Nominations for re-election and election by the Annual General Meeting on 20 April 2018

On 1 January 2014 the Ordinance Against Excessive Compensation at Public Corporations entered into effect. It provides that, as of the Annual General Meeting 2014, the shareholders will annually elect the members of the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the members of the Compensation Committee, individually and separately, for one-year terms. The Board of Directors proposes that the following Board members be re-elected for a one-year term:

  • Walter B. Kielholz
  • Raymond K.F. Ch’ien
  • Renato Fassbind
  • Trevor Manuel
  • Jay Ralph
  • Joerg Reinhardt
  • Philip K. Ryan
  • Sir Paul Tucker
  • Jacques de Vaucleroy
  • Susan L. Wagner

The Board of Directors proposes that Walter B. Kielholz be re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors for a further one-year term.

Walter B. Kielholz is a very experienced Chairman with our company. This proposal is in line with the Board of Directors’ aim to ensure stability in the Board of Directors’ composition and work.

Mary Francis, Rajna Gibson Brandon and C. Robert Henrikson will not stand for re-election.

Furthermore, the Board of Directors proposes:

  • Karen Gavan
  • Eileen Rominger
  • Larry Zimpleman

to the Annual General Meeting 2018 for first-time election as members of the Board of Directors for a one-year term of office.

Karen Gavan started her career in finance roles at Prudential Insurance, Imperial Life and Canada Life. Afterwards, at Transamerica Life Canada/AEGON Canada, Karen Gavan worked as Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Operating Officer. Until her retirement in November 2016, she served for five years as Chief Executive Officer at Economical Insurance, one of Canada’s leading property and casualty insurance companies, preparing the company for its initial public offering. During her leadership, the company also launched SONNET, Canada’s first fully digital insurer.

Since 2015, she has been a member of the Board of Swiss Re America Holding Corporation and she has been a Board member at Mackenzie Financial Corporation since 2007. Karen Gavan is a Canadian citizen born in 1961. She graduated with a Honours Bachelor of Commerce from the Lakehead University, Canada. She is a Fellow at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, Canada.

Eileen Rominger began her career at Oppenheimer Capital, where she worked for 18 years as an equity portfolio manager, serving as a Managing Director and a member of the Executive Committee. Eileen Rominger then joined Goldman Sachs Asset Management in 1999, where she held a number of senior leadership positions, becoming the company’s Global Chief Investment Officer. She subsequently served from 2011 to 2012 as the Director of the Division of Investment Management at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, where she was instrumental in formulating and implementing regulatory policy for mutual funds and federally registered investment advisors.

Since 2013, Eileen Rominger has held roles including being a senior advisor at CamberView Partners, a leading provider of advice to public companies on shareholder engagement, corporate governance and activism.

Eileen Rominger is a US citizen born in 1954. She graduated with a Bachelor of English from the Fairfield University, USA, and holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton Graduate School of Business, USA.

Larry Zimpleman started his career in 1971 as actuarial intern at The Principal Financial Group, an investment management company that offers insurance solutions, asset management and retirement services to individual and institutional clients. From 1976 to 2006 he held various senior management and leadership positions at The Principal. He became President and Chief Executive Officer in 2008 and Chairman in 2009. In August 2015, Larry Zimpleman stepped down as President and CEO and retired as a full-time employee in 2016 after a long, successful career, while continuing to serve as non-executive Chairman.

Larry Zimpleman is a US citizen born in 1951. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the Drake University, USA, and holds an MBA from the same university.

The Board of Directors furthermore proposes that Raymond K.F. Ch’ien, Renato Fassbind and Joerg Reinhardt be re-elected as members and Jacques de Vaucleroy be elected as a new member of the Compensation Committee, succeeding C. Robert Henrikson, all for a one-year term.