Management
Executive Committee
Marc Werner
CEO Galenica Group
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2020, born in 1967, Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: His journey started as Head of Sales at Sinomec AG (1990 – 1995) before he moved on to serve as Head of Product Management Photofinishing at the Federation of Migros Co-operatives (1995 – 1996). He became Head of Marketing and Sales and Member of the Executive Board at Minolta (Switzerland) AG (1997 – 2000) and then Head of Marketing & Sales at Bluewin AG (2000 – 2004). In 2005, Marc Werner joined then the Swisscom Group as head of Marketing & Sales. He moved into the role of Head of Private Customers (2013 – 2015) and Member of the Group Executive Board before serving as head of Sales & Services (2016 – 2019).
- Qualification: Federal certified marketing director and graduate of various Executive Education programmes at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, University of St. Gallen, London Business School, and Harvard Business School.
Lukas Ackermann
Chief IT & Digital Services Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2022, born in 1972, Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: Lukas Ackermann started off his career as Product Manager at Helsana Insurance Company Ltd and then became Deputy Head of Product Management (1999 – 2002). In 2002, he was appointed CEO of Medicall Ltd. Afterwards, he became Head of Health Care Market at Synesix Ltd (2008 – 2010). The two following years, Lukas Ackermann was Head of I-Lab at the University of St.Gallen, and from 2013 to 2020 he was General Manager / CEO of amétiq Ltd. Before Lukas Ackermann became Head of IT & Digital Services at Galenica Ltd at the Galenica Group in 2021, he was Managing Director of HCI Solutions Ltd.
- Qualification: He obtained a Diploma in Natural Sciences from Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and has a MAS MTEC from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich.
Felix Burkhard
CFO Galenica Group
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2010, born in 1966, Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: From 1991 to 1994, Felix Burkhard acted as Financial Auditor at Revisuisse PriceWaterhouse in Berne and 1995 as Head of Finance and Controlling at Amidro AG in Biel-Bienne. He joined the former Galenica Group in 1996 as Corporate Controller before becoming Deputy Head Retail Business sector in 2000. In 2008, he was named Head of the Amavita pharmacy chain and later Head Retail Business sector (2010 – 2015). Felix Burkhard then moved into the role of Head Strategic Projects (2015 – 2017). He has served as a member of the Corporate Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2010.
- Qualification: Lic. oec. at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), and Swiss certified accountant.
Arianne Hasler
Chief People & Culture
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2023, born in 1979, Swiss citizen.
- Career highlights: After completing her studies in 2006, Arianne Hasler began her professional career as an HR specialist at UBS Ltd. From 2007-2014, she worked as a senior sales and segment manager for Swiss private customers at UBS Ltd. and Zürcher Kantonalbank. During this time, she was responsible for various strategic sales projects. On moving to Raiffeisen Switzerland in 2014, Hasler assumed line management responsibilities, focusing on the formation and development of new topics and teams in the areas of staff development and HR. She began putting together the "Transformation" department within HR in 2020 and became responsible for the topics of "Transformation and Culture" and "Sustainable Cooperative" as part of the group strategy.
- Qualification: EMBA HSG in Business Engineering, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen (graduated 2021), MAS Coaching and Organisational Consulting, ZHAW – School of Applied Psychology, Zurich (graduated 2015), M.A. HSG exchange programme Master Affaires Internationales, Sciences Po, Paris (2005-2006), M.A. HSG in International Affairs and Governance, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen (2004-2005)
Andreas Koch
Head of Wholesale & Logistics
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2020, born 1971, German and Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: Between 2000 and 2009, Andreas Koch worked in different consulting and management functions in the field of supply chain management at various consulting firms. He then became Head of Supply Chain Management at Galexis – from 2011 also at Alloga – and was a member of both Executive Committees. In 2015, he rose to the position of Head of Alloga, after which he became Head of Galexis in 2019. In 2020, Andreas Koch took over the responsibility for the Services Business Sector at Galenica.
- Qualification: He completed an apprenticeship as forwarding & logistics manager before studying business administration at the University of Mannheim, and graduated with a degree in business administration. He later completed the Programme for Executive Development (PED) at IMD Lausanne.
Daniele Madonna
Chief Healthcare Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2017, born in 1977, Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: After his studies, Daniele Madonna worked as a pharmacist at the Olympia Pharmacy and the Victoria Pharmacy in Zurich (2003 – 2004). He joined the former Galenica Group in 2004 as Manager of the Coop Vitality pharmacy in Tenero. He later acted as Regional Sales Manager at Coop Vitality (2010 – 2014). Daniele Madonna was CEO of Coop Vitality AG (2014 – 2018) before becoming Head Retail Business sector in 2017. Since 2021, he has served as Chief Healthcare Officer at Galenica.
- Qualification: He obtained the Federal Diploma in Pharmacy from the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH), did further training as an FPH in Retail Pharmacy and a CAS in General Management at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and completed the Programme for Executive Development (PED) at IMD in Lausanne.
- Other main activity: Member of the Board of Coop Vitality, Member of the Board of Apotheke im KSW – Winterthur, Delegate of Pharmasuisse.
Virginie Pache
Chief Pharmacies Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2020, born in 1979, Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: After completing her studies, Virginie Pache started working as a Junior Marketing Manager at Danone Schweiz AG (mineral water) in Fribourg (2003 – 2006). Afterwards, she became Category Manager and Head of Sales at L’Oréal – Apothekenkosmetik Schweiz AG (2006-2010). She then was appointed Head of Caudalie Suisse (and Poland ad interim) and afterwards Caudalie D-A-CH GmbH in Switzerland, then in Düsseldorf, Germany (2010–2018), before she became Head of Coop Vitality in 2018.
- Qualification: Masters in Political Sciences – University of Lausanne and three semesters in Mainz (Germany)
Dr Thomas Szuran
Chief Products & Marketing Officer
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2019, born in 1967, Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: After having graduated from ETH Zurich, Thomas Szuran acted in various roles at Abbott Laboratories between 1997 and 2002, including being Sales & Marketing Manager for the Eastern European & Mediterranean region. He later became Sales Director at Pfizer Switzerland (Zurich) (2002 – 2005) and Country Manager at Pfizer in Israel (2005 to 2007). He joined Biomed AG in Dübendorf in 2008 as Marketing Director and was CEO of Biomed AG from 2011 to 2018. In 2019, Thomas Szuran became Head Products & Brands Business sector at the Galenica Group.
- Qualification: Dr sc. nat. Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich
- Other main activity: From 2012-2020, Thomas Szuran was member of the Executive Board and since 2013, he has served as President of the Association of the Swiss Self-Medication Industry (ASSGP).
Extended Executive Committee
Christina Hertig
Head of Corporate Communications
- Member of the Extended Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2017, born in 1966, Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: From 1985 to 1986 Christina Hertig was in charge of various projects at the advertising agency Lesch + Frei. After having completed her studies, she joined the editorial team of the members newspaper of the Schweizerische Metallunion (1991 - 1994). In 1995, she became Head of Sponsoring at Publisuisse Ltd, a year later she was appointed Head of Corporate Communications at Prodega Ltd (later Bon appétit Group). In 2002, she moved to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)as Head of Communication. Since 2006, Christina Hertig is Head of Corporate Communications at the Galenica Group. In 2017, she became a member of the extended Corporate Executive Committee, and in 2021, member of the extended Executive Committee.
- Qualification: She obtained a Federal Diploma in PR Consultancy and a Federal Diploma in Translation at the Interpreters’ School in Zurich. Furthermore, she studied HR Strategy in Transforming Organisations at the London Business School.
- Other main activity: Since 2019, she is a member of the GEWA Advisory council in Berne.
Jürg Pauli
Chief Transformation Officer
- Member of the Extended Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2021, born in 1964, swiss citizen
- Career highlights: Jürg Pauli started off his career as a lawyer at the Swiss Bank Corporation (1993 – 1995) and as lawyer and member of the Executive Committee at a law firm (1995 – 1999). From 1999 to 2005 he worked in various roles at Swisscom Mobile, before he became first Head of Marketing Communications and then Head of Marketing at Swisscom Mobile in 2005. Three years later, he joined the Swisscom Group as Head of Pricing and Portfolio Design. Afterwards, Jürg Pauli was appointed Head of Marketing Swisscom and member of the Executive Board for Swisscom (Switzerland) Ltd (2013 – 2016). In 2016, he became Head of Business Transformation at Swisscom. Since 2020, he is Head of Transformation and Organisational Development at Galenica Ltd and member of the extended Executive Committee.
- Qualification: He has studied law at the University of Berne and qualified as an advocate/attorney at law before he did his Executive MBA at Bern-Rochester. He later made a training Transformation for Executives at IMD Lausanne plus the CAS in Agile Leadership.
Barbara Wälchli
General Counsel & Secretary of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Extended Executive Committee of the Galenica Group since 2021, born in 1981, Swiss citizen
- Career highlights: From 2011 to 2018, Barbara Wälchli worked as attorney at law in various corporate law firms in Berne and Zurich. In 2018, she joined the Galenica Group as Senior Legal Counsel. In the following year, she became General Counsel of the Galenica Group. Since 2020, Barbara Wälchli acts as General Secretary and since 2021 as a member of the extended Executive Committee.
- Qualification: MLAW, LLM, attorney at law
