Continuity is a top priority at Roche. It is fitting that long-time CEO Severin Schwan is to replace Christoph Franz as Chairman of the Board of Directors. But despite all the success that characterizes the pharmaceutical company: A breath of fresh air, as Franz brought it in, would also do her good in the future.
CEO Severin Schwan (right) will replace Christoph Franz (left) as Chairman of the Board of Directors. However, the founding family, which was concerned about the greatest possible continuity, missed the opportunity to bring a breath of fresh air to the board of directors.
A decade and a half at the head of a large corporation, something like that is very rare these days. Nevertheless, Severin Schwan will have achieved this when he resigns as CEO of the Basel-based pharmaceutical group Roche on March 15, 2023 as planned. And people like to believe the charming manager when he flirts with the fact that some competitors in the pharmaceutical industry have already had the second or third CEO since taking office.
Designed for the long term
But Roche is not just any drug manufacturer. Roche is a group which, supported by the founding family with a majority of votes, is pursuing a particularly long-term strategy. Not only does Schwan’s unusually long term of office fit in with this, but also the fact that the previous CEO will seamlessly switch to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors (VRP). He will replace Christoph Franz, who has decided not to stand for re-election at the upcoming General Assembly after nine years in this position.
Franz made a career as a manager in the transport sector. He worked in top positions at both Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa – he rose to become CEO at the aviation company. The fact that a personality like him took over the presidency of the board of directors without any previous managerial activity at the company and, what’s more, without any industry experience, is considered an exception at Roche. Schwan’s predecessor Franz Humer, like Fritz Gerber, who died two years ago, was promoted from the CEO to chairman of the supervisory board – a circumstance that Schwan is now happy to refer to.
How much freedom does the new one have?
At times, Humer and Gerber even served as CEO and Chairman of the Board at the same time. This accumulation of offices is rightly frowned upon in Switzerland and is no longer an option, even for Roche, which is aware of its tradition. However, even the direct appointment of a CEO as Chairman of the Board of Directors has its pitfalls. The main problem is that it allows the outgoing CEO to oversee his successor. Meanwhile, the newcomer to the top of the group has to ask himself whether he will be given enough creative freedom in the exercise of his office.
With Thomas Schinecker as the designated new company boss, a “homegrown” will also have a chance. Like Schwan, the current head of the diagnostics division has spent his entire career at Roche. The question arises as to whether new accents can be set under it. Schwan assures that he will maintain “self-discipline” and give the new CEO freedom. At the same time, however, he has already made it clear that there will be no major strategic changes under him.
The right questions asked
As an outsider, Franz was not above questioning things. With his declared will, breaking out of old ways of thinking, he made a significant contribution to driving digitalization at Roche. The group, which, like many pharmaceutical companies, started this process comparatively late, benefited greatly from it. It now has the reputation of not only being a leader in pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostics, but also of being in a formidable position in the patient data processing business.
Schwan has also impressed in his long tenure as CEO. Between 2007 and 2021, sales increased from CHF 46 billion to CHF 63 billion. Unlike the local rival Novartis, there were hardly any scandals, Schwan led the company with a sure hand. Personally, it is good for him that, to top it all off, he can now also become Vice President at Roche. However, the founding family, which is obviously concerned with the greatest possible continuity, missed an opportunity to bring fresh air to the board of directors again.