Roche CEO's Proposed Election to Board Criticised

The proposed election of Swiss drugmaker Roche's chief executive to its board of directors and the exit of two independent board members could meet with resistance from shareholders, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported. CEO Severin Schwan's election at the annual general meeting in March is only a formality, given that controlling families Hoffmann and Oeri have more than 50 percent of voting rights, but critics say the announced changes could make the board less independent, SonntagsZeitung said on Sunday. "We reject his (Schwan's) election in the light of the information we have today," Gregor Greber, head of wealth manager zCapital, told the newspaper, adding that the independence of the supervisory board was deteriorating. Roche said on Friday Schwan would be proposed as a new member of the board and that Vice Chairman Bruno Gehrig and board member Lodewijk de Vink, who both joined the board in 2004, would not stand for re-election.