Board of Directors

Chair
Chair of the nomination committee
Member of the audit, risk & compliance committee (ARCC)

Dr. Thomas Schmuckli-Grob (1963)
Swiss citizen

• Chair of the board of directors since 2007
• Chair of the nomination committee since 2007
• Member of the audit, risk & compliance committee since 2002
• Member of the board of directors since 2000
• Secretary to the board of directors from 1997 to 2000

Professional background
Dr. Thomas Schmuckli-Grob currently works as a professional board member. Between 1993 and 2013, he held various management positions in the General Counsel division of Credit Suisse Group, primarily for M&A, Corporate & Institutional Clients and Asset Management, in Zurich. From 2000 to 2005, he was Head of Process and Product Management at Zuger Kantonalbank.

Educational background

• Degree in law (LLB and LLD), University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
• Accredited lawyer and notary, Zug, Switzerland
• Management studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• Further studies in the fields of strategy, leadership, board of directors; and leading a family office, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Further studies in the fields of strategy and strategy development, HSG, St. Gallen, Switzerland 
• Further studies in the field of finance, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Other activities and vested interests

• Member of the board of directors, Hans Oetiker Holding AG, Horgen, Switzerland
• Chair of the board of directors, Helvetia Holding AG and two subsidiaries, Basel/St. Gallen, Switzerland

Vice chair
Member of the nomination committee

Patricia Heidtman (1973)
Dual Swiss-US citizen

• Vice chair of the board of directors since 2021
• Member of the nomination committee since 2019
• Member of the board of directors since 2019

Professional background
Patricia Heidtman is working for SIKA since her studies and is a member of the SIKA group management since 2021 as the Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer. From 2017 to 2021 she led the research & development team for thermoplastic systems in Sarnen, Switzerland. Prior to this, Patricia Heidtman spent around 14 years in the USA, most recently as Head of Innovation Management for products, processes and developments for the automotive industry.

 
Educational background

• Master of Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• Executive education, London Business School, Lucerne, Switzerland
• Executive education, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland

Representative for holders of registered A shares
Chair of the compensation committee
Member of the ARCC

David Dean (1959)
Swiss citizen

• Representative for holders of registered A shares since 2020
• Chair of the compensation committee since 2019
• Member of the audit, risk & compliance committee since 2023
• Member of the board of directors since 2019

Professional background

David Dean currently works as a professional board member. He was CEO of the Bossard Group from 2005 to 2019. From 1998 to 2004, he served as CFO of Bossard Group and has been with Bossard since 1992. Between 1990 and 1992, he was a Corporate Controller and a member of the executive committee of an international logistics group. From 1980 to 1990, he worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers AG in various management functions in auditing and business consulting. In the course of his professional activities, David Dean gained experience in emerging markets, in particular in India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea.

 
Educational background

• Swiss certified management accountant/controller, AKAD Business, Zurich, Switzerland
• Swiss certified public accountant, Expertsuisse, Zurich, Switzerland
• Executive education, Harvard Business School, Boston, USA
• Executive education, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland

Other activities and vested interests

• Member of the board of directors, Komax Holding AG, Dierikon, Switzerland
• Member of the board of directors, Burckhardt Compression Holding AG, Winterthur, Switzerland
• Member of the board of directors, Haag-Streit Holding AG, Köniz, Switzerland
• Member of the board of directors, Brugg Group AG, Brugg, Switzerland

Member of the ARCC

Petra Maria Ehmann (1985)
German citizen

• Member of the audit, risk & compliance committee since 2021
• Member of the board of directors since 2021

Professional background
Petra Maria Ehmann joined Ringier in 2022 as Chief Innovation Officer and member of the extended Group Executive Board. From 2018 to 2022, she worked at Google as global lead for product partnerships for the innovation technology Augmented Reality. From 2016 to 2018, she drove new business development for Google Advertising & Commerce in EMEA and prior to that for Google Maps and Google Finance for EMEA and APAC. From 2012, Petra Maria Ehmann worked as Head of Business Intelligence at the internet startup Kekanto in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Prior to that she worked as a Senior Business Analyst at A.T. Kearney. From 2008 to 2009 she gained her first work experience at Bosch in steel supply in Toluca, Mexico, and at Hilti in lean warehouse logistics in Shanghai, China.

 
Educational background

• Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• Master of Science in management science and engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA

 
Other activities and vested interests

• Member of the board of trustees, Swiss Science Center Technorama, Winterthur, Switzerland

Member of the compensation committee
 

Marcel Keller (1968)
Swiss citizen

• Member of the compensation committee since 2021
• Member of the board of directors since 2021

Professional background
Marcel Keller is a member of the executive board of Vorwerk International, Wollerau, since 2018 and responsible for digital transformation and Group IT as well as for the markets in North America and Asia with a focus on China. From 2001 to 2018, he held various management positions at Hewlett Packard, most recently as COO and VP Strategy, Planning and Operations at Hewlett Packard Enterprise Technology Services in Palo Alto, USA.

Educational background

• Business degree, KV Business School Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Other activities and vested interests

• Member of the board, Vorwerk International & Co. KmG, Wollerau, Switzerland
• Chair of the board of directors, Vorwerk Household Appliances Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
• Chair of the board of directors, Vorwerk Household Appliances Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China

Chair of the ARCC

Martin Kühn (1976)
Swiss citizen

• Chair of the audit, risk & compliance committee since 2023
• Member of the board of directors since 2018

Professional background
Since 2010 Martin Kühn is working for the KIBAG Group in Zurich, since 2014 as CFO and member of the executive committee. He is responsible for finance, ICT, human resources, real estate, KIBAG Marina and the technical services of the construction and building materials company. From 2002 to 2010, he had been employed at PricewaterhouseCoopers AG national and international as an auditor and M&A consultant for industrial clients. Prior to that, he worked two years for UBS.

 
Educational background

• Business economist FH, University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
• Swiss certified public accountant, Academy of Public Accountants, Zurich, Switzerland

Other activities and vested interests

• Member of the board of directors, Kannewischer Ingenieurbüro AG, Cham, Switzerland
• Chair of the board of directors, Windlin AG, Zurich, Switzerland
• Member of the foundation board, pension fund KIBAG Group, Zurich, Switzerland
• Member of the foundation board, employee foundation KIBAG Group, Zurich, Switzerland
• Member of the audit commission, Bürgergemeinde Zug, Zug, Switzerland

Member of the compensation committee
Member of the nomination committee

Prof. Dr. Ina Toegel (1981)
German citizen

• Member of the compensation committee since 2023
• Member of the nomination committee since 2023
• Member of the board of directors since 2023

Professional background
Ina Toegel is a Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at IMD in Lausanne. In particular, she researches at the interface between leadership and strategy, between people and new technologies, and works on the question of how teams successfully bring about cultural and strategic change. She worked for the World Bank, and since 2016, has been directing programs for senior executives at IMD.

 
Educational background

• Bachelor of Science in Economics, Columbia University, New York, USA
• Master of Science in Management, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom
• PhD in Strategic Management, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France