Baloise Expands Board With Former Credit Suisse Executive

Baloise Expands Board With Former Credit Suisse Executive

There will be changes to the Board of Directors at Baloise next year. In addition to two replacement elections, a representative from the major shareholder Cevian will also join the supervisory body.

At the upcoming General Assembly, two members of the Board of Directors of Baloise will not stand for re-election. With the addition of a new member, the number of board members will rise to ten from the previous nine.

Christoph Gloor and Hans-Jörg Schmidt-Trenz will not be available for re-election at the General Assembly on April 25, 2025, the insurer announced in a statement on Monday.

André Helfenstein (pictured below) and Vincent Vandendael are proposed as their replacements. Helfenstein was most recently the CEO of the Swiss business and a member of the executive management of Credit Suisse Group (CS). The banker joined CS in 2007 and had previously worked at Boston Consulting. He is also a member of the board of SIX, the Swiss stock exchange operator.

(Image: SIX)

Belgian national Vincent Vandendael is an insurance expert. Over the course of his career, he has worked for Zurich, Chubb, Lloyd's of London, and Everest. He is currently also a member of the board of Baloise Belgium, but will relinquish this position upon his appointment to Baloise's main board.

Cevian, Baloise’s largest shareholder, will be represented on the board by Robert Schuchna. The dual German-Swiss citizen has worked for the Swedish investment company for 11 years. Cevian holds nearly 10% of Baloise.

Vincent Vandendael and Robert Schuchna (Image: Baloise)

Implementation of «Refocusing» Strategy

With the expanded board, Baloise aims to strengthen its expertise in insurance and finance, the company said. The «refocusing» strategy, which was presented in September, includes the development of new services to further enhance the core business.

«The individuals proposed for election reflect Baloise’s ambition to play a relevant role as a Swiss insurance company with strong business units in attractive European markets,» Thomas von Planta, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said.