Internal organization
The General Meeting elects together with the members of the Board of Directors the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the members of the Compensation Committee. In all other respects, the Board of Directors constitutes itself.
If the Chairman resigns from the Board before the end of the term of office, the Board of Directors appoints a Chairman from among its members until election at the next General Meeting. Should one or more members of the Compensation Committee retire early, the Board of Directors can appoint substitutes from among its members until the conclusion of the next General Meeting.
The Chairman presides over the General Meeting, represents the company externally and procures together with the CEO and the members of Group Management timely information to the Board of Directors on all matters important for decision-making and the monitoring of significant Group concerns. He is responsible for preparing all matters to be dealt with by the Board of Directors, placing them on the agenda, and for convening and chairing Board of Directors’ meetings. In addition, the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors assumes the following tasks:
- Representation and positioning of the Lindt & Sprüngli Group towards the public, the authorities, and the company shareholders (communications) unless the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors delegates this task after internal consultation between himself and the CEO of the Lindt & Sprüngli Group to the CEO;
- Responsibility for the long-term strategic direction of the Lindt & Sprüngli Group and specific strategic projects, including transactions;
- Supporting important alliances and strategic partnerships;
- Positioning the Lindt & Sprüngli Group in the area of communications and marketing;
- Overall responsibility for corporate culture;
- Additional tasks are derived from the allocation of competences and the resolutions passed by the Board of Directors.
The CEO, together with the Group Management, is entrusted with the task of managing the business. The CEO presides over Group Management and coordinates in close collaboration with the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors on the most important decisions. Further details about the tasks of the CEO and Group Management can be found in the chapter “Allocation of competences” in this Annual Report.
The Board of Directors meets regularly – as often as business requires – but at least four times a year. Meetings are convened by the Chairman, or by another member of the Board of Directors appointed to substitute him. Each member of the Board of Directors is authorized to request a meeting to be convened without delay; the purpose must be stated.
The Chairman or, in his absence, another member of the Board of Directors appointed to substitute him, presides over the meetings. Along with members of the Board of Directors, the meetings may also be attended by members of Group Management and other non-members. In the year under review, four regular meetings were held, whereby all members attended these meetings. Three regular telephone conferences were held, whereby one member did not attend one of these telephone conferences. No circular resolutions were conducted. The regular meetings lasted around three hours. The telephone conferences lasted around one hour. Members of Group Management regularly attended these meetings, in compliance with exclusion principles. No external consultants took part in meetings of the Board of Directors.