Walter B. Kielholz
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors (non-executive, independent)
Walter B. Kielholz, a Swiss citizen born in 1951, studied Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen and graduated in 1976 with a degree in Business Finance and Accounting.
He began his career at the General Reinsurance Corporation, Zurich in 1976. After working in the US, UK and Italy, Mr. Kielholz assumed responsibility for the company’s European marketing. In 1983 he opened an art gallery and picture framing business with his wife, Mrs. Daphne Kielholz-Pestalozzi. A second gallery was opened in 1986. He joined Credit Suisse in 1986, responsible for client relations with large insurance groups in the Multinational Services department.
Mr. Kielholz joined Swiss Re in 1989. He became a member of Swiss Re’s Executive Board in 1993 and was Swiss Re’s Chief Executive Officer from 1997-2002. A Board member since 1998, he became Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss Re in 2003 and Vice-Chairman in 2007.
Walter B. Kielholz is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chairman’s and Governance Committee of Credit Suisse Group (since January 2003). He has been a member of the Board since 1999 and served as Chairman of the Audit Committee from 1999 to 2002. His term as a member of the Board expires at the AGM in 2009.
Since 1999, he has been a Board member of the The Geneva Association, which researches the growing economic importance of worldwide insurance activities in the major sectors of the economy (president from 1999 to 2003). Since 2004, he has been a member of the European Financial Roundtable (EFR), which contributes to the European public policy debate on issues relating to financial services. Mr Kielholz is also a member (president in 2006/2007) of the International Monetary Conference (IMC), an association of the largest banks worldwide, and a member of the Institute of International Finance (IIF).
Walter B. Kielholz is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Avenir Suisse, a think tank for social and economic development. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Board and the Committee of economiesuisse, the largest umbrella organisation representing the Swiss economy. From 1998 to 2005, he was a member of the International Business Leader Advisory Council (IBLAC), an advisory group to the Mayor of Shanghai mainly composed of Presidents and CEOs from major global corporations.
In 2005 Mr. Kielholz was elected by the members of the International Insurance Society to the Insurance Hall of Fame, which honours individuals who have exercised substantial influence on the industry for the benefit of society.
Mr. Kielholz enjoys sailing, skiing, tennis, golf, reading, opera, concerts and art. He is a member of the Society of Zurich Friends of the Arts and Chairman of the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft (Zurich Art Society), which runs Zurich’s Kunsthaus museum.
November 2007
