Group Management
As of December 31, 2023, Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG’s Group Management had eight members:
Name, responsibility |
|
At Lindt & Sprüngli since |
|---|---|---|
Dr Adalbert Lechner |
|
1993 |
Martin Hug |
|
2004 |
Rolf Fallegger |
|
1997 |
Alain Germiquet |
|
2007 |
Daniel Studer |
|
2003 |
Dr Jennifer Picenoni |
|
2007 |
Guido Steiner |
|
1990 |
Nicole Uhrmeister |
|
2023 |
Dr Adalbert Lechner (AT) PhD in Law
After receiving his doctorate in law, Mr. Lechner held several management positions in marketing and sales with L’Oréal and Johnson & Johnson. He joined the Lindt & Sprüngli Group as CEO of the Austrian subsidiary in 1993. He was then appointed CEO of the German subsidiary Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli GmbH in 1997. He was a member of Extended Group Management from 2011 until 2016. Since January 1, 2017, he has been a member of Group Management. On October 1, 2022, he took over as CEO of the Lindt & Sprüngli Group. The Group functions Group Communications, Global Retail and Transformation report directly to him.
Martin Hug (CH) lic. oec.
Mr. Hug started his career in various roles with a leading global coffee trading company in Latin America (Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Honduras), lastly as Finance Director in Costa Rica, before he joined Lindt & Sprüngli (International) AG in 2004 as Senior Controller. Only a short time later, he was promoted to CFO at Lindt & Sprüngli UK. From 2011 to the end of 2016, he held the position of CFO at Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in California (USA). As of January 1, 2017, he has been Group CFO and a member of Group Management, where he is responsible for Finance, IT, Procurement and Sustainability.
Rolf Fallegger (CH) lic. oec. HSG
Mr. Fallegger began his career in 1991 in marketing with Procter & Gamble in Geneva, the UK, and Belgium. He joined Lindt & Sprüngli (Schweiz) AG as Marketing Manager in 1997. He was then appointed CEO of the Lindt & Sprüngli subsidiary companies in the UK and France. In 2009, he returned to the Swiss headquarters and was a member of the Extended Group Management from 2011 to 2014. In 2014, he was promoted to member of the Group Management, where he is responsible for the development of specific markets.
Alain Germiquet (CH) lic. oec.
Mr. Germiquet started his career in the Sales division of two notable mineral oil companies before joining Hiestand in 1999, where he was promoted from Marketing Director to Managing Director in a short time. In 2005, he became Commercial Director at Nestlé and in 2007, he joined Lindt & Sprüngli first as CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli UK and then as CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli France from 2009 to 2016. On January 1, 2017, he joined Group Management, where he is responsible for the development of specific markets and International Sales.
Daniel Studer (CH) lic. iur.
Mr. Studer started his professional career at Unilever in Brand Marketing before he joined the Lindt & Sprüngli Switzerland subsidiary in 2003, where he held various leadership roles in sales, followed by the position of Head of International Sales at the Group’s headquarters. In 2009, he was appointed to Country Manager of Lindt & Sprüngli Mexico. Two years later, he transferred to the USA, where he was first appointed VP Sales and then CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli USA in 2016. As of September 1, 2022, he has been a member of the Group Management and is responsible for the development of specific markets and Global Marketing.
Dr Jennifer Picenoni (CH) lic. iur.
Ms. Picenoni started her career as an attorney in a law firm in 2002 after having completed her doctorate. She joined Lindt & Sprüngli (International) AG in 2007 as Senior Legal Counsel. In 2008, she was promoted to Head Corporate Legal and in 2014 to Group General Counsel. In 2017, Ms. Picenoni took over the additional responsibility as Corporate Secretary of the Group. Since January 2020, she has been a member of the Group Management, responsible for Group Legal, Intellectual Property and Legal Compliance.
Guido Steiner (CH) Dipl. Lm-Ing. ETH
Mr. Steiner began his career as assistant at the chair for Business Administration at ETH in Zurich. In 1990, he joined Lindt & Sprüngli as Assistant Manager Group Production Planning. Two years later he was promoted to Group Production Planning Manager. From 1998 until 2003, he was Vice President Operations at Lindt & Sprüngli USA. In 2003, he returned to headquarters as Vice President Operations. Since January 1, 2017, he has been member of Group Management and continues to be in charge of Group Operations.
Nicole Uhrmeister (CH) MAS Human Capital Management ZHAW
Ms. Uhrmeister began her career working in local HR functions in several companies before she joined Coca-Cola HBC (Switzerland) AG as a Compensation & Benefits Specialist in 2004, and was promoted to HR Controlling Manager in 2006. In 2010, she took over the role as Country HR Director Switzerland. After five years, in 2015, she was again promoted to Group Labour Relations and Regional HR Director. In 2016, she joined the Capri Sun Group Holding as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). On November 1, 2023, she took over the role as CHRO at Lindt & Sprüngli and became a member of the Group Management.
The members of the Group Management currently do not exercise any other activities in important Swiss or foreign management or supervisory bodies, apart from the above-mentioned mandates. Furthermore, they have no management or advisory functions at important Swiss or foreign interest groups, nor do they hold public or political office. There are no management agreements regarding management functions between the Lindt & Sprüngli Group and legal entities or natural persons outside the Group.
Succession planning
The CNC, together with the Chair of the Board of Directors, reviews the short-term and long-term succession planning of the CEO and the other members of the Group Management and submits proposals to the Board of Directors regarding the appointment, promotion, dismissal and succession planning of the CEO and other members of the Group Management. The CNC annually reviews and considers the adequacy of the composition of the Group Management, in particular in consideration of the required professional competencies, expertise and experience, the needs of the Group, diversity aspects, including age, gender, nationality and ethnicity, and the external mandates held by the members of the Group Management, and considers these aspects in nominations for Group Management.
Number of permitted activities outside the Group
The number of activities that members of the Group Management may perform in comparable functions at other companies with an economic purpose outside the Group is according to Article 19, subsection 3 item 2 of the Articles of Association limited to two mandates in listed companies, five mandates in non-listed companies, and 10 mandates in other legal entities, such as foundations and associations, with an economic purpose. Any new mandates of members of the Group Management in companies outside the Lindt & Sprüngli Group require the prior approval of the Chair of the Board of Directors and the chair of the CNC in accordance with article 10.12 of the Organizational Regulations.
The members of the Group Management may not be personally compensated for mandates in other companies held on request of the company or in companies controlled by the company. Any potential exceptions must be approved by the CNC (see article 10.13 of the Organizational Regulations).