Basel, 09 December 2019
Changes in the Board of Directors and the Corporate Executive Committee of Roche
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that at its December meeting the Board of Directors of Roche Holding Ltd has approved first proposals to the Annual General Meeting on 17 March 2020.
Change in the Board of Directors
As already announced in July 2018, Dr Andreas Oeri (70) will retire from the Board of Directors after 25 years in office with the Annual General Meeting in 2020. Dr Jörg Duschmalé (35), representing the fifth generation of the company’s founder’s descendants, will stand for election as his successor.
Roche Chairman Christoph Franz: “Andreas Oeri has made a major personal contribution to Roche’s success as a long-standing representative of the Oeri and Hoffmann families on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Corporate Governance and Sustainability Committee. We owe him our heartfelt thanks for his commitment. I am delighted that Jörg Duschmalé will stand for election as his successor at the upcoming Annual General Meeting 2020. This follows the recent announcement by the shareholder pool of the Hoffmann and Oeri families that seven further representatives of the fifth generation will join the pool to represent the company’s long-term interests.”
After 18 years of service on the Board, Professor Sir John Bell has also decided not to stand for re-election to the Board of Directors at the 2020 Annual General Meeting. The Board of Directors will propose Dr Patrick Frost (51), CEO of the Swiss Life Group, for election at the Annual General Meeting in 2020.
Roche Chairman Christoph Franz: “Sir John Bell, with his great scientific expertise, was indispensable for Roche’s further development over the past almost 20 years. On behalf of Roche’s Board of Directors, I would like to thank him most sincerely and wish him all the best for the future. I am very pleased that we have been able to propose Patrick Frost, a successful Swiss leader, for election to the Board of Directors.”
The following persons are recommended for election to the Board of Directors:
Change in the Corporate Executive Committee
Dr Gottlieb A. Keller (65), General Counsel, member of the Corporate Executive Committee, and Secretary to the Board of Directors, will retire at the end of March 2020. The Board of Directors has appointed Claudia Böckstiegel (55), currently Head of Legal of the Diagnostics Division, to the position of General Counsel, and she will become a member of the Enlarged Corporate Executive Committee as of 1 April 2020.
Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche: “I would like to thank Gottlieb Keller most sincerely for his many contributions during his 35-year career at Roche. Gottlieb Keller is an outstanding lawyer and at the same time a strong leader with a comprehensive understanding of our industry. I wish him all the best for the future. I am delighted that Claudia Böckstiegel, a very competent and experienced successor from our own ranks, will take on the role of General Counsel”.
Dr Annette Luther (49), currently General Manager of Roche Diagnostics International AG in Rotkreuz, will succeed Dr Gottlieb Keller as Secretary to the Board of Directors.
About Roche
Roche is a global pioneer in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics focused on advancing science to improve people’s lives. The combined strengths of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics under one roof have made Roche the leader in personalised healthcare – a strategy that aims to fit the right treatment to each patient in the best way possible.
Roche is the world’s largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology and diseases of the central nervous system. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, and a frontrunner in diabetes management.
Founded in 1896, Roche continues to search for better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and make a sustainable contribution to society. The company also aims to improve patient access to medical innovations by working with all relevant stakeholders. More than thirty medicines developed by Roche are included in the World Health Organization Model Lists of Essential Medicines, among them life-saving antibiotics, antimalarials and cancer medicines. Moreover, for the eleventh consecutive year, Roche has been recognised as one of the most sustainable companies in the Pharmaceuticals Industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).
The Roche Group, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is active in over 100 countries and in 2018 employed about 94,000 people worldwide. In 2018, Roche invested CHF 11 billion in R&D and posted sales of CHF 56.8 billion. Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information, please visit www.roche.com.