positions

• Non‐Executive Director of ABB, and member of the Finance, Audit, and Compliance Committee
• Co‐Chair of HRH the Prince of Wales’ A4S (Accounting for Sustainability) CFO Leadership Network Europe
• Executive Committee member of WBCSD
• Board member of FCLTGlobal
• Board member of Catalyst Europe

Stefan Michel’s major research interests are in customer-focused marketing strategy, service innovation, and pricing.

At IMD, he is the Dean of our Executive MBA program and the faculty representative on the IMD Foundation board. He teaches in the Executive MBA, Strategic Marketing Program, the Foundation for Business Leadership Program, the MBA program, the Orchestrating Winning Performance program, as well as in many partnership programs for world-leading companies.

Stefan is the author of two online courses at IMD, Pricing Excellence in Tough B2B markets and Marketing Management: A Value-Based Approach.

He has written eight books, eight book chapters, and more than 42 newspaper articles on these subjects, as well as many academic articles that have appeared in journals including Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He won the Emerald Literati Award of the Journal of Service Management for the best paper of the year in 2009, and again in 2010, and his work was recognized with additional international research awards.

Prior to joining IMD, Stefan was Tenured Professor of Global Marketing at Thunderbird School of Global Management (US), where he taught in the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as in customized corporate learning programs for European, Korean, and Chinese companies. He introduced various successful teaching innovations and received several awards for excellence in teaching. He is an invited Global Faculty at the Center for Service Leadership, Arizona State University (US). He works internationally with clients such as GE (New York), NCC (Scandinavia), Visa Europe, Credit Suisse, Maersk, and UBS, and he ran his family’s hotel business as Chairman of the Board. He is a Non-Executive Board member at Bossard (SIX:BOS), where he is the Chairman of the compensation committee and the President of the Foundation Board of GfM Gesellschaft für Marketing (Swiss Marketing Association).

Stefan holds an MBA and a DBA from the University of Zürich, both summa cum laude. He received the 1997 Best Dissertation Award, granted by the Swiss Society for Market and Social Research.

Selected publications

Stefan Michel (2014), “Capture more value: Innovation isn’t worth much if you don’t get paid for it,” Harvard Business Review. Vol. 92(10), October (2014), pp. 78–85.

Stefan Michel, Stephen W. Brown, Andrew S. Gallan (2008), “An Expanded and Strategic View of Discontinuous Innovations: Deploying a Service-Dominant Logic”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Vol 36(1), pp. 54–66.

Stefan Michel, Stephen L. Vargo and Robert F. Lusch (2008), “Reconfiguration of the Conceptual Landscape: A Tribute to the Service Logic of Richard Normann”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Vol 36(1), pp. 152–55.

Stefan Michel's Google Scholar Profile

Christian Mumenthaler has been Group Chief Executive Officer at Swiss Re since 1 July 2016. Prior to taking on the Group CEO role, he successfully led the Reinsurance Business Unit, maintaining underwriting outperformance in Property & Casualty while improving profitability in Life & Health. From January to October 2011, he served as Chief Marketing Officer for Reinsurance. He was Head of Life & Health between 2007 and 2010 and served as Group Chief Risk Officer between 2005 and 2007.

In 2002, Christian established a new unit, Group Retro and Syndication, with the aim of optimizing the Group’s risk and capital base through retrocession and securitization. Between 1999 and 2002 he was responsible for a number of key company projects at Swiss Re. He started his professional career in 1997 as an associate with the Boston Consulting Group.

Christian is Chairman of Insurance Europe’s Reinsurance Advisory board, Co-Chair of the WEF Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, Vice Chairman of the Geneva Association and Board member of economiesuisse and of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Pan-European Insurance Forum, the Global Reinsurance Forum, the Steering Board Insurance Development Forum, and is on the Board of Trustees of Avenir Suisse and the St Gallen Foundation for International Studies.

Christian was born in 1969 and is a Swiss citizen. He holds a Ph.D. from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.

Bernhard Nuesser, a German national, is a global executive at Essilor Luxottica. Based in Singapore, he serves both as President of AMERA (Asia, Middle East, and Africa) and as President Digital. Bernhard joined Essilor in 2013 and was promoted to President of Essilor Europe and President of Global Instruments in 2014. In 2016, Bernhard was mandated with the acceleration of the group’s digital agenda comprising both global e‐commerce activities and the development and implementation of the group’s digital transformation roadmap.

Bernhard started his career in commercial and investment banking, working in several European countries for UBS. After his MBA from IMD in 1998, he joined the Executive Committee of GrandVision, a global leader in optical retailing, where he held various CEO positions, including CEO of Vision Express in the UK from 2003 to 2008. Subsequently, Bernhard became CEO and Investor at Mondottica Ltd, a global, fast‐growing Hong Kong based eyewear company.

Bernhard serves on the boards of several high‐profile joint‐ventures of the Essilor‐Luxottica group, such as Nikon‐Essilor in Japan and MJS, China’s fastest growing optical franchise. From 2015 to 2018 he served as President of EUROM1, the European Federation of the Optical Industry.

Bernhard holds an MBA from IMD.

O’Brien has enjoyed a global career with roles in China, Sydney, Paris, London, and Zurich. He retired from global management consulting and executive search firm Egon Zehnder in 2018 after 30 years, including six years as Chief Executive Officer and the last eight years as Chairperson.

Prior to this, he held various management positions in Red Rock Leisure, a family-owned group of companies in Australia, and worked as an associate with McKinsey. His current boards include Ardagh Metal Packaging SA in the US, Ardagh Group SA, and the Advisory Board of Conduit Funds Management in Sydney.

O’Brien holds an MBA from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales. He also has a diploma in theology and philosophy from Saint Columban’s College in Sydney, which included two years’ study and community work in Mindanao, the Philippines.

He has been a member of the supervisory board at IMD since 2008.

Adolfo Orive is president and CEO of the Tetra Pak Group, the world’s leading food processing and packaging solutions company. Tetra Pak is a privately owned company based in more than 85 countries with global revenues of €11.2bn in 2018.

Adolfo brings 26 years of international experience at Tetra Pak to his current leadership role. Most recently he served as Cluster Vice President of North, Central & South America. Prior to this, he served as Cluster Vice President of Europe & Central Asia, and earlier on, as Managing Director of Tetra Pak Iberia and Managing Director of Tetra Pak Colombia. Adolfo joined Tetra Pak in 1993 as a Commercial Director in Mexico.

Originally from Mexico, Adolfo holds a Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Iberoamericana and a Master’s degree in business administration from the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico.

Sami Rahal was a Key Account Audit Associate and co-founded and developed the M&A Transaction Services line of another Big 4 firm before joining Deloitte in 2006, where he advised industrial and service groups and investment funds on their M&A issues.

He was the Managing Partner of the Financial Advisory business (2010–2017), EMEA M&A TS Leader, HR Director and Chief Strategy Officer before taking up his duties as President of Deloitte France and French-speaking Africa on 1 June 2017.

Sami Rahal became CEO of Deloitte Central Europe GmbH in June 2021, a combination of Austria, Central Europe, France & Francophone Africa, Germany, Portugal, Luxemburg, and Turkey Member Firms. He connects the breadth and depth of capabilities of over 34,100 people and 1,400 partners in 42 countries.

Philipp Rickenbacher is CEO of Julius Bär, a group that he joined in 2004 from McKinsey & Company. Julius Bär is a leading Swiss wealth management group with a presence in over 60 locations worldwide. Before his appointment as CEO, Philipp was Head of Intermediaries & Global Custody of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd, and prior to that, Head of Advisory Solutions for two years, responsible for the development of the bank’s innovative advisory approach and of holistic wealth management solutions.

Philipp holds a Master of Science in biotechnology from ETH Zürich. The long-term trends in technology and society – such as digital disruption, artificial intelligence, humanity’s need for healthcare, the rise of emerging markets and the quest for a more sustainable economy – remain his greatest interests.

Urs Schaeppiis was CEO of Swisscom, one of the top telecommunications companies in Switzerland, from 2013 to mid-2022. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Fastweb, the number two telecommunications firm in Italy. Previously he headed Corporate Business and Swisscom Switzerland since October 2013.

Prior to his current post, Urs headed a number of the firm’s business divisions and has held executive board roles there since the 1990s. Before joining Swisscom, he held various management positions at Iveco, Ascom AG, and the Biberist paper mill.

Urs qualified as a certified engineer (dipl. Ing.) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH) and also holds a degree in business administration and marketing (lic. oec.) from the University of St. Gallen.

A Swiss national born in 1945, Thomas Schmidheiny was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of LafargeHolcim Ltd in 1978 and served until 2018. In recognition of his many years of service to LafargeHolcim, the Board of Directors decided to name Thomas Honorary Chairman of the Group.

He studied mechanical engineering at the ETH Zürich and complemented his studies with an MBA from IMD Lausanne in 1972. In 1999, he was awarded an honorary doctorate for his services in the field of sustainable development from Tufts University, Massachusetts.

He began his career in 1970 as technical director with Cementos Apasco and in 1976 was appointed to the Executive Committee of Holcim Ltd, where he held the office of Chairman from 1978 until 2001. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Holcim Ltd from 1984 until 2003 and a Member of the Nomination & Compensation Committee of Holcim Ltd until 2015. His other mandates include Chairman of the Board of Directors of Spectrum Value Management Ltd and of Schweizerische Cement-Industrie-Aktiengesellschaft, both in Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.

Thomas holds an MBA from IMD.

Mark Schneider has served as CEO of Nestlé since January 2017. He joined the company in September 2016.

Before joining Nestlé, Mark was CEO of the Fresenius Group, a position he held from 2003 to 2016. He joined Fresenius in 2001 as CFO of Fresenius Medical Care. Between 1989 and 2001, he held several senior executive positions with the Haniel Group, a privately held, diversified German multinational company.

Mark has a graduate degree in Finance and Accounting and a doctoral degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He also holds an MBA from Harvard University.

Mark was born and raised in Germany, and became a US citizen in 2003.

He co-chairs the Board of Directors of Cereal Partners Worldwide. He is a member of the Board of the Consumer Goods Forum and is on the Advisory Board of the Swiss Innovation Park.

Dr Severin Schwan has served as CEO of the Roche Group since March 2008.

After obtaining a degree in economics from the University of Innsbruck (Austria), University of York (UK) and University of Oxford (UK), a degree in law from the University of Innsbruck, and a PhD in law from the University of Innsbruck, Severin joined Roche Basel in 1993 as a finance officer.

Since then he has held various management positions: Head of Finance & Administration at Roche Brussels (1995–1998), Head of Finance & Informatics at Roche Grenzach, Germany and Member of the Executive Board of Roche Deutschland Holding GmbH (1998–2000), Head of Global Finance & Services, Roche Diagnostics, Basel (2000–2004) and Head of Region Asia Pacific, Roche Diagnostics Singapore (2004–2006). Prior to his current position, Severin was CEO of Roche Diagnostics (2006–2008).

Dr Ulrike Schwarz-Runer is a Managing Director and Senior Partner of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and holds the role of Global General Counsel. She is based in London. As a member of the BCG Executive Committee as well as of all other core committees and company boards, Ulrike is involved in the firm’s critical business priorities including assessing new markets and arenas the firm enters.

Prior to joining BCG, Ulrike was General Counsel and a Board Director of Grosvenor, one of the largest family-owned businesses in the UK. Ulrike also served as General Counsel of a sovereign wealth fund in the Middle East and as Executive Director at Goldman Sachs advising ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family-owned businesses. Earlier in her career, Ulrike was a corporate lawyer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Vienna and at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York. Ulrike has held non-executive director roles in the financial services industry.

Ulrike holds a Doctor of Law and a Master of Arts in political science and public communications from the University of Salzburg, Austria, and a Master of Law in international taxation from New York University School of Law. She is qualified to practice law in England and Wales, New York, and Austria.

Feike Sijbesma served as CEO and Chairman of the Managing Board of Directors at DSM from 2007 till 2020.

Feike studied medical biology at the University of Utrecht (the Netherlands) and business administration at Erasmus University (the Netherlands). In 1987, he joined Gist-brocades, where he was responsible for strategic planning and business development in the Industrial Pharmaceuticals Division. He then held various management positions within the company: Marketing and Sales Director, Industrial Pharmaceuticals Division (1990–1993), Director Savoury Ingredients, Food Specialties Division (1993–1995) and Director Food Specialties Division (1995–1998). Following the acquisition of Gist-brocades by DSM in 1998, he became Director of the DSM Food Specialties business group, and joined DSM’s Managing Board of Directors in 2000.

In early 2020, Feike transitioned to the role of Honorary Chairman of Royal DSM. He sits on the boards of Philips, Unilever, and the Dutch Central Bank. He Co-Chairs the Global Centre for Adaptation, with former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Feike is member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum. Feike is an advocate for business tackling climate change in several roles. He also steers the expansion of Africa Improved Foods, addressing malnutrition by resilient local food production.

Woods Staton is the Executive Chairperson of Arcos Dorados (NYSE: ARCO), the world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee. Arcos Dorados operates or franchises more than 2,200 restaurants, with over 100,000 employees and greater than US$3bn in revenue, across 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. Often recognized as one of the best companies to work for in Latin America, every year Arcos Dorados generates first-time, formal employment opportunities for tens of thousands of young people in the region.

Born in Medellín, Colombia, Woods’ business life has focused on consumer goods in Latin America. His grandfather founded Panamco, which became the largest Coca/Cola bottler in the world with operations in seven Latin American countries. After many years in the family business, Woods branched out, starting his own entrepreneurial career as McDonald’s joint venture partner in Argentina. He later served as President of McDonald’s South Latin America Division. He founded Arcos Dorados in 2007, when he led a consortium of investors in the purchase of McDonald’s Corporation’s operations in Latin America. In April 2011, Arcos Dorados executed a successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

Woods is actively involved in several non-profit organizations. He is co-founder of Endeavor Argentina, promoting entrepreneurship, as well as a founding partner of Ashoka Argentina, a global organization committed to investing in innovative solutions through social entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Chairman’s International Advisory Council of the Council of the Americas and currently serves as the Chair for the Latin American Program’s Advisory Board at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a think tank in Washington D.C.

Woods holds an MBA from IMD.

Marie-France Tschudin is President of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the company’s largest business unit by sales. Novartis Pharmaceuticals launches and commercializes innovative treatments to address patients’ needs across a range of therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular diseases, ophthalmology, immunology, and dermatology.

Marie-France is inspired by providing better treatment options that could transform patients’ quality of life. With multiple launches of new medicines expected during the next several years, her aspiration is for Novartis Pharmaceuticals to transform the standard of care for twice as many patients, twice as fast.

“Patients can’t wait, and deserve better. We have an incredible opportunity to change the lives of millions of people. Our job is to focus intently on the needs of patients, physicians, and healthcare systems, and to bring them our treatments in a way that is as innovative as our science.”

Marie-France took on her current role in 2019, having joined Novartis Pharmaceuticals two years earlier as Europe Region Head. She speaks six languages and draws on more than 25 years of multinational experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

Throughout her career, she has established a strong record of driving commercial excellence, maintaining integrity, and championing a commitment to patients.

Her goal as a leader is to create a diverse and inclusive environment where people are empowered to be their best selves and collaborate to have real impact for patients. She believes that having a strong work-life balance is one of the keys to succeeding both personally and professionally.

“I can do my job effectively only by finding the right balance to engage fully at work and at home. What truly matters to me are the teams around me, and creating strong support networks for each other.”

Outside of Novartis, Marie-France is a member of the Board of Directors of the multinational insurance company AXA. In her spare time, she enjoys skiing and gardening, and spending time with her husband and two sons.

Marie-France holds an MBA from IMD.

Robert Uggla has long had a keen interest in shipping and seamanship. During his military service he eventually became a Sergeant of the Swedish Amphibious Battalion, working as an instructor in maneuvering and navigating the Navy’s high speed combat vessels, which were based in the Swedish archipelagos.

After a brief stint in the finance industry, Robert joined the A.P. Møller – Maersk Group in 2004. During 2004–2006, Robert was highly involved in the Group’s M&A activities, acquiring as well as selling companies.

Thereafter he took on the role of Managing Director of Maersk Line’s activities in the Arabian Gulf for three years, where he was responsible for approximately 200 employees and US$1bn in revenue.

At the end of 2009, with the tanker markets in a shambles, Robert became the Managing Director of Brostrom. The company operated approximately 75 intermediate and small product tankers in Europe as well as Asia. During this period, Robert and his colleagues in Maersk Tankers worked diligently to create a truly integrated company with significant synergies, improved customer offering, and a better safety record. Brostrom is today an integral part of Maersk Tankers, with the same safety system, technical management, flag strategy, and commercial objectives.

In May 2012 Robert became the CEO of Svitzer with approximately 400 vessels in 100 locations and 4,000 employees.

In March 2014, Robert joined the Board of Directors at A.P. Møller – Maersk A/S. In September 2016, Robert was appointed CEO of A.P. Møller Holding A/S.

Robert holds a Master of Science degree in business administration from Stockholm School of Economics, with exchange studies at Università commerciale Luigi Bocconi, and has pursued executive education at Harvard Business School, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and IMD.

He is married to Paola and has five children.

Martin Vetterli received his electrical engineering degree from ETHZ in 1981, M.Sc. from Stanford University in 1982, and Doctorate from EPFL in 1986.

Martin was an Assistant/Associate Professor in electrical engineering at Columbia University, and then an Associate/Full Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the UC Berkeley. In 1995, he joined the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) as a Full Professor. He held several positions at EPFL, including Chair of Communication Systems and founding director of NCCR-MICS. From 2004 to 2011 he was VP of EPFL for international affairs, and from 2011 to 2012, he was the Dean of IC. Since January 2013 Martin is President of the NRC of the Swiss National Science Foundation. In January 2017, he became President of EPFL.

He works in the areas of electrical engineering, computer sciences, and applied mathematics. This has led to about 170 journal papers, as well as about 30 patents that led to technology transfer to hi-tech companies and the creation of several start-ups.

Martin is the co-author of three textbooks, Wavelets and Subband Coding (with J. Kovacevic, 1995), Signal Processing for Communications (P. Prandoni, 2008) and Foundations of Signal Processing (with J. Kovacevic and V. Goyal, 2014). The books are available in open access, and his research group follows the reproducible research philosophy.

His prizes include best paper awards from EURASIP in 1984 and of the IEEE Signal Processing Society in 1991, 1996, and 2006, the Swiss National Latsis Prize in 1996, the SPIE Presidential award in 1999, the IEEE SP Technical Achievement Award in 2001, and the IEEE SP Society Award in 2010. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and of ACM, ISI highly cited researcher, and a foreign member of the NAE.

Penelope Warne is the Senior Partner and the UK Chair of global law firm CMS and head of the firm’s global energy practice.

Penelope graduated in law from Bristol University (UK). Qualified as a solicitor for England and Wales, and Scotland, she joined CMS in 1993 and established the Aberdeen office. She has built a global oil & gas practice and established offices in Edinburgh, Rio, Dubai, and Mexico.

Penelope is an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) at Dundee University and member of the Vice Chancellors Circle of Oxford University.

Poul Weihrauch is CEO and Office of the President for Mars Inc.

Poul began his career with Stimorol, the chewing gum company, in Denmark before joining Nestlé where he held positions in Denmark, Belgium, and Switzerland. He joined Mars in 2000 in the UK and was General Manager of European sugar (2002–2005, based in the Czech Republic), European President Food (2005–2008, based in the Netherlands), European President of Wrigley chewing gum post-acquisition between 2008–2011, Global President Food, Drinks & Multi-Sales 2011–2014. Since 2011, he is member of the Mars leadership team.

Poul is also Vice Chairman of AIM (Association International des Marques) as well as a supervisory board member of Beiersdorf. He is married with three children and resides in Brussels.