Zurich, 15 July 2016 – On 1 October 2016, Christoph Schmocker will take the lead of the Julius Baer Foundation. Since the beginning of June 2016, the Foundation has been led on an ad interim basis by its Chairman, Thomas R. Meier, following the departure of the former General Manager Martina Venturini. Christoph Schmocker can look back on almost 20 years of professional experience in the areas of foundation management, NGO management and fundraising. The last six years have seen him work in South Africa, most recently as Director of Fundraising & Strategic Projects at the University of Cape Town. During his first three years in the country, he worked as Manager of Development at Stellenbosch University. In Switzerland, he served as Director of Marketing and Communication for the Terre des Hommes Foundation between 1997 and 2001 before moving on to take up the role of CEO of the UBS Optimus Foundation from 2001 to 2010. Since 2000, he has also held various mandates, including with the Roger Federer Foundation, Giorgio Armani Perfume & Beauty and the Fondation Chirac.

Thomas R. Meier said: “I am absolutely delighted that we have been able to appoint Christoph Schmocker, a proven expert, as the new leader of the Julius Baer Foundation. Thanks to his comprehensive knowledge and extensive network as well as his many years of experience, he has all the prerequisites for developing the Foundation further and expanding its activities. At the same time, I would like to thank Martina Venturini for her commitment and valuable services as General Manager of the Julius Baer Foundation.”

The Foundation Board consists now of the following persons:

Thomas R. Meier, Chairman (and General Manager ad interim until 30 September 2016)
Boris F.J. Collardi, Vice-Chairman
Jan A. Bielinski, Member
Dieter Enkelmann, Member
Wolfgang Humbert-Droz, Member
Andreas Weinberg, Member 

Operational leadership: 

Christoph Schmocker, General Manager (as of 1 October 2016)
Vega Ibañez, Deputy General Manager (since 11 July 2016)