Skills and experience
Christoph Franz started his professional career in 1990 at Deutsche Lufthansa AG. From 1994 until 2003, he held different executive functions at Deutsche Bahn AG, including as member of the executive board and CEO of the passenger transport division. In 2004, he became CEO of Swiss International Air Lines Ltd, and in 2009 he was promoted to the role of deputy chairman of the executive board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and CEO Passenger Airlines. From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Franz was chairman of the executive board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and from 2014 to 2023 chairman of Roche Holding Ltd. From 2017 to March 2025, he was a member of the board of Chugai Pharmaceutical Ltd. He became a member of the boards of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd in April 2014. He was elected Vice-Chairman in April 2018.
Committee membership
Remuneration Committee (Chair), Governance, Nominations and Sustainability Committee
Other directorships within the Group
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, Konzern-Vorsorgestiftung der Zürich Versicherungs-Gruppe
External appointments
Mr. Franz is a member of Stadler Rail Ltd and vice-chairman and lead independent director of Artemis Holding AG. Mr. Franz serves as a member of the board of trustees of Ernst Goehner Foundation, of the Swiss Study Foundation and of the Lucerne Festival and is a member of the advisory board of the University of St.Gallen (HSG). He was named as an honorary professor of business administration at the University of St.Gallen in May 2017. In September 2017, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appointed Mr. Franz as a member of its Assembly, the organization’s top governing body, and in May 2018 he was elected to the Assembly Council. He is an advisory board member/industrial partner of Rantum Equity Participation GmbH & Co. KG and member of the senate of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.
Educational background
Mr. Franz studied industrial engineering at the Technical University Darmstadt (Germany) and completed his studies with a Ph.D. (Dr. rer. pol.) at the same university. He also studied at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon (France) and conducted post-doctorate research at the University of California, Berkeley.
