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Zurich, March 6, 2014 - Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) announced today that the Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting on April 2, 2014, the election of Christoph Franz (born 1960, German citizen) to the Board of Directors for a term of office of one year.
Tom de Swaan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zurich, commented: "We are  delighted that Christoph Franz accepted our nomination. With his wide-ranging experience in leading a global company, his very strong network in the Swiss and international business communities and his broad and diverse expertise, I am convinced that Christoph will bring a highly valuable contribution to our Board."
As already announced last year, Rolf Watter and Victor L.L. Chu will not stand for re-election at this year's Annual General Meeting.

Tom de Swaan said: "On behalf of the Board and all shareholders, I would like to thank Rolf and Victor for their many years of outstanding service and commitment to Zurich."

Subject to the re-election and election of the members of the Board by the shareholders, the Board of Directors of Zurich will consist of the following members:

  • Tom de Swaan, Präsident
  • Fred Kindle, Vizepräsident
  • Susan Bies
  • Dame Alison Carnwath
  • Christoph Franz 
  • Rafael del Pino
  • Thomas K. Escher
  • Monica Mächler
  • Don Nicolaisen

The invitation to the AGM along with the Annual Report 2013 will be published on www.zurich.com on March 7, 2014.

Biographical information about Christoph Franz

Christoph Franz is currently chairman of the executive board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. He was also elected chairman of the board of Roche on March 4, 2014.

Mr. Franz started his professional career in 1990 at Lufthansa AG. From 1994 until 2004 he held different executive functions at Deutsche Bahn AG, among others as member of the executive board and CEO of the passenger transport division. In 2004 he became CEO of Swiss International Air Lines AG, and in 2009 was promoted to the role of deputy of the executive board chairman and CEO Passenger Airlines as well as a member of the executive board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. In 2011, Mr. Franz became chairman of the executive board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. He will hold these roles until the end of May 2014.

Mr. Franz studied industrial engineering at the Technical University Darmstadt (Germany) and completed his studies with a PhD in economic sciences  (Dr. rer. pol.) at the same university. He also studied at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon and the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Lyon (France) and did a post-doctorate research stint at the University of California, Berkeley.

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