Zur Rose Group: Board of Directors nominates Walter Oberhänsli as Chairman and appoints Walter Hess as new CEO

Zur Rose Group AG / Key word(s): Personnel

21-Oct-2021 / 07:00 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Management changes at the Zur Rose Group

Board of Directors nominates Walter Oberhänsli as Chairman and appoints Walter Hess as new CEO

As part of its succession planning, the Board of Directors of the Zur Rose Group is taking a further step to renew itself and at the same time arranging succession at the operating management level. At the General Meeting of Shareholders on 28 April 2022, Walter Oberhänsli, one of the founders of the Zur Rose Group and Executive Director, will be put forward as Chairman. Chairman Prof. Stefan Feuerstein will take on the role of Vice Chairman. Dr Thomas Schneider, Vice Chairman, and Prof. Dr Volker Amelung will not be standing for re-election after 27 and 12 years respectively. The Board would like to thank them both for their long service and dedication and intends to use the change to further increase the level of female representation by putting forward a suitable female successor at the General Meeting.

The Board of Directors is appointing Walter Hess to succeed Walter Oberhänsli as CEO after the General Meeting. He will assume the position after the General Meeting. Walter Hess has spent a year as Head Germany and CEO of DocMorris. Before switching to Germany he spent six years as Head Switzerland, and prior to that two years as managing director of German subsidiary Zur Rose Pharma GmbH, Halle (Saale). He holds a degree in business studies and had worked for the Zur Rose Group in Germany as an external advisor since 2008. His successor will be announced at a later date.

Prof. Stefan Feuerstein said: "With the planned change in the Board of Directors we are laying the groundwork for the continued further success of the Zur Rose Group in a very dynamic growth environment. We place our confidence in the operational management team under the CEO Walter Hess, who will ensure continuity." Walter Oberhänsli added: "I am honoured that the Board of Directors have placed their trust in me and nominated me as Chairman. The Zur Rose Group is in an outstanding position. On this strong foundation we will continue to drive ahead the transformation of the company into a comprehensive healthcare provider and health tech group - the Board of Directors and Group Management as a team, along with all the employees. I am delighted at the appointment of my successor. In a short space of time, Walter Hess has made an enormous human and technical contribution towards focusing our business in Germany on the future. The Board has great respect for him as an experienced manager with a proven track record and is confident he will successfully lead Zur Rose along its challenging growth path."

Investors and analyst contact
Christoph Herrmann, Head of Investor Relations
Email: ir@zurrose.com, phone: +41 58 810 11 49

Media contact
Lisa Lüthi, Head of Group Communications
Email: media@zurrose.com, phone: +41 52 724 08 14

Agenda
21 October 2021 Q3 Trading Update
20 January 2022 Sales 2021
24 March 2022 2021 Full-Year Results
20 April 2022 First Quarter Trading Update
28 April 2022 Annual General Meeting

Zur Rose Group
The Swiss Zur Rose Group is Europe's largest e-commerce pharmacy and one of the leading medical wholesalers in Switzerland. It also operates the leading marketplace in southern Europe for consumer health, beauty and personal care products commonly sold in pharmacies. The company is internationally present with strong brands, including Germany's best-known pharmacy brand, DocMorris, and employs more than 2,200 people at sites in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and France. Now serving more than 12 million active customers in core European markets, Zur Rose generated revenue of CHF 1,752 million (including external revenue) in 2020.

With its business model, the Zur Rose Group offers high-quality, safe and cost-effective pharmaceutical care. It also excels in continuous development of digital healthcare services and as a platform technology provider. In addition, Zur Rose is actively driving forward its positioning as a comprehensive healthcare service provider, with focus on building up its European healthcare ecosystem networking qualified providers of products, services and digital solutions. Zur Rose's contribution will be to bring these offerings to customers and patients, pursuing its vision of creating a world where people can manage their own health in one click.

The shares of Zur Rose Group AG are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (securities number 4261528, ISIN CH0042615283, ticker ROSE). For further information, please visit zurrosegroup.com.