Board of Directors
Philippe Royer
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Business Administration degree, ICG Paris, 1993
Engineer, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 1984
Swiss and French citizen, 1961
Non-executive member
Professional background (main stages)
| 1985 – 1987 | IT Manager, Lee Cooper, France |
| 1988 – 1990 | Supply chain and IT Manager, Devanlay, France |
| 1991 – 1999 | Various leading positions, then Managing Director, Eurofoil, Luxembourg |
| 2000 – 2001 | Senior Vice President, VAW Business Unit Foil, Germany |
| 2002 – 2006 | Business Unit President, Alcoa, Switzerland |
| 2007 – 2013 | Chairman & CEO, Manoir Industries, France |
| 2014 – 2018 | CEO, Metalor, Switzerland |
| 2019 – 2023 | Member of the Board of Directors of Gurit Holding AG |
| Since 2023 | Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gurit Holding AG |
Stefan Breitenstein
Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. iur. University Zurich
LL.M. Harvard Law School
Diplôme des Hautes Etudes Européennes, College of Europe, Bruges
Swiss citizen, 1957
Non-executive member
Professional background (main stages)
| 1989 – 1993 | Associate at Lenz & Staehelin |
| 1994 – 2022 | Partner at Lenz & Staehelin |
| 2015 -2021 | Managing Partner of Lenz & Staehelin |
| Since 2023 | Senior Counsel at Lenz & Staehelin |
Other Important Activities and Vested Interests
- EPIC Suisse AG, Zürich, Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee
- Brink’s International Holdings AG, Zug, Vice-Chairman of the Board
- MAN Truck & Bus Schweiz AG, Otelfingen, Board Member
Stefan Breitenstein
Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. iur. University Zurich
LL.M. Harvard Law School
Diplôme des Hautes Etudes Européennes, College of Europe, Bruges
Swiss citizen, 1957
Non-executive member
Professional background (main stages)
| 1989 – 1993 | Associate at Lenz & Staehelin |
| 1994 – 2022 | Partner at Lenz & Staehelin |
| 2015 -2021 | Managing Partner of Lenz & Staehelin |
| Since 2023 | Senior Counsel at Lenz & Staehelin |
Other Important Activities and Vested Interests
- EPIC Suisse AG, Zürich, Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee
- Brink’s International Holdings AG, Zug, Vice-Chairman of the Board
- MAN Truck & Bus Schweiz AG, Otelfingen, Board Member
Andreas Evertz
Member of the Board of Directors
Mech. Eng. Degree, University of the German Federal Armed Forces, Hamburg
Senior Executive Management Training, IMD Lausanne
German citizen, 1969
Non-executive member
Professional background (main stages)
| 2002 – 2007 | CEO of Flender Tübingen GmbH |
| 2008 – 2010 | Executive Vice President at Walter AG |
| 2010 – 2011 | CEO & President of Walter AG |
| 2012 – 2013 | President of Sandvik Machining Solutions |
| Since 2013 | Industrial Advisor for various Private Equity Companies |
| 2014 – 2019 | CEO and President at Schenck Process Holding GmbH |
| Since 2020 | Group CEO of Flender |
- Since 2019: Board member of ProXES GmbH
- Since 2021: Board member of the VDMA Power Transmission Engineering Association
- Since 2022: Member of the Exhibitor Advisory Board of Hannover Messe
Bettina Gerharz-Kalte
Member of the Board of Directors
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Max-Planck Institute Polymer Science,
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
German Citizen, 1964
Non-executive member
| 1992 – 2002 | Various Management positions in Germany and Switzerland at HOECHST AG and Clariant AG within the field of specialty Chemicals |
| 2003 – 2005 | BL head Emulsion Powder at Celanese GmbH |
| 2005 – 2012 | Managing Director Elotex GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany and Member of the Management Team Elotex AG in Switzerland, Responsible for Marketing globally, belonging to the groups National Starch and Chemicals, ICI and AkzoNobel |
| 2012 – 2014 | Purchasing Director AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals, Netherlands |
| 2014 – 2022 | Vice President New Growth Business Thermal Insulation at Evonik |
| Since 2023 | Vice President New Growth Area Circularity at Evonik Operations GmbH |
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Since 2017: Lay judge at the labor court in Wiesbaden, Germany
Bettina Gerharz-Kalte
Member of the Board of Directors
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Max-Planck Institute Polymer Science,
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
German Citizen, 1964
Non-executive member
Professional background (main stages)
| 1992 – 2002 | Various Management positions in Germany and Switzerland at HOECHST AG and Clariant AG within the field of specialty Chemicals |
| 2003 – 2005 | BL head Emulsion Powder at Celanese GmbH |
| 2005 – 2012 | Managing Director Elotex GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany and Member of the Management Team Elotex AG in Switzerland, Responsible for Marketing globally, belonging to the groups National Starch and Chemicals, ICI and AkzoNobel |
| 2012 – 2014 | Purchasing Director AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals, Netherlands |
| 2014 – 2022 | Vice President New Growth Business Thermal Insulation at Evonik |
| Since 2023 | Vice President New Growth Area Circularity at Evonik Operations GmbH |
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Since 2017: Lay judge at the labor court in Wiesbaden, Germany
Nick Huber
Member of the Board of Directors
Businessman
Stanford Executive Program, Stanford University
Swiss citizen, 1964
Non-executive member
Professional background (main stages)
| 1990 – 1995 | Account Manager, IBM (Schweiz) AG, Switzerland |
| 1995 – 2016 | Different management positions within the SFS Group, Heerbrugg, Switzerland |
Other Important Activities and Vested Interests
- COLTENE Holding AG, Altstätten, Switzerland, Chairman of the Board of Directors
- SFS Group AG, Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Member of the Board of Directors
- Huwa Finanz- und Beteiligungs AG, Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Member of the Board of Directors
Board of Directors’ Independence
Gurit’s Board of Directors’ independence definition is based on the ‘Swiss Code of best practice for Corporate Governance’ issued by ‘economiesuisse’, a Swiss corporate union and are complemented with additional criteria of independence by Gurit. In order to be considered as independent at Gurit, a member of the Board of Directors must not:
- have been an employee of the Gurit Executive Committee or the Extended Executive Committee within the last 3 years
- be affiliated with a significant customer or supplier of Gurit
- have been a partner or employee of the company’s external audit firm during the past 3 years
- have any other status which the Board of Directors in its fair judgement considers incompatible with independence
Based on above independence criteria as set forth above, all current members of the Gurit Board of Directors (BoD) are independent.
https://www.economiesuisse.ch/en/publications/swiss-code-best-practice-corporate-governance
Other Important Activities and Vested Interests
- Brink’s Schweiz AG, Kloten, Board Member
- Kar-Tess Holding Sàrl, Luxembourg, Board Member
- The A.G. Leventis Foundation, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, Foundation Board Member
- Vorwerk International AG, Wollerau, Chairman of the Board
- Julius Bar Family Office & Trust AG, Zurich, Chairman of the Board
- Alpheus Administration Services AG, Zurich, Chairman of the Board
- Bata Schuh Stiftung, St. Moritz, Foundation Board Member
- Bata Stiftung, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, Foundation Board Member
- Pariter Services AG, Zurich, Chairman of the Board
- Schroder Stiftung, Zurich, Chairman of the Foundation Board
- Tegro AG, Schwerzenbach, Board Member
- Truad Verwaltungs AG, Zurich, Chairman of the Board
Other Important Activities and Vested Interests
- DGS Druckguss Systeme AG, St. Gallen, Switzerland, Member of the Board of Directors
- stürmsfs ag, Goldach, Switzerland, Member of the Board of Directors
- Inventx AG, Chur, Switzerland, Member of the Board of Directors
- Inhaus Handels GmbH, Hohenems, Austria, Member of the Board of Directors
- Rauch Schweiz AG und Rauch Trading AG, Widnau, Switzerland, Member of the Board of Directors
- Mettler Entwickler AG, St. Gallen, Switzerland, Member of the Board of Directors