Program

Speakers

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  Alexander Alting von Geusau Chief Strategy and M&A Officer MET Group

  Over 25 years of Finance and strategic advisory experience in the energy sector across Asia and Europe. Currently Chief Strategy and M&A Officer and member of the Executive Board of MET Group. Responsible for supporting MET Group in its next phase of growth and transformation. Mr. Alting Von Geusau joined MET Group in October 2023 from ING where he had worked for 27 years in various finance, advisory and client relationship roles in the energy sector, based in Singapore, Hong Kong and London. In his latest role, he was responsible for strategic transactions and senior relationships of energy clients and played a prominent role in shaping the energy transition. Prior to joining ING, from 1986 to 1996, he worked for 10 years as a corporate lawyer at an international law firm in Singapore, Rotterdam, and New York, focusing on corporate and finance law. He holds a Masters of Law degree from Leiden University in the Netherlands. A doer at heart, solution-focused and likes to bring parties together. Competitive (keen tennis and chess player), creative, transparent and problem-solver are key characteristics applied in work and personal life.

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  Claudia Cordioli Group Chief Financial Officer Zurich Insurance Group

  Claudia Cordioli, Zurich Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and a member of the Executive Committee, has served in various senior positions in insurance, reinsurance and consulting. Prior to joining Zurich as CFO on March 1, 2024, she served as Swiss Re’s group finance director from 2022 to 2024, overseeing core finance functions and the group’s transition to IFRS 17. From 2020 to 2022, she served as CFO of Swiss Re’s reinsurance business, and prior to that, held various senior positions across the group including head of Western and Southern Europe, leading its reinsurance business in 15 countries. Before joining Swiss Re in 2003, she worked in banking and consulting firms as a senior consultant, including at KPMG, Zurich (Switzerland).

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  Dr. Luca Dalla Torre Chief Legal and Sustainability Officer Siegfried
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  Paul Donovan Chief Economist Global Wealth Management UBS

  I am the Chief Economist of UBS Global Wealth Management. I believe passionately that economics is something everyone can and should understand. We all make economic decisions all of the time. The problem is that economists tend to wrap economics in jargon and equations. We do not need to do that. It is my job to help people realise what they probably already know – by developing and explaining the UBS economic view in a clear way. To do this, I publish research (most of which you can find here), make short videos, and appear in various print and broadcast media. I tend to think of myself as a political economist, not a mathematical economist. I get very excited about lots of things in economics. Diversity, inflation, education, trade, inequality, sustainability and social change are some of the topics I am very enthusiastic about (to the point of writing books about them).

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  Dr. Dirk Kirsten Group CFO Medartis

  Dr. Dirk Kirsten ist seit Anfangs 2021 Group CFO und Teil der Konzernleitung der Medartis Gruppe – einem führenden Medizinaltechnik Unternehmen mit HQ in Basel. Davor war er in verschiedenen leitenden Finanzfunktionen tätig, unter anderem CFO der Nobel Biocare Gruppe, Group Treasurer der Syngenta Gruppe sowie Head Funding von Roche Holdings. Vor seinem Wechsel auf die Industrieseite im Jahr 2000 arbeitete Herr Kirsten über 10 Jahre im internationalen Corporate und Investment Banking bei Deutsche Bank sowie heutige UBS. Herr Kirsten verfügt über Master in BWL der Universität zu Köln und eine Promotion im Bereich «wertorientierte Unternehmensführung». Des weiteren absolvierte er das MBA-Programm for International Management an der London Business School.Im Rahmen seiner langjährigen Kapitalmarkt und M&A Erfahrung nahm Herr Kirsten an zahlreichen internationalen Transkationen teil. Seit Beginn seiner Tätigkeit bei Medartis gehören hierzu die Akquisition der Nextremities Solutions Inc (USA), der Keri Medical Group (Schweiz) sowie der NeoOrtho Gruppe (Brasilien).

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  Dr. Urs Lehmann Co-President Swiss-Ski and Chairman and Main Shareholder Similasan Group

  Dr. Urs Lehmann ist ehemaliger Schweizer Skirennfahrer, seit 2008 Präsident des Schweizerischen Skiverbandes Swiss-Ski und zugleich Verwaltungsratspräsident sowie Hauptaktionär der Similasan Gruppe. 1987 wurde er Junioren-Weltmeister, an der alpinen Ski-WM 1993 in Morioka-Shizukuishi Weltmeister. 1997 trat er vom professionellen Skirennsport zurück. Danach studierte Lehmann in St. Gallen und Zürich Betriebswirtschaftslehre und schloss das Studium 2001 ab; später promovierte er berufsbegleitend, erhielt den Doktortitel im Jahre 2009. Während des Studiums war er für den Sportartikelhersteller Salomon tätig. Anschliessend arbeitete Lehmann als Strategieberater bei Abegglen Management Partners, später als CFO bei der VIA MAT Logistikgruppe. Seit 2009 ist Lehmann für die Similasan Gruppe tätig, einem führenden Schweizer Unternehmen in der Herstellung und Vermarktung von homöopathischen Arzneimitteln und Medizinprodukten - bis Frühling 2024 als CEO, seither als Verwaltungsratspräsident und Hauptaktionär. Urs Lehmann ist seit 2008 Präsident von Swiss-Ski, einem der erfolgreichsten Sportverbände der Schweiz. Zudem war Lehmann bis 2020 Co-Kommentator beim TV-Sender Eurosport. Als Co-Präsident des Kandidaturkomitees setzt er sich für Olympische und Paralympische Winterspiele 2038 in der Schweiz ein. Eine Herzensangelegenheit ist ihm sein langjähriges Engagement als Vizepräsident der Stiftung Laureus Foundation Switzerland, die mittels Sportprogramme jährlich mehr als 23000 Kinder und Jugendliche in der Schweiz unterstützt. Urs Lehmann ist seit 2002 mit der ehemaligen Freestyle-Weltmeisterin Conny Kissling verheiratet, Vater einer 20-jährigen Tochter und wohnhaft im aargauischen Oberwil-Lieli.

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  Martin Oesch Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer SGS

  Martin Oesch joined SGS in May 2024 as Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer and member of the Executive Committee. Prior to joining SGS, he served as Group General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Barry Callebaut, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the company\'s direction and contributing to strategic M&A and expansion projects. Prior to this, Martin was an associate in the Corporate and M&A practices of two leading Swiss law firms. He holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Berne and an LL.M. from the University of Chicago Law School. He also completed an Executive Program at INSEAD.

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  Fabienne-Anne Rehulka Group General Counsel SIX

  Fabienne-Anne Rehulka is a French citizen and UK qualified lawyer. She began her professional career in the Equity Capital Market, Corporate and Insurance departments of law firms in London and Sydney (Allen & Overy LLP and Herbert Smith Freehills). In 2008, she moved in-house, to Swiss Re and relocated from London to Paris and eventually to Zurich. She joined SIX as Group General Counsel in June 2024 and as Executive Board member in April 2025. Fabienne has been General Counsel for 16 years and brings over 20 years of international experience in Financial Services. She works closely with Boards, CEOs and executive teams on strategies, governance and corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, new products and market entries/exit, regulatory and technology challenges.

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  Hansueli Sallenbach General Counsel Axpo
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  Rodolfo J. Savitzky Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee UCB and EuroAPI

  Rodolfo J. Savitzky is passionate about value creation by investing in growth and innovation, driving productivity and developing talent. He is a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of UCB since April 2024 and of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of EuroAPI since May 2022 – and Chairman of the Audit Committee since May 2025. He was Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board of SoftwareOne from 2022 to mid-2025 where he led the implementation of a transformational operational excellence program across all key functions resulting in over CHF 70m annual savings and a significantly more efficient and scalable organizational model to support growth. From 2016 to 2021, he served as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Group Executive Committee of Lonza, where he played a key role in the company’s transformation into a pure-play pharma services company including the acquisition of Capsugel and the divestiture of the Specialty Chemicals division. Moreover, he was a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Unilabs in 2021 until the company was sold to A.P. Moller Holding. He joined Novartis in 2002 in the Pharmaceutical Division, first as Head of Finance for the Ophthalmic Business Unit and then as Head of Business Planning and Analysis followed by Head of Strategic Planning and Analysis for the Pharmaceutical Division. He was appointed CFO for Novartis Animal Health in 2006 where he played a key role in the acceleration of revenue growth and profit margin improvement and ultimately in the successful sale of the business to Eli Lilly in 2015. He started his career at P&G where he held various finance leadership positions, including Finance Director for the Beverage Division in Europe and then for the Beauty Care Division in Latin America. Rodolfo holds a Bachelor´s Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico and an MBA in Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in the USA.

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Partner Speakers

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  Tina Balzli Partner and Global Co-Head Crypto, Fintech & Digital Assets CMS

  Tina Balzli specializes in banking, insurance, financial and capital markets law, general corporate and commercial law as well as mergers & acquisitions, with a particular focus on fintech and blockchain. She has a long-standing track record of holistically advising leading Swiss and foreign financial institutions as well as up-and-coming start-ups in her areas of specialization and is excellently acquainted with the international and Swiss regulatory landscape within capital and financial markets law. Tina Balzli acts as lead lawyer for a wide range of financial industry-related matters and represents financial institutions vis-à-vis authorities, such as the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Before joining CMS, Tina Balzli was a partner at a Big Four firm in Switzerland, where she led the legal Banking, Fintech & Blockchain practice. Prior to this, she extensively practiced as a financial markets attorney with major Swiss law firms, worked for a financial institution in Hong Kong and acted as research and teaching assistant at the Chair of Civil and Commercial Law at the University of Freiburg i.Ue. She further was a visiting researcher at the Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative and International Private law in Hamburg, Germany. Tina Balzli holds a Master in Law (lic. iur.; J.D. equivalent) from the University of Freiburg i.Ue., Switzerland with the mentions European Law and Bilingual, has been admitted as an Attorney-at-law to all courts in Switzerland and is a certified Swiss Fund & Asset Management Officer. Furthermore, she holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in U.S. and Asian Business and Trade Law from the New York University and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Corporate & Financial Services Law from the National University of Singapore. She is the author of various publications (books and articles) on a broad range of legal and regulatory topics related to commercial law in general and financial market laws and regulations. She regularly speaks at conferences on these topics.

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  Mike Bellin Partner PwC United States

  Mike is the US IPO Leader and has over 25 years of experience in US IPO of foreign private and domestic issuers. he helps clients access the capital markets by providing technical and project management advice on accounting and financial reporting issues associated with the SEC registration process, IPOs, SPAC mergers, 144a debt and equity offerings, divestitures, carve-outs and spin-offs. Mike is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a CPA.

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  Dr. Holger Kraft Partner CMS Germany

  Holger Kraft specialises in advising on national and international energy and infrastructure transactions and project finance. This includes structuring and managing the transactions as well as considering the regulatory requirements. In recent years, he has been the lead adviser on a number of large transactions and acted on the sellers as well as the buyers side. Apart from transactions in the renewables sector, particularly onshore and offshore wind and photovoltaic energy, Holger has advised on a wide range of transactions in the oil and gas sector and other energy industry areas, specifically with regard to new technologies, such as hydrogen and LNG, and to innovative power plant projects. Holger joined CMS in 1996 and became a partner in 2001.

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  Markus Münch Senior Manager PwC Switzerland

  Markus focuses on IPO readiness, preparation and execution support of Swiss companies across industries. He has over 10 years of experience in numerous equity and debt capital raising projects (incl. IPOs, SPAC mergers, Reg-S and 144a transactions and EMTN debt programs) at Swiss, EU and US stock exchanges. He’s a senior manager in PwC Switzerland’s Capital Markets team and a Swiss Certified Accountant.

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  Rizwan Rahman Partner CMS UK

  Rizwan is a partner in the Corporate team in London. His practice focuses on transactions for financial services businesses. His clients include businesses in the banking, insurance, wealth management and pensions sectors. He also has significant experience advising clients in the real estate sector. He advises on domestic and cross-border acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, group reorganisations and general corporate matters. He has particular experience in Part VII business transfers and asset backed funding arrangements for pension schemes. 

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  Delia Ramp Partner PwC Switzerland

  Delia leads large deals and transformation projects in PwC Switzerland Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory team. She has over 15 years of experience with large Swiss and international carve-out / spin-off projects, deals accounting and related private or public exit strategies. Delia is a Swiss Certified Accountant (CPA).

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Moderation

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  Jan Schwalbe Editor-in-chief Finanz und Wirtschaft

  Jan Schwalbe is the Editor-In -Chief of the Swiss Business paper «Finanz und Wirtschaft». He has covered business and the economy for more than 20 years and has conducted countless interviews with international business leaders, economists and strategists. He has been published in Businessweek, Bloomberg News, “Finanz und Wirtschaft” and The Daily Telegraph. Before taking his role as Editor-in Chief he was the Head of the Zurich Bureau of Bloomberg News and was working for CNN Money. Jan Schwalbe was on the Board of the Foreign Press Association in New York and a correspondent in New York and London for over a decade.

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Partner

Previous Editions

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2024

  Strategies in Motion

  27. August 2024

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2023

  Unlocking Value in a Challenging Market

  29. August 2023

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2022

  STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE

  22. September 2022

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2021

  FRESH OPPORTUNITIES

  25. August 2021

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2019

  Business Transformation – the new Normal

  27. August 2019

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2018

  Shape Your Business

  11. September 2018

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2017

  Managing Future Success

  28. September 2017

• Mergers & Acquisitions 2016

  Die Schweiz im internationalen Kontext

  15. September 2016