About us

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors supervises the business activities of the Company. It defines the company's strategy and the principles of corporate governance.

Dr. iur. Giatgen Peder Fontana

President of the Board of Directors, Salouf, Switzerland

Giatgen Peder Fontana has been President of the Board of Directors since 2013. He studied canon and civil law at the universities of Bern and Zurich, gaining his licentiate in 1978 in Zurich and his doctorate in 1986. During the course of his career, he has held positions in various companies as CEO and Marketing Manager at an international level. Since 1991, Giatgen Peder Fontana has been contributing his experience on several Boards of Directors and still serves as a member of the Board of Directors, president, foundation management council member and partner. Furthermore, he advises companies on corporate and management development in strategic marketing.

Philipp Ries

Vice President of the Board of Directors, Zurich, Switzerland

Philipp Ries has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2017. He is Head of EMEA Assistant Distribution Partnerships at Google Switzerland GmbH. Before this, he worked at Hewlett Packard International. He has many years of management experience in the SME field and possesses well-grounded knowledge in the areas of new technologies and digital marketing. Philipp Ries has a Master's degree in Computer Science & Economics from the University of Zurich and completed the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business NDS.

Lic. rer. pol. Kurt Scholl

Member of the Board of Directors, Steinhausen, Switzerland

Kurt Scholl was CEO of Hapimag from 2003 to 2013 and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2013. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant at KPMG. Kurt Scholl has a degree in Economics and Business and has brought with him a wealth of experience as Managing Director and CEO with various international companies.

Andreas Winiarski

Member of the Board of Directors, Berlin, Germany

Andreas Winiarski has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2018. He is Chairman & Founding Partner of awesome capital, a German-Chinese venture capital fund. He is a Venture Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital and Senior Advisor at Hering Schuppener Consulting. He was managing director and head of communications at Rocket Internet and helped to expand the small start-up into a publicly listed billion-euro company with over 35,000 employees. Previously, he was press spokesman for Axel Springer SE and digital coordinator in the "Bild" editorial team. He advises the German government on digital issues.   

Dr. iur. Christine Hehli Hidber, Schweiz

Member of the Board of Directors, Seengen, Switzerland

Christine Hehli Hidber has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2019. She is a partner at law firm Binder Rechtsanwälte in Baden. Prior to this, she worked as a legal advisor and Head Corporate Legal at a major bank in Zurich and London for ten years. As an independent lawyer, Christine Hehli Hidber today advises and represents both national and international clients. She is a member of the board of directors and vice president of a cantonal bank and member of the board of directors of an engineering company. She has knowledge of the travel industry and the hospitality sector.