[Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR] Roche: Changes in the Board of Directors and the Corporate Executive Committee
Roche Holding Ltd has announced significant leadership changes ahead of its Annual General Meeting on 14 March 2023. Christoph Franz will not seek re-election as Chairman, with Severin Schwan proposed as the successor. Thomas Schinecker is set to become the new CEO effective the same date. New board members proposed include Mark Schneider and Prof. Akiko Iwasaki. Additionally, Bill Anderson will leave his role as CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals at the end of December 2022, with Schinecker stepping in as interim CEO. Other executive transitions were also outlined in the release.
- Severin Schwan's appointment as Chairman may bring fresh perspectives to Roche's leadership.
- Thomas Schinecker's elevation to CEO is expected to strengthen executive continuity.
- Bill Anderson's departure could disrupt continuity in the leadership of Roche Pharmaceuticals.
Board of Directors
Basel, 12 December 2022 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that at its December meeting, the Board of Directors of Roche Holding Ltd has approved to propose the following changes at the Annual General Meeting on 14 March 2023:
As previously announced in July 2022, Christoph Franz has decided not to seek re-election as Chairman. The Board of Directors will propose Severin Schwan as the new Chairman at the Annual General Meeting in 2023, and has appointed Thomas Schinecker as the new Roche Group CEO effective 14 March 2023.
The Board of Directors will propose Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestle S.A., and Prof. Akiko Iwasaki, Sterling Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, for election as new Board members at the Annual General Meeting in 2023. Christoph Franz: “I am very pleased that we can propose two exceptional people in business and in science for election to the Board of Directors.”
The following persons are recommended for election to the Board of Directors:
| Name | Board Member since |
| Dr. Severin Schwan | 2013, new as Chairman |
| André Hoffmann | 1996 |
| Dr. Jörg Duschmale | 2020 |
| Dr. Patrick Frost | 2020 |
| Anita Hauser | 2017 |
| Prof. Dr. Richard P. Lifton | 2015 |
| Bernard Poussot | 2015 |
| Dr. Claudia Süssmuth Dyckerhoff | 2016 |
| Dr. Mark Schneider | New |
| Prof. Dr. Akiko Iwasaki | New |
Annette Luther, Secretary to the Board of Directors, will be appointed as Head of International Government Relations in April 2023. At the same time Per-Olof Attinger, currently Head CEO Office and Secretary to the Corporate Executive Committee, will take over as Secretary to the Board of Directors.
Corporate Executive Committee
Bill Anderson, CEO Roche Pharmaceuticals and member of the Corporate Executive Committee, has decided to pursue opportunities outside of Roche effective 31 December 2022. A successor will be appointed by March 2023. Thomas Schinecker will become the ad interim CEO Roche Pharmaceuticals starting 1 January 2023, when he hands over the CEO Roche Diagnostics role to Matt Sause as previously announced.
Severin Schwan: “Over his 16-year career at Roche, Bill Anderson has demonstrated excellent leadership. He has been instrumental in shaping Roche’s transformation and I wish him all the best for the future.”
In 2006, Bill Anderson joined Genentech as Senior Vice President of the Immunology and Ophthalmology Business Unit in South San Francisco (SSF), California, before leading the BioOncology Business Unit. He moved to Basel and became Head of Global Product Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer for the Pharma business in 2013. By 2016, Bill returned to San Francisco to lead the North American Operations of Genentech and, shortly thereafter, he was appointed CEO of Genentech before taking over his current role in 2019. Prior to joining Roche, he began his career in engineering and quickly assumed business leadership roles with increasing scope in the biotech industry. Bill completed his Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin.
Silke Hörnstein, currently Global Head of Strategy and Transformation for Roche’s Diagnostics Division, will become Head of Corporate Strategy, Secretary to the Corporate Executive Committee and will be a member of the enlarged Corporate Executive Committee in April 2023.
Thomas Schinecker: "Silke Hörnstein is a strong leader with broad experience and strategic acumen. I have been impressed how she consistently finds sustainable solutions to complex topics."
Silke Hörnstein joined Roche in Penzberg, Germany in 2001 in procurement before moving to Mannheim in 2005 as Director of Direct Procurement. She then transitioned into product management for Diagnostics before taking increasingly larger leadership responsibilities in commercial operations. In 2012, she was appointed Diagnostics General Manager for Denmark and relocated to Copenhagen. She became responsible for multiple global programs including digital transformation for the Diagnostics Division in 2015 in Basel before assuming her current role in 2021 that spans strategy and Diagnostics sites. Silke holds a Master of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology from Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany along with additional studies in this field at the University of Connecticut in the United States.
About Roche
Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world’s largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from the clinical practice.
In recognising our endeavor to pursue a long-term perspective in all we do, Roche has been named one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceuticals industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the thirteenth consecutive year. This distinction also reflects our efforts to improve access to healthcare together with local partners in every country we work.
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.
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Roche Group Media Relations
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| Dr. Barbara von Schnurbein Phone: +41 79 699 97 44 | Sileia Urech Phone: +41 79 935 81 48 |
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