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Board of Directors

The Federal Council elects Swiss Post Ltd’s Board of Directors every two years. On the reference date (31 December 2017), it had nine members. The Board of Directors is responsible for implementing the strategic goals, for submitting reports to the Federal Council on their attainment and for providing the latter with the information it needs for verification purposes. The Board of Directors is also governed by the rights and duties set out in the provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations on the subject of corporate law.

Members do not have any business relationships with Swiss Post or its subsidiaries, nor have they been involved in an executive capacity in Swiss Post Group in the past four years. In accordance with the Postal Organization Act, employees have the right to appropriate representation on the Board of Directors. In 2017, this representation was once again provided by Susanne Blank and Michel Gobet.

After the Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen of the Board of Directors, members are listed in the order in which they took office.

Urs Schwaller

Chairman of the Board of Directors, member since 2016, Switzerland, 1952, Dr. jur.

Committees: Organization, Nomination & Remuneration; Audit, Risk & Compliance; Investment, Mergers & Acquisitions

Professional background: self-employed lawyer; Council of Europe (permanent member); Council of States for the Canton of Fribourg (President of CVP-EVP); Cantonal Government of Fribourg (State Councillor – Director of Internal Affairs and of Finance); Senior Civil Servant of the Sense District; Director of the Cantonal Police Department; member of various federal commissions and foundations

Key posts: Groupe Mutuel Assurances GMA SA (Member of the Board of Directors); JPF Holding S.A. (Member of the Board of Directors); Liebherr Machines Bulle S.A. (Member of the Board of Directors); ST-PAUL HOLDING SA (Member of the Board of Directors); UCB Farchim SA (Member of the Board of Directors)

Andreas Schläpfer

Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, member since 2009, Switzerland, 1947, lic. oec. Univ. of St. Gallen

Committees: Investment, Mergers & Acquisitions (Chair)

Professional background: Nestlé (General Manager in France, Russia, Thailand/Indochina, Zimbabwe, and Global Business Head/Senior Vice-President for Children’s Food); International Trade Centre UNCTAD/GATT (Marketing Consultant)

Key posts: AC BioScience SA (Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager)

Adriano P. Vassalli

Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, member since 2010, Switzerland, 1954, federal diploma in auditing

Committees: Audit, Risk & Compliance (Chair)

Professional background: Studio di consulenza e di revisione (founder and owner); Arthur Andersen (founder and head of the Lugano and Berne branches, worldwide partner); Revisuisse AG (auditor and management consultant in Berne and founder of the Lugano branch)

Key posts: PostFinance Ltd (Member of the Board of Directors, Audit & Compliance Committee [Chair]); Swiss Red Cross, Berne (member of the Red Cross Council and member of the Executive Committee of the Conference of Red Cross Cantonal Associations); Swiss Red Cross, Lugano (Chairman of the Ticino Cantonal Association and Chairman of the Sottoceneri Section)

Susanne Blank

Member of the Board of Directors, Human Resources representative, member since 2008, Switzerland, 1972, lic. rer. pol.

Committees: Organization, Nomination & Remuneration

Professional background: State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO (Chief Editor for “Die Volks­wirtschaft”); Travail.Suisse umbrella organization for employees (Head of Economic Policy and Member of the Executive Board); Federal Statistical Office (Sub-Project Manager, Audits of Swiss Consumer Price Index)

Key posts: Energie Wasser Bern (Member of the Board of Directors)

Marco Durrer

Member of the Board of Directors, member since 2009, Switzerland, 1952, Dr. ès. sc. pol., MALD

Committees: Organization, Nomination & Remuneration (Chair)

Professional background: Valiant Privatbank AG (CEO and Member of Executive Management, Valiant Holding AG); Lombard, Odier, Darier, Hentsch & Cie (Group Management, Branch Manager Zurich); Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA (Head of Sales and Trading); Credit Suisse (Investment Banking)

Key posts: PostFinance Ltd (Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Organization, Nomination & Remuneration Committee [Chair]); Picard Angst Ltd (Member of the Board of Directors); Piguet Galland & Cie SA (Member of the Board of Directors until April 2017); DGM Immobilien AG (Chairman of the Board of Directors); Comunus SICAV (Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors)

Philippe Milliet

Member of the Board of Directors, member since 2010, Switzerland, 1963, degree in pharmacy, MBA

Committees: Audit, Risk & Compliance

Professional background: Bobst Group (Member of Group Executive Committee, Head of Business Unit Sheet-Fed); Galenica Ltd (Head of Health Division, Member of the Corporate Executive Committee); Unicible (CEO); Galenica Ltd (responsible for distribution centers, responsible for operations and CEO of Galexis Ltd); Pharmatic Ltd (analyst/programmer and project manager); McKinsey (associate, engagement manager); Galenica Holding AG (analyst/programmer and Assistant to the Chairman of the Corporate Executive Committee)

Key posts: none

Michel Gobet

Member of the Board of Directors, Human Resources representative, member since 2010, Switzerland, 1954, lic. phil. hist.

Committees: Investment, Mergers & Acquisitions

Professional background: syndicom, media and communications trade union (Central Secretary); PTT-Union (Central Secretary and Vice-Secretary General); Archaeological Service of the Canton of Fribourg (Head of Archaeological Sites)

Key posts: UNI Global Union (Treasurer, Member of World Executive Committee, Member of European ICTS Steering Committee); gdz AG (Member of the Board of Directors)

Nadja Lang

Member of the Board of Directors, member since 2014, Switzerland, 1973, degree in business economics UAS

Committees: Organization, Nomination & Remuneration

Professional background: Max Havelaar Foundation Switzerland (Managing Director); Fairtrade International (Chair of the Global Account Management Steering Committee, Member of the Finance Committee), Max Havelaar Foundation Switzerland (Commercial Director and Deputy Managing Director); General Mills Europe Sarl (European Marketing Manager); The Coca Cola Company (various (management) positions in brand management and the Innovation department)

Key posts: Metron AG (Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors); Energie Grad 360° AG (Member of the Board of Directors); ZFV companies, (Member of the Board of Directors, Member of the Human Resources Committee), Institute of Supply Chain Management, University of St. Gallen (Member of the Executive Committee)

Myriam Meyer

Member of the Board of Directors, member since 2014, Switzerland, 1962, Dr. sc. techn.

Committees: Audit, Risk & Compliance

Professional background: mmtec (Owner and Managing Director); WIFAG-Polytype Holding AG (Group CEO); RUAG Aerospace (CEO); Roche (member of the Roche Consumer Health Executive Committee); Swissair (member of the Flight Operations Management Board); SR Technics (Vice President, Engineering)

Key posts: Lufthansa Technik AG (Member of the Board of Directors); Wienerberger AG (Member of the Board of Directors); Bedag Informatik AG (Member of the Board of Directors); Commission for Technology and Innovation – CTI (Vice President); Swisscontact (Member of the Foundation Board); Industrial Advisory Board of the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich (Member)

Kerstin Büchel

General Secretary, member since 2009, Switzerland/Germany/Sweden, 1970, lic. rer. pol.

Professional background: Valiant Privatbank AG (Head of Market Development and Sales Services); UBS AG Switzerland and UBS AG Italy (Junior Key People, product management, client advisory services, events, business development and strategic marketing, asset and liability management, international client reporting)

Key posts: none