Changes to the Board of Directors of Baloise Holding Ltd

Basel, 9 December 2024. The 2025 Annual General Meeting of Baloise Holding Ltd will see some changes to the membership of the company’s Board of Directors. Christoph B. Gloor and Prof. Hans-Jörg Schmidt-Trenz are not standing for re-election. The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting that Vincent Vandendael and André Helfenstein be elected to the Board of Directors in order to strengthen the Board’s knowledge of the insurance and financial markets. It will also nominate Robert Schuchna for the Board of Directors. Robert has a profound knowledge of the capital markets and is a representative of Baloise’s largest shareholder at present, Cevian Capital Ltd.

At the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Baloise Holding Ltd, the Board of Directors will propose three new members, while two serving members will not stand for re-election. At the Capital Markets Day, Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr Thomas von Planta spoke of the Board’s intention to enhance its insurance-related expertise. It proposes to do so by appointing Vincent Vandendael and André Helfenstein to the Board of Directors, who will bring expert knowledge of the insurance and financial markets. It will also nominate Robert Schuchna for the Board of Directors. Robert has a profound knowledge of the capital markets and is a representative of Baloise’s largest shareholder at present, Cevian Capital Ltd. The appointments are subject to approval by the competent supervisory authority.

“On 12 September, Baloise unveiled an ambitious refocusing strategy that builds on its existing strengths in insurance and financial services and will help the company to achieve sustainable growth in its core business to the benefit of all stakeholders. The proposed candidates are ideal for fulfilling Baloise’s aim of playing a key role as a Switzerland-based insurance company with strong business units in attractive European markets. I am looking forward to a constructive partnership with the proposed new members, who will be a great asset to the Board of Directors,” commented Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr Thomas von Planta.

Vincent Vandendael (1964), who was born in Belgium, holds a master’s in Commercial Engineering with a major in Finance from the Catholic University of Leuven. He began his career as an underwriter at Chubb Insurance. He then joined Zurich Insurance Group in 1994, where he held various positions. Vincent was responsible as CEO for Zurich’s Asia-Pacific business in its Commercial & Corporate segment, before he moved to Lloyd’s of London to become Global Chief Commercial Officer in 2012. As the CEO of reinsurer Everest Group after that, he was responsible for the European business and Global Markets from 2019 to 2023. Vincent shares his extensive underwriting knowledge in his capacity as a member of the boards of directors of Chedid Re and MJM Holdings Capital Group. He will relinquish his current membership of the board of directors of Baloise Belgium N.V. in order to take up his position with Baloise Holding Ltd.

André Helfenstein (1967) graduated with a master’s in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen. Born in Switzerland and holder of a UK passport, André started his professional career at STB Unternehmensentwicklungen AG in Zurich, before moving to Boston Consulting Group in Zurich and New York, where he mainly advised insurance companies, banks and asset managers in his capacity as partner and managing director. In 2007, André joined Credit Suisse, where he held a number of leadership positions until 2024, lastly as from 2020 as CEO for Switzerland and a member of the executive committee of the CS Group. André is a member of the board of directors of SIX Group AG.

Swiss-German dual national Robert Schuchna (1988) studied Banking & Finance at the University of Zurich, graduating with an MA. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Robert has been working for Cevian Capital since 2011 and was promoted to his current position of partner in 2020. He has over a decade of experience as an investor and was involved in Cevian Capital’s investment in UK insurer Aviva. Robert has been a member of the supervisory board of Germany-based Bilfinger SE since 2020 and a member of the board of foundation of Inter Pensionskasse since 2022.

Christoph B. Gloor and Prof. Hans-Jörg Schmidt-Trenz are no longer standing for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. Dr Thomas von Planta regrets their decision to step down at the next Annual General Meeting: “Christoph Gloor and Hans-Jörg Schmidt-Trenz are long-standing members of the Board of Directors and have played key roles in moving Baloise forward. I would like to mention their invaluable committee work. As Chairman of the Investment and Risk Committee, Christoph Gloor has demonstrated great prudence in monitoring asset and risk management in the Baloise Group. Hans-Jörg Schmidt-Trenz has shown great diligence and dedication in his work on the Remuneration Committee and the Audit Committee. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Company, I would like to take the opportunity already today to offer my sincere thanks to both of them for their invaluable contributions.”

Further information

• Media information at www.baloise.com
• CV and photo Vincent Vandendael (PDF)
• CV and photo André Helfenstein (PDF)
• CV and photo Robert Schuchna (PDF)

Contact
Baloise, Aeschengraben 21, CH-4002 Basel
Website: www.baloise.com
E-Mail: media.relations@baloise.com / investor.relations@baloise.com
Media Relations: Tel: +41 58 285 82 14
Investor Relations: Tel: +41 58 285 81 81

About Baloise

The focus is firmly on the future at Baloise. We aim to make tomorrow more straightforward, safer and more carefree for our customers, and we are taking responsibility for this today. Baloise is more than just a traditional insurance company. Through our smart finance and insurance solutions, we offer a complete service package. Dependable support, reliable cooperation and trust-based relationships are key aspects of our stakeholder interaction. We take care of financial matters so that our customers can concentrate on the important things in their lives and can find inspiration in the everyday. Baloise, a European company founded more than 160 years ago, currently employs 8,000 people at its headquarters in Basel (Switzerland) and across its subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. Our services generated a business volume of around CHF 8.6 billion in 2023. Baloise Holding Ltd shares (BALN) are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.