Organisation

on 31.12.2022

Foundation Board

Thomas D. Meyer
Chairman Swisscontact and Member of the Foundation Board
Isabelle Welton
Vice chair Swisscontact and Member of the Foundation Board
Thomas Bergen
Member of the Foundation Board
Dr. Sabin Bieri
Member of the Foundation Board
Monique Bourquin
Member of the Foundation Board,
Chair Person Finance Committee
Dr. Paul Hälg
Member of the Foundation Board
Dr. Christoph Lindenmeyer
Member of the Foundation Board
Armin Meier
Member of the Foundation Board

Foundation Council

  • Thomas Bergen
    (Member of the Foundation Board)
    Co-Founder and CEO getAbstract, Lucerne; Co-Founder and Board Member, Amphasys AG, Root; Board Member HopeNow, Lucerne
  • Dr. Sabin Bieri
    (Member of the Foundation Board)
    Director, Centre for Development and Environment CDE, University of Bern, Bern; Board Member Solidar Suisse; Member of the Programme Committee International Development, cfd Christlicher Friedensdienst; Member of the Coalition Council, International Land Coalition
  • Monique Bourquin
    (Member of the Foundation Board, Chair Person Finance Committee)
    Member of the Board of Directors, Emmi AG, Lucerne; Member of the Board of Directors, Kambly SA, Trubschachen; Member of the Board of Directors, Weleda AG, Arlesheim; Member of the Board of Directors, W. Kündig & Cie AG, Zürich; President of Promarca (swiss association branded goods), Bern
  • Claudia Coninx-Kaczynski
    Member of the Board of Directors, Forbo Holding AG, Baar; Swisscontent AG, Zurich and Awina AG, Zurich; Member of the Board of Trustees/Vice President Orpheum Foundation for the Advancement of Young Soloists, Zurich; Member of the Board of Trustees, Zoo Stiftung Zurich; Member of the Human Rights Watch Komitee, Zurich
  • Dr. Anna Crole-Rees
    (until 19.5.2022)
    (Member of the Foundation Board)
    Founder and Consultant, CRC4change, Lausanne; Partner at IKAT; Member of the Board of Trustees IFWE, Lausanne
  • Béatrice Fischer
    Managing Director BF Advisory & Solutions AG, Erlenbach
  • Dr. Eduard C. Gnesa
    Former Special Ambassador for International Migration, Berne
  • Amb. Thomas Greminger
    Direktor, Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), Genf
  • Dr. Urs Grütter
    (until 15.12.2022)
    Owner and CEO Max Ditting AG, Zurich; Initiator project «LokalesWasser.ch», Zurich
  • Prof. Dr. Fritz Gutbrodt
    Managing Director Chairman’s Office, Swiss Re Management Ltd, Zurich (until 31.03.2023); Adjunct Professor, University of Zurich; Member of the Foundation Board of Careum; Member of the Board of Directors of Careum School of Health; Careum Educational Centre
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas A. Gutzwiller
    (until 19.5.2022)
    Chairman of the Board of Directors and Partner GWPartner AG Gutzwiller, Wachsmann Partner, St. Gall
  • Dr. Paul Hälg
    (Member of the Foundation Board)
    Chairman of the Board of Directors Dätwyler Holding Inc., Altdorf and Sika AG, Baar
  • Hans Jöhr
    (until 20.12.2022)
    Former Corporate Head of Agriculture Nestle SA, Vevey; Hon. President of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative SAI Platform; Member of the Board of Directors, IFCN (int. Farm Comp. Network), Kiel (DE); Hon. Chair BIP, Nigeria
  • Dr. Karin Lenzlinger Diedenhofen
    Member of the Board of Directors of Bâloise Group AG, Basel ; SV Group AG, Dübendorf; Bank Linth LLB AG, Uznach; President of the Board of Directors, Zürcher Oberland Medien AG, Wetzikon; President of the Zurich Chamber of Commerce; Member of the Board of economiesuisse; Member of the Board of B-Lab Switzerland, Geneva; Member of the Foundation Council, Stiftung St. Jakob, Zurich
  • Dr. Christoph Lindenmeyer (Member of the Foundation Board)
    CEO and Vice-Chairman AO Foundation, Davos; Chairman / Member of various Boards of Directors
  • Armin Meier
    (Member of the Foundation Board)
    Managing Director Boyden global executive search, Zurich; Member of the Board of Zug Estates Holding AG, Zug; Kibag, Zurich; Ameos Group, Zurich; IHAG Holding, Zurich; Evalueserve Holdings, Zug; IBS Software Services, Singapore; SPS Holding, Zurich
  • Dr. Myriam Meyer Stutz
    Member of the Supervisory Board of KUKA AG, Augsburg (DE); Lufthansa Technik AG, Hamburg (DE); Wienerberger AG, Vienna (AT); Bedag Informatik AG, Bern
  • Thomas D. Meyer
    (Chairman of Swisscontact and Member of the Foundation Board)
    Partner, BLR Partners AG, Zurich; Chairman, CelsiusPro AG, Zurich; Member of the Board Osterwalder AG, Lyss; Member of the Supervisory Board Apleona GmbH, Neu Isenburg (DE); Member of the Board Noser Management AG (Noser Group), Zurich; Member of the Board BLR Capital AG, Zurich
  • Dr. Reto Müller
    Partner BLR Partners AG, Zurich; Chairman Swiss Krono Group, Lucerne; Past President of the Helbling Group, Zurich; Board Member other companies
  • Prof. Dr. Ursula Renold
    Chair of Education Systems, D-MTEC, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich
  • Dr. Manuel Rybach
    Global Head of Public Policy and Regulatory Foresight, Credit Suisse, Zurich
  • Dr. Thomas Sauber
    Attorney-at-law, Zurich; Member of the Foundation Council (Audit Committee) Kinderspital Zurich (Eleonorenstiftung); President of the Friends of the Zurich Tonhalle-Orchestra; Member of the Advisory Board of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation; Member of the Foundation Council, Stiftung St. Jakob, Zurich
  • Ruedi Schmid
    Chairman of the Board of Directors and owner, ESIMAG Immobilien AG; Chairman of the Board of Directors Airport Taxi Zürich Kloten AG, Kloten; President of the Board of Trustees, HANDELSchweiz (Swiss Trade), Basel; Member of the Board of Directors, PrognosiX AG, Zurich; Member of the Board of Trustees, Zoo Stiftung Zürich; Member of the Board, economiesuisse; President, Carus Stiftung, Zurich
  • Isabelle Welton
    (Vice chair Swisscontact and Member of the Foundation Board)
    Entrepreneur and Member of various Boards; Founder and Consultant, Rubidia GmbH, Zug; Member of the Board AG für die Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich; Member of the Board of Trustees of the Stiftung SOS-Kinderdorf Schweiz, Berne; Member of the Board, Siegfried AG, Zofingen; Member of the Board of Trustees, Lucerne Festival, Luzern; Member of the Board, SIAF (Schweizerisches Institut für Auslandforschung) Universität Zürich, Zurich
  • Leopold Wyss
    Former Head Sponsoring & Donations, Novartis International AG, Basel

 

Auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Zürich

Executive Board

Philippe Schneuwly, CEO; Anne Bickel, Director People & Learning; Franz Kehl, Director Products & Solutions; Stephanie Dreifuss, Director Partners & Clients; Florian Meister, Director Operations & Quality; Stefan Schneider, Director Finance & Technology (from left)

Head of Departments

Regional Directors

Organigram on 31.12.2022
Corporate Governance 

Swisscontact is committed to the principles of good governance for responsible management, control, and communication. The Foundation complies with the ZEWO accounting standards and fulfils the Swiss GAAP FER 21 guidelines for charitable and social non-profit organisations. Our Corporate Governance principles are set forth in various documents. These include our Foundation Certificate, Rules of Organisation, and Code of Conduct.

Foundation Council

The Foundation Council is Swisscontact’s highest governing body. As a strategic management and supervisory entity, it carries out executive and supervisory activities, taking on overall responsibility for the foundation, specifically in matters involving business activity, the management and use of its financial endowment, risk management, and internal monitoring and controls.

Foundation Board

The Foundation Board is in charge of the Executive Board’s ongoing business and activities. In addition, it bears responsibility for and decision-making authority over the following in particular: issuing the Swisscontact mission statement and strategy developed by the Executive Board, long-term financial and business planning over several years, submitting requests to the Foundation Council for approval of internal and geographic areas of focus as well as project activities.

Finance and Audit Committee

The Finance and Audit Committee (FinCom) is tasked by the Foundation Board with financial guidance and control and prepares information documents and decisions on the Foundation Board’s behalf. FinCom performs comparative analyses of annual reports, sets Swisscontact’s investment policy, validates financial planning and controls, assesses the internal controls system, and evaluates the results of both external and internal audits.

HR Commission

The HR Commission (HR-Com) is tasked by the Foundation Board with the preparation of the order of succession for the Foundation Council, Foundation Board, Chairmanship and Executive Board, in addition to general strategic HR issues. HR-Com also reviews updates to HR and salary policies, supporting and advising the Executive Board on important HR issues.

Executive Board

The Executive Board is headed by the CEO. It is responsible for the organisation both at the Head Office and in the regions, accounting and planning, acquisitions, finance, preparation, and execution of development projects. It reports to the Foundation Council and Swisscontact’s donors. The Executive Board is in charge of strategy development and implementation as well as annual planning.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is appointed by the Foundation Council for a one-year term and carries out group reviews in particular.

Compliance

All employees are bound by legal regulations and our internal guidelines. Compliance with the Swisscontact Code of Conduct is mandatory for all members of the Board of Trustees, employees and subcontractors. The CoC was expanded by a PSEAH policy (Prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment), which pays particular attention to matters involving sexual harassment and abuse. All employees undergo annual refresher training in the CoC and PSEAH. There is a whistleblowing reporting line for anyone affected to report an issue to the Head Office, either anonymously or in person. Internal rules, processes, proven methods, and procedures are accessible to all Swisscontact employees via our Intranet. Partner organisations are obligated to comply with agreed guidelines through a due-diligence process and corresponding agreement.

Risk management and the internal control system

Swisscontact implement various tools to monitor and mitigate risks related to projects, countries, and the organisation as a whole, keeping these continuously up-to-date. These tools include the system for risk management and internal controls. Our internal control system undergoes annual compliance reviews both at Head Office and in the regions. Based thereupon, the Executive Board can react quickly and in a targeted fashion, implementing measures wherever needed. Both risk management and the internal control system undergo an annual external audit, the results of which are reported to the Foundation Council.

Internal Audits

In our internal audits, internal work processes are checked for their correctness, regularity, appropriateness, and cost-effectiveness. The goal is to increase efficiency while reducing risk and identifying alternative ways of operating and areas where Executive Board members and Country Directors could improve.

Swisscontact Services AG

The Swisscontact Foundation is the 100% shareholder of an incorporated company, headquartered in Zürich, and in accordance with Art. 620 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations. The company exercises its activities within the framework of Swisscontact’s charitable engagement; thus, only to the extent the Foundation does not want or is unable to engage in an activity undertaken by the company. The company provides services and takes on specific tasks – particularly for studies, consultancies, and training –also implementing various projects. The company may decide to pay out dividends to support the non-profit Swisscontact Foundation and only to the Foundation. In turn, the Foundation can use the dividends only for non-profit purposes. In 2019, Swisscontact’s Services AG entity acquired the Springfield Centre for Development (SFC) in England. SFC remains an independent subsidiary.

Swisscontact – Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation

We are a leading organisation for the implementation of international development projects. Founded in 1959 and registered under Swiss law, we are an independent non-profit organisation. We are politically and denominationally neutral.

Our Mission

We unleash the potential of private initiative to foster sustainable development and shared prosperity in developing and emerging economies.  

What we do

  • We strengthen the competencies of people, improving their employability.
  • We increase the competitiveness of enterprises, growing their business.
  • We foster social and economic systems, promoting inclusive development.

What we offer

  • Project Implementation
  • Advisory, Training and Research Services
ZEWO Seal of Approval

ZEWO Seal of Approval: Swisscontact was awarded the Seal of Approval from ZEWO. It is awarded to non-profit organisations for the conscientious handling of money entrusted to them, proves appropriate, economical and effective allocation of donations and stands for transparent and trustworthy organisations with functioning control structures that uphold ethics in the procurement of funds and communication. Swisscontact is regularly audited on the adherence to these criteria. (Source: ZEWO)


Swisscontact is a member of Transparency International and UN Global Compact.

Overview
Results and Impact
Sustainability
The private sector as partner
Financial Statement 2022
Partners