Board of Directors
Jennifer Maag, Chairwoman (since 2023)
Born 1969, Swiss
Jennifer Maag is the founder and Managing Partner of Capital Concepts International, a mergers & acquisitions boutique based in Zurich. Before founding the company in 1999, she worked for KPMG Corporate Finance and Deloitte & Touche in Zurich and Munich. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Kardex, Rieter and Weidmann. Jennifer Maag holds a degree in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley and passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination in 1994.
Nina Pieper, Vice Chairwoman (since 2014)
Born 1981, Swiss
Nina Pieper is the founder and owner of a Swiss fashion accessories company and previously worked as a fashion designer in New York and Zurich. Nina Pieper holds a degree in fashion design from ESMOD in Munich, Germany.
Dr. Christoph Franz, Vice Chairman & Lead Independent Director (since 2024)
Born 1960, Swiss and German
From 2014 to 2023, Dr. Christoph Franz was Chairman of Roche Holding Ltd. Prior to this, he was Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. and held various management positions at Deutsche Bahn AG in his earlier career, including member of the Executive Board and CEO of the passenger transport division. Dr. Christoph Franz is also Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. and a member of the Boards of Directors of Chugai Pharmaceutical Ltd. and Stadler Rail AG. In addition, he is Honorary Professor of Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and holds a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the Technical University Darmstadt, Germany.
Christoph Hammer, non-executive Director (since 2022)
Born 1970, Swiss
Christoph Hammer is an independent consultant and board member. Previously, he was Group CFO and member of the Group Executive Board at SBB AG. Prior to that, he spent around nine years with the Hilti Group, most recently as Head of Global Group Controlling. Before that, he was CFO at Starbucks Coffee Company in Switzerland and Austria and associate partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Christoph Hammer studied Business Administration at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, majoring in Finance and Marketing.
Dr. Andreas Hauswirth, non-executive Director (since 2019)
Born 1954, Swiss
Before joining the Board of Directors, Dr. Andreas Hauswirth was a member of the Board of Directors of Franke Group from 2013 to 2019. Furthermore, he acts as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Evostate AG, and Espace Real Estate AG, and is a member of the Board of Artemis Immobilien AG, Impact Immobilien AG, as well as of Uze AG. In 1987, Dr. Andreas Hauswirth joined the Franke Group as assistant to the Franke Group Executive Board. In 1994, he became a member of the Franke Group Executive Board and headed Corporate Services (legal services, insurance, risk management, communications, human resources and real estate) for almost 30 years before retiring in January 2017. Before joining Franke, Dr. Andreas Hauswirth worked as a legal advisor for OBT Treuhand AG. He studied law at the University of Bern, Switzerland.
Alexander Pieper, non-executive Director (since 2015)
Born 1983, Swiss
Prior to joining the Board of Directors, Alexander Pieper held, for more than 10 years, various management positions within the Franke Group, working in Switzerland, the United States, the Philippines and Germany. In his last position, he was Managing Director of Franke’s subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates. Since 2016, Alexander Pieper has been owner and CEO of Kraftwerk Group AG, a Swiss company internationally active in the tools indusry. Since 2023, Alexander Pieper is Chairman of the Board of Franke Holding AG. He has a background in Industrial Engineering.
Thomas D. Meyer, non-executive Director (since 2024)
Born 1962, Swiss
Thomas D. Meyer has been an operating partner at BLR Partners AG since 2020. Prior to that, he spent over 30 years at Accenture in various national and international management roles, lastly as Managing Director and CEO Accenture Switzerland. Furthermore, he is Chairman of CelsiusPro AG and Swisscontact Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of Osterwalder AG, Noser Management AG, Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG, Akros AG, Yarowa AG and BLR Capital AG. He is also member of the Supervisory and the Shareholder Board of Apleona GmbH in Germany. Thomas D. Meyer studied Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.