Baloise Nominates Activist Investor to Board for Strategic Change
ZURICH (Reuters) -Baloise has nominated Robert Schuchna, a representative of activist shareholder Cevian Capital, to join its board of directors next year, the Swiss insurer said on Monday.
Cevian, which in September became Baloise's biggest investor with a 9.4% stake, has been putting pressure on Baloise to improve its performance, saying its current strategy is not bold enough.
In September Baloise said it planned to boost return on equity, cut jobs and would consider share buybacks. Schuchna described the plans as "insufficient", saying Baloise needed "real focus and real ambition."
Shuchna, a partner at Cevian, has "a profound knowledge of the capital markets," Baloise said on Monday.
The executive was involved in Cevian's investment in British insurer Aviva and is also a supervisory board member at German construction company Bilfinger.
In other proposed changes, Baloise on Monday said Christoph Gloor and Hans-Joerg Schmidt-Trenz will not be standing for re-election to its board at its 2025 annual shareholders meeting.
The company said it would propose Vincent Vandendael and Andre Helfenstein, a former CEO of Credit Suisse's Swiss business, to replace them.
"I am looking forward to joining the board and to supporting Baloise in becoming a best-in-class insurance company," Schuchna said.
"Andre and Vincent are strong additions to the board, and they will bring important insurance and executive expertise to Baloise.”
(Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Friederike Heine)
