Program

Speakers

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  Mads Joergensen CFO Georg Fischer

  Mads Joergensen 25+ years of management experience in advanced corporate finance. Group-wide responsibility for financial reporting (Swiss GAAP FER/IFRS), treasury, FX Management, sustainability/ESG, investor relations and internal audit. Established reputation for state-of-the-art financial management, capital market / investor communication, M&A and cyber security. Extensive experience as international non-executive board member with an in-depth understanding of audit committees, corporate governance, compliance and Asian markets. Expert knowledge in accounting, corporate finance, valuation and sustainability. Delivered a string of successful acquisitions and several decisive global efficiency / performance improvement projects (costs, NWC, etc.). Wide-ranging business experience: industrial products, light building materials, automotive, machine tools, airline/hospitality and IT. Self-starting, persistent financial leader with a passion for building high performance teams.

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  Oliver Kahn Executive Board Oliver Kahn-Stiftung

  Oliver Kahn was born on June 15, 1969 in Karlsruhe. After his Bundesliga debut in 1987 at Karlsruher SC he moved to the German record champion FC Bayern München in 1994. Oliver Kahn grew into one of Germany‘s most successful soccer players of all time having won eight German championships, six DFB Cups and 2001 the Champions League – amongst others. For his outstanding athletic and personal achievements Oliver Kahn received the award for best player of the FIFA World Cup 2002 and was three times world’s best goalkeeper. In summer 2008, after 22 years as a professional football player, he completed an outstanding career. From September 2008 to July 2020, Oliver Kahn worked as a soccer expert for international matches and the Champions League for the German public broadcaster ZDF. He has set up his own foundation - the Oliver Kahn Foundation. End of 2011, Oliver Kahn graduated successfully with a Master of Business Administration. Motivation and leadership are central topics that Oliver Kahn deals with as an author, speaker and entrepreneur. Oliver Kahn has been CEO of FC Bayern Munich until May 2023.

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  Annelis Lüscher Hämmerli Group CFO Helvetia

  Annelis Lüscher Hämmerli has been Group CFO of Helvetia since 2020. After completing a degree in biology in Bern and gaining a PhD in Northern Germany, Annelis Lüscher completed a master’s degree in finance at ETH and the University of Zurich and also obtained a certificate in IFRS accounting. In 2004 she joined Swiss Life, where she held various positions in asset and risk management, most recently as Chief Risk Officer at Swiss Life Asset Managers. Since 2019, Annelis Lüscher Hämmerli has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Berner Kantonalbank.

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  Luis Marin Mas-Sarda CEO Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Dufry

  Luis Marin is the Dufry CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa since the recent merger with Autogrill in February 2023. Luis joined Dufry in 2003, having held different positions in the company like leading the M&A, Strategy, OHR, IT and Business Controlling, and is a member of its Global Executive Committee since 2014. During his career, he has participated in several transformational M&A deals. Before joining Dufry, Luis worked for Areas, Derbi Motorcycles and Coopers & Lybrand (today PWC), where he started his career 30 years ago. He holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Barcelona and different further educational diplomas.

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  Tania Micki CFO Tecan

  Tania is a passionate leader and has extensive experience in finance in international listed companies. She joined Tecan, a listed Life Sciences company, in February 2020 as the Group CFO. From 2010 – 2020, Tania held various roles in finance at Sulzer AG, her last role being Chief Risk Officer and Internal Audit Head. Amongst other she was responsible for finances at divisional level. Before joining Sulzer, Tania held various financial positions at Monsanto, Gate Group and General Mills in Switzerland, the UK, Australia, Poland and Russia.

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More Speakers

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  Urs Domenig CFO Burkhalter

  Urs Domenig ist seit 2010 für die Burkhalter Gruppe tätig, seit Januar 2022 ist er CFO und Mitglied des Managements. Von 2003 bis 2007 studierte Urs Domenig Prozess- und Anlagetechnik, mit der Vertiefung Elektrotechnik, an der HTW Chur (Dipl. Ing.). Er ist fachkundig gemäss NIV2002. Von 2016 bis 2018 absolvierte er das EMBA für General Management an der Universität St. Gallen (HSG). Von 2020 bis 2022 absolvierte er das MAS in Corporate Finance am Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen am IFZ in Rotkreuz. Von 2010 bis 2012 arbeite er bei der zur Burkhalter Gruppe gehörenden Electra Buin SA in Scuol als Projektleiter und stv. Geschäftsführer. Von 2013 bis 2021 leitete er das Unternehmen als Geschäftsführer. In diesen Funktionen verantwortete er auch die Bereiche Finanzen und Controlling. Seit 2017 ist Urs Domenig Experte bei den Lehrabschlussprüfungen beim EIT Graubünden. Er ist Präsident des Stiftungsrats der Pensionskasse der Burkhalter Gruppe und Mitglied des Stiftungsrats sowie Geschäftsführer der Patronalen Stiftung der Burkhalter Holding AG.

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  Ulrich Mogwitz Co-Managing Director Private Equity Patrimonium

  Ulrich has 18 years of private equity experience at HANNOVER Finanz in Germany, Ufenau Capital Partners and Patrimonium Private Equity Advisors in Switzerland. At Patrimonium, Ulrich is Co-Head Private Equity, member of the investment committee and serves on the board of portfolio companies. He is responsible for the development the private equity division within Patrimonium Asset Management AG. Prior to joining the private equity industry, Ulrich worked as a consultant and in the food industry. Ulrich holds a diploma in Economic Engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and an Executive Master in Business Administration from the University of Muenster

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  Samuel Poletti Group Head of M&A Holcim

  Samuel Poletti is Group Head of M&A at Holcim Ltd and a member of the Senior Leadership team since 2018. In this capacity he is leading Holcim’s global transaction execution activities and coordinates the local bolt-on acquisition processes which contribute to the Group’s transformation. Samuel’s joined Holcim in 2007 as a consultant to support various business development initiatives and held various positions of increasing responsibility within the Holcim Group at corporate and in Asia before joining the M&A team in 2014 where he played a key role in the execution and subsequent regulatory divestments of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge. Prior to Holcim, he was active in consulting and worked for an international industrial company in China. Samuel holds a dual degree in Law and Economics from the University of St. Gallen (HSG).

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  Walter Scherz CFO Dätwyler

  Walter Scherz has been a member of the Datwyler Executive Management since 2020 and, as Chief Financial Officer, heads the Finance & Shared Services Group Function. He previously held several positions at Datwyler. Prior to joining Datwyler, he worked amongst others for KPMG as external auditor and in various management positions in Switzerland and abroad, including Russia and the Middle East. Walter Scherz holds a master‘s degree in Economy from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and is a certified public accountant. He also holds various further education and diplomas in risk and compliance management, M&A and internal auditing.

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  Prof. Dr. Xena Welch Guerra Lecturer University of St. Gallen HSG

  Xena Welch Guerra is a Senior Researcher at the University of St.Gallen and Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on Corporate and Behavioral Strategy, with particular emphasis on Mergers and Acquisitions. She completed her PhD at the University of St.Gallen with highest distinction and was recipient of the Peter-Werhahn-Award for the best dissertation of the year. She received several grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation and was a visiting scholar at INSEAD Singapore and the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.

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  Thomas Zweifel Head of Strategy Implenia AG

Partner Speakers

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  Virginie Frémat Partner CMS Belgium

  Virginie Frémat is a Partner in the Antwerp corporate team. Virginie advises on all aspects of general corporate law and has significant experience in managing complex transactions. She is highly regarded by clients for her hands-on approach and she advises across a wide range of sectors. Virginie has a specialization in insurance law and is used to handle complex litigation cases (both for insurers and corporates).

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  Dr. Marjolaine Jakob Partner Head of Insolvency and Restructuring Zurich CMS Switzerland

  Marjolaine Jakob is the head of our insolvency and restructuring team of CMS Zurich. Her practice focuses on national and international insolvency law and related litigation. She advises clients in connection with insolvency proceedings and represents their interests in related proceedings before the competent courts and authorities. Marjolaine Jakob has broad experience in advising companies in restructuring proceedings. Further, she is a proven specialist in international insolvency law and regularly advises foreign insolvency administrators in cross-border insolvency proceedings. Further, Marjolaine Jakob represents national and international companies in litigation proceedings before state courts and arbitral tribunals. Marjolaine Jakob joined our firm as an associate in 2017. Previously, she has worked as a research assistant, specialising in international insolvency law and arbitration at a chair for civil procedure law, private law, international private law and comparative law at the University of Zurich. From 2009 till 2014, Marjolaine has worked first as a trainee and later on as an associate in a business law firm. Marjolaine Jakob has been a partner since 2022.

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  Dr. Matthias Kuert Partner CMS Switzerland

  Matthias advises clients in financial law (including capital markets law), and general contract and corporate law matters. In these fields, he also handles proceedings in front of state courts, regulatory and criminal authorities. A special focus of his practice concerns regulatory advice to financial services providers, regulatory and contract law advice to companies in the FinTech and blockchain field, advice to large shareholders of listed companies and capital markets law compliance advice. He is an authorized issuers’ representative at the SIX Swiss Exchange. Matthias graduated from the University of St. Gallen in 2006. After his traineeships in the legal department of a global technology company and at CMS, he was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 2010. Thereupon, Matthias was engaged as a research assistant at the Institut für Rechtswissenschaft und Rechtspraxis of the University of St. Gallen (chair of Prof. Dr Vito Roberto), before joining CMS again in 2012. In 2014 he was seconded to another global company and in the 2015/2016 term he obtained an LL.M. in International Business Law from King’s College, London. Matthias wrote his thesis on the treatment of the public law norms of conduct in Swiss liability law (’’Öffentlich-rechtliche Verhaltensnormen im schweizerischen Haftungsrecht’’, St. Galler Schriften zum Finanzmarktrecht, Bd. 16, Zürich 2018). Matthias has been a partner since January 2023.

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• 
  Simon Malin Partner PwC Switzerland

  Simon is a Partner in PwC Switzerland’s Deals Practice, focusing on data and advanced analytics. He has 15 years of M&A experience and spent the last 9 years in the New York and Los Angeles offices of PwC US. Until recently, he led the US firm’s Value Consulting, Modeling & Tools practice on the US West Coast. Today, Simon is based in Zurich and leads the Swiss Deals Analytics practice. His team is combining advanced analytical techniques with latest technology and industry expertise, to help clients make smarter decisions, uncover more value and create better returns on investment. Simon is working with both corporate clients and private equities, generating data-driven insights and facilitating shareholder value creation across the entire deals continuum. He is leading PwC’s M&A efforts in the Retail & Consumer space and also has vast experience working with clients in the TMT sector. Simon is a CFA charterholderand studied at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Singapore Management University and Columbia Business School in New York.

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  Alasdair Steele Partner Head of Equity Capital Markets CMS UK

  Alasdair is a Partner in our Corporate Team at CMS London and Head of Equity Capital Markets. He specialises in UK and cross-border corporate finance, including public and private M&A, strategic investments and primary and secondary equity issues, as well as regularly advising on infrastructure consortia and corporate joint venture arrangements. He regularly advises quoted companies and financial intermediaries on the UK Listing Rules, Prospectus Regulation Rules, Disclosure and Transparency Rules, AIM Rulesthe Takeover Code and general company law. Alasdair has a particular focus on the Infrastructure and Technology sectors and regularly visits clients, investors and advisers in China and India. Between 2000 and 2003, Alasdair was a director in the corporate finance team at NTL (now Virgin Media), where his responsibilities included overseeing and managing a number of acquisitions, investments (including acting as an investor director), fundraisings and disposals both in the UK and abroad, as well as being a core member of the NTL team responsible for effecting its US$20bn Chapter 11 restructuring and refinancing.

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  Dr. Andreas Zanner Partner CMS Germany

  Together with Philipp Melzer, Andreas Zanner heads the CMS Equity Capital Market practice in Frankfurt which is particularly focused on providing advice to issuers, underwriting banks and existing shareholders on corporate and capital markets law matters. Andreas is specialized in capital markets, corporate law and takeover law. He has long-standing experience in advising on IPOs, secondary offerings, scrip dividends and capital increases. Additionally, he advises listed companies on their post-listing obligations, directors’ dealings as well as on insider law and compliance issues. Andreas joined CMS in 1991 and after a two-year stint with Pünder Volhard Weber & Axter from 1992 to 1994 he returned and was made partner in 1997. From 2011 to 2017 he was Managing Partner of the CMS Frankfurt office.

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Moderation

• 
  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 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