The Board of INSEAD has appointed Dr. Franz B. Humer, Chairman and Chief Executive of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, as Chairman-elect of the Board to succeed Mr. Cees van Lede as of 1 July 2008. Mr. van Lede will continue to serve on the INSEAD Board.
Swiss and Austrian by nationality, Dr. Franz B. Humer, Doctor of Law from the University of Innsbruck, received his MBA from INSEAD in 1971 and was a member of the INSEAD International Council and the Swiss National Council from 1995 to 2006. He is Chairman and Chief Executive of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and also a non-executive Director of Allianz Versicherungs AG in Germany. He was formerly Chief Operating Director of Glaxo Holdings plc and has held a number of other non-executive directorships, including Chairman of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries. In July 2007, Diageo announced that Dr. Humer, who had been a non-executive Director of Diageo plc since 2005, will succeed Lord Blyth as Chairman on 1 July 2008, following his retirement as Chief Executive of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.
Franz Humer says: "I am deeply honoured and delighted by this appointment. INSEAD clearly is unique with its multi-campus model, the extraordinary diversity of faculty and participants as well as the consistent world-class teaching and research. It is a privilege for me to lead the Board into an exciting and successful future."
Cees van Lede comments: “I am very pleased that Franz Humer will succeed me as Chairman by the middle of this year. As an alumnus, he will provide the expected continuity in the governance of the school and bring with him a wealth of global industrial experience for its further development.”
Cees van Lede was the first INSEAD alumnus (MBA’67) to become Chairman of the INSEAD Board in 2004, having been member since 1997. He was CEO and Chairman of Akzo Nobel N.V. from 1994 until retiring from the post in 2003 and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of De Nederlandsche Bank between 1993 and 2004. He served as Chairman of the Federation of Netherlands Industries (VNO) and as Vice President of UNICE between 1984 and 1991. In addition to various non-profit organisations, he serves as a member of the supervisory boards of Heineken NV (Chairman), Sara Lee Corporation, Philips Electronics NV, Air Liquide and Air France-KLM.
Frank Brown, Dean of INSEAD since 2006 and Chief Executive of the school says: “I am delighted that another outstanding member of the global business community and INSEAD alumnus will chair INSEAD’s Board. I welcome Franz Humer to this role and very much look forward to working with him. I would also like to thank Cees van Lede for his outstanding guidance, and for his continuing contribution to the Board.”
