Zurich, Switzerland - April 4, 2014, Zurich, Switzerland - Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. announced that it has elected Christoph Franz to the board of directors.
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Mr. Franz has been Chairman of the Executive Board & Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Lufthansa AG since January 1, 2011. As such, he is responsible for the Lufthansa Group, which comprises the Passenger Airline Group, Logistics, MRO, Catering and IT Services segments.
After studying in Germany, France and the USA and earning a doctorate (Dr. rer. pol.) from Darmstadt Technical University, Germany, Mr. Franz joined Deutsche Lufthansa AG in 1990. Initially he was involved in strategy, sales and controlling projects in Germany, France and Turkey. From 1992 to 1994 he served as a member of the staff team around then-CEO Jürgen Weber which devised and implemented the airline’s corporate turnaround following the upheavals of the first Gulf War.
In 1994, with Lufthansa’s turnaround successfully completed, he moved to Deutsche Bahn AG, where he held various executive functions over the next nine years. These culminated in his appointment as a Member of the Executive Board and CEO of the company’s passenger transport division.
On July 1, 2004, Mr. Franz was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS). On June 1, 2009, he then joined the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG as Chief Executive Officer Lufthansa German Airlines, in overall charge of the company’s Passenger Airline business. He further served as deputy to the Executive Board Chairman & CEO.
On September 22, 2010, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG named Mr. Franz Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Mr. Franz will leave Lufthansa in 31 May 2014, to become chairman of Swiss healthcare firm Roche, where he is a board member.
They group also re-elected Tom de Swaan as Chairman for a further term of office of one year.
Mr. de Swaan has served in the banking industry of The Netherlands for more than 40 years. He joined De Nederlandsche Bank N.V. in 1972 and from 1986 until 1998 was a member of the governing board. In January 1999, he became a member of the managing board and chief financial officer of ABN AMRO Bank. He retired from ABN AMRO in May 2006, but continued as an advisor to the managing board until June 2007.
Between 1987 and 1988, Mr. de Swaan was chairman of the Amsterdam Financial Center and from 1995 to 1997 chairman of the banking supervisory sub-committee of the European Monetary Institute. He was also a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision from 1991 to 1996, its chairman from 1997 to 1998 and a non-executive director on the board of the UK’s Financial Services Authority from January 2001 until the end of 2006. ■