Board of Directors
Information on members of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors consists exclusively of non-executive independent members. Neither now nor in the course of the past three financial years has any current member of the Board of Directors simultaneously been a member of the Executive Board of BKW or a BKW Group company.
| Name | Nationality | Board member since | In office until | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Fritz Kilchenmann | CH | 1994 | 2011 |
Chairman of the Board
Chairman of the Nomination and Compensation Committee |
| Antoinette Hunziker-Ebneter | CH | 2006 | 2011 |
Vice Chairwoman of the Board
Vice Chairwoman of the Audit Committee |
| Marc-Alain Affolter | CH | 2007 | 2011 | Member |
| Georges Bindschedler | CH | 2007 | 2011 | Member |
| Barbara Egger-Jenzer | CH | 2002 | 2011 |
Member of the Nomination and Compensation Committee
Representative of the Canton of Berne* |
| Urs Gasche | CH | 2002 | 2011 |
Chairman of the Audit Committee
Representative of the Canton of Berne* |
| Eugen Marbach | CH | 2007 | 2011 | Member |
| Ulrich Sinzig | CH | 1992 | 2011 | Vice Chairman of the Nomination and Compensation Committee |
| Dirk Steinheider | D | 2008 | 2011 | Member of the Audit Committee |
| Philippe Virdis | CH | 2003 | 2011 | Member |
| Hartmut Geldmacher | D | 2009 | 2011 | Member |
* Canton of Berne delegate
In accordance with Art. 21 of the Articles of Association and under the terms of Art. 762 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (SCO), the Canton of Berne is entitled to a maximum of two seats on the
Board of Directors. Currently, State Councillors Barbara Egger-Jenzer and Urs Gasche have seats on the Board of Directors as delegates of the Canton of Berne.
The following is a summary of the main tasks, Board mandates and representation offices held by the Board members.
- Fritz Kilchenmann,Doctor of Law, advocate, has been running his own firm of solicitors in Berne since 1992 and represents BKW on the boards of various BKW subsidiaries. Before starting his law firm, Fritz Kilchenmann was legal advisor and secretary to the Board of Directors of BKW, and prior to this held the office of General Secretary of the Canton of Berne Department of Transport, Energy and Water.
- Antoinette Hunziker-Ebneter, lic. oec. HSG, CEO und Vizepräsidentin des Verwaltungsrats der Forma Futura Invest AG, Zürich. Zudem ist sie Mitglied des Verwaltungsrats der Gebäudeversicherung des Kantons Bern, der Van Goethem & Partner AG, Kreuzlingen, sowie der Sustainable Performance Group AG, Zürich. Von 2002 bis 2005 war Antoinette Hunziker-Ebneter bei der Bank Julius Bär, Zürich, als Leiterin des Geschäftsbereichs Trading & Sales sowie als Mitglied der Konzernleitung tätig und davor für die Schweizer Börse SWX Swiss Exchange, zuletzt als Vorsitzende der SWX-Gruppe, Zürich, und CEO der Virt-X in London.
- Marc-Alain Affolter, Engineer FH, is Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Affolter Holding Group, Malleray, which manufactures components for watches and machines. Until 1985 he worked for various companies as a development engineer.
- Georges Bindschedler, Doctor of Law and notary, is a professional director and independent businessman. He has board mandates with Merz und Benteli AG, Niederwangen/BE (Delegate), KUBO Tech AG, Effretikon (Chairman), Lüthi Holding AG, Burgdorf (Chairman), Solvalor Fund Management SA, Lausanne, Hyposwiss Private Bank Genève SA and ITAG Vermögensverwaltungs AG, Basel. He is also President of the Council of Berne University of Applied Sciences and of various charity foundations. Between 1985 and 2002 he was Delegate to the Board of Directors and CEO of von Graffenried Holding AG, Berne. Prior to this he worked for a firm of lawyers and a bank.
- Barbara Egger-Jenzer, lawyer, is a State Councillor, in which function she acts as Director of Construction, Transport and Energy for the Canton of Berne. As part of her official duties she also sits on the Board of Directors of BLS Lötschbergbahn AG and Alpar AG. Until her election to the State Council in 2002, Barbara Egger-Jenzer worked as an independent lawyer in Berne.
- Urs Gasche lawyer, is a State Councillor, in which function he acts as Director of Finance for the Canton of Berne. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Vereinigte Schweizerische Rheinsalinen (United Swiss Salt Works) in Schweizerhalle. Prior to his election as State Councillor in 2002, Urs Gasche worked as an independent lawyer in Berne.
- Eugen Marbach, lawyer, has worked as an independent lawyer in Berne since 1985. Since 1987 he has regularly lectured at the University of Berne, where he has held a professorship at the Institute for Economic Law since 1993. Since 2005 Eugen Marbach has also been co-publisher of a newssheet on intangible assets, information and competition law.
- Ulrich Sinzig, lawyer, is Director of aare Seeland mobil ag, Langenthal and Vice Chairman of the Board of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).
- Dirk Steinheider, industrial engineer, has been a member of Executive Board of E.ON Kernkraft GmbH, Hannover, since 2006 and Chief Executive Officer, since 2008. Between 2003 and 2006 Dirk Steinheider was Head of Business Steering and member of the Executive Board of E.ON Energie AG, prior to which he served in various controlling functions at E.ON Energie AG
- Philippe Virdis, electrical engineer, has been General Director of Group E, Fribourg, since the beginning of 2006. He is also Chairman of the Board of Groupe E Connect SA, Cisel Informatique SA, Frigaz SA and SAIDEF SA as well as Vice Chairman of Forces Motrices Hongrin-Léman SA, Swiss Hydrogen Power SHP SA, Fribourg and Capital Risque Fribourg SA. In addition he is a member of the Board of Gommerkraftwerke AG, EWEMAG and Belenos Clean Power Holding AG and member of the Board of Electrosuisse, the Swiss Association for Electrical, Energy and Information Technology. Prior to serving as General Director of Groupe E, Philippe Vidris was General Director of EEF.Ensa SA.
- Hartmut Geldmacher, has been member of the Management Board and Labour Director at E.ON Energie AG in Munich.
