Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Straumann Holding AG comprises eight non-executive members. Except for Marco Gadola, no other Director has been a member of the company’s Executive Management during the past three years.  

Straumann Board of Directors - memberships in other boards

Gilbert Achermann

Commercial enterprise Charity/other Location Function
IMD – International Institute for Management Development   CH Supervisory Board member
Julius Bär Gruppe AG/Bank Julius Bär & Co. AG1   CH Board member
Vifor Pharma AG1   CH Board member
Ypsomed AG1   CH Board member
  Basel Chamber of Commerce CH Committee member
  International Team for Implantology (ITI) CH Board member & Straumann representative

1 Publicly listed companies.

Thomas Straumann

Commercial enterprise Charity/other Location Function
Centervision AG   CH Chairman
CSI-BHE AG   CH Chairman
Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois   CH Board member
Medartis Holding AG & Medartis group companies   CH Chairman
  FDR Foundation for Dental Research and Education CH Board member

Monique Bourquin

Commercial enterprise Charity/other Location Function
Emmi AG1   CH Board member
Kambly Holding AG/Kambly SA Spécialités de biscuits suisses   CH Board member
Swisscontact   CH Board member
Veleda AG   CH Board member
  Promarca Schweizerischer Markenartikelverband (Swiss branded goods association) CH President of the Board
  GfM Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Marketing (Swiss marketing association) CH Board member

1 Publicly listed companies.

Sebastian Burckhardt

Commercial enterprise Charity/other Location Function
Amsler Tex AG   CH Board member
Applied Chemicals International AG & ACI Group companies   CH Board member
Dolder AG   CH Board member
Grether AG, Gretherpart AG & Grether 3 AG   CH Board member
Immobiliengesellschaft zum Rheinfels AG   CH Chairman
Jungbunzlauer Holding AG   CH Board member
Le Grand Bellevue SA   CH Board member
persona service AG & persona service GmbH Schweiz   CH Board member
  Fondation Bénina CH Board member

Marco Gadola

Commercial enterprise Charity/other Location Function
DKSK1   CH Board member (nominated as chairman to be elected at the AGM on May 14, 2020)
Calida Group1   CH Vice chairman
Medartis1   CH Board member

1 Publicly listed companies.

Beat Lüthi

Commercial enterprise Charity/other Location Function
APACO AG   CH Board member
CTC Analytics AG   CH CEO & Board member
INFICON Holding AG1   CH Chairman
Orell Füssli Holding AG   CH Board member

1 Publicly listed companies.

Regula Wallimann

Commercial enterprise Charity/other Location Function
Adecco Group AG   CH Board member
Helvetia Holding AG   CH Board member
Swissgrid AG   CH Board member
  University of St. Gallen, Institute of Accounting, Control and Auditing (ACA-HSG) CH Supervisory Board member

Board of Director - competence matrix

  Executive experience Finance, audit, risk management Compliance, regulatory, legal Capital Markets, M&A Core industry experience (dental) Transferable expertise in related industries Functional experience International business experience Digitalization, technology Strategy, business transformation HR, compensation Board governance Sustainability
Gilbert Achermann ● ●   ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●  
Thomas Straumann ●     ● ● ● ● ● ●   ● ● ●
Monique Bourquin ● ●       ● ● ●   ● ● ●  
Sebastian Burckhardt   ● ● ●     ●       ● ● ●
Juan-José Gonzalez ●   ● ●   ● ● ●          
Beat Lüthi ● ●   ●   ● ● ● ● ● ● ●  
Reula Wallimann ● ● ● ●     ●       ● ● ●
Marco Gadola ● ●   ● ● ● ● ● ● ●   ●  

Time (days) spent by Directors at Board/Committee meetings and on company related matters

2019 Meetings Board Audit & Risk
Committee		 Human Ressources & Compensation
Committee		 Technology & Innovation Committee Other TOTAL DAYS 2019
G. Achermann 9 5 5 2 89 108
T. Straumann 5 - 4 1 20 30
M. Bourquin 9 3 5 - 12 29
S. Burckhardt 9 5 - - 10 24
J.J. Gonzalez 5 - - 2 7 14
B. Lüthi 9 2 - 2 10 23
R. Wallimann 9 5 - - 15 29

Other activities and vested interests

Unless stated in their CVs or in the table above, none of the Directors:

  • Performed any activities in governing or supervisory bodies of significant foreign or domestic organizations, institutions or foundations under private or public law
  • Held any permanent management or consultancy position for significant domestic or foreign interest groups
  • Held any official function or political post.

Permitted mandates outside Straumann (pursuant to Art. 12 OAEC)

Art. 4.4 of Straumann’s Articles of Association states that no member of the Board of Directors may perform more than 15 additional mandates (i.e. mandates in the highest-level governing body of a legal entity required to be registered in the Commercial Register or in a corresponding foreign register) in commercial enterprises, of which no more than five may be in listed companies.

The following are exempt from these restrictions:

  • Mandates in enterprises that are controlled by the Group
  • Mandates in enterprises that are performed at the instruction of the Group
  • Mandates in associations, organizations and legal entities with a public or charitable purpose, and in foundations, trusts, and employee pension funds; no member of the Board of Directors may perform more than ten such mandates.

Mandates in several legal entities under common control or under the same economic authority are deemed as one mandate.

Working methods and allocation of tasks 

The Board of Directors meets for one-day meetings at least five times a year and as often as business requires. In 2019, the full Board held 6 meetings and 3 telephone conferences. The Audit & Risk Committee and the Human Resources & Compensation Committee met 5 times each and the Technology & Innovation Committee met twice (see table above). The CEO and CFO generally participate in Board meetings and are occasionally supported by other members of the Executive Management Board (EMB). Dr Andreas Meier, Chief Legal Officer of the Group, is responsible for the minutes. The Board of Directors consults external experts on specific topics where necessary.

The Board conducts an annual evaluation of the performance of the EMB. It also provides mentoring to the EMB, with the aim of providing executives with an experienced sparring partner, coach and sounding board for testing ideas and seeking qualified independent opinions.

The Board of Directors has a quorum if a majority of its members is present. This does not apply to resolutions that require public notarization, which do not require a quorum. Valid resolutions require a majority of the votes cast. In the event of a tie, the Chairman of the meeting has the decisive vote.

The Board is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the Group and its management, the supervision of the EMB and financial control. It reviews the company’s objectives and identifies opportunities and risks. In addition, it appoints /dismisses the CEO and members of the EMB. The tasks and duties of the Board, as well as those of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson are listed in sections 4.2 and 4.3 of the Organizational Regulations.

 

Committees of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors has an Audit & Risk Committee, Human Resources & Compensation Committee, and a Technology & Innovation Committee (newly formed in 2019), each consisting of no fewer than three Board members with relevant background and experience.

The members of the Human Resources & Compensation Committee are elected by the General Meeting for a term of one year. In the event of a vacancy in the Human Resources & Compensation Committee, the Board of Directors appoints the replacement from among its own members for the remaining term of office. The members and the chairpersons of both the Audit & Risk Committee and the Technology & Innovation Committee are appointed by the Board of Directors. The Human Resources & Compensation Committee constitutes itself.

The tasks of each of these committees are listed in their respective charters, which are attached to the Organizational Regulations. The Board of Directors may establish further committees or appoint individual members for specific tasks

 

Audit & Risk Committee

Members: Regula Wallimann (Chair), Monique Bourquin, Dr Sebastian Burckhardt

The Committee’s main tasks are listed in the Organizational Regulations.

Human Resources & Compensation Committee

Members: Dr Beat Lüthi (Chair), Monique Bourquin, Regula Wallimann

The Committee’s main tasks are listed in the Organizational Regulations.

Technology & Innovation Committee

Members: Marco Gadola (Chair), Dr Beat Lüthi, Juan-José Gonzalez, Dr h.c. Thomas Straumann

The Committee’s main tasks are listed in the Organizational Regulations.

Assignment of responsibilities to the Executive Management Board

The Board of Directors has delegated responsibility for the operational management and sustainable development of the Group to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the other members of the EMB. For their specific responsibilities, see the operational structure and section 5 of the Organizational Regulations. The Board may revoke delegated duties at any time.


The Board of Directors has not delegated any management tasks to companies or persons outside the Group.